Happy Friday! I have a pair of nice pix for you, starting with this view at the ticket booths; there are plenty of weirdos just arriving at 4:40 PM, they should all be observed for signs of extreme goofiness (drooling, excessive smiling, humming "Little Brown Jug", and so on). Maybe they were at Knott's for the first part of the day - people did that. In spite of it being November, it looks like it was warm and a little breezy. No need for a coat.
It's always interesting to see what the prices were back then. An adult "Big 10" ticket book was $4.75, while a "Deluxe 15" would run you $5.75. Only one dollar for five more rides? It's a no-brainer. The cost of a guided tour was $6.50.
There might be something wrong with me, because I've seen many photos of Tomorrowland, but a view like this still gets my heart pumping. I'm trying to figure out where the photographer was standing to get this elevated view, do you think he/she was on a just-launched Skyway gondola?
Major-
ReplyDeleteThat 2nd shot probably was taken from a Skyway gondola or even a Peoplemover vehicle - although I think the angle is a bit low.
Thanks, Major.
Ha! On the right edge, that little kid is pointing at us, "You! You with the camera! My dad's gonna beat you up!". Feisty little twerp. The floral Mickey must have been recently replanted; it's almost bare. In the center, there are two almost-identically-dressed kids; Thing 1 and Thing 2.
ReplyDeleteMy guess would also be from a Skyway gondola. Hey, there are two giant mushrooms growing on top the Rocket Jets tower! And hey, all the Rockets are flying high in their upright position!
Nice D'land pics, Major. Thanks.
@ JB-
ReplyDeleteThose "giant mushrooms" are the not-so-illusive pair of follow spots (probably Strong Gladiators) used for the Tomorrowland Stage.
That was something the ROCKET JETS did at the end of the flight , all the jets automatically went in the high position and stayed there in formation for a few final spins before all lowering together and returning to the “flight deck”.
ReplyDeleteNanook, yeah, I knew they were follow spots (you told us about them in a past post). I was just being 'phunney'. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMike, huh, I didn't know that. Learned something new!
JB, it almost looks like that kid is in the process of giving a thumbs down sign. Maybe he had an extreme aversion to having his picture taken.
ReplyDeleteThat angle on the second photo looks a little too low to be taken from the Skyway. I think it was taken from the PeopleMover, before it entered the backside of the America The Beautiful building.
The Rocket Jets/PeopleMover tower was the perfect centerpiece for Tomorrowland. Which idiot thought it was better to destroy this and put the roto-jet type spinner at the entrance and on the ground? Talk about putting the weenie backwards. Theme Park design principles abandoned.
ReplyDeleteI think the photographer had a jetpack on his back when he took the Tomorrowland photo. That's what I think. Thanks, Major.
Yes, a crowd of unhinged people entering in the late PM. The extensive use of crass chain link is still amazing, yet somehow we never noticed it. Too anxious to race in and ride the bobsleds. Notice how the speakers are subtly integrated into the Edwardian gingerbread on the booths.
ReplyDeleteOur photographer was very tall or maybe standing on the roof of the Autopia queue? I have no idea, but I’m glad they took this photo of Peak Tomorrowland. We will never see it’s like again.
Thanks for the Friday post, Major!
JG
The ticket taker on the right looks like me in my senior year of high school. But November '68 was my first year of college and by then my hair was too long to get into Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteI always liked going to the Park in the later afternoon. Avoid the heat of the day and have the Disneyland-after-dark vibe happen sooner.
Major, the same thing is wrong with me when I see a photo of 1959 Tomorrowland (the REAL Tomorrowland *big grin*), I get all squiggly inside and have happy attacks.
Thanks for the cool pics Major.
@ TM!-
ReplyDelete"That angle on the second photo looks a little too low to be taken from the Skyway. I think it was taken from the PeopleMover, before it entered the backside of the America The Beautiful building".
Nah... the Skyway is very low at the entry/exit to the Tomorrowland station - running beneath the Peoplemover. LOOK HERE.
Nanook, now I’m thinking that the Peoplemover is more likely, thought it’s just a hunch.
ReplyDeleteJB, hey, maybe the twerp’s dad was taking the picture? I guess it was hard to keep the floral Mickey looking fresh and new, we often see it looking a bit anemic. Hmmm, OK, there’s a vote for the Skyway (for pic #2), we’ll see how it pans out!
Nanook, are you sure that the giant mushrooms aren’t a variant of Cordyceps??
Mike Cozart, the rockets all going to the high position always felt like a kind of salute at the end of the ride! I’m sure it wasn’t intended as such, but that’s what my tiny brain made of it.
JB, you can’t be funny GDB, this is a serious blog!
TokyoMagic!, maybe we need a “no kids” day at Disneyland! I’m sure that would go over well with the public. I kind of agree with you re: the Peoplemover, I need to look an an aerial photo to see where exactly the track would be!
K. Martinez, I truly don’t understand the decision to move the Rocket Jets from their wonderful elevated position. Maybe they were worried about long lines due to the gantry elevator? The only time I’ve ever gone on the Astro Orbiter is when my then 8-year old niece wanted to ride them. Compared to the Rocket Jets, they were “meh”. And now we have one vote for a jetpack!
JG, I’m sure that chain link was the most affordable option for fencing in the entire park… I assume that’s what they still use today, except for right near the gates, where they have some wrought iron now. I sure never thought once about the chain link, except that it didn’t look that hard to climb over!! Now one vote for a tall guest!
Grant, ha ha, 1968 was definitely when long hair started really taking over, though I remember my mom complaining about my “long hair” years later, and I feel like it was “long” the way the Beatles’ hair was long in 1964. If I lived near Disneyland and could go regularly, I could see going for a half day, but our trips were too precious to waste so many hours!
Nanook, I knew that the Skyway started out pretty low, but the Peoplemover track dips down too, I almost feel like that photo could be either one now. I'm so confused!
ReplyDeleteMajor- Nice photos today, thanks. The little boy in the 1st picture is upset with the photographer & wishing him into the cornfield... ;-)
ReplyDelete-DW
That Tomorrowland image would have to be from a MONORAIL or PEOPLEMOVER .. ( I’d probably speculate PEOPLEMOVER) at that point of view the SKYWAY cabins are already at their first support pylon and are no longer that low.
ReplyDeleteMike-
DeleteYou're absolutely right. That makes total sense.
Thanks.
I've seen this Tomorrowland view hundreds of times. and my vote is for PeopleMover when it goes parallel to the Monorail. That was my favorite view...right before going into the Bell System waiting room...and returning to base camp. I agree with the term "idiots"....and getting rid of the rocket jets to build OTHER rocket jets is just a total waste of money. It could have been easily refitted with the new, yet hideous, look...and yes: "reverse weenie" and it defies any kind of logic to put a blockade in a bottle neck. Demolish it immediately! The Rocket Jets were just as fun in the lower position as the top....the centrifuge pushed you out on the bottom, and while on the top you felt you were going to be thrown out. The elevator and the waiting pen upstairs were all part of the "anticipation"...and as I look at this photo, I can feel the slight anxiety of that pen...I don't have a fear of heights...I have a fear of falling...two different things. The swirly terrazzo floor at Coke Terrace is wonderful. I have to dig out a recent photo: it was still terrazzo ....but I'm not sure if the swirl's are intact anymore. When they set out to ruin things, they certainly do a bang up job. The Space Stage looks very grand one there, and you can see the scale of it: perfect for an amazing performance from EJ Peaker....or is it EP Jeaker? I need to watch that show again: it's so bad, that it's good. I've grown to enjoy the humility of the chain link, and the little wire "fences" they used in the early days. I put a little wire fence out, and I'd say everyone mentions how charming it is. I'm not sure if chain link has the same charm, but if I was going to save money: that's probably where I would do it. That kid looks like he's 6 going on 85....but I guess we say "they always looked older back then". The "secretary" in the teal suit looks like she came out of Dick Nunis' office to consult guests on tickets....she's giving off Nancy Olsen vibes from the early 60's. Yah...the prices...they've gone up...with the rate of inflation, and added attractions...the etc etc Fantasmic, parades, purple paint and such: they cost money. DIS has reported great earnings for the last quarter. Good for them. As grumbly as I am, at the very least, the park has endured for 70 years....and everything is cost prohibitive. I looked at prices this morning for a simple play: off Broadway...no huge stars...but familiar theatre names: $92.00. I suppose I could get rush seats...but I'm "of a certain age", and need to be up close and personal....and also need to have a plan...in any case, the price of Disneyland if you see all the things and do all the things...I suppose is kind of a bargain...I would have to further qualify that....but I'm the one who will spend $300 on a bottle of 50 year old balsamic vinegar....but complains about the subway going up in price by a quarter. I suppose practicality isn't my strong suit. I drone on. Thanks Major!
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, I vote "jetpack," also.
ReplyDelete"That was something the ROCKET JETS did at the end of the flight, all the jets automatically went in the high position and stayed there in formation for a few final spins before all lowering together and returning to the “flight deck”.
:o/ I'm now imagining the terror in some folks' eyes....the ones who had planned to keep their rocket down for the entire ride--to feel "safe."
Love the prices in the first image; and the scene in the second.
Thanks, Major.
DW, yum, I hope he brings back some sweet summer corn!
ReplyDeleteMike Cozart, yeah, I think “Peoplemover” is the right answer, ultimately.
Nanook, but WHAT IF there’s a guy with a jetpack?
Bu, it’s been so long since the Peoplemover closed that my memories of riding it are vague. I mean, I remember parts of it clearly but a lot of it is just a blur. Which is a bummer, maybe I need to watch a YouTube ride-through to remind myself of the details. I mostly wish I remembered the “back” part of the ride when it would go over the Motor Boat waterways and the Autopia (when it would get pretty low to the ground). As for the Astro Orbiter, I guess it is iconic, at least the way it looks. It’s not much of a ride, and it’s probably easier to just leave it where it is and let the kiddies ride it. If they removed it, they would not replace it with anything, probably. I can’t imagine that the terrazzo is still there, but I could be wrong; I didn’t really make it into Tomorrowland except to ride Space Mountain. After that, my friends and I did not even step into that land. “Everything is cost prohibitive”, I was just talking to a fellow who said his “nosebleed” seats at Dodger Stadium were $150 apiece, parking was $70, and then hotdogs and beers were $70. So much for dads taking their kids for a bit of Americana. My dad would take us to Angels games occasionally, and I just loved going to do something with my father!
Lou and Sue, ha ha, when I was on the Astro Orbiter with my niece, she kept her rocket at the lowest level the whole time. I asked her later “Why?”, and she said she just liked scooting along low. OK!
I thought those were giant Jiffy Pops on the top of the Rocket Jets gantry, to provide futuristic solar-cooked popcorn for the Tomorrowland popcorn wagon.
ReplyDeleteSince we're on the "everything's too expensive" idea today, the Las Vegas Strip is way down on tourism for the same reasons - everything has added fees and increased prices making it unreasonable for most people. I was there in the spring and didn't go anywhere near the Strip.
Nah... the Skyway is very low at the entry/exit to the Tomorrowland station - running beneath the Peoplemover.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I know that when the Skyway gondola's "launched" from the TL station, they were actually lower than the level of the PeopleMover track, above. But it just seemed to me that the Major's pic was taken much further west, at a point where the gondolas would have had to have been much higher in the air, so that they could enter the Matterhorn. I see that Mike confirmed this, and that you agreed! :-)