More Magic Kingdom Snoozles™, November 1982
Why must there be Snoozles? Was it something I said? Today's terrible pix are from Florida's Magic Kingdom, and this first one is almost 100% pure Snoozle, with no fillers or meat by-products added.
Sure, they still have a Peoplemover in Florida, but nobody can see anything, because it's so dark. Nobody can explain the phenomenon, although DARK MATTER may have something to do with it (it's possible I don't know what dark matter is). It's too bad our photographer didn't notice that the "make everything a silhouette" switch had been flipped.
In spite of the very dark landscape, I guess this view of Space Mountain (as seen from the Skyway) is still kind of OK. The Peoplemover is still super-dark, and the landscape has gone absolutely black, which is weird.
18 comments:
Major-
That's really a lovely shot of Space Mountain - with a perfect sky as backdrop. It must be a rather crummy camera, having little ability to deal with bright backlit scenes - as seen here.
Thanks, Major.
I've mentioned it before with another GDB photo, but this looks light Magritte's "Empire of Lights" surreal painting. Nighttime below, daytime above. I'm sure that's what the photographer was going for here. ;-)
It's strikingly beautiful in its own way.
Another "Empire of Lights" photo! Hey, maybe Magritte was the photographer! Again, striking view of Space Mountain, even though everything else is in silhouette. I would go as far as to say this is one of the most beautiful views of Space Mountain I've seen. I saved it to my Disney Stuff folder.
These are far from Snoozles, Major. You just need to think of them in the right frame of mind. Thank you!
Wow! Look at the crowd waiting to experience the Carousel of Progress (first pic). I do like that second pic, with Space Mt. nicely illuminated in contrast to the dark landscape below. And the little wisps of dark clouds against the blue sky add nicely to the composition, too!
Thank you, Major!
Despite the darkness that first shot looks pretty inviting. These days, that open space has a bunch of vendor carts and overflow crowds from the PeopleMover and Astro Orbiter filling it.
I’ve shot rolls of film like this. You change film speeds and forget to change the ASA setting and you get a roll that’s underexposed like this, particularly when you are shooting bright subjects on a sunny day and the light meter is doing what you told it to, not what you want it to. Frustrating, but you still occasionally get something good like the Matterhorn shot.
We may have talked about this before but I don’t recall the answer. The Carousel of Progress building at the MK is two stories, just like at Disneyland, but to the best of my knowledge it never had the upstairs Progress City diorama. Was there originally a plan to move it there that was scaled back due to Fuel Crisis and unplanned POTC construction-driven budget cuts to pretty much everything in the MK Phase 2 plans or was it just made two stories to match the rest of Tomorrowland’s architecture?
Thanks, Major, for not circular filing these.
Proofreading is key, people. I meant the Space Mountain shot, not the Matterhorn shot. No idea why I typed “Matterhorn.” I must be subconsciously thinking of giant ice cream sundaes.
Much like the arctic in summer, Florida skies seldom go dark. Therefore the goundscape has to darken so all the plants, bunnies and gnomes can get some rest. These were obviously taken an night.
You're welcome.
Chuck, Progress City was "stuck" into the space above the Flight to the Moon/Mission to Mars/Alien Encounter/Stitch Belches On You attractions. But it wasn't the entire Progress City that had been at Disneyland. They butchered it and only a small part of it ended up alongside the PeopleMover track at WDW. Why? Because they truly ruin everything!
Other than the outdoor PeopleMover track, I'm not sure what is on the second level of the COP building at WDW. Maybe offices? I bet Mike knows!
11 year old me is (still) squealing with delight at the sight of this iconic silhouette of Space Mountain. It set my infatuation in steel.
MS
TM!, I have seen the remnant along the PeopleMover track but was wondering if they had originally intended to move the whole thing. I wish I remembered the COP clearly from my 1971 visit as a two-year-old, but the vague memories I have are suspect and I may be filling things in with knowledge gained later. It doesn’t stand out as a memory I replayed over and over in my mind like POTC, Peter Pan Flight, Casey, Jr., the Mark Twain, the Tiki Room, and Main Street at closing time. I kind of remember being in the back of an auditorium on the right side and seeing something up on the stage, and I want to remember going up a sped ramp with mirrors on the sides, but there’s nothing of the diorama.
Photo 1 shows the PeopleMover track pylons (!) are similar details to their Disneyland forebears, ending in a nice planter/bench. Of course in Anaheim, these have all been removed since sitting down doesn’t sell things.
Photo 2 is a spectacular shot, the Florida Space Mountain seems to stand alone and not arising from a clump of related buildings. Very impressive.
Thanks Major, I’ll take these Snoozles, they’re just fine!
JG
Nanook, Space Mountain itself looks pretty decent, but being surrounded by blackness is kind of odd!
JB, I mentioned the Empire of Light paintings back in 2017! Some of my favorites of Magritte. Magritte famously loved Walt Disney World, especially if he got to meet Winnie the Pooh. René was not a stuffy Frenchman! I’m glad you liked these, but you have to admit that the photos have their issues.
TokyoMagic!, even when I look closely I can barely see people in that first photo. I guess there’s a crowd? The thing I like about the second photo is seeing the Peoplemover track going into the show building (or is it coming OUT of the show building?).
Dean Finder, you have a point, at least that first scene is not chockablock with people!
Chuck, I always had “idiot-proof” cameras that had no ASA settings (because I’m… well, you know), and I still managed to take pictures like these. I was a bit surprised by the mention of the Matterhorn, but I’ve read ahead, and all is clear. I’m glad I never make a mistake, it must be very strange! I did not know that the Carousel of Progress building was two stories in Florida - now I’d love to learn about what the plans were for that upper area. Part of me still holds out hope that the Progress City model will be restored and returned to Disneyland, but I know that’s a pipe dream.
Chuck, it’s like the other day when I was writing about Tomorrowland Station, and then called it “Main Street Station”! As Nanook suggested, I was nipping at Schnapps.
Stu29573, I love learning interesting facts such as the ones in your comment, now I am all ready for “Jeopardy!”.
TokyoMagic!, I can only assume that the unused portions of the Progress City model were discarded, because (as you said) TRE! Now the upper story of the Carousel of Progress building holds bubble makers and bubble solution.
MS, I don’t know if Space Mountain is truly significantly larger than the Disneyland version, but it sure looks gigantic here!
Chuck, I have very vague memories of the Progress City model when it was in Anaheim, it was a feature that I loved! But it’s been gone for over 50 years, so it’s all pretty hazy. Now I think I fill in those memories with bits of videos and photos that I’ve seen since then, including vids and photos from the World’s Fair. So my memories are far from accurate! There is so much that I don’t remember, I’m often amazed at what some of the Junior Gorillas recall.
JG, There is definitely a resemblance to the Disneyland Peoplemover, and when you think about it, they were designed perhaps five or six years apart. I love those inverted V-shaped supports, I’m sure they cost a lot more to build, but they look so good! The benches had to go so that there is room for stroller parking.
Technically the WDW Carousel of Progress is NOT a two story building. The Tomorrowland facing facade is a false front with a higher “colonnade” to accommodate the WEDWAY guide-way. The upper roof of the carousel theater in Florida only contains the upper theater car rollers and the rest is just typical building mechanicals … electrical , ventilation, AC etc. GE had a VIP lounge but it was actually on the ground level behind the actual rotating portion of the theater ring.
I’ve never seen any concepts for a two story carousel theater - the original Florida Tomorrowland always had plans for a carousel
Theater show ( “the wheel show”) but the carousel of progress was not expected to go to WDW - that was a requested GE made . WED was developing a rather confusing carousel theater show called “THE YESTER-MORROW machine “ that told a rather heavy - philosophical show. Trust me … if it had been build it would probably have been the first WDW attraction to have closed . It was developed by writer Ray Bradbury and Marc Davis - despite their talents it was too big of an idea for such a small carousel theater . Elements of it were used in SPACESHIP EARTH and HORIZONS. The famous concept art for the exterior of “YESTER-MORROW” shows a waterfall down the front with the WEDWAY “tube” disappearing Into the waterfall .
The “progress city “ model that was built for DISNEYLANDS Carousel of Progress was actually a smaller scale and quick fix to what was spiraling out of budget . Originally the upper level was to feature full size sets and projections and animated props to created a outside upper panorama of the future city - to be as if guests were on a upper exterior terrace viewing the city around them. The budget didn’t allow this so WED imagineers borrowed an idea from the Goodyear PeopleMover station: originaly a 1:100 scale model of Disneyland was to be on the lower entry level of the PeopleMover . A spot light would shine on various parts of the animated model and a tv monitor would show live footage of the area and a narrator would explain about the goodyear rubber products used in that attraction etc. it was more than just tired and Speedramps . The rotating “window shopping “ display cabinets used at the Monsanto pavilion were also developed for the Goodyear product display . GOODYEAR felt this exhibit slowed the excitement of getting to ride the PeopleMover attraction and that product I formation needed to be presented in a shorter - quicker way - so the Goodyear animated pods were developed and WED used the model idea for GE.
After GE HORIZONS opened at a Epcot , GE lost interest in the Carousel of progress . Edison Electric who was ending its sponsorship of the WEDWAY PEOPLEMOVER in Florida in 1985 was being courted to potentially sponsor the COP …. And even a bigger attraction at Disneyland called THE CENTURY OF PROGRESS . This brought back to Disneyland a modernized carousel of progress theater show with the full sized set senes of the Desert Farm , Space Station Colony and Floating Ocean City scenes of Horizons…. This would have been part of a spectacular new Tomorrowland of 1984/85 that would have introduced several attractions developed or created for Epcot center. Only the new Circle Vision WONDERS OF CHINA and MAGIC JOURNEYS made it. The TRON ARCADE , CENTURY OF PROGRESS , NEW AUTOPIA and NEW SUB EXPLORATION also a new IF YOU HAD WINGS was planned for DL ( PSA) and Tokyo DL ( Japan Air) attractions got put on hold as Captain Eo and Star Tours came to attention. The original idea was that a new Tomorrowland would be completed while construction was progressing on Discovery Bay. Thus was all
A decade before another canceled new Tomorrowland “Tomorrowland 2055”
Mike Cozart, aha, so the Florida COP building doesn’t *really* have an upstairs. Now we know! Does the Peoplemover go through the building, like it did in Anaheim? Bummer that GE did not continue to sponsor the attraction, it’s not like the company was suffering financially. I guess somebody just decided it was a waste of resources. “The Yester-morrow Machine” sounds like a Ray Bradbury concept, right out of “Dandelion Wine”. I’m glad that at least some elements of it went on to be used in other projects.
Mike Cozart, I always thought that the Progress City model in Anaheim was the full World’s Fair model, so it’s a surprise to learn that even it was somewhat reduced. The concept that you describe sounds amazing, it kills me whenever I hear about the great ideas that they had that couldn’t be achieved due to budget. I get it, money is a real concern, but I can’t help thinking about all the stuff that we didn’t get. I never thought about how a Goodyear-sponsored ride went through a Monsanto-sponsored ride. And Space Mountain was sponsored by RCA, I think? Or is that just the one in Florida? Not that Goodyear necessarily competed directly with those companies, but they probably didn’t want to share the glory.
Mike Cozart, I can understand how GE would not want to pay for two attractions. From what I’ve seen, “Horizons” was a massive, elaborate ride, with lots of animatronics - the COP probably felt rather old-fashioned by then. “The Century of Progress” reminds me a lot of the “Futurama” attraction at the New York World’s Fair, but we have seen that many Disney attractions (Tomorrowland attractions, anyway) mirrored the things seen at World’s Fairs. I almost wish somebody would write a big book about Disney concepts that never made it, complete with models, concept art, etc. But I’m sure Disney does not want to give those ideas out in a book. Thanks, Mike!
The WDW WEDWAY PEOPLEMOVER does not go thru the carousel of progress… it follows the Tomorrowland facing curved facade . RCA sponsored the Florida version of SPACE MOUNTAIN . Disneyland’s Space Mountain was suppose to be sponsored by PEPSI COLA in 1977 … ( MOUNTAIN DEW — FIRST ON SPACE MOUNTAIN!!”) but after final negotiations Pepsi sponsored the SPACE PLACE RESTAURANT / COMPLEX …. But not the attraction. The SPACE PLACE costumes were red and blue ( specifically Pepsi red and blue) the space mountain 1977 were also designed to be red and white ( like Florida’s RCA red ) but when Pepsi opted out of the attraction sponsorship , the costume was changed to orange and white.
The CENTURY OF PROGRESS was an updated carousel of progress …. The final act was a towering apartment in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve ( you could see the fireworks above the gold gate bridge) the entire sunken living room rotated so the family could view the final fireworks finale …. Throughout the last act various friends ( including cousin Orville) call the family to send new years wishes … they call from their space station homes … deserted reclamation city …and the floating cities in the Pacific Ocean … at the end of the theater show guests are invited to teleport and visit these cities - as they are in HORIZONS as full size AA sets and scenes . The HORIZONS attraction was design intentionally as a sequel to the carousel of progress . In fact the grandparents narrating the attraction who live in the desert city are the same AA molds as the 1975 carousel of Progress parents .
On a side note HORIZONS takes place in the year 2076 - on the 300th anniversary of the United States ( the attraction’s original name was CENTURY 3 … but it was decided it sounded too much like the real estate company “century 21”)
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