Randos
I have two nice RANDOS for you today, starting with this swell view taken from the Skyway as our gondola approached the Tomorrowland terminal (date stamped "September, 1959"). I have a number of similar views, but there's always so much to look at, and it makes me miss the Skyway all over again. So... bittersweet. Beneath the nearest pale yellow gondola, there seems to be a lot of people heading toward the restrooms. When ya gotta go! There's a fire hydrant, easy to see. To the left, Tomorrowland Station, which was pretty new in '59; and of course the Autopia, a favorite of so many.
Next is this unusual photo taken from the middle of the Plaza (right near where the "Partners" statue is today), looking down Main Street toward the train station November 1968, not long after the sun had set. All the lights were on, and the sky took on various hues of pinks and violets. The warmth of the lights is somehow comforting, as if the shops and restaurants are more welcoming at that time of evening. A few brisk walkers have been reduced to blurs!
19 comments:
"When ya gotta go! There's a fire hydrant, easy to see."
Major, did you do that on purpose?? :o)
At least 8 trash cans in that beautiful Main Street view.
Very nice randos, thank you, Major.
It’s interesting that all three SKYWAY attractions … Disneyland , Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland all had restrooms bellow the loading terminal .. a great use of space . Florida and Tokyo also had SKYWAY STATION SHOPS …I guess you could say loading above … “unloading” below….
This winter in Southern California we have had some very vibrant pink evening skies / sunsets… but tonight it is raining. And as Jack Wagoner says at Disneyland’s entrance :” in to everyone’s life a little rain must fall and it looks like today is our day - but still we say WELCOME to this happy place called Disneyland!”
Oooh, nice picture! I always like seeing 'the works' inside the Skyway terminal. Hmm, have we seen any photos inside the Skyway Chateau? The guy in the blue bucket is taking a picture of the terminal, pretty much like our photographer is doing.
"there seems to be a lot of people heading toward the restrooms". Must be those space-age hotdogs with synthetic wieners.
The twilight photo is moody, in a good way. This is when the magic starts. The blurry people are time travelers from the future. The Hub is their designated materialization portal. Not sure if they're phasing in or phasing out.
Sue, I was thinking the same thing.
Mike, "loading above … “unloading” below". Ohhh myyyyy.
Major, seems like your Randos are always better-than-average pics. Thanks.
Major-
I notice the [partially-obscured] signage near the entrance to the Autopia directing guests of 'shorter stature' over to the Junior Autopia in Fantasyland. If the date on the slide is remotely-correct, does that mean the 'new, 1959' Fantasyland Autopia was also referred to as 'Junior', or am I once again hopelessly confused by these dates, as the real Junior Autopia closed in the middle of December, 1958. Woe is me-!
Thanks, Major.
Ha! Lots of potty humor today. (Typical boys.)
It’s funny how Disney is very precise with the use of park nomenclature… but within the company it’s very very loose … throught it’s history WED, WDI even today will still mark design art and blueprints like “20k Ride” … “Tiki Show”….. “Pepsi stage show” “Eastern Airline ride” … “GE show” etc. in most printed and marketing material and some construction signs the 1959 AUTOPIA’s are called NEW SUPER AUTOPIA’s … Fantasyland SUPER AUTOPIA , Tomorrowland SUPER AUTOPIA …. But guidebooks and eventually signage continued to just read “ AUTOPIA”
Then there’s some examples where the real name like WEDWAY( 1967 version) was given the generic working name as its final title PEOPLEMOVER. In my collection I have a pack of documents going back and forth with WED and studio lawyers about changing the Disneyland PeopleMover to being called WEDWAY … (IF) they cannot find a way to copyright PEOPLEMOVER …
Then the trail of documents end in 1973 with a inter office memo that all printing and reference to the Disneyland Peoplemover going forward is to be the newly copyrighted name “PeopleMover” the M must be capitalized.
That was me above
Lou and Sue, I never do anything by accident!!! :-D 8 trash cans, I can eat at least two, and maybe three, hot dogs.
Mike Cozart, I assume that once precedent had been set at Disneyland with the restrooms below the Skyway load area, they would just continue with their good idea. I assume that Jack Wagner quote was made especially for rainy days?
JB, I think I only saw photos of the inside of the Fantasyland Skyway chalet when there was nothing in there. I always thought they could turn it into a restaurant, though the fact that it was atop a hill made getting to it tricky for wheelchairs, etc. Space hotdogs are delicious, but they do go right through you. I really found that second photo to be interesting, I have nothing else like it and it’s so evocative. It really makes me wish I was there! Glad you like these Randos, there are many more to come.
Nanook, as you know, the date-stamp only tells us when the slide was processed, so it could have been taken any time before that. Still, good observation on the Junior Autopia sign!
Lou and Sue, I am disappointed that there are not more four-letter words being used.
Anonymous, I guess the use of names was on a case by case basis, and depended on who was using it and why. I’d heard of the Super Autopia, in a way I feel like the current version could use that name since it combines both the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland Autopias. I sort of like the Wedway name, just because it harkens back to the days when Walt owned some of the attractions, but I admit that I only ever called it the Peoplemover.
Mike Cozart, I knew it was you!
I don’t mind that these photos aren’t thematically connected, they just illustrate moments of a typical day in the Park.
Photo 1 shows those benches with shade covers back by the railroad. And that fire hydrant is still there, although the planters and pavement changes make it harder to spot. Of course hydrants are hard to move, lots of regulatory involved.
Photo 2 is a great picture, with the blurry guests and So. Many. Trash cans. Just great stuff.
Thanks Major!
JG
Very nice randomonium today: especially the "buckets" photo,. That roof I THINK was the same one many many years later....unless they rebuilt and put those "bubble" skylights back in. Would have to do some re-con on that. I wouldn't THINK they would re-do it all for 1967...seems like the big wheel and all that jazz would be an expensive nightmare. In any case: what great forethought this historic photo has. I love those floating benches with the teeny weeny awnings....and of course the employee there cooking away inside the ticket booth. Pull her out when she reaches 125 please. Is it a SUPER AUTOPIA? or a SR. AUTOPIA given that the JR. AUTOPIA IS IN FANTASYLAND. (all caps). I'm not sure they are waiting in line for the restrooms....or gathering after their trek across the plains of Anaheim in the buckets. I actually would think a great idea for pre-construction "Preview Center" would be a bucket ride across the construction site. Great minds you know. I'd pay for it. Construction sites are Zen-like even when noisy and dusty. Main Street: well: that twilight scene and the Christmas decorations brings back memories...I can smell the popcorn in my hair...the wagon was located to the right there...set back from the walkway...now moved to somewhere else. "Popcorn 4". Going into the numbering system is taxing, so for another time. Thanks Major for the random rando's!
The Frontier Town loading station for the Frontier Lift at Cedar Point also had bathrooms downstairs, which is a large part of why it's still standing 39 years after the ride was removed (sound familiar?).
I think we should call the combined Autotopia the Super-Duper Autotopia (in COLOR!).
Sue, "Ha! Lots of potty humor today. (Typical boys.)" I'd like to point out that YOU started it. (Typical girl.) :-b
JG, that’s how it goes with Randos! There is no theme, other than “Disneyland” I guess. Those shades over the benches seem fairly pointless, but at least they tried (?). I was zooming in to the lights over the corner entrance to the Coke Corner, and it appears that the bulbs are all white, not red-and-white alternating colors. Another nail in the coffin of the legend that Walt himself wanted that one bulb to be painted half-red!
Bu, I’m not aware of the Skyway station in Tomorrowland ever being rebuilt, though I could be wrong. You can see that it has bubble skylights even here. And I am sure you’re right, dealing with that big wheel would probably have been quite a chore. I hope they at least gave employees in the ticket booths little fans, since AC was not an option back then. I am trying to remember, but wasn’t there actually a written reference to the “Senior Autopia” someplace? It was memorable because I’d never seen it before. You have photos taken from the Skyway from when the New Fantasyland was being built. They are a bit “soft focus”, but I still want to share them here! Ha ha, the popcorn scent in your hair… did you grow to hate popcorn? Now I want to know about the numbering system!
Chuck, presumably most Skyway-type stations were elevated, so restrooms make perfect sense for that downstairs space. Either that, or Walt’s Other Apartment. I remember as a small child having a black and white TV and being so frustrated when the announcer for “Batman” would say, “IN COLOR”. Not for me it wasn’t! And yeah, hey, Sue started the potty talk! I prefer to talk about the post-impressionists and Marcel Proust.
Chuck, ha!
Major, I think popcorn is Bu’s favorite food. Am serious.
Popcorn IS my favorite food! Since prior to ODV land. We didn’t have money for “oil” when we were kids, but we did have bits of bacon fat…that our babysitter “Auntie Gladys” happily made with the little bag of seed (Springfield Brand) in a frying pan, because there was no deep pan, popcorn pan…et al. I have great memories eating popcorn out of the big yellow Tupperware bowl watching “Emergency”…what a great show! To all: Happy belated National Popcorn Day! Which was a few days ago on the 19th! A big storm is on the way here…a perfect time for Popcorn and binge watching Emergency….if the WiFi stays stable…as I expect the power to go out…but the generator will be running: for “essentials”…like popcorn.
The Petite Chalet across from the Matterhorn was built because Disneyland was unable to utilize the vacant Fantasyland Cable Station for guest access. There were several proposals for beverage service , light snacks etc. also proposals for merchandise location. But what killed the SKYWAY also killed any chance of guests accessing the old Skyway Chalet ever again: handicap & wheelchair access.
A clock / glockenspiel type animated “show” was also considered ( guests would have to view it from below on ground level!) the show would have been basically a lift from the the clock show at the German Pavilion at World Showcase at EPCOT CENTER.
The fantasyland skyway chalet was Themed to a Swiss Hay loft / barn on the inside . There was also deer feeding troughs and goat stalls. After the SKYWAY closed the chalet was used for some minor storage by custodial and later for the landscaping department.
Even if there had been no handicap /wheelchair access issues or even had the new enclosed Skyway cabins that were to dog-leg around the Matterhorn , by 2026 the SKYWAY attraction probably would have long since been removed … the cost of liability insurance is extreme and the availability of easily obtainable parts became almost impossible. This is similar to why amusement parks often get rid of older ride systems purchased from companies that have closed their doors . ( like ARROW DEVELOPMENT and their great Antique Auto ride systems …) to maintain older ride systems when replacement parts are unavailable becomes too much of an expense many smaller parks cannot afford…and bigger parks often just don’t want to spend the money on aging equipment.
There was an off-the-shelf Wild Mouse ride at Animal Kingdom that sat unused for years when the manufacturer went out of business and parts ran out. They only recently removed it now that they're retheming the area.
Lou and Sue, Bu likes popcorn more than Beefaroni???
Bu, we popped corn using 3-In-1 oil, and it was delicious. Bacon fat for popcorn? Sounds gourmet! As a kid we loved Jiffy Pop, just because it was so fun to watch the foil packet expand. We usually wound up burning it on the stove. Ha ha, “Emergency!”, I sometimes catch bits of that show because my brother loves old TV. It definitely has something!
Mike Cozart, it’s such a shame, the old Fantasyland Chalet was such a beautiful building. Shoot, our local Whole Foods has an amazing moving ramp that shoppers can use with their carts, you’d think that Disney could have figured out something for wheelchairs. They just didn’t try! Glockenspiels are cool, I love the idea of adding something that “plussed up” an area without it costing guests more money. Oh well.
Mike Cozart, I feel like “money” (which includes “liability”) is always the answer. I watch “Jay Leno’s Garage” on YouTube, and he is able to have rare parts for old vehicles 3D printed in high-quality metal (no idea how it is done), but I’m sure it costs a bloody fortune. I guess I just hate that a ride has to go away because it’s old, especially if it is still loved by guests.
Dean Finder, jeez, even Wild Mouse rides aren’t safe? Those things used to be everywhere.
I can attest to the incredible complexity and arbitrary nature of the accessibility building codes. There are only certain approved ways to do a thing, and little opportunity for alternative designs or innovations. We can’t blame Disney for shutting down the old Skyway, their options were very limited.
Aside, I do seem to recall those round skylights in the TL station, right up to the end, so I’m pretty sure they weren’t renovated away.
JG
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