After a few years in Pennsylvania, my family returned to California; it took another year or so before I was able to get back to Disneyland (going with friends from before our move to the east coast) - the year would have been 1977. I still remember how strange it felt walking into Town Square! It felt smaller than I remembered. The same, but different. Favorite attractions had close in the interim, replaced by new ones. The Carousel of Progress, replaced by "America Sings"; the Pack Mules (not replaced of course); Santa Fe ended its sponsorship of the Disneyland Railroad; "Mission to Mars" replaces "Flight to the Moon". "Nature's Wonderland" closed near the end of '77. And so on!
Today's photos, from 1977, show what I must have seen on that first return trip. Tomorrowland felt pretty familiar, for the most part, with the always-wonderful Peoplemover and Rocket Jets, and the Mary Blair tile murals were still in place; and Adventure Through Inner Space was still there, one of my favorite rides ever.
Major-
ReplyDelete"... seeing today's scans really takes me back to a specific time in my life!"
And with good reason-! It was a pretty swell Tomorrowland back then.
Thanks, Major.
Looking at that first picture, lower right, I see a couple of really fun hats. One of them looks like a possible iasw escapee, maybe. No, on second thought, she's too tall. (Speaking of iasw dolls being 'outside' of the attraction, did Bu ever tell/confess his story here? If not....hey, Bu!)
ReplyDeleteI definitely know what you mean, Major, about returning to DL and experiencing the 'changes.' I had a 25-year gap between visits....from 1976 to 2001. I was in shock. No big parking lot; everything different with the hotels; and Downtown Disney added -- besides all the changes inside the Park.
Side note: I still LOVE Disneyland.
Thanks, Major.
"the Pack Mules (not replaced of course)" Seems to me they coulda replaced them with animatronic Pack Mules. So much easier to maintain! And they already had the AEDs so I'm sure the Imagineers would've been up to the task.
ReplyDeleteOoh, Crispy Clear™ image! (As Sue noted) A couple of ladies. in the bottom right corner, are wearing giant-sized (some would say 'goofy') hats; a sombrero and a sun hat. Looks like we can see at least one of those Goodyear animated advertising pods. Although, the animation is a little hard to see in this photo. ;-p I'm always impressed by the design of the 'Saturn V' Rocket Jets. Looks like the top of the Matterhorn is melting. One would've thought that the Imagineers would have taken the warm SoCal weather into consideration.
Space Mountain really does look impressive off in the distance. A little bit of atmospheric haze adds to the illusion of distance and immensity. The Rocket Jets are a-twirlin', and the Skyway buckets are a-glidin', the Subs are... well I'm not sure what the Subs are a-doin'. But I'm sure they're a-doin' it in a very Sub-y way. The roof of the Monorail station looks like an unfurled solar array on a spacecraft. And of course, we've got POWER LINES marching off in the distance.
Thanks again, Major.
"And they already had the AEDs so I'm sure the Imagineers would've been up to the task."
ReplyDeleteJB, I don't think the AEDs were 'made' by the Disney Imagineers. I'm not sure where they came from, though. Russia??
1977 was a good year for Disneyland. And Tomorrowland was still my favorite land. Yes, my favorite DL attraction, Carousel of Progress, was gone, but I did like America Sings. I guess the land remained the same (more or less) from 1977, until 1985 when Adventure Thru Inner Space (another favorite of mine) was removed, along with the Mary Blair mural on the exterior of the building. Oh yeah, and there was also the ruining of the open-air Space Mountain complex and Space Stage. I'm not sure when construction on that began, but I know the Magic Eye theater opened in 1986. It was all down hill for Tomorrowland, after that!
ReplyDeleteHowever, these photos are a nice trip back in time, when Tomorrowland was still a "World On The Move"! They make me happy. Today, I prefer to visit Disneyland via Gorillas Don't Blog and my own vintage memorabilia and personal souvenirs. Thanks for taking us back, Major!
P.S. Major, Nature's Wonderland Mine Train closed in January of 1977. Another loss that I was not happy about! I never felt that Big Thunder was a decent replacement, or even a decent coaster.
1977 was a great Disneyland year! Everything memorable basically "intact", and a few years later I'd be punching a time clock not far from the back side of Space Mountain. I was at the Park shortly after Space Mountain opened: I was on the High School Newspaper team as an entertainment editor, so Disneyland would send us giant stacks of photos, and invitations (comps) to see new attractions. To Disney, those teens were a critical target market: teenagers that now had cars! (or those who would hound parents): hence I saw Space Mountain very shortly after it opened, and waited in line for three hours! The line snaked down to Inner Space and then when you got to the top of the speed ramp: that area there was a continuous queue that was completely filled. I've never seen it that filled since that day. I would say at the time that the ride completely met my expectations, and the three hour wait I think helped with the "anticipation"...once you get INTO the building the "story" starts...and when entering the final chamber of course you are totally immersed. Tomorrowland at the time was also my favorite land: and the Character Shop was my favorite shop. Across the way you can see the windows of the "Chatterboxes" and generally we would all get in there and call "mom" or someone else. SPEAKERPHONES! THE FUTURE!!!! I missed the Carousel of Progress, but didn't mind America Sings when it was "Sings" instead of later when it became "Screams" (after watching it hundreds of times.) Sue mentions the Small World doll...well: it wasn't a complete figure: it was just a very pliable head on a stick. Who knows which "shenanigan" in ODV absconded this thing: but It was probably just "somewhere" and easily nipped. It became a very good way of blowing off steam backstage...it became kind of a voodoo doll...it was rubber/latex and pretty much felt authentically "slap worthy"...we'd have little arguments with it and smack it around. What horrible little mean-teens we were, but we were screaming laughing, and it was kept in the Balloon Room over there behind "Screams"....in a cabinet with balloon stock and string...just another rubber thing down there. It got really beat up, and I think ultimately went into the trash when one of the leads found it. And FYI: it was pretty heavy. That was probably in 1981 when I got more brave about joining in on shenanigans. What a great time that was too! I spent a lot of time in Tomorrowland as that was where ODV was based...so basically these photos are also of "The Office". Note about those GIANT hats...how fun...it's like that episode of Gidget where Gidget (Sally Field) dresses up like her best friend LaRue...who of course is allergic to sun and wears big caftans and giant floppy hats EXACTLY like that guest. That is a super funny episode, and in trying to find it, I found that the plot line is similar to many many other episodes! That's back in the day of 25+ episode seasons. Thanks Major and Sue for the memories and the rabbit hole!
ReplyDeleteOh 1977, I was there twice that year. Once in the Spring with the Honor Society and again in late Summer with Mom and Dad. I would go twice more in 1978 before my almost 20 year hiatus.
ReplyDeleteMajor, you came back just in time. I’m glad we got to see the Park like this. Tomorrowland was my favorite land too, back then. I remember those crazy lines for Space Mountain, nothing like it since the Tiki Room, nor yet again until Indiana Jones.
Beautiful pictures too, even a good view of the Power Lines. Peak Tomorrowland. Thank you!
JG
Nanook, I think I miss that Tomorrowland about as much as anything from the old days!
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, ha, I especially noticed that huge sombrero. Fun to wear, but perhaps a pain when attempting to go on many rides. I love Disneyland too, but it has definitely changed a LOT.
JB, the funny thing is that even a mechanical pack mule ride would have been fun, if there was lots to see (like in Nature’s Wonderland)! Once that whole area was transformed for Big Thunder, there really was no place for mules, real or mechanical. I’m always looking for good views of those Goodyear “pods”, but so far I think I’ve only ever found one that was worth a darn. “Atmospheric haze”, that’s a kind way to describe SMOG! SoCal still has its smoggy days of course, but not like it did in the 70s. We can’t see much of the Subs, so it’s hard to know how they’re doing anything!
Lou and Sue, the AEDs wore heavy black shoes, so… definitely from Russia!
TokyoMagic!, as I’ve said before, I never really warmed to “America Sings”… my dad laughed at it, so I sort of liked it because HE liked it. But I can’t say I ever looked forward to that attraction. I think the whole destruction of the Space Mountain area and the Space Stage happened during my time away from Disneyland, though I did see “Magic Journeys” at some point. I still remember people reaching out as if they could touch the 3D fish! When was the last time you went to Disneyland? Has it been many years? Sorry about my error re: the closure of Nature’s Wonderland, that was a dumb blunder.
Bu, I assume that Disneyland no longer publicizes the way they used to, sending “stacks of photos” (etc) to high school newspapers. It’s hard to believe that there was a time when they had to entice locals to come to the park. Now they can’t keep them away, even when prices are through the roof. Which reminds me, isn’t it about time for them to announce yet another price increase? Ugh. Your description of waiting for Space Mountain matches my memories closely. It was exciting, and of course I was a teenager, so I was perfectly happy to be waiting with my friends. The change in atmosphere once you entered the show building was so great, with the darkness and the sound effects. Now I try to hit that ride first thing in the morning. The last time I went, my wait was about five minutes. Then I got right back in line and the next wait was 25 minutes! That line backs up fast. I never saw the Chatterboxes, though there seems to be a lot of nostalgia from the people who experienced them. I can’t imagine having to see “America Sings” hundreds of times, since I didn’t particularly like it after ONE time. So how did that Small World head wind up in the hands of cast members? You’d think that a supervisor would have taken it away. I am almost certain I’ve seen such a thing in one of the big Disneyland auctions of the last few years, is it possible that it is the same one you described? Then again, I don’t remember the one in the auction being beat-up. Gosh, I watched reruns of “Gidget” when I was a kid, but I couldn’t tell you one plot!
JG, ooh-la-la, the Honor Society?! I was there with the other inmates from Juvie! We weren’t allowed to bring our switchblades in. No fun. In retrospect I’m glad I saw Fantasyland before it was forever changed, though I didn’t know it would change, and therefore I didn’t really pay attention the way I should have.
I missed this Tomorrowland. I had a Disneyland drought from the Fall of 1976 to Christmas Eve of 1993. But I did see most of it looking like this. And I eventually got to ride Space Mountain. The less we speak of my experiences on ATIS the better, though...
ReplyDeleteThe giant hat has me thinking of the "Who Shot the Hole in My Sombrero?" segment of America Sings. The show was corny but just right for a 6 and 7 year old. And the soundtrack taught me the Stephen Foster songbook, which became a became a bedtime favorite for my oldest.
Looking at this Tomorrowland and thinking about what we've lost as well as all of the planned-but-cancelled developments Mike was discussing yesterday...so many of them, like Liberty Square, sound so cool, but...if they had gone ahead as planned, I would have no memories of Nature's Wonderland or dancing with my wife at the Plaza Gardens because they would have been erased in 1973 or 1974. I kind of like those memories and wouldn't want to change them. I'll bet many of you feel the same way.
Major, I remember those long lines for when Space Mountain opened. It went way out to the Plaza on our visit. The atmospheric sound track / coms chatter for the interior queue was especially effective in creating an out-worldly experience. Yes, 1977 was a good time for most of my favorite attractions. Adventure Thru Inner Space was going strong (thought It sadly declined before it's closing), and the PeopleMover was still making its rounds on the elevated track (and went through Space Mountain!). :D
ReplyDeleteOur family came down from the Bay Area a few times in the 60s and 70s, back in the days of big family cars and station wagons. Memories blur together; also several attractions were showcased on the TV show so I may be recalling details from there. Herewith random Tomorrows:
ReplyDelete-- As a very little kid saw the Art of Animation exhibit, which included props and film clips from the 50s Disneyland show episode. Didn't see that until the DVD tin, but recognized various items.
-- Told the story here before of the Bell Telephone exhibit, which including pretend phones with characters on the dial. Mom dialed for me and got a recording of Snow White talking very fast about using the directory or some such. She hung up after saying there was an old lady with apples at the door. Mom later said I was yelling at the phone, first to get a word in edgewise and then "DON'T EAT THE APPLES!"
-- First memory of Journey to the Moon was the update with the film of the lunar base (astronauts in colorful, unconvincing spacesuits). G force (seats shaking and folding) and reduced gravity (seat suddenly inflated) were the big crowd pleasers.
-- For some reason think of lenticular pictures as a Tomorrowland thing, even though they were probably everywhere. Mostly mounted on postcards and little plastic TVs, or on little chains. The ancestors of the tiny sound chips that were all over the place for a while.
-- Think it was outside America the Beautiful they'd have drawings for a Free Long Distance Call, which you'd make then and there. Don't remember if everybody got to hear your call.
-- If memory does not deceive, Inner Space was free in the days of ticket books, courtesy of Monsanto.
-- My older brother had an official Tomorrowland souvenir. It looked like a light bulb containing four little square sails on a sort of weather vane. The sails were white on one side and black on the other, so when exposed to sunlight the black surfaces would heat up and the sails would spin, despite the bulb being airtight. Science magic!
^ A Crookes radiometer! (I had/have one too.)
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time you went to Disneyland? Has it been many years?
ReplyDeleteMajor, the way time flies, it doesn't seem like that long ago, but it was actually in 2019. I was "over" the current Disney long before that, because of their continued destruction of the park. The last straw was when they truncated the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and bulldozed the berm along with all of it's mature trees. I hadn't been happy with their previous horrible decisions (getting rid of the MSEP for Light Magic, building a crappy park for Anaheim's "second gate," and destroying Tomorrowland.....to name ONLY three examples), but I continued to go anyway. Then in 2016, when my annual pass expired, I decided not to renew after many years of having one. After that, I only went to the park about once a year, and I was "signed in'' for all of those visits. I did see Wookie World.......but I was not impressed. I haven't seen Mickey's "Loose Caboose" or the "Spidey Ride" (I know....not the proper names, but oh well!). But now, Disney's constant "nickel and diming" of guests is another big turn off for me.
So that is why I just prefer to visit the older versions of the park "virtually" through your blog and my own personal photos and memorabilia. At this point, I would choose to go back and visit the Oriental Land Company's Disney parks, before I would ever visit any of the other Disney parks.
Sorry for the long answer. Maybe I should have just answered, "2019!" ;-)
On a happier note, I remember the Chatterboxes in the exit area of "America The Beautiful." Even when they got rid of the ones with the glass window looking out onto Tomorrowland, they had some along the side wall. When I was at the park with friends, we would often call home. I specifically remember calling home when I was there for my 8th grade "end of the school year" trip.
ReplyDeleteDBenson, I also remember that wall that showed Disney characters riding various attractions, and being able to listen to them by picking up the phones and dialing their corresponding number. And I remember those "light bulb" shaped glass thingys, with the little spinning weathervane thing in them. I also remember them selling those gizmos where it looked like a coin was sitting on it's surface, but when you went to touch the coin, it wasn't really there. A clever illusion which was done with a convex mirror inside it's base (I think). Those "higher end" items were sold at a special counter in the Character Shop.....over near the unloading area of ATIS. It was the same counter where they sold souvenir films of the park and also those strips of "Pana-Vue" souvenir slides.
1977 was my first visit to Disneyland. I didn't get back until 2013.
ReplyDeleteDennis, boy oh boy! …you had a longer DL dry-spell than I had. Were you as shocked as I was, upon returning?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bu, for sharing your iasw stories.
Oops, I also meant to say that I enjoyed everyone’s stories…a lot of fun reminiscing from all.
ReplyDelete