The Skyway, July 8 1960
Today's main attraction is this beautiful photo of the Tomorrowland Skyway terminal, with vivid colors that would make Matisse smile. I've had a theory that the colors used on the gondolas matched the popular hues used on automobiles at the time, though I have no data to back it up. Data requires effort, my least favorite thing! (Note: I composed this post before Mike Cozart's informative comment on September 21st, so go and read that if you dare!)
Children under 6 years old needed to be accompanied by an adult. Wheelchairs and strollers could not be accommodated, and yet (oddly) motorcycles and roller skates were allowed - nay, encouraged.
For comparison, here's another look at a scan that I posted a few weeks ago.
Zooming in didn't reveal any surprises, but I did it anyway, because you know how I get when I'm in one of my moods!
Next is this view of the park (from April, 1973), taken from the Skyway! Man, that thing really went up high.
In spite of the slightly fuzzy view, we can still make out some details. HoJo's! Nature's Wonderland! The Columbia (at the dock) and the Mark Twain (in Fowler's Harbor)! Ye Olde Parking Lot! And I think that the Disneyland Hotel miniature golf course is visible in the lower right corner. Do you see anything of interest?
15 comments:
Major-
Oh man - that first image is a beauty-! But in spite of all its goodness, I had a hard time not noticing the hair "accessories" and giant earring on that gal front-and-center. And what do you mean 'zooming in won't reveal any surprises'-??!! Just take a look at that "Hedda Hopper-worthy" white hat, worn by that passenger in Skyway car #21-!
I think that aerial view must be what Tony Baxter is thinking when he states that "we need to get guests back up in the air", or some such reference to bringing-back the Skyway, or another aerial contrivance. I am also very jealous of the lack of automobiles in the parking lot, and want to know why I wasn't at The Park on that same day-??
Thanks, Major.
So many fun shapes and colors all in one frame. It looks like TinkerToys, or a giant erector set.
”Zooming in didn't reveal any suprises, but I did it anyway, because you know how I get when I'm in one of my moods!”
All of us at GDB are fans of magnification MAGNIFICATION MAGNIFICATION!
Before we had satellite photography, we had the Skyway.
Wow, so a kid that was only 7 years old, could ride the Skyway by themselves. Weird. I think a child today, has to be older than that to go on any of the rides alone.
In that aerial shot, we can see the Global Van Lines building, which I always thought looked like it came right out of 1967 Tomorrowland or a World's Fair. We can also see the Melodyland concert hall, which looks like a flying saucer that landed in the middle of a parking lot (near the top of the pic and to the right of the 5 freeway).
In the upper right hand corner of the aerial photo, we can see the Fujishige Strawberry Farm, which is now the Toy Story Parking Lot. Before that was a parking lot, and when DCA was still being built, Disney made an official announcement that they would be building a "third park" on that land and that they would announce what that park was going to be, after DCA opened. Well that whole subject was just dropped completely, after DCA opened and was initially a failure. Now that DCA has been "fixed" (sort of), I wish they would have gone ahead with that "third park" and stuck Star Wars Land over there. I think doing that would have made a third park automatically successful and they wouldn't have had to ruin Walt's original park or Frontierland. Oh well, they didn't ask my opinion!
Nice photos today! I like how the Skyway signage had the swirly twirly shapes that were the precursor to the Tower of the Four Winds a few years later.
Sad that the "Ranch" so boldly exposed in the aerial photo is now full Ewoks and Boba Fet's as opposed to hard working horses.
Good scans today, I love aerial photos of the park through the years. Little time capsules of attractions still there and those that are gone. I like to see how many I can spot. I love the colors on the Skyway sign. Thanks to Mike for the color info, I had no idea. I loved the Skyway and would ride it early and check out all the rides I wanted to do. I always liked anything that involved slipping the surley bonds of earth. Still do. Thanks to the Mr. Major for the colorful scans and the great memories.
Always enjoyed the round skylights in the Skyway building.
The old Skyway sign does look like a Miro painting.
Mike Cozart is a GDB National Treasure. He deserves some kind of special award for sharing all the deep background in his posts.
As Alonzo notes, the stables were a significant occupant, but there were more attractions with livestock then, too. Pack Mules, Stagecoaches, and all the Main Street needs.
We can see the Jolly Roger Inn at Katella and Harbor. It was a special blend of Pirate Tiki. I loved that motel, shed a tear when it was torn down to make way for a Marriott. The Marriott is nice, but will never be as cool as the Jolly Roger.
No Space Mountain yet, but Bear Country is in place, so the aerial is at least 1972, I think. Oh, now I see the photo file tag is April 1973. Prime Disneyland.
Fun Friday pics, Major. Thank you.
JG
Looking at those aerial shots and the nearby open space is a reminder to me of how easy my daily commute was between the park and my home in Costa Mesa. Look at all the space for the Circle D Ranch too. KS
Nanook, that lady’s hair ornament looks like she’s a bridesmaid. The earring… well, it’s big, anyway! I thought that the hat in gondola #21 was a Huck Finn-style straw hat, but it might be more of a Hedda Hopper floppy thing. I know that Tony B. has said something about getting people back up in the air, but I am not holding my breath. Did you know about the Skyway-type ride that has just started construction at WDW?
Melissa, I must have at least a half-dozen nice Tomorrowland Skyway station photos, and I always love them. And yes, I am a fan of MAGNIFICATION!
TokyoMagic!, when you think of 7 year old kids, they are SO little. Even P.O.P. required a child to be accompanied by an adult. Yeah, Global Van Lines! I wish I had their giant globe. And Melodyland, another good landmark. I never really knew where the Fujishige strawberry farm was - I’m kind of surprised that there is so much real estate between Disneyland and that land. Is the parcel just sitting vacant for now, or is Disney making some use of it? MAN do I wish they had put Star Wars Land there!!
Alonzo, I like the whirligigs too! So mid-century in the shapes and colors. I suppose that the park uses relatively few horses these days, so they didn’t need such a big ranch, but I liked knowing it was there just the same.
Jonathan, I swear, if the Skyway was to somehow magically appear right where it used to be, I could be content to just ride it back and forth a dozen times or so. Now that I think of it, I don’t think I ever experienced the Skyway at night. What a fool I was!
JG, I was trying to think of the situations in which Disneyland would still need animals. Other than the Horse-drawn Streetcars, I can’t think of any (what am I missing?). Supposedly now the horses are transported in from someplace off-site, I hope that doesn’t stress them out too much. It’s hard to appreciate the charm of the Jolly Roger Inn from way up here, but I’m sure it was fun. That large swath of red slurry in Bear Country is hard to miss, even from hundreds of feet up in the air!
KS, it’s a shame that Orange County didn’t set aside more land for parks and open space, but developers are gonna do what they’re gonna do. I’m pretty surprised that even in 1973, with Disneyland almost 20 years old at the time, there were still lots of fields and undeveloped land.
Come to think of it, most of the live animal attractions are gone. I have an old picture somewhere of me on one of the Pack Mules. I heard that the Stagecoach ride was pretty maintenance intensive, that's an aviation term meaning pain in the butt. You can still get a stagecoach ride in Jackson, WY. in the summer. Does Knotts still have theirs? The Conastoga Wagons, gone too . At least Chief Wavey still has his trusty mount.
I think there should be a Bantha ranch in the new Star Wars Land.
I read an article recently about how Lucas made costumes for elephants cast as the Bantha's in the first film.
JG
Major, about 8 or 9 years ago, Disney paved over the Fujishige farms and....you guessed it, put in a parking lot. It's called the Toy Story Parking Lot and since Disney can't have their trams going on city streets, they use shuttle buses to take guests from the lot to the parks. Believe it or not, it's a little bit less of a hassle than parking in the parking structure and waiting for the tram. And because the parking lot is so big, it kind of has a deja vu feeling of being in the old DL parking lot.....except that you can't see the Matterhorn or the Main Street train station, or hear the bells and whistles on the Mark Twain and the DL trains.
Pave paradise, put up a parking lot. Joni would be proud TM!
The new "skyway" for Walt Disney World is actually a transit system to connect several hotels to Epcot and Disney MGM Hollywood Studios (or whatever they're going to call it) Here's a recent video released by Disney:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/10/a-look-at-disney-skyliner/
Jonathan, yes, it almost makes no sense to save a large piece of land for the relatively few animals that they still use at the park, even though I am not thrilled that the ranch is gone. Knott’s does still have their Stagecoach ride!
JG, I’ve seen test footage with the elephants in the Bantha costumes, I think it’s a miracle that the patient animals allowed those things to be put on them.
TokyoMagic!, I was afraid that it would now be something like a parking lot. Supposedly the sale of the strawberry farm was very traumatic for Mr. Fujishige, or at least I seem to recall reading that.
Jonathan, Joni is always proud of TokyoMagic.
Dean Finder, yes, I guess calling it a “ride” is not accurate. Still, it sounds like a fun way to get around the park!
Dean Finder, yes, I guess calling it a “ride” is not accurate. Still, it sounds like a fun way to get around the park!
I've known several families where the kid was too short to ride Space Mountain but really wanted to go, so the parents took them on the WEDWay PeopleMover and told them it was Space Mountain. some of the non Park Transportation options at Walt Disney World, like the monorail and the ferry boats, do seem like "rides" in their own right!
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