GDB Greatest Hits
It's time to revisit some classic images from days of yore!
I have always particularly loved this unusual shot of the Monsanto House of the Future, from 1963. It was originally posted in 2006, though the scan is from 2004 (before I ever blogged!). I made some adjustments that improve the way it looks compared to way back when. One of the wings of the house is above us; below are waterfalls and lovely water gardens. In a way it reminds me of the river that runs beneath (and through) Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater", though not as spectacular - but then again, what is?
This fun photo of the Autopia is from 1963 (and was originally posted in 2008), with the Mark IV vehicles tootling around the track (no guide rails!). The driver in the yellow car is having a swell time!
Zooming in, we see the busy Space Bar in the background, along with an excited little boy, and a man in a top hat (?).
And finally, I never get tired of the wonderful old Rocket Jets, gleaming in the sunshine. The photo is from 1967, and was originally posted in 2007). Doesn't it look great? Sometimes it seems that certain things can't be improved on.
23 comments:
Major-
The House of the Future really does look wonderful. We even get to spy a large, green 'mushroom' lamp along the walkway.
Thanks, Major.
In this shot, the HoF looks like some kind of flying saucer that's landed on top of a fountain. And I like it.
Nice set this morning, Major. Thanks!
Bright and shiny Tomorrowland in full, futuriffic color! What a great way to start the week!
If there's one thing Disney movies have taught me, it's that there's never anything wrong with wearing a top hat anywhere, ever. And isn't that what life's all about, what you really think about it, won't you, friends, just a little bit?
Whether it was the "World of 1986" or the "World on the Move" period, I miss the bright and bold colors mixed in with white that once made Tomorrowland feel sunny and optimistic. Now it feels darker with the earthen and metallic colors that began in the "Imagination and Beyond" period. Love the Rocket Jets/PeopleMover platform image. Thanks, Major.
I was hoping that the new Tomorrowland movie would inspire a remodel to the cleaner, brighter look for Tomorrowland, but I guess it didn't do so well at the box office. It's too bad. I thought it was a great movie; I went to see it twice. Sure, there were some handwavy moments in the plot, but no more than in your average Hollywood action movie. And it was so pretty!
Nanook, I do love those mushroom-shaped lamps; they remind me of the miniature golf course that I used to go to when I was a kid!
Chuck, it does look like a flying saucer, but a *friendly* one.
Melissa, I can’t think of too many top hats in Disney movies, except for John in “Peter Pan”! Oh, Mickey wore one occasionally, I suppose…!
K. Martinez, they have removed much of the old “bronze” stuff, haven’t they? At least Space Mountain is white again. You’re right though, Tomorrowland doesn’t have a unified, optimistic feel about it any more.
Melissa, when I first heard about that movie, I was excited. But the trailers turned me off… I couldn’t get a feel for what it was really about. I’ll see it eventually; I do wonder, if it had been a big success, would any changes have been made to the land?
I love that last image and how it shows off the support beams of the Rocket Jet platform and PeopleMover station. Could they even design and build something that graceful today?
I think it's been mentioned before, but that waterfall underneath the House of the Future survived for more than twenty years after the HOTF was removed. It was replaced by the King Triton rocks and fountain, but I'm not sure if that happened in the late eighties or the early nineties. The waterfall is something that I never took pics of, but of course as soon as I saw that it was gone, I wished I had.
@ Major-
Besides Peter Pan, how's about: Ducktales; Alice In Wonderland; Meet the Robinsons; Something Wicked this Way Comes; Mary Poppins; The Happiest Millionaire; Babes in Toyland and even Pinocchio (Jiminy Cricket, after all). Undoubtedly, I'm forgetting many others.
You see, there are so many - who can remember them all-?
@ TokyoMagic!
The King Triton Gardens opened in February of 1996.
Ken - I remember not taking lots of pictures of the waterfalls. Of course, back then I didn't understand their significance - or that I would be kicking myself 20 years later for not documenting them. I'm sure somebody's irritated they never took any pictures of King Triton Gardens or Esmerelda's Cottage.
Thanks, Nanook. I didn't realize it was that late that the area was converted. So the HOTF waterfall lasted almost 30 years past the removal of the house! I'm guessing that's also when they removed the souvenir stand that had previously been the HOTF patio/gazebo and replaced it with the Aerial meet 'n greet.
Chuck, Esmeralda had a cottage?
Nanook, I’m sure there are many MANY top hats if one really went deep. Moochie probably wore one at some point!
Nanook, I remember seeing the Knicks and the Lakers play at King Triton Gardens.
Chuck, “Esmerelda’s Cottage”? I’ve never even heard of that.
TokyoMagic!, it is surprising that it took so long for The Little Mermaid to have any kind of meaningful presence in the parks. It was so popular, and signaled the return of Disney feature animation.
Man, I really want to know where they dumped the HoF after they cut it up. All I need to do is hose it off, build a new 16x16 foundation, and Krazy Glue the pieces back together.
@ Major-
Moochie was definitely a Pork Pie hat guy-!
Dean Finder, brilliant! After the Krazy Glue, we use some Bondo, spray it white, and VOILA! Instant house.
Nanook, I admit that he does seem more like a Pork Pie guy - and those are some cool hats.
Major & TM! - "Esmeralda's Cottage" was a re-theming of Granny Kincaid's cabin at Big Thunder Ranch for the "Festival of Fools" invasion of northern Frontierland in 1996-98ish. I have since read that the related stage show was pretty good, but in my outrage that Pressler-era management had ignored carefully-crafted theming to shoehorn a medieval carnival into the American Old West (coupled with the fact that I only spent a day and and evening in the Park during that era), I refused to set foot in the place.
Last time I was there in 2009, it appeared that the cabin was back to normal, although in a different spot.
There IS a guiderail for the Autopia cars. You can see it in the loop of track inside the storage area. The Mark IV cars only had bumpers front and rear.
Chuck, I didn't know about Granny Kincaid's cabin either! The name rang a bell, and I realized that one of Walt's miniatures went by the same name. I saw it in a museum years ago! It's amazing that there are still things about the park that I don't know... by now I feel like I should have heard it all!
Anon... you are right! Man, do I feel dumb.
Oh thanks, Chuck. I probably did go in that cabin during that time, but I couldn't tell you anything about it. I did see the "Festival of Fools" show once and it was pretty good, but I didn't like most everything else that was going on in the park at that time...like the removal of the Skyway, the addition of Toontown, the Electrical Parade being given the axe, Light Magic and the junking up of the Small World corridor, the destruction of Tomorrowland, the closing of the Submarine Voyage, and to be perfectly honest, I was never really impressed with the Indiana Jones Adventure!
Major - You know, I'm not sure it was ever officially referred to as "Granny Kincaid's Cabin," but because it reminded me so much of the one in "So Dear To My Heart" and the connection to Walt's miniature, I always called it that.
It's apparently known as "Miss Chris' Cabin" in reference to Miss Chris, a character who performs and within the fiction of the show, cooks - at the Big Thunder Barbecue.
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Thunder_Ranch
https://mousertainment.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/performer-spotlight-miss-chris-big-thunder-ranch-barbecue-stage-show/
TM! - I'm actually happy that we left in the fall of '95 and missed many of the things you describe, although we were there for the Skyway shut-down. It was hard enough seeing the painters' scaffolding up along Main Street during the day during the 40th Anniversary celebrations. I don't mind Toontown or Indy, but I wouldn't have cried if they hadn't been added, either.
Chuck, I forgot about Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin....I do like that attraction. And I understand the need for a permanent meet 'n greet with Mickey Mouse, but other than those two attractions, Toontown just seems like a huge waste of a very valuable piece of land.
I had never known of this little waterfall before seeing it here. its the little details that make Disneyland so special for me :-)
and of course the Rocket Jets were one of the best rides ever! No comparison to what they have there now :( its not even up in space!
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