I am proud to present three more wonderful scans of photos taken by Lou Perry, and graciously shared with us by Lou's daughter Sue B; the photos are from September, 1977.
In May of '77, Disneyland's Space Mountain made its debut, and 42 years later it is still one of the most popular rides at the park (and one of my favorites). Here's how the speed ramp looked in September, 1977. It actually worked!
Here's a wider shot - the line doesn't look too bad, really. I thought that the photo showed a green-haired woman, but I guess she's wearing a kerchief or babushka. Which is disappointing. Green hair is cool!
Here's a great look at the front of the Mission to Mars attraction, which was pretty new at this point - the ride had changed from "Rocket to the Moon" (1955) to "Flight to the Moon" (1967), and in March of 1975, it reopened as "Mission to Mars", where you would find my close personal friend Tom Morrow. 15 extra points are awarded because we can see the Peoplemover reflected in the glass!
Major-
ReplyDeleteStill the glory days for Tomorrowland. (Personally, I miss Mr. Johnson). And - if asked - I'd have awarded 20 extra points for that reflection.
Thanks to Lou & Sue.
These photos are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-! Thank you, Lou, Sue and the Major, too!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I like the guy in the first photo with the shorts, the dress shoes, and the white knee-high Alice In Wonderland socks!
The original Space Mountain complex in all it's glory! I LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lou and Sue!
These are such great shots! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMajor: of course Mr. Morrow was replaced by a new director of operations for MISSION TO MARS : Mr. Johnson . That was no arbitrary name - it was a thank you to the Johnson Space Center and NASA for the assisted they provided to WED while creating scenes for the new attractions. If you look back at my old TOMORROWLOUNGE blog Mission To Mars I Show the new names given by MAPO to all the AA figures in the attraction and why some of them were given those names. The wardrobe and wig depart also used these names to identify the AA figures .
When SPACE MOUNTAIN opened it featured the longest attraction wait times - a record that wasn’t broken till Splash Mountain opened. Shortly after Space Mountain’s opening the Disneyland sign shop had to revise and add LONGER “wait time from this point” signs and even created a tongue-in-check one stared “approximate wait time from this point: 3 weeks”!
The Florida version of mission to Mars was the first Disney attraction I ever experienced. I have very fond memories of Mr. Johnson!
ReplyDeletei'd forgotten about the McDonnell Douglas "crown" on Mission to Mars. Never got to see the completed Space Mountain without the Magic Eye THeater out front. I think I/like it better this way.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lou & Sue!
The entrance to Space Mountain does make a lot more sense and is a lot more pleasing to the eye (symmetrical) when seen like this. There're some people out there that are big fans of those Speedramps, I'm sure,
ReplyDeleteA big thanks to Lou and Sue!
TM! That guy is also wearing a hat - which shows he has class!
ReplyDeleteIn that same first pic, I like the bowl-hair family.
Mike Cozart (and all) - thanks for always sharing so much background info - this blog is more fun and interesting to read than a book!
Lou will appreciate all your nice comments. I'll see him tomorrow and pass them on.
Sue
Thank you Major, Sue and Lou, I just skipped back 42 years. I was at Disneyland on September 10th, 1977, the last day of the summer schedule (open till 1 am). When my friends and I waited for SM at night, the line was down to the entrance of Tomorrowland. As the queue wrapped around the Speed Ramp entrance, we were serenaded by entertainers on the new Terrace stage; they were playing a medley of tunes from "Star Wars", including the cantina rag. No one could guess SW would eventually take over the park...
ReplyDeleteThough it's hard to tell in these photos, the Mountain in September was already quite sooty looking, after a summer baking in SoCal smog. At least the air quality over Disneyland has improved.
Great stuff today, who dressed that guy? As usual Lou and Sue deliver the goodies. Stefano, as I look at videos of Wookieland, I think they missed the mark. I would rather listen to the original sound track as well. Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteSpace Mountain was peak Disney for me. After years of waiting, it finally opened. I got two trips to Disneyland in those years, so I rode once with my high school class and again with my Dad later in the year, or maybe early 1978.
ReplyDeleteWe probably were there before September because of school. That was my last visit to Disneyland with Mom and Dad, and second-to-last for the next 20+ years. Riding Space Mountain with my Dad was the highlight of my family trips. Every time I ride now, I think of it.
As tired as I am of all things Star Wars, I must admit that the HyperSpace Mountain overlay really is Space Mountain as it should be. It would be great if Disney just admitted it, made it permanent, and remodeled the prop spaceship in the load queue to be the Tantive IV.
Thanks, Lou, Sue and Major.
JG
Meant to note in passing that this entry was the best and should be brought back somehow. Like the one for the monorail and the People Mover, the speedramp was a fine foot massage.
ReplyDeleteI know they need a theater, but the long speedramp and the queue all on the upper deck was very fine. The weird side door ramp behind the restaurant is hard to find and is much less fun.
JG
Nanook, it’s funny, at the time I would have never imagined that 1977 Disneyland would be remembered so fondly. But it was GREAT!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, yes, shorts with knee-high socks (black or white, makes no difference) is always a great look. I think you’re just the guy to bring it back in style!
K. Martinez, I thought you might like these. Lou and Sue have tons more great stuff to come.
Mike Cozart, ah yes, I’m embarrassed… I should have remembered “Mr. Johnson”. I’m still not sure why they named the Johnson Space Center after Arte Johnson, but there was probably a good reason. I’ll have to go back and revisit the TOMORROWLOUNGE, it’s been a while. The amazing thing about Space Mountain is that after all these years, it’s still a wonderful ride. There are taller, faster, more extreme coasters all over the place, but nothing is like Space Mountain.
Melissa, so when you got to the “hub”, you made a right turn! That’s what I would have done too (and still do).
Chuck, I love that swoopy cowlick on the front of the Mission to Mars building (inspired by Gumby?), it looks like a rocket has just blasted off into space. I’m not nuts about the way it looks with the Magic Eye Theater, but that seems like small potatoes compared to some later indignities.
Penna. Andrew, it seems lame, but there was something about taking the moving ramp to the upper level that made you feel like the experience had already begun, even though you could still easily have an hour wait ahead of you.
Lou and Sue, that guy wears a hat all the time, even in the shower. I’d laugh at the bowl-hair family, but my hair probably looked a lot like that in those days. I may have destroyed the evidence. Say hi to Lou for me!
Stefano, wow, thanks for relating your memories of your 9/10/77 trip! So great, I love all the details, including the serenading singers and Star Wars tunes. I can’t tell that the mountain is sooty, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
Jonathan, ordinarily that man wear lederhosen, so the white socks make more sense. But his wife sent them to the cleaners, so he had to wear shorts. So embarrassing. Apparently “Galaxy’s Edge” has no background music, and I get why (it’s too “theme park” and not “real”), but I’d still kind of like to have it.
JG, I still love Space Mountain, it is always a “must ride” for me. There was always the little thrill when the queue finally made it inside the building, where you’d hear all the spacey sounds and tinny “mission control” chatter, along with an ominous low-pitched tone. Then you’d head down and down, until you could view the load area. Even a long line didn’t seem so bad. My family had moved back to SoCal by 1977, and I must have gone to the park to see the newest “mountain”, but I don’t remember it as vividly as everybody else remembers their experience. My brain!!
JG, now they need multiple lines for fastpass and “stand by”, but back in those days, everybody just waited their turn. Somehow it all worked just fine - nobody was treated better than anyone else, which made it OK. Do they even use that theater anymore? Maybe for meet and greets? Or for movie previews?
"I’m still not sure why they named the Johnson Space Center after Arte Johnson, but there was probably a good reason."
ReplyDeleteIt was a verrrry interesting reason, but also stupid.
(Goodnight, Lucy.)
Major, on our last family visit in 2016, the theater was re-playing the awful Captain EgO. On a later visit alone (during the ROA closure), I saw it was playing some kind of Star Wars special promo film (not the Christmas one, LOL). This promo was made up of a bunch of clips from previous films, getting you all whipped up for the next big release, TLJ, which was a huge letdown.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the preshow is pretty good once you enter the building. The views from the upper deck are pretty nice too, but it's hot up there in summer.
On the 2016 trip, the ride froze near the end of the run, all the lights came on, and I thought were going to have to walk out. I took a bunch of pictures of the inside, and tried to count all the dropped hats and sunglasses on the floor. It's pretty wild to see how flimsy the HyperSpace effects really are in good light as the films kept running. Our car was released and rolled into the exit area. We were allowed to exit and re-board back at the start of the load deck, so we sort of got two rides. It was worth it for the backstage glimpses.
On my 2017 trip, I tried to ride and when my Fastpass queue got inside the load area, it broke again, this time for the day and they cleared the queue completely. Never got to ride it at all. I'm kind of scared of it now since I heard it was closed for a while for some repairs. I suppose it's ok, but it was a bad experience. They gave me another fast pass, which I took to Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Broken Ride Mechanism, and it was closed also. I think I ended up just going back to the hotel since it was raining.
JG