It's Friday, and that means that I have a pair of above-average scans for you, to start off your weekend on a high note. This first one is undated, but I believe it is from the early 1970s (or late 1960s?); it's a very nice view of the entrance area to Tomorrowland, with the curved track for the Peoplemover overhead, along with two trains. Did they do "rope drop" back then? Tomorrowland appears to be roped-off, and other than a few cast members, it's devoid of people, I'm not sure how else this photo would have been taken. The "flying whale" fountains are in the center, by those wonderful metallic bas-relief panels that I love.
Next, (from 1973-ish) comes this photo of the Small World Stage, where the Kids of the Kingdom entertained a pretty solid crowd; Stage decor hints at a patriotic theme. By 1973, Linda Piesik (former Kid of the Kingdom and friend of GDB!) had moved on to bigger and better things, but the KotK still sang songs of positivity, love, friendship, and monkeys - four of my favorite things.
Major-
ReplyDelete"... and other than a few cast members..."
I should say - that one fella on the far left appears to be 'inspecting' his jumpsuit - or perhaps in the process of zipping it up...
Thanks, Major.
It looks like we've got TWO(2) Matterhorns in this pic! The regular, old fashioned, typical Swiss model on the left. And the NEW, MODERN, FUTURISTIC one on the right. Why it has a "Bell" logo on it I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does appear to be the pre-opening time, with the workers doing worker stuff. The things atop that cabinet thingy don't look very Disneylandish to me; basically just trash. I would expect to see some magic pixie dust and metallic gold scraps.
In the second pic, even the overhead awnings are patriotically theme with red and white stripes. Deliberately? Probably. The audience really seems rapt with the Kids' performance.
Nanook, I thought maybe that guy was 'inspecting' as well. But then I realized that he was using some sort of futuristic diving rod to locate the water main so they would know where to dig a hole to make repairs. ;-)
It's been a while since we've had Leftuggies for our late night snack. Thanks, Major. (I also thought of your mother when the title came up.)
^Divining rod. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteMAJOR: that’s The TOMORROWLAND STAGE where Space Mountain would eventually be built. The Small World Stage was to the left of Its A Small World attraction .
ReplyDeleteI don’t think they did a rope drop ceremony beyond Main Street USA , but from signage and other paper material lots of attractions opened later than the rest of the park. They they probably followed the tendency for guests to hit the E TICKET attractions first. I have many signs in my collection with changeable panels with later opening signs - interestingly mostly Tomorrowland “FLIGHT TO THE MOON will open at 10:00” … etc. ..
Boy...I need me some GDB this morning, and if you know what that means...well...you know what that means: and what a couple of great photos! The first photo of Classic Tomorrowland: this is a very familiar sight: The guy from the paint shop is doing his thing, with his buckets and cart, and helper. The rope would be a little "corral" so that guests wouldn't interfere...and since this might be perceived as "bad show"...I saw this on many mornings, where the guys who started work VERY early in the morning, would still be working past opening time to finish up....and would be done by the time it got koo koo: the sweeper in the distance is another familar sight: as they would be getting the last bits and bobs that graveyard didn't. A typical June Gloom morning, that burned off into scorching heat. Also note that if this wasn't June, and CircleVision and InnerSpace were having "slow openings" on a low attendance day: (open at 10:30..11...saves payroll) it makes sense that the doors to the attractions would still be closed, and it also makes sense if it was that slow (very possible) that nary a guest would be in sight. We can probably get a better date on the photo by investigating when AT & T and Pacific Telephone became sponsors: and also investigate the logo .... I'm more apt to say that this photo is from the 70's: pre Space Mountain....when the water stopped in the entry fountains, but they were plantless....The Tomorrowland Stage confounds me a bit...it's the trees behind the stage...but I suppose these were there prior to Space Mountain when it was basically just a parking lot back there. Looks like the Kids are singing "LADY AMERICA...I LOVE YOU CUZ YOUR MI-INEEEEEE" sooooo was this a 1975 ish going into 76 pre-Space Mountain construction photo? Hmmm...after going down this rabbit hole, I'm still confused. It was worth the trip of seeing the many iterations of the Tomorrowland Stage. All that's missing is an Osmond. Thanks Major!
ReplyDeleteUsing my X-ray vision (don't ask) I see the America the Beautiful signage. I'll ignore the Trash of the Future in the foreground.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about the curvyness and capturing of multiple attractions that appeals to me.
Thank you Major
Zach
It’s hard to get a bad angle on the Tomorrowland entrance, even with Mr. Ink and Paint checking the barn door to see if the horse escaped. Those swirling flowers really make the show. “Trash of the Future”, snicker. There are two cans, just waiting to WASTE PAPER.
ReplyDeleteI’m interested that there has almost always been a plan for a theater at that location, first this one, then the fancier one inside Space Mountain. I wonder what was special about this spot? Access to backstage?
Good Friday pics, Major. Thank you!
JG
Nanook, I think a rat crawled inside the guy’s jumpsuit!
ReplyDeleteJB, they should tear down that old Matterhorn (which apparently has “issues”?) and replace it with a sleek modern version. Kids these days hate old mountains! The “Bell” logo is because the sheep on the lower parts of the mountain wear bells, see? I’ve waited in line at rope drop and watched crews lopping off low branches - something to keep people entertained for that 30-minutes stretch. My guess is that the red and white stripes were intentional. “Some sort of futuristic divining rod”, well OK.
JB, I knew what you meant!
Mike Cozart, oh yeah! I obviously wasn’t using my brain very much. As usual. It seems strange that that they would have an entire land closed to the public - I get individual attractions not being open yet. But who knows!
Bu, I’m glad there are some hot, fresh photos for you this morning when you need them. If I saw those guys, I would stand there and tell them that they were doing everything wrong, and I would have advice on how to do it right. And I’d do it in the most annoying manner. As I said to JG, I’ve watched guys working on the landscaping until a minute before rope drop, so they did all they could with the time they had. With that June Gloom in both photos, it looks like they are a matched pair, even though they were taken years apart. It’s true that I’ll think, “Ah, it’s going to be a nice mild day!”, and then the marine layer burns off and it is just plain hot. You could be right about that photo being from the 1970s, sometimes it can be hard to tell unless you spot a detail that gives more context. Is that “Lady America…” song an actual song?? If so, I don’t know it. If Taylor Swift didn’t sing it, I don’t want to hear it. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you an Osmond today!
zach, that Tomorrowland entrance makes me happy - not just the America the Beautiful sign, but the curving Peoplemover track, the Peoplemover trains, the flowers - the whole deal!
JG, now that I think about it, maybe that guy is taking his jumpsuit OFF. His nickname was “Mr. Natural”. “Trash of the future”, so… robot parts and computer chips? Good question about the theater, and I don’t have an answer for you.