Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Mystery construction in Fantasyland, 1957

Can you stand to look at some photos taken from the Skyway? Good, because that's what I'm serving up today. This first image has a few interesting details, such as the "picture book"-style billboard in the lower left featuring an illustrated view of Storybook Land. And what's going on over to the right?


Ya got me, bub. Presumably that wood frame is a form for concrete, but other than that I have no idea what it could be. The Midget Autopia was under construction, though it was mostly dirt at this point. I like the nice view of the Fantasyland train station.


I always enjoy a "pre-Matterhorn" picture, and in this example we are headed toward the grass and weed-covered Holiday Hill. Fantasyland looks so empty!


10 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Love the last image. The Pirate Ship lagoon sure looks strange without the rockwork around its shore. It's also cool to see the tip-top of the Casey Jr. Station at the bottom of the pic.

Is that booth just inside the entrance to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to sell tickets or to take tickets?

Bearride - Raymond said...

The construction is of the Midget Atopia.

Nancy said...

Neat stuff. It looks like it might have been a chilly day with all the coats and jackets on the few people we do see (certainly was not sunny yet).

It seems funny to me to see Disneyland so empty compared to how people feel about being there today, when it is packed even on a not so nice weather day.

I love all the colors of Fantasyland and so many cool shapes of the rooftops in the third photo. :-)

Melissa said...

I don't think I've ever seen those oval Fantasyland benches before - they're adorable.

Orange Co Native said...

I am amazed how empty Disneyland is on that day. Although, Disneyland was lot more empty even back in the 1980's. I remember going in the summer in 1987 and for the first two hours in the morning up until about 10 am, the park was really empty. We could walk on rides like Snow White and even Peter Pan was only a few minutes wait.

So it has really become overcrowded in the past 15 years or so.

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, the original pond for the pirate ship is so bland; I wonder if Walt just couldn't afford the kind of lagoon that he actually built a few years later? And I assume that the booth in front of "Toad" was where you would present your "C" ticket (or whatever), not where you would buy one.

Bearride - Raymond, I do mention the construction of the Midget Autopia… I guess I should have been more specific; what exactly is that one part that we see being built? It's an unusual shape, whatever it is.

Nancy, yes, it is overcast and wintry looking. Actually, if you want to go when there are light crowds, show up on a rainy (or better yet, almost raining) day.

Melissa, we might have seen those benches in front of Monstro in some other pictures; if I recall correctly, they have some molded wood grain and knot holes in them.

OC Native, I am always being told to go to the park on a Sunday, and to get there when the park opens. That way you get a few hours of low crowds. Trouble is, that only works if you plan on leaving the park early. I don't have an annual pass, so I would want to stay all day.

Nanook said...

Major-

The wooden form in question is the form used to construct the "raised, curvy section" of concrete roadbed, supporting the track, before it 'disappears' into the "garage" at the end of the ride.

Bearride - Raymond said...

Major, I guess I shouldn't post at 1:15 in the morning.... I misread your post...lol

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, doesn't it seem odd to you that they would build that section first? With no other roadway poured yet?

Bearride - Raymond, believe me I know how it is... sometimes I write the posts at 1 in the morning, and have to do some fast re-editing the next day.

Nanook said...

Major-

I'm not a contractor; nor do I play one on TV, but who's to say it isn't easier to first pour the structure, and then "attach" the terra firma portion of the roadway to it-?