Monday, January 20, 2020

More Views From a Peoplemover, November 1975

We're continuing our 1975 trip aboard a Peoplemover! I would prefer to be on one of the turquoise ones, but red is OK too. In spite of the MANY photos that I have showing the Submarine lagoon with the snowy Matterhorn, it's nice to get a slightly different angle. I wonder if this was where the Peoplemover track reached its highest elevation?


I'm posting the photos in the order in which they were taken, so at this point the photographer must have pivoted to his left to capture this view of the Monorail station, and all of the things around it. You can see how the Peoplemover track descended from a higher point until it ran parallel to the Monorail; it would continue westward until making the sharp left turn to head back to the station, where guests would load and unload.


There's still more images from this batch, coming up!

18 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
That first image is yet another reason why the Peoplemover is missed - not to mention the 'original' Submarine Voyage. Since the fore and aft hatches are open on the visible submarine, I'm going to assume the sub is going through its annual summer 'airing-out' - kinda like beating the carpeting on the backyard clothesline.

Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

In the second pic, we can see the rainbow proscenium over the Tomorrowland Stage. I wonder what that scaffold-looking thing is above it and the palm trees (in the distance)? I don't believe it's a power line tower from the parking lot, because we can see the other towers (Ken!) on the horizon and this is bigger.

Nanook said...

@ TM!-

As construction for Space Mountain began on July 15, 1975; and the image is dated as being from November, I'm going to assume the tower is linked to the Space Mountain construction.

Andrew said...

I looked it up, and the DL Peoplemover was 16 minutes long?! That's more than 5 minutes longer than the WDW version! I would never be able to sit still that long and am very thankful that they came up with a faster-paced option. However, even the three-minute "Rocket Rods" is a bit long for a thrill ride (I need more time for messing with the Club 33 doorbell), so I'm quite glad they finally pulled the plug altogether. ;)

"Lou and Sue" said...

Love the first view, especially! At first glance, before reading Major's commentary, I thought it was probably one of Mr. X's pictures - as his pictures are always from the best angles.

Thanks, Major, and Mr. (or Ms.) Photographer - whoever you are!

Sue

DrGoat said...

Andrew, I do remember using the Peoplemover as a way to
decompress for a few minutes. It was nice just sitting there, letting your poor, tired muscles rest a bit while you wafted over Neverland.
Nice pics, thanks to the photographer and to you, Major.

Dean Finder said...

The mechanism to tilt the PM roofs to allow guests to board without hitting their heads in insanely clever. I wonder if a similar mechanical one is used at WDW to open and close the doors, or if that one is entirely electrical.

JC Shannon said...

Ah, what fantastic images. The Skyway with the gondolas, the original Subs and the Peoplemover running on it's beautiful track. Truly, nothing is missing here. Except of course, the turquoise car. Sign me up for some picture popping. Thanks Major. Hey Nanook, maybe one of the Sub passengers ate a few too many refries at Casa De Fritos. Airing out is the only option here as well.

Alonzo P Hawk said...

In the first photo it appears that one of the subs is moored out in the lagoon (hatches open/airing out). Did the ride op get a lift on a small boat to bring her back in? OR...is the rarest picture of all the piggyback swim from a retired mermaid? Sweet photos today Major, thanks for sharing.

zach said...

I notice a small boat in the lower left where a worker looks to be trying to retrieve his pool sweep. Who knew?

These are great angles that are not achievable today. I like em!

I never noticed the rake on the Skyway buckets before. Or is someone 'rocking the boat'?

Nice find, Major.

dz

Chuck said...

That first photo shows the highest point the PeopleMover could legally go. Any higher and it would have needed to be pressurized.

That is an odd photo of the sub. The hatches are open and there are cables running out to it. The attraction is obviously down based on the empty queue and the exposed plywood near the flag tower in the lower left of the second shot. I'm insanely curious as to why they would need to do whatever it is they are doing out in the middle of the lagoon.

K. Martinez said...

"That first photo shows the highest point the PeopleMover could legally go. Any higher and it would have needed to be pressurized."

Sometimes you really crack me up, Chuck. Thanks for the laugh.

Love seeing the Disneyland Hotel towers in the distance. Nice pics today. Thanks, Major.

DrGoat said...

Actually guys, back in the early '70s, the Peoplemover was the the best place to get higher. So they say.

Anonymous said...

Major, really enjoying these pictures today. My first day back after a long week away.

I'm going to guess that the submarine broke down in mid-lagoon and is getting some ad hoc repairs on the spot.

The odd "tower" in photo 2 to the left of the Rocket Jet centerpiece looks to me very much like the boom of a concrete pump, which could be placing concrete for the foundations or substructure of the Space Mountain. It is in the right location and the timing is also right.

I would guess that I am somewhere out there in these photos, since this was my "era" for frequent visits, but I don't recall a visit where the submarines were down.

Thanks Major and all.

JG

MRaymond said...

Trivial Pursuit time. The highest point of the Peoplemover is where it crosses OVER the Skyway cables after leaving the Carousel Theater.
A good chuck of the sub lagoon was lost when they extended the dark portion for Nemo. The sub that is airing out is less than 30ft from where the waterfall is now.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I suppose a submarine does get musty! A little lemon pledge helps. And a spritz or two of eau de cologne from Woolworth’s.

TokyoMagic!, oh yeah, there’s that rainbow stage. I have no idea what that scaffolding is for! And admit that I didn’t even notice it.

Nanook, aha, that’s interesting! Very cool.

Andrew, that sounds about right. Hard to imagine a ride lasting that long today. Trust me, it was not difficult to stay entertained! I miss that relaxing, lovely ride so much.

Lou and Sue, I agree, that first one is really neat. Mr. X’s pictures are great, but he didn’t take ALL the good ones! ;-)

DrGoat, absolutely those 16 minutes of relaxation were great, especially in the middle of a hectic day. I see people on some forums saying that the Peoplemover looked “boring”, they have no clue.

Dean Finder, I’m sure that information has to be somewhere on the Internet! But I sure don’t know. I can’t remember if there was an “E-Ticket” magazine about the Peoplemover (it’s been a while since I’ve gone through those), but it would say for sure.

Jonathan, not all of the photos in this series are as stellar, but I sure do love this particular pair. I wouldn’t *actually* complain about being in a red Peoplemover train, that would be crazy. As for the subs “airing out”… you had to go there!

Alonzo, we’ve seen a few other photos from this series where there was a small boat in the lagoon, so I assume that’s what they used to ferry CMs from hither to yon. I would like to see one of those piggyback pix though!

dzacher, yeah, I wonder if he was just sweeping up random junk dropped into the lagoon, or what exactly he was doing. Maybe people threw thousands of dollars worth of spare change into the water?

Chuck, I think that exposed plywood might be a ramp enabling people to step across the two Submarine docks. Just a guess! Like you I am very curious about what was going on in the lagoon, but I am also always curious about what could be so catastrophic over in the Rivers of America that they actually need to go to the drastic step of draining it.

K. Martinez, now I can’t help wondering, what WAS the highest elevation that the old Peoplemover achieved? 50 feet or so? Maybe higher? How can we find out?

DrGoat, if I could somehow insert a rimshot here, I would do it.

JG, it does seem weird that they wouldn’t just repair the sub at the docks seen in photo #2. Much easier to get to, and all. There has to be a logical explanation, but I sure don’t know what it would be. And yes, I saw that concrete pump, but notice behind the palm trees more scaffolding, almost surely the center of the Space Mountain cone. Or so I surmise.

MRaymond, is that true? Sometimes the Peoplemover seems higher, but I really don’t know, maybe it’s just an illusion. I know that they reduced the size of the lagoon for “Nemo”, and it has bothered me every time I see it.

TokyoMagic! said...

Nanook, as soon as you said that the scaffolding was probably for Space Mountain, I recognized the structure and knew that I had seen it before on one of the blogs. Here are three photos, which Jason Schultz posted over ten years ago!

Space Mountain Construction -1975

Anonymous said...

@Tokyo, thank you for posting that link to Space Mountain.

I knew about that blog, but had not looked at the "back catalog" of posts. Most of the postings were before I found the Disney blogger group.

There are some real gem photos there, definitely worth a look.

Best regards.

JG