The Magic Kingdom, November 1982
I'm continuing a look at some scans of Magic Kingdom scans from 1982. They're pretty nice, though some are a bit darker than I'd like. In this case it gives the photos an interesting quality, or at least I think so.
We'll start with two Skyway views looking down into the beautiful lagoon of Vulcania - the flooded volcanic crater where Captain Nemo has his lair. It's pretty cool - as long as the volcano stays dormant.
Florida's "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" debuted in 1980, so it was still fairly new. From this angle it appears that the bulk of the ride is at the crest of a low hill - or is that just an illusion?
Here's the obligatory photo of Cinderella Castle, but it's a beauty.
Here's the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square. From what I understand, this is still a pretty popular attraction in Florida (tell me if I am mistaken). As of this writing, I thought I saw an announcement on Facebook that this attraction would be closing, but I'm not sure if that is correct.
And finally (for today), another Skyway view, this time looking down on the Grand Prix Raceway. With so much land, I would have expected the Florida "Autopia" to be massive and full of fun features, but the "raceway" concept actually limited the creativity - you're just on a big racetrack. Imagine if they'd made a rolling landscape with hills and forests and creeks. Or something! I'm sure I'm speaking heresy to those who love it just the way it is.
There will be one more blog post with November, 1982 photos!
15 comments:
Major-
Nice images - which always trigger great memories for me. Those Nautilus 'subs' are such beauties-!
Thanks, Major.
"as long as the volcano stays dormant". Turns out, it wasn't the volcano that Nemo and crew needed to worry about. It was the invasion of plush animals! (Didn't they replace the Lagoon with Pooh and friends?) The Orlando Lagoon reminds me of Crater Lake, here in Oregon; also a water-filled volcanic crater. Except, Crater Lake is several miles across. Not sure if the WDW Lagoon was always this dark sapphire blue or if it's due to the 35mm slide being dark, but I like this hue; it looks more real.
Ooh, I like the 2nd one! It's a keeper! So I did. Keep it, that is.
The Castle looks majestic in these subdued colors. Then they TREd it so it looks like a Salvador Dali fever dream. [sigh]
Major, I share your opinion of the Grand Prix Raceway; it's BORING!
Too dark, or not, these are great images, Major. Thanks.
Just checked and "20,000 Leagues" premiered back in 1954, was re-released in 1963, and sailed once more in 1971. The last coincided with the opening of WDW. Coincidence or plugging a major Magic Kingdom attraction?
Like many Disney films, it was kept alive between releases with books, comics, and merchandise. And also like many Disney films, it would stay off television screens until home video killed the re-release cash cow. How many of you knew all about "20,000 Leagues" and/or other Disney films years before finally seeing them complete, either in theaters or on "World of Color"? For that matter, how many of you mature folk were shocked the first time you saw a Disney classic on, say, TBS?
Anyway, the Nautilus is so darn cool it rated an exhibit in Disneyland (the eventual ride was themed to modern Navy vessels), Tokyo Disneyland (a prop Nautilus and a ride with different vehicles), and Disneyland Paris (a walk-through of the movie Nautilus, with squid attack at the window). A parody Nautilus surfaced in "Rescue Rangers", captained by a fish with imitation James Mason voice.
We will not speak of the Disney television version starring Michael Caine.
Those nautilus subs were beautiful!! By the late 70’s the sub - mostly of fiberglass exterior , were leaking terribly from the thunderous waterfalls as the subs entered and exited the show building. The quick solution was to weaken the waterfalls. It’s still terrible 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - such a vacation kingdom icon was removed … Toad- Removed! Rivers of America - removed!!
If you rode GRAND PRIX RACEWAY in the early years - it was exciting !! The cars were dispatched in racing groups after a countdown and racing start lights … two castmembers would wave a checker flag and you we OFF on a race ! The attraction features special SFX along the raceway using recordings of actual forumula racecar - so the small 7mph cars felt and sounded like you were going much faster than reality. Throughout the raceway were grandstand speaker updates for your racing companions as if it was a real race. Disneyland was in FREEWAY TERRITORY …. Walt Disney World was built in AUTO RACING TERRITORY !! Vacation Kingdom guests LOVED IT!!
All the original 1971 and 1975 Grand Prix Raceway cars were retired several years ago and were replaced with slightly used 1983 GRAND CIRCUIT RACEWAY cars from Tokyo Disneyland .
I think I’ve mentioned before that I have some photos from the 1970’s of Disneyland’s Penny Arcade … and among the Disneyland attraction posters displayed on the walls , is a WDW Grand Prix Raceway poster and a WDW Small World poster. I always thought they were put up by mistake - but over time myself and some poster collector friends speculate that Disney may intentionally displayed WDW posters at Disneyland as a promotion of the Florida park. The Disney Celebrity Sports Center in Colorado displayed attraction posters from BOTH parks .
Major, there is a slight incline in that area approaching Big Thunder. It looks steeper in your photo, so I wonder if if that has been changed at some point? Or maybe it's like you said, it's an illusion making it appear steeper.
Mike, I didn't know that the TDL "Raceway" vehicles were now being used in WDW. Do the cars brake automatically if you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, just like they did in Tokyo? Or did that also involve a mechanism or sensor under the roadway, as well? If that's the case, then I don't even need to ask if they installed the system in WDW, because I know Disney is too cheap to do that! That is what I love about the Tokyo parks and their owners, the Oriental Land Company. They aren't as concerned about spending the big bucks, in order to get a something really incredible, instead of getting something half-a**ed like we get here in the U.S.
Thanks, Major!
For those who are interested in attraction posters and their "restoration," here is a YouTube video showing a torn Haunted Mansion poster being "restore." I think if it was mine, I might just frame it in it's torn, but original state. Still, what this company was able to do was pretty incredible, but I bet it is very costly.
Haunted Mansion Poster Restoration Video on YouTube
That video is 17 minutes long. For a shorter/tighter version of the video and poster restoration, here is a 3 minute condensed version on Facebook (for those who have a F.B. account):
Haunted Mansion Poster Restoration Video Condensed Version on Facebook
The 20K subs made me want to visit WDW. I thought they were kind of like the 1984 Fantasyland, “Disneyland would get these but the current version was cheaper”. And I was so disappointed to hear they were removed, such heresy.
I did see the movie eventually, must have the 1971 release, and it was the last thing we watched on Disney+ before closing the account after the price doubled. I see there is going to be a free version of Disney+ with commercials, so maybe that price hike didn’t work as planned.
Nice pics of the Florida park, Major. Thank you!
JG
The Nautilus is one of the most elaborate ride vehicles ever! Simply stunning. I have a model of the Nautilus in my train room.
Nanook, it still amazes me that the beautiful 20,000 Leagues ride has been gone for so long.
JB, I think I did read that 20K was replaced by some sort of Pooh thing. Is it a meet ’n greet? If so, LAME. “But 3 year-olds love it!”. Don’t care. Crater Lake, eh? I’ve heard of it. It was built by the CIA! I’ve read that the poor Grand Prix Raceway keeps getting whittled away for other attractions so that, instead of being improved, is even smaller and sadder than it used to be.
DBenson, I remember as a kid seeing “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” at our local library (on a movie screen) in Pennsylvania (I saw “Fantasia” there too), and being amazed that it was a Disney film. I was already pretty familiar with the types of movies that I associated with Disney live action, and 20,000 Leagues looked so lavish and impressive compared to things like “The Absent-Minded Professor”. I kind of wish they’d find an excuse to put a 20K Nautilus in Disneyland, though I can’t think of a way that would ever really happen. It sounds like you are a real fan of the movie! I had no idea that Michael Caine did a Disney TV version of the story.
Mike Cozart, I’m sure that the water took its toll on the Nautilus subs - to my mind that shows that they did not provide proper maintenance. “An ounce of prevention…”. I know that the ride was tremendously expensive to maintain, but it was also one of the signature “E tickets” of the park. Weakening the waterfalls - LAME! I’ve never been on the Grand Prix Raceway, so I can only base my opinion on photos. The start looks fun, with the lights and everything. But once you are “racing” at 5 mph, it seems like it wouldn’t be quite as neat. While I don’t ride Anaheim’s Autopia often, when I do, my favorite part is the brief “off road” section. I think they could have done something really spectacular in Florida. I sure would love to know how many WDW posters are out there, my guess is “not many”. I’ve never seen one in person, and I’ve been a poster nut for decades.
TokyoMagic!, interesting, I like that they built that incline for Big Thunder, since Florida is so famously flat. Also interesting about the mechanism in the Tokyo Disneyland vehicles that prevented collisions. Put that in real cars! I used to HATE being slammed into by some kid behind me, sometimes repeatedly. I could never tell if the kid was just dumb, or antagonistic. Or both. I was shocked to learn that our Autopia will be getting all-electric cars, that has to be quite an investment. I guess the ride will be around for a while.
TokyoMagic!, I saw that video the other day! I think I personally would want them to put the pieces back together, that was some pretty serious damage. I wonder how it happened? I’ve watched a bunch of videos from that place, they sometimes get a bit repetitive, but I still like them.
JG, as much as I loved the Anaheim subs, I was always a bit jealous that Florida got those cool Nautilus subs! So crazy that the ride was closed. Disney+ is very expensive, and I’m kind of shocked how seldom I watch it. I finally let Amazon Prime go, it made me so mad that they decided to add commercials even though it was a pay service. I’d start to watch something, and a commercial would interrupt. I got so annoyed that they lost my subscription.
Steve DeGaetano, I have a model of the Nautilus too, they made a beauty during Disneyland’s 50th. It’s a stunner!
With all this [deserved] loving on the Nautilus, I must add 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the 27th CinemaScope film to began production (January 11, 1954); and the 39th CinemaScope film to be released (December 23, 1954) - and the first feature length CinemaScope film for Walt Disney Productions - (Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, released on November 10, 1953, being the studio's first use with the process).
... Leagues... was shot entirely with one, CinemaScope anamorphic attachment - not necessarily uncommon in the very early days of CinemaScope, when Bausch & Lomb was working hard to provide adequate 'hardware' in 1953 and 1954. But as there was a great deal of underwater photography in this production, I can just imagine the struggle of "learning" the in's and out's of shooting in the process and also dealing with the underwater rig... Not to mention there was no ability to do ANY OTHER shooting, i.e. second unit, as the one and only allotted CS lens was 'predisposed'. Richard Fleischer certainly had his work cut out for him.
Thanks so much everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! I really appreciate it, and it did not go unnoticed. I did check in yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to comment since I was driving most of the day. We took a day trip to Camden Park in Huntington, West Virginia, which has a 70 year old wooden coaster with questionable maintenance standards, and a classic Haunted House dark ride by Pretzel. It would be some great material for a future post, if I can just make time to write it.
Nice Magic Kingdom pictures! I am definitely partial to the Disneyland Autopia. The wooded setting makes it all the more interesting.
I miss the Florida subs a lot. I’m still kicking myself that we skipped it on our honeymoon in ‘93 and it was closed by the time we got back in ‘96. Pooh’s Playful Spot or whatever it was called only took up a fraction of the real estate. It was a cool playground, but didn’t make up for what was lost.
Steve, coincidentally, I have a model of Retlaw 1 in my submarine room.
Anecdote: They needed a shot of a model Nautilus in an underwater passage and didn't have access to the CinemaScope lens. They built a horizontally "squashed" model and shot it with a regular lens, so when projected in CinemaScope it was correctly proportioned. Anyone who still has a DVD player needs the two-disc "Vault Disney" release. The extras include the infamous first version of the squid battle, which looked so cheesy Walt agreed to spend a huge amount of money reshooting it.
Mentioned before that when Disney bought Fox's film branch, it acquired "Journey to the Center of the Earth" -- Fox's direct response to the success of "20,000 Leagues". Based on another famous Verne novel, and again starring James Mason (this time a good-guy professor), it's good in the same ways Disney's movie is good. Instead of a seal there's a duck; instead of Peter Lorre there's Pat Boone; and instead of blasting ships there's a volcano. Aside from their combined length, they make a dandy double feature.
Other producers picked over Verne's other scifi works. Warner managed to make "From the Earth to the Moon" dullish; American International's more-fun-than-good "Master of the World" cast Vincent Price as an airborne Captain Nemo; Ray Harryhausen populated "Mysterious Island" with giant animals as well as a solitary Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom); Irwin Allen's "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (sort-of scifi) was light kiddie matinee fare; likewise "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City", which looked more expensive with Willy Wonka-esque sets (and wasn't really based on a Verne story). They all represent an era when fantasy films weren't taken quite so seriously as "real" movies.
^ I learned a few weeks ago (on Svengoolie, I think) that they used a real crab for the giant crab in Mysterious Island. It was a dead crab (obviously) that they 'hollowed out' and stuck some animation armatures inside so that it could be used in stop-motion animation. And then of course, superimposed with the live actors.
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