Today I am sharing more photos from GDB pal Huck Caton! Huck was a Disneyland cast member back when employees (from what I've been told) were treated like human beings, and took pride in their work.
Today's images are from 1979, and show cast members who worked at the Circlevision attraction, who were actually employed (and paid) by AT&T and not by Disney.
Here's a bunch of Circlevision cast members (wearing their team shirts for the upcoming canoe races), horsing around on an Omnibus backstage.
Huck said: "AT&T would tell their regional managers to find the most attractive and personable women (and, to a lesser extent, men) working as operators or in offices in and around the Southern California area and pitch the idea of working at the park for a year.... AT&T would also bring in women from outside of the area (and house them) if the local supply was getting low."
One small detail is the Country Bears mini-poster on the side of the Omnibus - something I haven't noticed before.
Here are the "bells" ostensibly showing the backs of their team shirts, which say, "Tippe Canoe and Ma Bell Too! Tomorrowland '79!".
More canoe team members pose with a Horseless Carriage behind Main Street!
And finally, here is the whole team posing at Stovall's Space Age Inn of Tomorrow, over on Katella.
We'll have more of the canoe team (with actual canoes!) in an upcoming post! THANKS as always to Huck Caton for sharing his personal photos with us here on GDB.
I'm assuming that the spot where the Omnibus is parked is where the Indiana Jones attraction now sits? I see the Monorail beam in those first two photos and I know the beam was moved further out into the parking lot for construction of the attraction, so that's why I'm making that assumption. Thank you Huck, for sharing your backstage pics with us!
ReplyDeleteHeehee, I think that first shot caught them when they weren't quite ready - some of them do NOT have their "picture" faces on yet!
ReplyDeleteWhat a blast to be working for the phone company and get whisked away for an assignment in Disneyland! My Mom worked for the phone company, and I know she would have been thrilled!
At one time, there were three of those Stovall's Motels. There was the Space Age Inn, the Apollo Inn, and the Inn of Tomorrow. Now that I think of it, maybe there was a fourth one (Cosmic Inn?). The Apollo Inn was on West St. (now Disneyland Dr.) where the Simba Lot is today (just south of the Paradise Pier Hotel), but was torn down during the Disneyland/Anaheim Resort development. The Inn of Tomorrow was at the corner of West and Katella and is still standing, but it has been majorly remodeled. There are some topiary animals like the ones seen in that last pic, that still exist today in a little garden in the southeast corner of the property.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I couldn’t say… if Huck checks in, maybe he can confirm your theory!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, yes, that would have been fun; the only problem is that they had to leave after a year!
TokyoMagic!, I didn’t know that Stovall’s Motels. The only one I was aware of was the Space Age Inn, mostly because of postcards. I’ll bet they made a tidy sum catering to the Disneyland crowds. I like that they took the trouble to actually do something to make their hotels a little more fun.
TokyoMagic! The five futuristic Stovall motels of Anaheim were: Space Age Lodge, Inn of Tomorrow, Cosmic Age Motel, Apollo Inn and the Galaxy Motel. Hope that answers your question.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, thanks for that info! Now you wouldn't happen to have locations for the Space Age, Cosmic, or the Galaxy, would you? I remember so many of the motels around the park having themes that fit in very well with Disneyland....obviously that was the intent. It's too bad that most of them have received generic remodel jobs. I'm thinking that the Alpine Motel might just be the only one that hasn't altered it's exterior.
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!,
ReplyDeleteSpace Age Lodge, 1176 West Katella
Cosmic Age Lodge, 1717 S. Harbor Blvd.
I haven't been able to find the address for the Galaxy.
TokyoMagic!, I stayed at the Inn of Tomorrow once a long time ago but don't remember much about it. It 's cool that the Alpine Motel is still intact as well as old Anaheim Convention Center.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, thanks for the additional info! You've jogged my memory now. The Space age was super close to the Inn of Tomorrow. I just checked and it's still standing, but it has been remodeled to within an inch of it's life! The Cosmic Age stood just north of the Candy Cane Inn (which is still standing) and must have also been torn down during the resort development. It would have been right next to the driveway leading to the old Disneyland parking lot.
ReplyDelete"Welcome to the Inn of Tomorrow! The convenient part is, you've already checked out yesterday!"
ReplyDeleteLooks like they went through a lot of "Short & Sassy" shampoo on that team.
ReplyDeleteSince no one else has, I'll ID that car on the left of the last picture as a Toyota Celica. I can't see enough of the on on the right to ID it for sure, but probably a '78 Mercury Zephyr sedan.
K. Martinez, those are some awesome names for motels!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, I totally love that they all had space themes. So 1960’s! I wonder if it was just too hard to maintain the theme, or if the current owners just thought that they would be more appealing to the public if they were generic?
K. Martinez, sometimes I feel like I can’t find the address for the galaxy too.
TokyoMagic!, I am jealous of all of your personal memories of these places that I’ve only read about.
Melissa, luckily I am friends with Doc Brown.
Dean Finder, there aren’t as many “Farrah” hairdos as I might have expected. A Toyota Celica! Unfortunately, cars from that era were generally pretty ugly, in my recollection. Not sure how all the cool styling of the 50’s and 60’s morphed into those boxy uggos of the 70’s.
I just realized something. Sadly, this would have been one of the original "Bob Gurr" Disneyland Omnibuses.....one of two that no longer exist because they were both sent to EPCOT where they were allowed to deteriorate. :-(
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic! - I thought it was the Magic Kingdom Omnibuses that were sent to EPCOT Center and then later returned to the Magic Kingdom. I didn't realize that the Disneyland Omnibuses were sent there too.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, The DL Omnibuses of today are not the original ones. Disneyland's original Omnibuses were sent to EPCOT when it opened to help out with transporting guests around the World Showcase. I know Disneyland was without Omnibuses for a while during that time. What I'm not sure of is....if they started making the new ones right away for DL as soon as those were sent out, or if the original plan was to eventually return them to DL, and the replacements weren't made until after they realized the originals were destroyed beyond repair.
ReplyDeleteVan France comments in his book about how EPCOT "borrowed the Omnibuses for years without returning them." When I read that 20 years ago, I'd assumed they finally came home. I had no idea that they were allowed to deteriorate and were replaced. Now I'm even sadder that I've never ridden them at any park.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the Katella facade, the Alpine Inn is a pretty generic early-'60s motel (and perhaps always was), but it's clean and inexpensive for the location. I stayed there a couple of times with my family and a few more times on work-related trips to the area in the latter 2000s and found it a pretty good value. Granted, it would have been more fun if the Chalet restaurant next door had still been standing, but I won't quibble over it's continued survival in an endangered location.
I think I've commented on this before, but I think it's funny how Walt decried the "cheap Las-Vegas-style strip development" that sprang up around the Park, yet many of us wax nostalgic about its demise. Heck - we get all misty-eyed over high-tension power lines and a parking lot. Objectively, that's weird. And yet subjectively, the real issue for us is that it was all part of a wonderful, wonderfully-remembered experience that is now lost to us in that particular form. And there's nothing wrong with missing things that are fondly remembered - I think it's part of what makes us human.
Great photos of people having fun. Must have been great to work at the Park in those years.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Stovall's motels, but we never stayed at any of them. I remember checking at the front desk of the Inn of Tomorrow, the vacancy light was on, but not for a room like we needed, so we went somewhere else. I looked at it on the last trip in 2013, the remodel is pretty grim. The Alpine still looks good, although I regret the uniform signage imposed by the resort design rules.
Also, what Chuck said about "cheap Las-Vegas-style strip development". Traveling with Mom and Dad and visiting those "cheap developments" was part of the most wonderful years of youth, and I miss it a lot. I hope that makes me human.
Thank you Huck and the Major.
JG
Hello! at the end of this post, it was mentioned that there would be more photos of the canoes? my dad worked the attraction back in 1979 and I would love to find some photos of him. Thanks!
ReplyDelete