Sub Lagoon, May 1960
Whoever took the photos in this May 1960 batch was mighty impressed by the Submarine Voyage and its Lagoon... there are no less than six images of it. Seems a bit excessive if you ask me, but something inspired them to keep pressing that shutter button. I'm only sharing two of the pix today, and I admit that they aren't super exciting - but I have to remind myself that there was nothing like the Subs anywhere else. Plus it was not even a year old!
The sky might be overcast, but I've got a song in my heart and a pocketful of nickels, so life is good. Down below, 3 gray submarines sit unused, but ready to be put into service if need be.
Now there are four subs in "no man's land", what gives? Admittedly, it looks like it was a slow day, with not a single sub gliding through the lagoon, and no Monorail overhead - not even one Autopia car in photo #1. As usual, the slides are date-stamped "May 1960", but I would not be surprised if the pictures were taken in March or April.
8 comments:
The steely lighting makes the Subs look especially... steely. And shiny. When you think about it, the Submarine ride really is something special; like you said. You actually go underwater! (sort of). And there's the anticipation as you wait in line. Once inside, there's the diesel smell, the sound of the motor, the darkened cabin... exciting! And a little scary.
Photo #2 is a little more colorful. It does give a bit of a creepy vibe, not seeing any vehicles (of any kind) in action. It's a little like walking through Nara Dreamland. 8-| This is a classic view of the Subs, though.
Muted but still interesting. Thanks, Major.
I remember when I first went on the subs at age ten. I was amazed and really thought I felt the subs diving! The next time I went on a sub ride was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at WDW. It was also amazing, but at age 18, I no longer fell for the effects. You can't fool me twice!
I recently went on the Nemo subs. How could they make such a cool ride so "meh?" TRE
So swoopy. We know much about the history of the monorail and subs (the '59 expansion in general), but who actually laid out the looping, overlapping layers of caves, waters, mini-cars, and treaded the two brand new types of transport trains together, all tucked under gondolas punctuating the looming mache mountain? It's an extraordinary yet comprehensive vision.
Walt sent a postcard for the mountain. Bob Gurr handled the vehicles, surely admiral Joe Fowler took control of the submarine aspects. The PeopleMover evolved from John Hench's research in conveyance. But who said...'lets enclose the lagoon with a roof, and put the Autopia road on top, along with two separate sets of new pylon types? ... and do it all in a few months.
MS
With so many subs in the pen, I wonder if the ride operation was down? This would have been a great opportunity to record the names of the fleet.
I loved the old Submarine ride with the “under the ice cap” and sea serpent spiel, and, while the latest IP overlay didn’t fully destroy the experience, I don’t feel like it added anything. I’m grateful we have what’s left.
MS, yes, the complexity of this group of rides is mind-boggling. Adding to the difficulty is that the PeopleMover was added after all the other things were finished.
Imagine knowing the limited span distance of the PeopleMover trackway and then sliding it around the old plans on tracing paper trying to find a place to drop columns to support it without going through the sub roof or an Autopia track. Engineers and architects were made of sterner stuff back then. Notice in the background the monorail pylon with the haunch supporting the track, since the pylon had be shifted over because of some invisible obstruction below grade.
An arrangement in steel and gray today, Major. Thank you!
JG
JB, “steely” subs are nice and all, but don’t you think most guests would prefer “sparkly” subs? A few barrels of glitter, more barrels of Elmer’s Glue, and voila. Sparkly subs. “Ridership has skyrocketed!”. I’d forgotten about the diesel smell until you mentioned it, but it was one of those sensory things that contributed to the experience somehow. Photo #2 is perhaps a bit more dynamic in composition, but I do realize that neither of these photos is that amazing! That’s how it goes sometimes. Speaking of Nara Dreamland, I just scanned a slide from that park.
Stu29573, I always loved the Subs, and even though I was aware of the rippling surface just a few feet above my head, somehow the illusion was still great when we “descended” to the dark depths. I remember watching a YouTube video many years ago, narrated by a guy who thought that the Subs were so dumb. He didn’t get it!
MS, like you, I’ve wondered about the layouts of the intertwining Autopia, Peoplemover, and Monorail tracks, along with the Subs below. It’s pretty impressive, all brought about by necessity, since Disneyland had such limited real estate. They truly did an incredible job! You mentioned the names of some key people who were so good at what they did, somehow Walt found the right people who managed to knock it out of the park!
JB, I’d wondered if the Subs were down for maintenance too, but you can see a small group of folks in line in the lower right of the first pic. Maybe it was a “walk on”? Just a few years back, I’d headed over to that general area to ride the Matterhorn, which wasn’t open yet for some reason. So I literally walked onto one of the waiting Subs; of course it was the Nemo show, and while I generally like it, it does leave something to be desired. I almost feel like the beautiful sunlit lagoon is the best part of that version of the ride. I appreciate that the Imagineers left the area above the lagoon largely (mostly!) uncluttered by tracks, somehow having that open sky above adds a lot to the lagoon’s “look”. Thanks for pointing out that one pylon, where they needed a bit more support!
I think it's really cool how the first photo captures the initial first curve of the monorail track that exits from the station and then returns back over the Submarine Lagoon. Of course that curve is no longer there in it's entirety since the track was modified to travel to the hotel and back. I remember seeing several "offset" monorail columns while driving on the Autopia, I'm sure to avoid the roadway. Unfortunately, the Submarines were low on our list of rationed "E" tickets -- always had a very long line. I think I only got to ride it once, ..but what a unique adventure! Thanks Major!
Despite the gloominess of the pictures, I really like seeing how the rides are stacked on top of each other.
Did the diesel engines on the subs move them with screws in the water or by driving wheels on the guide track?
Omnispace, thank you for your observation about the Monorail track, I am so unobservant (though I did remember to wear pants) that I never really thought about how the track changed once the Monorail had to exit the park and go all the way to the Hotel. I’ll bet those offset pylons cost a lot extra, and they did whatever they could to avoid using very many of them.
Dean Finder, yes, the amazing way so many attractions stacked and intertwined in that corner of the park is very cool; somehow it didn’t wind up looking like a jumbled mess.
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