Here are a couple of Fantasyland views from the brand-new Magic Kingdom!
Let's start with this Skyway view of the Mad Tea Party, looking very much like it's Anaheim counterpart. Even the ticket booth looks like the kind used in the 1950's. I assume that this was taken in the late afternoon, but I don't really know the "lay of the land", so perhaps it is early morning. At some point a tentlike structure was built to protect this ride from the frequent afternoon rain showers.
Crowds are milling about near the entrance to the Mickey Mouse Revue. Bask in the glory of those 1971 fashions and hairstyles! The Mickey Mouse Review starred Audio Animatronic versions of many of the most popular Disney cartoon stars performing famous Disney songs. I never saw it, but to be honest it sounds like it was a kind of a snooze!
Wikipedia says that the theater was built to hold 500 people, but the pre-show area only held 300. D'oh! This was an "E-Ticket" attraction. It closed in 1980 and was moved to Tokyo Disneyland, where it ran from 1983 to 2009.
I love early WDW pics! I wish I had been able to see the park in those early years.
ReplyDeleteAnaheim's Mad Tea Party is now the only version of the attraction without a roof over it. WDW and Tokyo DL both have a teapot in the center of their turntable with the lid lifting up every so often and revealing the Dormouse underneath it. Now I'm wondering if that was added to WDW's at the same time the roof was?
Major, I liked the Mickey Mouse Revue and I miss it! I wish that it could have gone to another park once Tokyo decided to replace it. :-( At least the Three Caballeros Figures were sent to EPCOT and installed in the Mexico Pavilion's boat ride.
Great pics, Major. I really enjoyed the Mickey Mouse Revue as a child and I still go on YouTube occasionally and watch the Tokyo Disneyland iteration. It's a shame they didn't update it with new sequences and more recent animated features. It was far preferable to the Philharmagic thing that resides in that space now.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much regarding that "other" Magic Kingdom I just never knew. I have yet to visit but still like seeing the vintage shots from that era.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is taken looking in a southerly direction. Probably in the early morning. The main thoroughfare would be headed into the heart of Tomorrowland where the future Star Jets/WEDway PeopleMover platform would be later built. The path in the upper right corner headed back to the Plaza.
ReplyDeleteThe line of people in the upper left corner were probably waiting for a ride on the Grand Prix Raceway. If the camera angle were slightly higher we'd see the back of the Tomorrowland Terrace interior bandstand spot.
I loved the Mickey Mouse Revue and saw it a couple of times as an adult in the late 1970's before it was closed and moved to Tokyo Disneyland. Good timing on my part. It was a "D-Ticket" attraction when I went on it. I don't think anything that replaced it looked as good as the Mickey Mouse Revue. Thanks Major.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThe shot of the Teacups is a real honey. The area looks so beautifully manicured, pristine and "perfectly-populated" with just the right amount of guests. Ahhhh.
Thanks, Major.
For some geeky Disney trivia, note that every tea cup has the whacky geometric designs. I always remember that at Disneyland only every other cup has designs. And I don't care for the new designs at Disneyland to boot. They're too pretty for a mad tea party. Rant for the day over...
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ReplyDeleteFrom what I can find out, the roof, teapot and the Dormouse were added in 1974, and if so, no specific month was mentioned.
I just noticed some major hair whipping action going on with a couple of the riders in that first pic.
ReplyDeleteNanook, thanks for that info!!!
TokyoMagic!, I’m coming to the end of these 1971 WDW pix, sad to say. Of course I wish I had more from this lot, but I do have many more from other batches, both good and not-so-good. I was wondering if the roof over the Teacups was added at the same time as the awning over the queue for the Haunted Mansion?
ReplyDeletePegleg Pete, I never saw the Mickey Mouse Revue, so I have no personal experience with it, but I was generally not crazy about the attractions that had an audience sit while AA figures “performed” (Carousel of Progress being the notable exception)! I’m glad you loved it though.
K. Martinez, shows what I know, I would have bet my warehouse full of gold bullion that the photo was taken in the late afternoon. Did the AA figures from the MM Revue move well? I’ve only seen still photos, and of course they look like stiff mannequins.
Nanook, I’m sure that many of today’s visitors would love to see the park as uncrowded as it is in these photos!
Patrick Devlin, I agree with you, those current teacup decorations seem to formal and not “mad” enough. Interesting to see that WDW still seems to have some that retain the original decor.
Nanook, now if only I could remember that date - but it will be gone by the time I need it next.
TokyoMagic!, I do like that you can tell from the Teacup riders’ body language that they are straining to turn the center wheels to spin as fast as possible!
Major, the figures from the M.M. Revue moved very well. At the time the park opened, the Mickey Mouse figure was "the most complex Audio-Animatronic ever built. Thirty three functions (including tilting his head, raising his arm, and turning his body) all had to be squeezed into his 42 inch frame. This was the same number of functions that the 6 foot, 4 inch tall Abraham Lincoln figure had at the time."
ReplyDeleteIn the 1970's there was a proposal to duplicate the MICKEY MOUSE REVUE at Disneyland. In the late 1980's there was a proposal to relocate the MICKEY MOUSE REVUE from Tokyo Disneyland to Disneyland California -into what was like a early "Toon-Town" concept - the area included a Scrooge McDuck Bank vault that let kids slide into a pile of fake gold coins. A concept rendering of this later version appears in the book ARCHITECTURE OF REASSURANCE.
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