Once again, I present two slides (and one closeup) that, as it turns out, I have already shown on this blog. Ever since I bumped my head, I have been so very very dizzy. These were both a lurid shade of magenta, and I have done my best to make them acceptable.
First up, from 1958, we have this shot taken from the Skyway load area looking down on the Autopia. There's a nice shot of one of Disneyland's locomotives, with the old yellow passenger cars that look so great. Traffic is light on the Tomorrowland highway.
I was wondering what that thing is in the lower right corner, and now I think it might be a bundle of tarpaulins, which could have been used to cover the cars in inclement weather. I suppose that the wheeled "clothes rack" would have been a convenient way to move the heavy bundle around. Clever! If some of you think it might be something else, please chime in.
This next slide is from June 1961, and it shows the then-brand-new Snow White Grotto (which opened in April of that same year). Weary guests can relax to the sound of waterfalls and fountains, as well as the ringing bell and the song "I'm Wishing" from the nearby wishing well.
...You’ll thrill to the years-ahead Richfield attractions in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland. And every time you fill up your car with years-ahead New Richfield Ethyl, you’ll thrill to the extra power and performance that make New Richfield Ethyl the finest of premium motor fuels you can buy today...
ReplyDelete(From a July 15, 1955 ad supplement that ran in several So. Cal newspapers).
I'm feeling the 'thrill', even now-!
Thanks, Major.
The first photo really shows how the early Autopia was a lot more like a narrow go-kart track than it is today, with enough room to pass other cars in most places and even to turn around in spots and drive against traffic. It's amazing that the lawyers allowed such an obvious, widow-making death-trap to operate in this precariously unsafe condition for a full ten years.
ReplyDeleteThat thing in the lower right corner is actually a rack of body bags.
Not sure what you mean by acceptable. These images are great! You've done an awesome job as always.
ReplyDeleteLove the Snow White Grotto image. It has a dream like quality and you can really see how the rockwork extends all the way to the castle wall. What an awesome view!
I wonder when the mining tools in the grotto near Grumpy were removed. They were certainly still there through the early '80s. Great post... thanks, as always!
ReplyDeleteNanook, I can't believe that Richfield didn't mention how delicious and minty their gasoline was. Superior to other brands, by far.
ReplyDeleteChuck, it really WAS like a go-kart track (although the cars go a lot slower?). I can sort of understand why the rail was eventually necessary, but we can all dream of the days when Autopia drivers were truly free. Maybe that is why they needed the body bags!
K. Martinez, thanks for the nice words… the pictures look OK, just a bit "off". The first one is yellowish, but not too bad. I never thought about how far the rock work extended, but you're right, it does seem to go all the way to the castle wall.
Anon, I never even noticed those tools! I'll have to do some research to see if I can find out anything about them. Thanks for pointing them out!
@Anon & Major-
ReplyDeleteThe best I can do with the time frame of the 'removal' of the mining tools is sometime in the late 80's-early 90's. Sorry, not very specific.
I'm thinking, in spite of Anon's remembrance, that the tools were gone even before the new Fantasyland opened in 1983. Perhaps when the original marble figures were removed and replaced with copies (yes) at about the same time-? (Time and weather had taken their toll) + OLC wanted to make copies for their park in Tokyo. Also gone missing around the same time was Dopey's fishing pole and line.
ReplyDeleteAlways so many unanswered questions with ALL things Disney. Oh - the original sculptures are now on display in the Maquette Room at Walt Disney Imagineering.
So, you're telling me the sculpture set in my backyard is NOT the original?! Oh, man...
ReplyDeleteMy wife told me there was something fishy about the guy we bought them from, but how was I to know? I mean, his van was set up right there in the back of the Winnie the Pooh section of the parking lot, by the Katella fence. His scruffy beard, pony tail, and tattoo sure looked "Official Disney" to me.
The mining tools were still there in 1982 as I have grotto photos from that year showing them in place. Seems odd they'd be removed and not replaced as they don't look much different in my photos than they did in the '50s.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of pics of the Grotto, but this is the first one I can recall showing mining tools. Must have been removed with the Fantasyland renovation in 1983.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I definitely would like to look into those mining tools and when they were there. Time to do some research!
ReplyDeleteChuck, I always recommend buying stuff out of the back of a van!
Anon, I'd love to see any of your photos showing the tools in the 1980's!
Snow White Archive, if you write an update with new info about those tools, please tell me and I will link to it on my blog!