Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Triad from 1957

Here are three photos from a 1957 bunch.

Check out this nice overview of the edge of Tomorrowland, with the Autopia and passenger train. As is always the case in these early views, it astounds me to see the lack of development just over the berm. Trees! In Anaheim! I guess the stories were true.


Monstro's prodigious appetite cannot be appeased! His insides sure are dark. And scary. Love the finely painted details on the canal boat...


The gentleman in front will be surprised to see that his hair has turned white with terror after surviving Storybook Land. Will he ever be the same? Please, no loud noises or sudden movements.

9 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

How filled in was the storybookland by then? Upon emerging from the inky depths of Monstro, his terrified eyes may have been met by vistas of desolation, and a fun choo-choo buzzing around cruelly taunting him on his journey of despair...

Gee we must've had the same crop of bananas for breakfast. :p

Katella Gate said...

As a little boy with a Bart Simpson streak, I was always VERY disappointed that the back end of Monstro was not as anatomically correct as the front end.

TokyoMagic! said...

Speaking of anatomy, I think I liked Monstro better before they decided to add the "lower teeth" and jaw.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Virginia, there were Orange trees once in Orange County.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, I have the feeling that the original Monstro must have been replaced (perhaps during the 1983 Fantasyland redo). If you compare the two, they are really pretty different.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ah, I never thought about that! Very possible, but if he was replaced, I don't think it was during the '83 redo. I was going to the park a lot back then and rode the Skyway on every visit to get a view of the construction (it was round trip only during that time) I have photos from back then of Monstro still sitting there even though everything in front of him and to the side of him was just dirt. I need to dig those out and post them!

Alanna said...

Is that the old fantasyland train depot peeking out from behind storybook land in the last pic?

Katella Gate said...

Ark: yes that's the old depot with the orange and yellow harlequin tent roof.

Chris Merritt said...

Love the entry to Monstro...