"Walt Disney's Disneyland" Part Five
Can you believe that today's post features PART FIVE of JG's scans of Walt Disney's Disneyland? Well, BELIEVE IT!
I love this page, introducing a NEW ATTRACTION. "The Walt Disney Story". The photo shows Abe Lincoln, even though he was temporarily benched (or "moved to Florida", that's what happened to my dog sniffles according to my mom). Here's what Wikipedia says: While the exterior remained the same with the exception of new signage, the interior was redesigned so the exhibits could reflect the history of Walt Disney, The Walt Disney Company, and Disneyland. The main theater looked the same, but the audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln and other props and set pieces were either removed or remained in place covered by the projection screen that was added to show the tribute film to Walt Disney. The film, which lasted 23 minutes, stitched together archival film and audio footage that appeared to be an autobiography of Walt Disney.
The Enchanted Tiki Room. The 1964 World's Fair. Señor Lincoln. Sometimes ya just gotta read, folks.
Oh boy, a beautiful panorama of the Rivers of America. So much going on, including a guy in a sombrero!
In 1973, New Orleans Square was only 7 years old. But it sure was a fantastic addition to Disneyland, with its winding streets, wrought-iron, and ferns. LOTS of ferns. You might happen upon live Dixieland music any time, though it is doubtful that you will see Br'er Bear or Br'er Fox much anymore.
Marty Sklar let's us know about the Blue Bayou restaurant, and "Pirates of the Caribbean", which was originally supposed to be presented with guinea pigs in cute little costumes. Audio Animatronics are still referred to as a modern wonder of science and art. "It's a Small World" moved into Disneyland in 1966. The concept of the ride might be a bit dated, but the message of peace and friendship is as relevant as ever.
Oh yeah, the NEW TOMORROWLAND! Readers of this blog know that I particularly love Tomorrowland, and the "new one" is what I remember most from my childhood. It just dazzled me. Speaking of dazzled, how about that view looking down from the peak of the Matterhorn?
Just look at that Tomorrowland! What's not to love? I want to ride the Peoplemover, and the Rocket Jets, and Adventure Thru Inner Space, and the Carousel of Progress, and go see Circle-Vision 360, and... there was so much amazing stuff to do.
And lastly (for today), here are a few more photos to tide you over until next Tuesday. I always love a good long exposure of the Rocket Jets.
MANY THANKS to JG!
21 comments:
Major-
"In the answering volleys it is all the customers can do to keep from cringing on the floor of the boat". "Customers", you say-? Really, Life Magazine... get with the program-!
Thanks again to JG.
Mr. Lincoln turned out incredibly well, being the first life-like audio-animatronic figure. When he rises from the chair, there's a feeling of wonder and awe. The swelling music has something to do with that. But it's the subtle movements: blinking the eyes at the right time, moving a hand slightly, a little nod of the head, that really sells the illusion.
Hard to believe that they mothballed him for a while for the Walt Disney Story.
The real New Orleans should have twisty-turny streets like Disney's New Orleans Square. So much more interesting. The real one should also have less flooding, fewer hurricanes and tornadoes, and lower humidity.
Hey! I was all set to read about "guinea pigs in cute little costumes". Imagine my outrage when I found out there is no mention of them in the book's text... I want my money back!
That IS a great view from the top of the Matterhorn, Major. It even has your favorite Monorail (red) going by. I wonder if that's Hans or Fritz or Otto? Why didn't he just take the stairs? So much easier.
Such a wonderful Tomorrowland. Hard to believe a lot of it is gone now. Did they not realize what a spectacular thing it was? Change, for change's sake, is rarely a good thing. Somebody is getting paid too much.
That green-tinted photo of the Rocket Jets always seems like an odd artistic choice. And yet, it works! It evokes sci-fi, alien spacecraft, and other-worldliness.
Thanks Major and JG.
I must have somehow missed it, when The Hall of Presidents opened at Disneyland (sigh).
Fun facts. Mickey is riding in that turquoise PeopleMover vehicle. And the Tomorrowland Spaceman and Spacewoman are in the crowd at the entrance to Tomorrowland. She's wearing her mini-spacesuit.
P.S. Thank you, JG and Major!
Nothing quite says “Disneyland” like a guy in white pants and a sombrero eating popcorn as he strolls along the levee.
The photo looking down from the Matterhorn has “Red Shirt School of Photography” written all over it. Too bad they didn’t hold the Monorail there until a red bobsled hove into view. I also think that by ‘73 those checkerboard sunshades were gone, but that’s such a great photo, why would you stop using it?
While so much of what the Imagineers envisioned that the world of tomorrow would look like didn’t come to pass, they did get one thing right - corporate branding everywhere. This photo of the Tomorrowland entrance (or one very much like it) appeared in the 1974 souvenir guide I got as a child, and I remember at some point noticing that the Bell System logo was different from the one then in current use (a Saul Bass design which I now now dates to 1969). I think that was the first inkling I had that not all of the photos were up-to-the-moment current. And rather than feeling like I had been ripped off, I thought it was pretty cool.
TM!, thanks for those details. I don’t know how many times I have looked at that picture and never noticed them. The Spaceman & Spacewoman further reinforce the “not 1973” aspects of the photo.
Thanks again, JG.
Chuck, the PeopleMover cars also don't have any "safety" rails around them yet. You just know that there were probably dozens of people climbing out of the cars, on a daily basis. Maybe even hourly.
Thanks JG. I'll get to the text later, but that last shot is an eye opener for sure. We always had to do the moments with Mr. Lincoln show. It was one of the first stops. Always a bit too fidgety to concentrate on it most of the time back then. Too much waiting outside, like getting my morning electrical wake-up from that infernal machine inside the Penny Arcade.
I'll add my thanks for pointing out Mickey in the PeopleMover TM. Had to really zoom in to catch it. It almost looks like Pinocchio in the car in front of him.
Thanks Major and thanks again JG.
Thanks Major! This makes quite a nice post.
Just FYI, the greenish box advertising the Walt Disney Story is a pasted-on sticker. You can see it isn’t quite straight. I assume it covers explanatory text for Mr. Lincoln.
JB, I remember first seeing Mr. L with my Dad, who was convinced the robot was a real person. I remember him commenting on the unconscious movement while seated, drumming fingers, etc.
I can’t choose between the River panorama and Rocket Jets spinning, back when Tomorrowland was fun.
Thanks everyone for pointing out details, it’s so much fun to go back to see what you find.
JG
Nanook, I guess we can’t fault LIFE magazine for not using Disney vernacular. However, “customers” does sound weird in this context. Meanwhile, do we really believe that the pirate playing the fife is really accurately moving his fingers on that instrument?
JB, as a kid I was really amazed by Mr. Lincoln, especially as the lights are low and you can detect subtle movements even though Abe is still in the dark waiting to stand. It made him seem that much more lifelike. I’ve never been to the real New Orleans, I guess it’s all laid out in a boring grid like most cities? Listen, just because Disney didn’t use guinea pigs is no reason to get upset with me! I wonder if any Disneyland Matterhorn climbers went on to climb real mountains? “Next month I’m going to summit Mt. Kilamanjaro!”. Clearly the Disney folks did NOT realize that Tomorrowland was great. Sure, it could have used some sprucing up, but it didn’t need buckets of brown paint.
TokyoMagic!, how could you have missed Disneyland’s “Hall of Presidents”? I guess you were too busy collecting Pogs. Hey, I do see Mickey! Could this have been from opening day of the “New Tomorrowland”? I think of the Spaceman and Spacegal as being such a part of the older Tomorrowland, I wonder how much longer they would last?
Chuck, not only is that guy eating popcorn, he is eating it with GUSTO. “How many kernels can I fit in my mouth at once? Time to set a new record”. What is the “Red Shirt School of Photography”? Is that when some poor red shirt dies? Or is it just a good idea to include somebody with a red shirt for visual interest? When it comes to corporate branding at the park, I feel like a hypocrite, because I like the old sponsors (GE, Monsanto, Bell System, etc), but shake my head in disappointment at FedEx or Honda. In my memory the Bell System logo was always the Saul Bass version, but of course it couldn’t be!
TokyoMagic!, it would have never occurred to me to climb out of a Peoplemover car, but not because I thought it could be potentially deadly. Weren’t two people killed in that manner?
DrGoat, I admit that I have not gone to the Lincoln show for a long time, I should probably check out the updated AA figure. A friend of mine thinks that this attraction is ready for the scrapyard, but it would make me very sad to see it removed. And I wonder what they would replace it with! “Great Moments with Elsa”?
JG, yes, I love that it is a pasted-on addition, that makes it extra cool. I don’t think I have this particular version, but that detail alone makes me want one. Yes, the drumming fingers is one of the movements that I remember from when I was a kid! As much as I love that big river, I can’t help loving the spinning Rocket Jets more.
Major, the "Red Shirt School of Photography" (not to be confused with "The Red Badge of Courage" or "Where the Red Fer Grows") is exactly as you guessed - throwing a red shirt on a subject to add visual interest. It's particularly obvious in 1950s and some 1960s National Geographic photo spreads.
I remember reading that blub about the pirate playing the piccolo in third grade and believing it. When I went back as an adult 16 years later, I was disappointed that the movements didn't seem to match up with the music. Now, that doesn't mean that it didn't match up at first and then got out of synch at some point. I wonder if Mike Cozart knows...
"Great Moments With Elsa"...there's an easy joke in there somewhere, but I think I'll let it go.
The Walt Disney Story at Disneyland still featured signage discussing Walt’s Dream of the Hall of Presidents coming to Disneyland right up until the changeover to The Disneyland Story for the park’s 50th. It even said “watch for future announcements” the signage may have been original to the 1973 “Disney Story” attraction, but the Accompanying images had changed over the years . The final one was a panoramic of Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. Up until the development of DCA there had been continuous plans to still bring a LIBERTY SQUARE to Disneyland and the 1994 Anaheim version of LIBERTY SQUARE project ( headed by imagineer Bruce Gordon or “DL Nickel Tour” fame , replaced the Hall of Presidents with a AMERICAN ADVENTURE / PRESIDENTS hybrid show.
Chuck: I’m not sure about that but audio sync problems can easily happen with AA figure shows with glitches …. But I’m couldn’t explain it. One time in the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland the whole show soundtrack started playing but nothing was moving and the lighting was still set for “guest entry” …. And guests were still walking in … I saw a cm outside and they had been helping a person in a wheel chair … I told them that the shoes sound was playing but nothing was moving or happening. At first he sounded irritated .. and told me yes, because the show had not started yet…. But he thought I was just some impatient guest lol. When he realized what I meant and was explaining he was confused and exasperated. For some reason I cannot remember if they cleared out the attraction or if we waited and they eventually ran the show.?
I also remember in the 80’s while watching the original Country Bear Jamboree we saw a show where you heard MAX, BUFF and MELVIN …. But not once did they ever move!
JG,
Your contributions got me searching for more vintage stuff to read and I came across this at Vintagedisneylandtickets:
https://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2011/08/disneylander-july-1960.html
Lo and behold I see the Major, TokyoMagic and none other than yourself in the comment section. What a treat!
Dr. Goat, that's funny. 2011!!
We've been sloshing around these blogs for a long time.
JG
Tokyo!, Disneyland's Hall of Presidents, a decade in the making, opened on Presidents Day, 1988. It was ripped out the next day to make room for a Princess meet-n-greet. So I'm not surprised you missed it.
DrGoat, it does resemble Pinocchio. And is that Captain Hook in the car with him (facing Pinocchio)? And that looks like Donald in the last yellow car on the right.
Major, I tend to not believe the accurate fingering on the piccolo; but who knows, it's satisfying to believe it.
Major, I've never been to New Orleans, either. But I think it has been discussed here on GDB a couple of times. I flew over it once, at 30,000 ft. on my way to WDW. Does that count?
Chuck,... [groan]
Mike, on the one hand, glitches like that are great to watch. On the other hand, it pretty much ruins the show. Thinking of Abe Lincoln collapsing on-stage; ghastly AND hilarious!
Major, yes...at least two people have died on the PeopleMover. I posted the Los Angeles Times article about one of the deaths, about 12 years ago.
I remember the Spaceman and Spacewoman (in her miniskirt) being featured in the View-Master packet for the 1967 New Tomorrowland. But I am not sure how long they continued to use them after that.
JB, no wonder I missed it!
Does anyone remember when they were going to replace Lincoln with some kind of Muppet attraction? It was a part of that whole "Disney Decade" and most of the announced plans never happened, like a Dick Tracy Ride, A Little Mermaid "suspended" ride (for DL), and Hollywood Land (for DL), a Toontown Trolley simulator ride, Alien Encounter (for DL), and a new show in the Carousel Theater, along with a new Tomorrowland (different than that crappy '98 version).
I just checked the Tomorrowland pic from my copy of this book. The picture is slightly different. The crowd is positioned differently, but the PeopleMover cars are in the same place, so they must have been parked there, just for the photo. One of the differences in the crowd is, there is a lady posing with the Space Couple:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKwzQeHPTtM/TlVfA3j00PI/AAAAAAAAGUc/iiUiTFnZF0k/s1600/scan0026.jpg
Chuck, I definitely noticed the “Red Shirt School of Photography” in vintage Disneyland postcards! You could even tell that they somehow processed the red shirts to be even MORE red. You make a good point, maybe the fingers and the audio of the fifer pirate eventually fell out of sync. Normally I think that I am the one with the naughty mind, but I bow to the master!
Mike Cozart, I am thankful that we did not get the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland. In recent years it has become a lightning rod for ugliness, to the point where maybe they SHOULD remove that attraction. Just my opinion of course. Still, it’s fascinating to think that it was considered for Disneyland. I did not know that there was still talk of bringing Liberty Square to Disneyland as late as the 1990s, but I think the opportunities for updating and change would be extremely limited.
Mike Cozart, I remember seeing a video of The Enchanted Tiki Room in which the sound was going and most of the critters were not moving. I looked for it on YouTube, but couldn’t find it, so maybe it’s long gone. Funny that the cast member just assumed that you were so impatient for the Tiki Room to start that you were complaining!
DrGoat, I was friendly with Mr. Vintage Disneyland Tickets, and followed his blog almost from the beginning. I’m still sad that he stopped! But I do sometimes search out some of his old posts, there is a lot of valuable information there.
JG, hey, I’ve been blogging since 2006, and was looking at blogs before that. Hard to believe.
JB, unfortunately, they just dressed the Presidents in wigs and dresses, so those princesses were pretty hideous. Andrew Jackson in a long blond wig… NOPE. I can’t see Pinocchio, but maybe I’m missing something. Ditto Captain Hook. Yes, flying over a city counts as being there, just like spending a few hours in the Denver airport is the same as “seeing Denver”!
TokyoMagic!, I still don’t really understand how anybody could get caught and dragged by those smooth-exterior, slow moving trains, but obviously it was very possible. I have the feeling that the Spacefolk weren’t around much past 1967. I used to hear a number of rumors about the potential addition of the Muppets to Disneyland, including adding a “Mt. Rushmore”-style sculpture to the side of the Matterhorn featuring Kermit and others. Maybe that was just a dumb guest rumor, but it can be hard to tell sometimes. I actually applied to WDI when they were planning Alien Encounter for Disneyland, the Imagineer who spoke to me, a man named Ron Chesley, was very nice and showed me some of the artwork. That’s the time I got to eat in the dining courtyard where they had Skyway and Peoplemover vehicles that you could sit in to eat your lunch. VERY interesting comparing the two Tomorrowland photos, the Peoplemover trains appear to be in identical positions (as you said). Is this the photo that Mike referred to recently? I looked for the same people in both photos, but the Space Couple is the only constant.
Chuck, here's the origin of that Saul Bass logo for the Bell System. I find the old logo somewhat jarring in pictures of the 1964 World's Fair. I always expected that they adopted the 'modern' logo for it.
TOKYO , MAJOR and everyone concerned: yes! That’s the weird twin 1/2 identical version of that Tomorrowland picture. But I don’t think the PeopleMovers were still … at least if they were what are the odds EVERYONE in the PeopleMover cars remained motionless and in the same position long enough for the crowds below to be different? I think they merged to different photos … for some reason.
I missed this all yesterday, but will comment for posterity. Duplicate photos, Mickey randomly riding a Peoplemover car, Space Girls in mini space suits, and Mr. Lincoln. Seems like I missed a good one. Let's take out the Peoplemover, but leave Mr. Lincoln. Some things don't make sense. Although it would be "they ruin everything" I wouldn't shed tears for GMWML if he was retired, or took a very long sabbatical. I have great memories of the Lincoln theatre for other reasons that that guy...Disney movies, meetings, etc. etc. It was nice to have our own "theatre". I almost had a heart attack in that show. I was with a very shenanigany employee...we sat in the center with our groups, which we were compelled/required to do. The show is very serious. Foreign people did not respond to it, however they appreciated the technology back then. So everyone is super serious, and then...very very quietly, my co-worked decided to make very quiet and subtle farting sounds with her mouth. At some point, they were louder than others...generally after a big speech. I was trying to hold in laughter, but trying ever so hard to be serious. I literally couldn't breathe and at one point I thought I was going to pass out. In addition to farts, there was also very subtle bits of social commentary sprinkled throughout the Presidents eloquent performance. Or answers to rhetorical Lincoln type questions. Very softly. She later became quite the celebrity in life. The best part about the show was the pre-show...be it the Walt Disney Story, the Lincoln Story, the Disneyland Story...they were all good and well done. I remember they had borrowed things like Lincolns top hat and a lock of his hair, which I thought...Wow...that is super impressive. There were a few Lincoln relics in there. Without farts, I'm afraid the show is a bit dull. I suppose it's not supposed to be earth shattering and adrenaline pumping. My thought after watching it hundreds of times: "loaf of bread, gallon of milk..." I had already finished the day in my head and had gone onto grocery shopping. I would like to have a model like the one at the Walt Disney Family Museum built in larger scale in there...turn the thing into a yesterland/preview center/WED people making models and such. Or better yet...take everything out, and bring back the 1954 mill!
Major, oh, my. Now I’m blushing. I swear it was all an elaborate set-up for the final phrase. Any naughty connotations didn’t occur to me until I read your response.
Reminds me of a time when I was teaching (university level)…I was in the middle of a lecture and said something that could have been interpreted as a sexual double entendres. I realized the implications of what I had said and tried to correct myself but managed to stick my foot in my mouth again with another unintentionally risqué comment. I then tried a third time to extricate myself and tripped over the words again. I suddenly stopped mid-sentence, looked at the class and said “can any of you see the top of my head above the edge of this hole I’m digging?” The class, which had been trying so hard to keep from laughing, just completely lost it. No complaints were filed,
Dean Finder, I have seen that film before, I want to say at the recommendation of a fellow Junior Gorilla. Have you linked it previously? Fascinating on several levels, both as a record of how and why the logo was created, the depth of unity of concept it displays (I remember that standardization of colors, logos, typeface, and uniforms lasted a long time), and an example of how much slower a pace a corporate pitch was delivered 50 years ago.
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