I have two rather blue slide scans for you, but they are from the New Tomorrowland, back when it truly was new (having debuted on July 18th, just a few weeks before these pictures were taken).
There's lots going on in this first one, with the Skyway and Peoplemover, the Autopia, the little ticket booth, and guests taking in the view from the upper level of the Carousel of Progress (that opened on July 2nd). Not to mention the famous Senegal palm - not quite as famous as the Dominguez palm, but it's up there. I was wondering about the marks on the slurry in the lower left, I assume that there were holes for stanchions at one time. Or they were meteorite impacts.
Panning to the right, there's the Tomorrowland Terrace stage (a cousin to the ticket booth in the previous image), the "Flight to the Moon" attraction, and more Peoplemover fun - along with the Rocket Jets way up high.
Major-
ReplyDeleteIt's all brand-shiny new-! The two gals with the horizontal stripy tops in the 2nd image did their hair up all special for the visit. It's much appreciated.
Thanks, Major.
SCREECHY!!!.... There. I got that out of my system. At first, I thought maybe the patched up meteorite craters might've been where the Moonliner used to be. But the Skyway buckets would be too close. I guess the Moonliner would have been behind us, and to our right? Actually, was the Moonliner still there when this photo was taken? That's a pretty good shot of the Senegal palm.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a music group was playing at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage; guys in red suit jackets, or shirts. This pic is good for people watching: The fashionable lady on the left (with striped sleeves) has HUGE hair! I think a family of squirrels is living in there. And on the right, there's Banana Gal in here bright yellow outfit. And to her right, a nun! Been a while since we've seen a Disneyland nun.
I see Nanook spotted the huge hair gal as well... she's hard to miss!
Wonderful New Tomorrowland! Thanks, Major.
I wonder if the girl with the big hair (we'll call her Tracy Turnblad), was wearing a fall?
ReplyDeleteAlso in that second pic, on the far right, there is a guy who brought a large sack lunch into the park. I hope it contains some fried chicken. And a biscuit.
I don't remember seeing that portion of the Carousel of Progress mural, with the very large panels in light blue and white. I would think that all portions of the mural would have been photographed equally, since it was rotating every so many minutes. Since it was fairly new when this pic was taken, I wonder if it's possible that section got repainted at some point. Mike will know and Mike will tell us. Maybe.
Thanks, Major. I love the New Tomorrowland of '67 and I can almost smell the fresh paint here.
I really do wish I'd been as lucky as these people and gotten a chance to see the New Tomorrowland in its prime. As Nanook has said, it's all so brand-new looking! And the people are sporting such great colours and patterns - ah, August '67. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, I was busy being born.
ReplyDeleteI really do wish I'd been as lucky as these people and gotten a chance to see the New Tomorrowland in its prime. As Nanook has said, it's all so brand-new looking! And the people are sporting such great colours and patterns - ah, August '67. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, I was busy being born.
ReplyDeleteNots sure why that posted twice.
ReplyDeletePOP - PoW - Zing holy colorful creations Batbro….these are some seriously stunning spaces. Tracy T takes the cake. Joy as bright as the day.
ReplyDeleteMS
A very bright and shiny Tomorrowland and just as relevant in 2025 as it was in 1967...open spaces...movement...color...a ticket booth...and the famous date palm. Who knows what those spots are on the ground...they are not stanchion core-drilled holes...I am an expert on those (for another time). Very curious. What are those people waiting in line for? The subs? A big crowd around the Carousel of Progress, and it's so nice to see the people coming out of the ride as well on the top and down the ramp: again adding movement to this "Land of Tomorrow", and all very planned. It was said that Walt invented the "switch back" queue line...so that people would see "an ever changing human landscape"....might be a Marty Sklar story...but I recounted it in tours many times when lines were long, and it gave some "thought process" to enjoy the people watching while we wait 45 minutes for Pirates...let's move on to Hairography. Wow. Tracy Turnblad that is not a hair-do, is is a hair-DON'T. It seems a little stuck in the last decade and it seems like that guy is pointing at it "WATCH OUT FOR HER! SHE HAS A WEAPON UNDER THAT THING!" What movie was it where someone had a bomb in her hair do? Screechy is giant. Very dominant and not so "67" Tomorrowland. Autopia: the land that Tomorrowland forgot. The Autopia of today is kind of crazy and convoluted, but I suppose it makes sense to someone. They have zoomed to 1980 with a ODV costume entering Coke Terrace. I thought it was for a moment. I wonder if she was the inspiration for the costume to come? I see strollers and empty PeopleMover cars. What's up with that? Let it be said that there was no reason to architecturally change Tomorrowland '67...rides: OK. Rocket Jets: no. Adding Space Mountain: of course. Mission to Mars becomes Mission to Pizza: "no". Captain EO? Well...an indoor theatre is always great to have despite an awful film. Sorry guys...it was pretty unwatchable. I'm not grumpy because I'm a boomer...I'm grumpy because I'm grumpy. I read an article about "things you can tell that there is a Boomer is calling you by what they say when you answer the phone". One of them was stating who you are (?) "Hi...so and so...this is Melvin...from XYZ"...really? do people not say who they are anymore? What is this world coming to? Thanks Major and please take me back to 1967 IMMEDIATELY.
ReplyDeletePerfection. That is what Tomorrowland 1967 is to me. The original Imagineers and designers knew what they were doing.
ReplyDeleteI can see The Space Bar from here, later to be renamed The Lunching Pad after The Space Place opened with Space Mountain. Thanks, Major.
I’m not aware of any changes to the Carousel of Progress exterior mural from opening until the AMERICA SINGS was painted over it. I know there were some elements left off the original design that wouldn’t be easily visible because of the second level deck and ramp. For years John Hench had that mural design guide framed in his office at WED. The mural by-the-way was inspired by electrical impulses from some sort of reader computer used by GE technicians back in the day . I’ve seen the mural called “ELECTRO-WAVES” and “WAVES OF PROGRESS” … but on blueprints it says “mural : refer to WED art “ lol.
ReplyDeleteWowsers, this is the New Tomorrowland we all yearn for. I firmly believe that the New Jerusalem will look like this, with Senegal Palms and blue and yellow PeopleMovers.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had a straw hat much like the tall gentleman is sporting in photo 1. I think it lasted one season. Driving tractors in orchards is a difficult test for hats.
The Ticket Booth and the Stage were cousins and clearly got along well. In-Spiring, one might say.
That one young lady with “Mars Attacks” hair is today’s “Main Character”. A whole can of AquaNet was used to develop that protective casing.
I think people are lined up for Autopia, but I’m probably wrong. The sub and monorail queues are behind our vantage point. Those craters on the ground are arranged in rows of diminishing length, like a triangular pattern, too closely spaced for typical queue stanchions. I’m stumped.
Like Bu, I thought the lady in yellow was in Yellows, but is just years too soon. Forgive me, but I thought those costumes were odd, especially when seen in the plaza.
Thanks Major and everyone, I miss all of this so much. It’s good to see it all again.
JG
Nanook, those young women spent so much time on their hair! I hope they know that people will appreciate it in 2025.
ReplyDeleteJB, I’m glad you got that out of your system too. “Better out than in”, my grandma always said. I’m not sure I agree with her, but it’s too late to argue now. Yeah, I don’t think the Moonliner would have been where those meteorite impacts are, though it is sometimes hard to get one’s bearings. I think we’ve seen musicians in matching outfits at the Tomorrowland Terrace Stage before, not sure who would have worn red shirt but I’ll bet we’ve heard of them. “Huge hair” - think of the ozone layer!
TokyoMagic!, that hairdo really does remind me of Tracy Turnblad. What is a fall? Is it kind of a wiglet? And don’t forget, NO PICNIC LUNCHES. I’ll be curious to hear if anybody knows about the mural on the CoP, because I sure don’t.
Anonymous, for all I know, I did get to see this Tomorrowland, but I was so young that I sure don’t remember it.
Pegleg Pete, it looks like one comment was posted before you signed in, and the other afterwards?
MS, ha ha, I’m glad you got a kick out of these!
Bu, it really is amazing just how perfect the New Tomorrowland was - big, exciting, clean, and even colorful, with some incredible attractions. If those people are waiting in line for the subs, it’s weird, because I think the line usually went along the edge of the lagoon, and not straight out into that open area. But it’s possible that somebody wasn’t doing their job, organizing the queue. I love that big hair, I look at old family photos and my mom teased her hair up pretty big at that time. I remember she kept her hairspray under these paper mache “ladies”, we still have one but she glued the head back on so it’s kind of worthless. The Peoplemover cars don’t have the later-added safety bars, it looks nicer that way, but of course they didn’t count on people jumping out of the cars mid-ride. I think at least two people died on it, as far as I can remember. And yes, Captain EO is terrible, it’s hard to believe that Lucas and Coppola churned that piece of junk out. It was, at the time, the most expensive movie (per minute) EVER.
K. Martinez, I AGREE WITH YOU! Thanks for pointing out the Space Bar/Lunching Pad.
Mike Cozart, huh, I never knew what the CoP mural was supposed to represent, I always just thought it was a nice abstract pattern that was sort of soothing!
Oops, JG, I needed to refresh my screen after taking a break! The “New Jerusalem”? No idea. I’ll bet that straw hat was from the Hat Bar or some other souvenir stand. “Mars Attacks” hair, yes! Jeez, I’ve never seen a line for the Autopia like that, but anything is possible. It was such a popular ride that for a while there were three of them (Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and “Midget”). The yellow jumpsuit does sort of look like some of the cast member costumes, maybe it was just the style of the times.
ReplyDeleteMajor: the COP mural IS an abstract iteration of fluctuating images from GE electronic devises that inspired its shapes and design …. Not a literal representation. ALL the Tomorrowland 1967 murals were abstract . Just as the two silver entry fin murals represent man’s movement undersea - land - air - and space , the Mary Blair corridor murals represent COMMUNICATION OF PEACE and BOUNDLESS ENERGY …. Mary Blair’s third tile mural from Tomorrowland 67 over at Tomorrowland Terrace is HAPPINESS CELEBRATION . There was also the 3 confetti murals of the Bell Pavilion leading into the theater preview from the PeopleMover, and the two leading into and out of the circle vision theater …. These represent satellite communications but I’m not sure they had a specific name. There was an exit mural for FLIGHT TO THE MOON done in blues , grays and black…. And replaced with another version in reds, umbers and yellow for MARS.
ReplyDeleteTechnically the lobby “bull pen”
ReplyDeleteFor Flight to the Moon also featured a mural along the wall of the waiting area . It featured swirls of stylized rocket jet smoke plumes with randomly placed polished aluminum framed back lit circle displays of various sizes showing images of McDonnell Douglass rocket and space technology …. But the very first image panel is the founders first bi-plane) . Later for the first Lobby mural this existing back lit panel system was combined with a series of images and scale models showing the progress of McDonnel Douglas flight vehicles leading to the current and fictional DC - 88 MARSLINER craft that you will be taking to Mars . When McDonnel Douglas ended its sponsorship all the back kit panels were removed from MARS and a new mural painted on the wall LITERALLY showing a “MARSLINER” approaching the “red planet”.
The amazing real art in murals and sculpture created by WED imagineers for DL Tomorrowland 67 , WDW TOMORROWLAND 75 and FUTUREWORLD at EPCOT CENTER is all replaced with TOYSTORY Green Men , pixAr seagulls and Star Wars death stars …..
Very interesting Mike… I can’t quite recall the CoP mural beyond big color-block blobs, but if that were an artful abstraction of electrical impulses, they would kinda represent the “audio” part of ‘Audio-Anaimatronics’, which were actual audible sound queues used for early moving figures. How very Hench.
ReplyDeleteMS
What is a fall? Is it kind of a wiglet?
ReplyDeleteMajor, I wasn't sure, so I looked it up. I guess a wiglet is smaller and covers less of an area, usually on the crown of the head. A fall is larger and is used to cover the crown or part of the crown, and the back of the head.
What movie was it where someone had a bomb in her hair do?
Bu, that was also from the film, "Hairspray." It was Debbie Harry of "Blondie" fame, who hides a bomb in her hair!
I remember she kept her hairspray under these paper mache “ladies”, we still have one but she glued the head back on so it’s kind of worthless.
ReplyDeleteMajor, my mom and my aunt both had some of those decorative "cylinders" for concealing hairspray cans! I remember the top portion of the cylinder was in the shape of a lady's chest, shoulders and head. I think the lower portion had buttons painted on it, to make it look like the lady's dress.