Classic Tomorrowland, May 1966
I have two very nice photos of Tomorrowland in its pre-1967 form - many attractions would go on to close in August and September of 1966. The beloved Moonliner would be among the casualties. But luckily we have pictures like this first one!
There are the planters with bird of paradise plants (both the smaller version and the giant ones to the left). The "olive and toothpick" lights (with boomerangs on top) are still there for a few more months. Everything looks so neat and tidy!
I like the curve of the Rocket to the Moon building, like a piece of a sliced cone. The signs to various exhibits are a lot of fun. Pink and black, what a color combo! There's the Flight Circle, and how would you like to be able to peruse the souvenirs at the booths in the background?
Some of you probably recognize the distinctive outfit of Molly Holiday's friend (to our left). She and Molly's husband are headed toward the wonderful mid-century Space Bar for a bite to eat!
Zooming in didn't really reveal anything new, but what's done is done. The fence to our right surrounded the Astro Jets, another soon-to-be-removed attraction.
26 comments:
Major-
I merely want to go shopping at the Hat Bar. And as for the Space Bar: Food & Refreshments - Très chic-!
Thanks, Major.
Never saw the SPACE BAR with that sign and at that angle...FANTASTIC!
Thanks MAJOR
Loving the Tom Sawyer Island poster in both base images. And pretty much everything else.
THANKS, MAJOR.
I saw that the new, smaller replacement Moonliner recently was repainted in a different color with "Pizza Planet" on the side. Oh well, at least it wasn't the original...
Nice pics for today!
Molly Holiday's friend and her "red corpuscle" dress! Major, I think I need a shirt and pants combo, made up of that print, along with the "molecule" print that we saw on the lady in your post from two days ago!
They did a great job converting an old boiler into a futuristic spaceship!
@TokyoMagic gets a gold star for the use of both corpuscle and molecule in the same post! MAGNIFICATION, MAGNIFICATION, MAGNIFICATION.
Looks like Polly Holliday's BFF won't need a napkin at the space bar as she is wearing her own.
Happy Babushka Friday.
Nanook, if they had one store that sold edible hats, they would save a lot of space.
waterworld, you’re welcome!
Chuck, I wonder if they purposely chose posters of attractions that were wildly different from what was nearby? I think I’ve seen a lot of Frontierland posters in vintage Tomorrowland images.
Penna. Andrew, yes I just saw a photo of that yesterday. Kind of surprising, but at this point, I just shrug. Too bad Pizza Planet isn’t a better restaurant.
TokyoMagic!, yes, the lady has the always-fashionable “corpuscle and pon pon” look that swept the nation. Plus a babushka, or that might be a napkin.
stu29573, did they really convert an old boiler into the Moonliner??
Alonzo, anybody who uses a word like “corpuscle” (“diaphragm” is another one) gets an A ++ and two smiley faces, as far as I’m concerned. There is no higher honor in the land. And I swear I didn’t see your napkin remark before I made my own! Great minds think alike.
I remember when they repainted the Moonliner, after TWA sponsorship ended. Of course I had no idea why it was done at the time, I just knew I didn't like it much. But at least we still had a rocket ship. In this Disneyland lover's opinion, you can't get much cooler than the Boeing 707 in TWA livery, ditto the Moonliner. Nothing says high fashion like fuzzy little balls hanging from your dress, topped off with a babushka!
@Major, if Disney developed a shop that sold edible hats, they would build two so no savings would result. Each would also sell coffee cups, keyrings and light sabers.
It makes sense to show posters for attractions in other parts of the Park, especially before smartphone map apps.
I don't think I have ever seen Original Tomorrowland more sharp, clear, colorful or with more mature landscaping than in this photo. TL was the place where Disney saved the most money on start-up and the old version always looked kind of sparse. These photos show the concept best.
Thanks Major, a great run-up to the weekend. Also: corpuscle, diaphragm, molecule and Doppler Effect.
JG
Corpuscle! Thanks! I finally got my GPA above 2.0.
(Insert napkin comment here)
I liked this Tomorrowland as a kid. I had never seen anything like it. The booths were interesting, you could take a Rocket to the Moon and see the Flight Circle just like on episodes of Disneyland.
Thanks, Major, for the A++ and the photos
dz
Major-
Edible hats - hmmm. Interesting idea. Personally, I’ve always been pushing ‘edible windshield wipers’-! Think about it.
The story I got was that in order to save time and money, a boiler was used as the main fuselage of the Moonliner. Additionally, even though the whole ship looks curved, the nose is the only actually curved part. The tail is a straight cone. The landing gear were modeled after the Lockheed Constellation (which TWA flew at the time). The Moonliner was a 1/3 scale model of the "real" one, which would have been more than 200 feet tall. Here is a write-up by Daveland on the flying version I built from scratch! https://davelandblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Moonliner
Stu, My son and I used to build rockets together back in the day. I went to Daveland blog and wow. That is the coolest one I have ever seen. And it flies!
They've already re-painted the newer smaller Moonliner with the name "Pizza Planet" on it since changing "Redd Rockett's Pizza Port" to "Alien Pizza Planet".
There's something special about the original Tomorrowland. I love that red and white railing with fencing surrounding the "Astro-jets". Also the pink and black signage is very cool. Thanks, Major.
Alonzo and Major, I think the napkin is on her head, and a table cloth or table runner is around her midsection. She's all ready to give a smart dinner party! I saw an old Match Game the other day, where the contestant said her occupation was being a "Human Keno Board." Maybe Molly's friend was a "Human Buffet Table."
Jonathan, I have warmed to the Douglas livery in recent years, though it is admittedly hard to beat the original TWA design. I’ll have to look up a Boeing 707 to see what you mean, since I’m no airplane head.
JG, I like the idea of having two edible hats - one to munch on, one to keep. Savings be damned! I was very happy to find these two photos among Molly Holliday’s batch - “These are a Friday post for sure!” I exclaimed with a thick French accent for some reason. Which is more fun, the doppler effect with sound, or with light?
dzacher, 2.0, what are you some sort of Alfred Eisenstaedt? I feel like “Tomorrowland ’67” is the closest thing I ever got to a World’s Fair (not having ever been to EPCOT), and those classic Fairs are my jam.
Nanook, I can’t remember if it was Laurel and Hardy, didn’t they do something with licorice windshield wipers? Maybe that was somebody else.
Stu29573, man, the whole ship really does look curved. They did a good job of disguising the humble origins of the rocket. Meanwhile, I remember that Daveland write-up, but had forgotten that you were the person who built the flying version. SO COOL! What is the moon like, anyway?
Jonathan, I knew kids who had Estes rocket kits, but my mom didn’t like the idea of them, so we never got them. She also never got us slot cars, the meanie.
K. Martinez, as I said earlier, the rocket repaint is nothing to me these days. The might as well paint it blue and put sparkles on it. Yes, the pink and black signs are so “of the era”, I really love them. But we definitely got an upgrade with the ’67 Tomorrowland.
TokyoMagic!, aw, Molly’s friend can’t be reduced to “Human Buffet Table”! That’s too cruel. I would say something like that if I didn’t like her though, ha ha. You still watch Match Game? Wow, how does that hold up? All those “naughty” puns. How many times did they say “make whoopee” in each episode?
Major, awww, I know! I didn't say it to be cruel. I'm laughing with her, not at her! The Buzzr Channel (channel 13-2, if you don't have cable) runs old Match Game episodes several times throughout the day, M-F. A lot of the sexual innuendo went right over my head, when I was watching it as a kid! Many of the questions and answers are very dated, and often include subjects like, Nixon, Watergate, the oil shortage, Howard Cosell, and Euell Gibbons!
Thanks!
The moon is cheesy, of course!
Stu, I missed the Daveland post, but I remember reading about your flyable Moonliner over at Shroudlines. Coolest model rocket concept ever.
I really need to get around to building that Glencoe re-issue...
Major-
Laurel and Hardy may very-well have had a subject with licorice windshield wiper blades, but my use (TM!, take notice) is from a remark made by Jess Oppenheimer in some conversation we had. And I'll be damned if I can remember the context of it all.
TokyoMagic!, yeah, I think I must have been aware of some of the innuendo, even if I didn’t fully get it. Same with “The Dating Game”. Euell Gibbons, holy smokes. “Ever eat a pine tree?”.
stu29573, thank YOU! Of course the moon is cheesy, I should have guessed.
Chuck, oh man, even the reissues of the Moonliner are going up in price. I’ve seen photos of people painting them crazy colors, it just looks wrong.
Nanook, I don’t know who Jess Oppenheimer is, but I cede full credit to him or her!
I wasn't too happy about the Bird of Paradise in my front yard but now that I've seen this, I'm happy I have a retro Disneyland plant!!
Thanks, Chuck! And me too! I have a couple of them!
I recently watched two seasons of Match Game in one sitting on Amazon prime. It was like being at a 24-hour cocktail party.
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