Fantasyland 1958 From Lou and Sue
I am sharing a pair of photos from "Lou and Sue"... the father-daughter team of Lou Perry and Sue B. Sue sent these scans of some prints from 1958, which is good and early. I wish I could have seen the park back then! But ol' Major Pepperidge wasn't around just yet.
There's the Fantasyland Skyway terminal, built to resemble an ornate Swiss chalet. I love all of the scrollwork and painted decorations! It's a shame that the area where the gondolas came and went is so dark, I would have liked to get a better idea of what it looked like (since I sure don't remember).
Here's a familiar Skyway view... nobody with a camera could resist snapping at least one frame of the colorful Mad Tea Party! It appears to have been out of service that day, which is too bad. I always enjoy observing the people in their teacups, laughing and leaning this way and that.
THANK YOU to Lou and Sue!
16 comments:
Major-
Hmmmmm.... it appears there are sections of unfinished plywood sheeting underneath the area where the Skyway buckets pass as they enter & exit the station. There's definitely some 'home improvement' afoot.
Thanks to Lou & Sue.
I remember while waiting in line inside the chalet, you would walk past a couple of large openings in the wall. You could see the tall trees behind the chalet, through those openings. And on the ground, was some straw or hay, along with items such as pitchforks, large milk cans, and a milking stool. There might have been a few other items that I'm not remembering. Does anyone else remember those displays?
Thank you, Lou, Sue and the Major, too!
TOKYOMAGIC I remember those vignettes... one had a arched wooded wheelbarrow for transporting hay bales. Some authentic details to add to the “Swiss” Mountain feel.
A few days before the Skyway closed I took many rolls of film of both Skyway Stations and I’m pretty sure I got images of those vignettes. But I took so many of the Tomorrowland Skyway station ........ from all angles and views - including the attraction posters on display inside. One thing that was odd was that there was a Peoplemover Thru SUPERSPEED Tunnel attraction poster on display in the Tomorrowland upper loading area about 2 months before the Skyway closed , which was odd because it had been gone for over a decade ;also it had some kind of water damage under the plexiglas. So when I was taking all those pictures I wanted to get a picture of that SUPERSPEED poster ..... but when I got up there it had been replaced with a AMERICAN JOURNEYS attraction poster!!!!???? So less than 2 months before the attraction is scheduled to be entirely removed - they decided to replace the damaged PeopleMover poster!?? I figured with all the publicity about Skyway going to be taken out, someone decided with all the extra attention and crowds showing up for one last ride , that damaged poster needed to be replaced.
Another funny memory about that Tomorrowland SKYWAY photo shoot was that the castmembers let me go all over to get shots WHILE the attraction was operating!!! They would NEVER allow that now. I was careful, and they let me stand in areas to get cross views RIGHT in the path of where the Skyway cabins turned around - of course they let me stand there only when there was no cabins being received and turned around ....they even yelled “it’s clear!!” And let me run over behind the cable wheel to take pictures of the Skyway storage area with the empty hanging back-up cabins!!!!
I know three people who worked the Disneyland SKYWAY in the 1980’s and 1990’s and all three have back-problems they attribute to working that attraction! Can you imagine having to do that job with today’s SUPERSIZED guests!!
“WARNING : THE SKYWAY CABIN CAN ACCOMMODATE UP TO 1/2 OF A PASSENGER “
Nanook, I think that's part of a roll of parcel paper taped down on the left-hand side and either plywood or cardboard on the right. I wonder why that was there? You can see stains of some kind on the right-hand sheeting. Also note the "DANGER KEEP OFF" lettering painted on the floor just before the slope on the left.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue!
My main memory is watching the mechanics of the ride. I liked seeing the buckets swing in and out! Interestingly, my memory of the Disneyland ride are so mingled with my memories of the 6 Flags Over Texas ride, that I can't tell which is which.
The coloring, composition and white border of the Mad Tea Party pic reminds me of the Donruss 1965 Disneyland Tencennial trading cards. Thanks, Major.
TokyoMagic!, I too remember those vignettes in the Fantasyland Skyway chalet. I always thought those were nice little details.
And thank you, Lou and Sue! Always enjoy your many contributions.
Since it was made by Von Roll, did the Skyway have a "ramp" in the station that its catch cars would slide down before engaging the cable? I know Cedar Point and Busch Gardens' both function that way, with a "block brake" to hold the cars before they're released for proper spacing. Thanks, Lou, Sue, and Major!
I love the reverse angle on the Chalet! Wish I could recall any details at all about riding the Skyway, aside from the fact that it carried us right through the Matterhorn. The Chalet window vignettes sound like a wonderful detail to remember.
I try to spend more time now getting shots of the "uninteresting" parts of the park, since I know one day we'll miss seeing those details.
Thanks again Lou and Sue!
The Chalet was one of those charming and quiet areas of the Park that has disappeared over the years. Of course right now, the entire Park is quiet and charming (sigh). KS
Thank you once again Lou and Sue for some great photos that have generated an interesting discussion. It sure was a shame how that lovely Swiss chalet was left to just succumb to the elements and growth of trees and brush. I got a few pictures of it when I was still going to Disneyland and before they tore it out. Sigh.
The Chalet was a magnificent design with so many overlooked details; pot shelves, brackets, molds, all kinds of roofs, the odd "Proctor and Gamble" logo clock. Just a wonderful hodge-podge of all the things Swiss.
I don't recall the vignettes in details, but do recall there were things outside the windows.
Thanks everyone.
JG
@ Andrew-
It did have a "ramp", as you say; and as with other Von Roll Skyway's, the 'launching' side of the station is lower than the returning side, by about 18". You can observe the distance in height of the round, 'side guides', partially-wrapping around the center area of the station. Those 'guides' could come into contact with the lower area of the buckets (if they are swinging) where those stainless steel strips are placed - (the strips have come up in questions before in these pages).
Nanook, I wasn’t sure if that was unfinished plywood or something that was on top of the “floor”, or what exactly was going on. Wonder what they were doing?
TokyoMagic!, jeez, I don’t remember ANY of that stuff! I wish I had your gift for recollection!
Mike Cozart, I wish I could see photos of those vignettes, I’m sure that hardly anybody snapped pictures of them - if you could find them and would be willing to share them here, I would be SUPER appreciative! Today is the first time I’ve heard of them! Very cool that you took so many photos of the Skyway stations and other details. And I agree, it is weird that they replaced that Superspeed Tunnel poster, but I think your theory as to why they did it is reasonable. I’ll bet they threw the poster in the garbage. When a girl I dated worked on decorating New Orleans Square for Christmas (she worked all night), we went to the park during the day, and I was so surprised when she asked somebody at the NOS train station if we could go across the tracks to take pictures. The CM just said, “Sure!”. I thought for sure she’d say no! It was kind of exciting for a regular person like me to get to go over to a place that’s normally off limits. As for those three guys, I always assumed that they got a big workout every day, it sucks that they are now havingback problems.
Chuck, I think that too many people were spitting their tobacky juice out of their gondolas. What other explanation fits? Good eye on the “Danger Keep Off” lettering!
stu29573, funny that your memories of the two parks are so intertwined. It reminds me of a woman I used to know, she told me she saw Elvis perform when she was a girl. “Wow, Elvis? That’s cool!” I said. “Or maybe it was Ricky Nelson?” she said. How can she forget if she saw Elvis??
K. Martinez, by gum, you’re right, they DO look like “lost” Donruss cards!
Andrew, well jeez, somebody a lot more informed than I will have to answer your question…
Tom, I think there is at least one (and maybe several) YouTube videos taken aboard the Skyway, take a look!
KS, I always hoped that they would find another use for the chalet, make it a restaurant or a shop or something. No such luck.
Irene, even as the chalet sat unused, I was always glad that it was still there. Kind of comforting somehow.
JG, I have always loved that weird Proctor and Gamble logo! 13 stars, it must be Satanic! I have two old employee badges from P&G just because of the logo.
Nanook, thank you for answering Andrew’s question. I thought about digging through my “E-Ticket” magazines, but haven’t had time yet.
I think the stuff on the exit ramps looks like the brown kraft paper (like a grocery sack) that painters use as a dropcloth. I bet there was painting going on after hours and they left the masking in place.
JG
Am late to my own party . . .
Thank you for the nice comments today! And I enjoyed the interesting information regarding the 'Swiss chalet' and Skyway! I wonder if anyone ended up with any of those little flower pots that sat on the chalet's window ledge . . . I hope they didn't get tossed in the garbage. It would've been fun to have one of those. (Mike, do you have one of those??)
Thanks, Major!
Sue
Yeah, What BATHá–‡H said...
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