Skyway and Matterhorn, June 1962
I have two Skyway pix, and they are not that unusual as far as subject matter goes, but they are also pretty nice to look at. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the squirrels were looking at us with their weird tiny eyeballs... it was a perfect day. I like the colors of the gondolas, and the Astro Jet that has snuck in to the left, and the dramatically-slanted roof of the Yacht Bar. Slanted roofs have been proven to increase hunger by 18%!
8 comments:
Major-
Fabulous, just fabulous-! On the other hand - "There are no bobsleds visible, which is why I will be suing..." Please put-away that litigious pen of yours, as we can see a bobsled in the lower right-hand corner of the image as it is returning to the unload area-! See-?
Thanks, Major.
I always like Matterhorn pics; and this is a nice one! It must be the wrong time of day to see Fudgie taking his shower behind the waterfall curtain. All I can see for sure, is one of his tail flukes. The Astro Jets (there are two of them in this photo; red and blue) always remind me of porpoises... space porpoises, flying through the sky.
A nice see through view of the Matterhorn's nostrils. That orange Gondola sure stands out!
It was revealed recently (smuggled out the Disney vaults) that the Matterhorn is actually made of soft serve ice cream, and that there are a thousand refrigerator units employed to keep it frozen.
Thanks, Major.
Never noticed that the colors on the multicolored Skyway towers match the colors of the round Skyway buckets. One more subtle detail that made Sisbeyksnd so special.
Proofreading (or lack thereof) will be the death of me.
“One more subtle detail that made Disneyland so special.”
New DisCo. CEO Josh, likes to tell the story of his dad taking him 'flying' thru Peter Pan. Awesome indeed, but there used to be several other even more realistic ways to fly around Disneyland... full out legitimately on the SkyWa;. Rocket Jets gave a really convincing spin around the skies. From People Mover, one glided above the world below. In Adventures Thru Inner-space we floated, well, thru space. Heck, Tom's Tree House and the exit terrace from Carrousel of Progress used to give nice high perspectives over the park.
You could fly, you could fly, you - could - Fly! (Through a mountain, above the elevated Monorail beam, over rooftops and waterfalls, and whole villages - damn, no wonder Disneyland is so beloved, what an exciting place!)
MS
The Matterhorn design is fascinating. I wonder if they designed the roller coaster first and then sculpted the mountain around it, or if the process was more interactive? At any rate, it is a complex structure. I saw there was a YT video on this subject, but haven’t watched it yet.
The monorail always honks right about there, presumably to clear the track ahead of cross traffic at the blind curve, except there is never any cross traffic. Just honking for the pure joy of honking. One of my top five favorite Disneyland sounds.
Thanks Major, these are nice pictures that bring good memories.
JG
That second photo is pure bliss. The view is so clear and bright, uncrowded, uncomplicated, all kinds of motion and sightlines. You could practically feel the adventure. Comparing it to a similar view today, aside from the lack of Skyway and altered monorail track, the biggest difference I think is the height of the trees and greenery. I really like the older, "younger" look of the park in the 50s and 60s. I would not be opposed to some major tree trimming here. But that's just me.
Nanook, I guess I’m glad to have the good luck, but I am upset that I can’t sue anybody now.
JB, I think that by 1962, Fudgie was no longer visible, as he once was. I just scanned some slides that have excellent views of the Fudgester though, so don’t be sad! The Astro Jets remind you of porpoises? OK! Yum, soft serve ice cream is one of the greatest inventions, and what separates us from the animals.
Chuck, huh, I didn’t notice that the colors on the towers matched the gondolas either. Did they actually repaint them when the gondolas changed colors?
MS, good point, there was a lot of flying at Disneyland! Not as much now, in fact I can only think of a few examples compared to the old days. I think that the Imagineers need to figure out how to get guests up in the air more! Tony B. once said that was a goal, but he’s been out of there for quite a while now. I watched that YouTube video about the Matterhorn! It’s pretty good.
JG, as MS said, there is a new YouTube video about the building of the Matterhorn, I’m away from home right now, but I’m sure it would be pretty easy to find if you wanted to watch it. I’m with you, I prefer the older look of the Matterhorn, but that is no surprise!
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