Randos from November 1974
Here are two nice randos from 1974. We were all rockin' out to "Waterloo" by ABBA!
First up is this swell image, taken in the afternoon as our Peoplemover train follows another, heading westward toward the Plaza - but the track turns to the left, taking us through the Adventure Through Inner Space building - and more. One of Mary Blair's tile murals can just be seen in the shadows. What a great time to be at Disneyland!
And now for something completely different - a Davy Crockett Explorer Canoe passes by the southern shore of Tom Sawyer Island. We've noted about the lush plants on the island, they practically swallow the man-made structures, nature is running its course here. The Columbia is resting in Fowler's Harbor, as it often does.
I always enjoy looking for the shirkers - there are always a few people who let everyone else do the paddling!
18 comments:
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself......
We can see Pirates of the Caribbean in that first pic!
I love DL in the 70s. Thanks for the pics, Major!
Ahhh. A nice "you are there" photo of Tomorrowland. Back when it really looked like a Land of Tomorrow; not the land of Grungy Steampunk. Here it's clean and white and colorful and busy.
I love the lighting in the 2nd photo. Everything is aglow, like a Thomas Kinkade painting. (He gets mentioned a lot here on GDB.) Oh my! There are several AEDs making a beeline for the canoe! PADDLE FASTER!
Not sure I see and "shirkers" in the canoe, Major. Maybe the guy in the red shirt and red hat. But he looks like he might be close to 90, so I guess he has an excuse. I wonder if Ken S. can recognize any of the Canoer CMs? (Even though their face are turned away from us.)
Is that an AED painted on the stern of the canoe? THAT'S WHAT'S ATTRACTING THEM! THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! (Pay no attention to my shouting. I'm feeling overly dramatic tonight.)
Tokyo!, don't be silly. The curvature of the Earth would prevent us from seeing any pirates in the Caribbean from the vantage point of California.
Thanks for the nice Randos, Major.
The curvature of the Earth would prevent us from seeing any pirates in the Caribbean from the vantage point of California.
JB....Tiana with her time-traveling, light saber-wielding, bubble gun-blowing, psychic abilities, allows it to happen. I'm not sure what that all means, but just go with it.
In the Tomorrowland view to the plaza - “the heart of Disneyland : gateway to the theme-lands of The Magic Kingdom” …. That Cupola in the distance is The Haunted Mansion.
Tomorrowland in 1974 was pretty exciting … despite we lost The Carousel of Progress ..… there were displays along the PeopleMover and over at Disneyland Showcase of the coming “spectacular Space Mountain”
That Cupola in the distance is The Haunted Mansion.
Mike, aha....so it is! Thanks for the correction. And I remember the artwork for Space Mountain, in the PeopleMover tunnel above America Sings! I hope one day, some photos taken inside that tunnel turn up on the internet! But I know it's a long shot, since the artwork was only in there for a very short time.
Everybody's lazy on the Peoplemover; no rowing at all! Bums!
Still, I prefer rando 1 to rando 2 simply because it features a nice juxtoposition of the Land of Tomorrow with the Land of Spooky Kookies. That's an official "Land" that I just made up!
If those paddlers in pic 2 synched up, they could have that thing skimming along like a hovercraft, baby!
Nice pics!
cool Tomorrowland shot, looks like the perfect day.
"It's the 1890s at Main Street, and the 1980s in Tomorrowland!"
... wonder if Disneyland still used that phrase in 1974.
The Tomorrowland shot is perfection. Never looked better.
I can practically hear the music and narration of the PeopleMover.
Thanks, Major.
1974 was Peak Disneyland, to be sure.
Looking at photo 1, I’m intrigued that the little roof overhangs are exactly the same dimension as a Mary Blair tile ( or the other round), enabling the mural to fit on the facade with no wasted space or cut tiles. I’m not sure I noticed that before, and definitely didn’t in 1974.
The early people mover required riders to push with their feet like Fred Flintstone, before Goodyear sponsorship.
Photo 2 does resemble the work of the Painter of Light, did you know you can buy pictures of his with actual paint applied by his apprentices, trained by his own hand? I hope he sent Columbia to bed with milk and cookies after posing.
The raft to the right is the “YER”, but I can’t see the rest. Must be named for Isaac Yer, who invented the paddle.
Great stuff today, Major, thank you. All these folks would head home at the end of the evening and wonder how long they would have to wait for a fill-up of their gas tanks.
JG
TokyoMagic!, I see that cupola, is it Pirates though? I’m the last person to know, I’ll admit.
JB, I still think a Steampunk Tomorrowland could potentially be cool, but it would have to be a careful mixture of the “punk” and clean futurism. Too bad Syd Mead is gone. I agree, the warm light in the second photo makes the whole scene so inviting. Yes, just like a Thomas Kinkade painting! Our greatest artist. And listen, don’t give those 90 year-olds a break. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile, I say! The artwork on the canoe is a painting of Toucan Sam. Don’t ask. And I knew someone would be concerned about the AEDs!
TokyoMagic!, I’ve seen photos and videos of Tiana’s new restaurant. Imagine if they’d actually invoked an old New Orleans restaurant inside, instead of an amusement park? Again, I think they could have mixed the old and the new to great effect if they’d even tried.
Mike Cozart, ah, it IS the Mansion! I think I was more upset about the loss of the Progress City model than I was about the loss of “Carousel of Progress”, but I’d sure love to have them both now.
TokyoMagic!, huh, I don’t think I ever knew about Space Mountain artwork being visible from the Peoplemover, now I’m wishing I could see it (like you)!
Stu29573, the beauty of the Peoplemover (like the Motor Boats) is that you could actually snooze if you chose to. What a nice way to take a little break. Not that I ever snoozed, I was having too much fun looking at all the stuff. “The Land of Spooky Kookies”, well OK! Only twice in Disneyland history have the canoes ever become airborne. Daveland probably has a photo.
LTL, something tells me that the 1980s seemed all too close in 1974! Funny how it seemed SO far away in 1955.
K. Martinez, that first photo makes me so nostalgic for what we’ve lost, it’s a bummer. But… I won’t be downhearted!
JG, it took me a second to get what you meant about the little roof overhangs, but now I understand! I also now understand basic math (please don’t test me though). The idea of pushing the Peoplemover trains with feet makes me think of paddleboats, which seem fun, but then turn out to be way more work than anticipated. I remember a “60 Minutes” segment about people who collected Thomas Kinkade “art”, some folks literally had paintings (or those prints with paint applied by The Master) stacked up along their hallways. I mean, good for Thomas Kinkade, he tapped into something that the public craved. I prefer paintings of sadness and misery though. I’m glad the paddle was named for Isaac Yer, and now Law Yer. Har-de-har! I’ll be writing jokes for the next Academy Awards.
Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile ...
Give some people an inch, and they think they're rulers.
LTL, ZOIKS!
LTL: Disneyland was still
Being referred to as a “magic kingdom” into the 1990’s. And technically still today …. The Disneyland Railroad Depot calls still say “for a grand circle tour around Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom…..”. The pieces of Eight Fortune Red fortune cards also feature several that say “the magic kingdom of Disneyland” … even after the cards were updated about 15 years ago.
And the PeopleMover “plaza” description narration I used was being used on the attraction till 1995.
Even thought it wasn’t used as much by the 90’s , I think it would have been used a bit more today had Eisner not wanted RESORT used on everything. Disneyland Paris also uses “Magic Kingdom” to differentiate their castle park from the studio park.
One description that has definitely fallen out of favor is WDW being referred to as “The Vacation Kingdom”.
The SPACE MOUNTAIN preview panels featured 3 openings with back-lit panels ( similar to the ones in
Circle Vision along the PeopleMover route) …. The images were changed a few times from renderings to construction shots …and for a short time the large center panel was open and featured a 1/100 scale model
Of the space mountain complex at an angle and dramatically lit! Later this model was relocated down in front of the space mountain construction wall in a 3 sided display kiosk. That model by the way is still in storage at WDI … but has never been on display since the pre opening days of the attraction.
The carousel theater preview portals were intended to be permanent for future displays or sponsor identification….. but at the last minute the Super Speed Tunnel was relocated above AMERICA SINGS …. The speed tunnel was designed to originally be in the up ramp on the PeopleMover along the STARCADE upper level leading into Space Mountain. This wooing have had three projections. Speedrooms as opposed to the two above AMERICA SINGS.
All these years of looking at PeopleMover photos and I only just now realize that it makes a counterclockwise loop (looking down from above), while the one at WDW goes clockwise -- much like the CoP going in the reverse direction in WDW as well.
Maybe that's necessary to keep the Earth spinning on its axis peoperly.
The Disneyland Carousel of Progress ( and worlds Fair version ) rotated clockwise …. AMERICAN SINGS had to rotate counter clockwise because if clockwise exiting the final theater placed guests backstage facing trash dumpsters . By reversing it AMERICA SINGS guests were deposited back In Tomorrowland at ground level …. Same reason for Floridas counter clockwise rotation.
Mike Cozart, and all, re: phrases...
is it true that Disneyland, and only Disneyland, is marketed as the "happiest place on Earth"?
there can only be one! (oh, just thought, ala Seinfeld, maybe WDW can be "#1 Happy Place on Earth")
Swell shots indeed.
MS
You can also see Columbia's masts in the first image.
Besides counting trash cans and possibly Skyway gondolas, we can have a third count challenge: Count the items that Mike has in his collection. I see at least two in the first image.
Mike, do you have anything represented in the second image??
Fun pictures today, and even better comments!
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