Two Nice Randos!
I have a pair of Leftuggies™ for you today. They may be reheated, but they are still delicious.
Let's begin with this shot looking down on Storybook Land (from a slide dated December 1958), with ol' Monstro himself, and a fairly long queue waiting to take a ride through the whale's digestive tract. This photo is perfectly fine, though not particularly interesting. UNTIL I noticed a detail at the top of the image...
Zooming in, we can see beyond the berm, and much to my surprise, the old Fantasyland Viewliner station is there, completely intact, as if it had been lifted (by crane, perhaps?) from its former location and placed backstage. I had always assumed that the modest little station had just been bulldozed after the Viewliner was closed on September 30, 1958. Why would it have been relocated, apparently unscathed, if it was just going to be torn down soon afterwards? I thought that maybe its bones could have been used for Tomorrowland Station, but that opened five months before the Viewliner closed. Maybe it's just me, but I find this to be a fascinating mystery!
Here's a 1957 photo of the Fantasyland Viewliner station in its original location; as you can see, it is inside the berm, and even inside the Disneyland Railroad tracks.
This next shot is dated "September, 1967", from a slide that was very dark. But a some fancy fiddling in Photoshop brought it back to something worth looking at. It's a neat shot of the New Tomorrowland, which debuted only two months earlier. From the Skyway we can even see beyond Disneyland's perimeter, with things like the conical Melodyland Theater, and the Crest Hotel (or maybe it had been renamed the "Grand Hotel" by this point?). To the extreme left is a building that has a red sign at the top, and many thin columns, not sure what that is.
There it is, an incredible achievement by Walt Disney and his Imagineers. There's so much going on! The Peoplemover, the Skyway, the Subs, the Monorail, the Autopia, folks walking down the ramp of the Carousel of Progress building, while more gathered around the stage at the Tomorrowland Terrace. What a place.
26 comments:
Major-
Will wonders never cease-? Always so many little tidbits of information about Disneyland. Who would'a ever thunk the Viewliner Station would have made some sort of move beyond the berm-?
And yes, that's the Grand Hotel.
Thanks, Major.
Major, earlier this year, you posted another photo showing that building to the far left of the Tomorrowland pic. I think it was a pic that was taken in the parking lot, showing an attraction poster on one of the Monorail columns. That mid-century-ish building is still standing. It was gutted and remodeled some years ago, and is now West Coast University:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8113968,-117.9118307,3a,75y,161.51h,98.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2fCxdzXJ0np6x7HkTPSVuA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
That is so cool that you spotted the relocated Viewliner station in your photo. I think they should have relocated the entire Viewliner attraction, and let employees use it to get around the backstage areas!
I am loving these great uggies. I have always been fascinated by the Viewliner and the Phantom Boats. Although I am older than dirt, I never got to see em. As near as I can remember, our first trip to the park was in 1959. I never tire of new Tomorrowland shots, as I have said before, it was the best. The star of that show, for me, was the Peoplemover. Thanks Major.
I never knew the Viewliner went over the Motor Boat Cruise. And just for fun, here's a nice Daveland picture from 1958 and taken at a similar angle as the last pic. It shows the evolution of Tomorrowland in the ensuing years. Thanks, Major!
Great job noticing the Viewliner station1 How many times did you have to say "enhance" before you could zoom in far enough to see it for what it was?
Also note the two hobos walking the Casey, Jr., tracks.
Is that one of the Tomorrowland Boats on the extreme right of the 1957 Viewliner image?
Andrew, that photo you linked is fascinating all by itself. Thanks!
Few people know that in the early years, Disneyland built two of everything in case one became damaged (you should see the backup castle!) What you are seeing beyond the berm is the backup station. It would soon be sold to a Bob's Big Boy franchise and reworked as a coffee shop. And if this isn't true, may my beard turn white. ;-)
Nice leftuggies. I love Viewliner stuff. That Viewliner station always looked so circusy to me.
Yeah, wondered about those 'gentleman' with white smocks on. Track doctors maybe?
Great colorful stuff. Thanks Andrew, that is a pretty perfect image. Look at that beautiful blue surfacing!
Stu, Yep, why build one when you can have two at twice the price? S.R. Hadden.
Thanks Major, nice job!
Tokyo, I forgot to thank you for your July 13, 2018 post of Disneyland's 25th. That Danny Kaye extravaganza of schmaltzy goodness was something else. Loved the old TV guides!
Thanks TM & M
Nanook, it really does seem strange to me that they would go to the effort of moving the entire station backstage, just so they could destroy it later (presumably soon). What gives?
TokyoMagic!, ah yes, it’s all coming back to me! Thanks for the reminder about West Coast University. It would have been nice if they could have somehow repurposed the Viewliner. I like the idea of it being used as employee transportation!
Jonathan, there’s always something extra fascinating about short-lived attractions, and even though the Phantom Boats and Viewliner had their limitations, they were still neat in their way. I still can’t choose which Tomorrowland I’d rather visit - the classic 1950s version, or the brand-new 1967 version.
Andrew, I first really realized how much Tomorrowland had changed over the years when I looked at “Disneyland: The Nickel Tour”; there’s a panoramic postcard of Tomorrowland, and the authors said that nothing in the photo remained at the park!
Chuck, I let me young and hip underlings do the enhancing (in my darkened lab with lots of blue lights). I need to save my voice for calling square dances. You understand. I did notice the hobos, they are just realizing how tough it is to hop on a Casey train unnoticed.
Chuck, that Daveland photo is a real beauty.
Stu29573, I guess they had to stop building two of everything when the Matterhorn came along? There was no warehouse big enough. Of course they should have just made it in snap-together pieces, like Legos. Hey, a Bob’s Big Boy on Disney property, I like that idea! Gotta get one of those chocolate shakes, where they give you the extra in that metal cup.
DrGoat, the arched “ribbon banner” above the Viewliner does have a sort of circus vibe. It looks like the gentlemen in white are tending the plants, though it’s hard to be certain. I think the blue surface in Daveland’s photo is a bit enhanced, but it still looks cool! I have no idea who S.R. Hadden is.
Major, thanks for these fascinating pictures, no leftuggie worthy to me!
Good eye on the Viewliner station, Major. I would never have caught that, especially since I am not too familiar with the Viewliner attraction. I wonder if any of the ride vehicles were re-purposed anywhere? Seems like a huge investment to just toss out, although the monorail is so much better.
I'm impressed at Disney's commitment to a boat ride too. The Phantom Boats didn't work, so they kept at it till they got a concept that worked.
That back lot to the north sure looks barren in these pictures. There are a few sheds to the west and maybe we can see a hint of the horse stables and livestock barns in the left of the first picture.
Tomorrowland 67 was the apotheosis of Imagineering for me, it all came together here for a few brief years, before penny-pinching lack of vision destroyed it.
Good Call Tokyo! on the West Coast University building, we have discussed it several times here. It is focused on healthcare training.
https://westcoastuniversity.edu/
The building has been updated somewhat to tone down the prominent columns, and undoubtedly improve the energy performance, but the bones are still there.
Andrew, thanks for the link to that picture, most vivid pavement indeed. I'm fascinated by "slurry."
Chuck, I would gladly become a hobo if I could live under the bridge in Story Book Land, lulled to sleep by the gentle sounds of cetacean peristalsis.
JG
Major, At first I'd say you were pulling my leg about the Viewliner station, but that structure behind Story Book Land really does look like it! But how could they move it in one piece? Did they save costs by building it on a flatbed trailer or something?
I like your 1957 Tomorrowland pic, and how the Autopia borrows the view of the Santa Ana Fwy in the background.
1967 Tomorrowland couldn't be any more spiffy, er... groovy. It looks like those Peoplemover trains entering the Bell System building are going to crash!, ...but we now know that it's all carefully controlled by the motors built right into the trackway!
Stu, I've read multiple times that Disney actually built two of everything for the Haunted Mansion, in anticipation of the attraction opening in Florida a few years later.
Major, even if you do manage to hop on Casey, Jr., unnoticed, you wouldn't get very far.
JG, not sure I'd want to live under a bridge in Story Book Land. I'd be worried about trolls.
Chuck, I remember your concern about the tunnel under the Cinderella castle...
JG
Mike probably has the Viewliner station; he has all the cool toys.
Major, S.R. Hadden is a character in the movie Contact. Played by John Hurt. A very rich eccentric billionaire. Good movie.
Chuck, as a billy goat, may I cross your bridge? Hope so, the grass is greener around Toad Hall.
Major-
I remember reading on the Internets (can't find the link at the moment...) that they actually DID build a duplicate Matterhorn -- only it's slightly smaller and actually INSIDE the current version. That way, if they need it, Disney can just peel off the current version, add a fresh coat of pain, and hey, presto!
The columns of the University building are there because, as I remember, it first housed the Western School of Law. So the building had the look of authority! KS
A few miles south from Disneyland is Santa Ana is a scrap yard that used to always have Disneyland stuff in it. In fact until the late 90’s and before one of the many widenings of the 5 Freeway , you could see a Casey Jr. Circus train up on a platform along a corrugated steel building marking where the scrapyard was. The train was from a Disneyland parade and no matter how much you asked it wasn’t for sale, however you could almost alway find a old Disneyland lamppost or a trash can on a visit along with other tossed Disneyland treasures. A friend of mine was lucky to visit shortly after a major Frontierland train station rehab when Splash Mountain was under construction and purchased ALL the original passenger platform lamps!! He has them in his train room and patio still this day re-wired and in use. I once purchased a half dozen fiberglass gold decorations used on the Small World clock tower. Anyway, on one visit a friend and I noticed two of the que canopy roofs and supports removed when Small World got the Mattel toy shop and the entry lines were reversed . We were shocked that both the “pavilion” canopy roofs were intact !! How did they move them there!??? They were made of aluminum or steel and with the supports and railing etc must have weight TONS!! Both still in their gold , white and blue colors!! They could literally be reused as they were as a garden it patio canopy roof! They even had their whirligig finals! But there they were sitting as they were built in 1966!
Anyway, seeing in today’s pictures that the Viewliner Station has been moved in one piece made me think of that scrapyard and the Small World que canopy roof structures - obviously moved in sections, but completely kept in tact. I don’t know if that scrapyard is still in business - I know in the early 2000’s they stopped letting the public pursue around -i recall because somebody got hurt or look-e-loo’s were getting in the way of business. Either way I don’t see the yard from the freeway anymore after yet more widening and the re-routings of the 5 yet again many more times in the last 20 years. I miss those days.
Wow, that Fantasyland pic is just pure goodness. Perhaps they moved the Viewliner station with the intention of re-using it somewhere but changed their minds. The Viewliner is one of my favorite old attractions. Streamlined!
Major, your mention of which Tomorrowland you would like to visit got me thinking. I choose the original 50s version. I LOVE the "new" 67 Tomorrowland. It is the one I know best and it would be fun to roam it once again. The 50s version I only have fleeting memories of. I remember playing with the water sculptures in front of the Crane building, and I remember standing outside the Art of Animation building, although I don't remember any of the inside. Too bad. If I could go back I'd get to visit all those wonderful "worlds fair like" sponsored exhibits and ride the Rocket to the Moon.
Re: Bob's Big Boy - My favorite dish is chili spaghetti!
Major, it just occurred to me that your photo proof of the relocation of the Viewliner terminal might be the source of the long-time legend that the Tomorrowland DLRR station was a relocated Viewliner station.
And, coincidentally, the photo that Andrew linked was one of the photo proofs that the legend was not true, since the Tomorrowland DLRR station is visible to the far left in that picture, while the Viewliner station is front and center.
@Mike Cozart, that is a great scrap yard story.
Sunday Night, I remember that chili spaghetti. There was a Bob's in Visalia near my home.
JG
Interestingly enough (at least to me) here in the Dallas/ Ft Worth area we didn't have Bob's Big Boy, we had Kip's Big Boy. Exact same place. As a kid, I loved the Big Boy Burger (with the special sauce) and the Tin Roof Sundae... plus the comic books. Now, they are all gone. So sad...
JG, it sure seems like the Disney guys liked to reuse things where they could, maybe some of the pieces wound up on the early Monorails? I have no idea of course. I always love a glimpse into that area just north of Storybook Land, it changes in every photo depending on what’s going on. The pony farm, and other various buildings come and go, and sometimes you’ll see a ride vehicle just sitting back there, presumably being repaired. I wasn’t sure if slurry was used in the various lands early on - maybe it was - or if that blue stuff in the Daveland photo is just asphalt that looks sapphire blue because the color adjustment was a little enthusiastic? I’m glad to hear that whale peristalsis is gentle sounding, because I imagined otherwise!!
Omnispace, nope, not pulling your leg at all! I have no idea how it could be moved in one piece, that’s part of the mystery. It’s a little indistinct, but it sure looks intact. Again, the big question is WHY did they even bother to move it? You are right, Disney said that they built two of everything for the Mansion, including (supposedly) a Hatbox Ghost, which is an interesting thought. What happened to them afterwards? My guess is that the armatures and other pieces were repurposed.
Chuck, I love a challenge! “12 years on Casey Jr.: a memoir”, my latest book. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll crave pizza. Trolls wouldn’t mess with me because I wouldn’t be bathing on a regular basis.
JG, I guess any good hobo would just learn to deal with that tunnel!
Lou and Sue, now THAT I would like to see.
DrGoat, aha… I have never read “Contact” or seen the movie. But I have taken the little cold capsules, does that count? Good old Carl Sagan, he was gone too soon.
Anonymous, maybe there were layers of smaller and smaller Matterhorns, like an onion. After a few decades, they’d be in trouble!
Anonymous, well I’ve learned something. I put lots of skulls on my law school building, thinking that THOSE gave a look of authority. Why didn’t I think of columns??
Mike Cozart, holy smokes, it’s so hard to imagine pieces of actual Disneyland rides in a scrap yard!! There might have been a good reason why the company didn’t want to sell these items, but still. I guess I always assumed that the Casey Jr. trains were original, and had just undergone regular overhauls if anything wore out. Now I wonder how many trains there have been over the decades? So cool about your friend getting those lamps. What a score! And those decorations from Small World, also a score! If there the word was out that this scrapyard had such treasures, I can only imagine the Disneyland collectors trying to figure out ways to get in. If they won’t sell it, then somebody will be more than happy to steal it! I once went to a former Imagineer’s home, and hanging out front were flickering lanterns. They might have been props that he bought or made, but now I am wondering if they could have been those Splash Mountain lamps you mentioned!
Sunday Night, that’s what I was thinking, too. It’s the only explanation that makes sense; otherwise why not just bulldoze it and haul away the pieces? You make a good argument about wanting to see the pre-1967 Tomorrowland - in fact you’ve convinced me that I would want to go there for the same reasons! I would LOVE to see all those sponsored exhibits - armed with a good camera with lots of rolls of Kodachrome slide film. Chili spaghetti sounds good, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten anything except hamburgers at Bob’s. There’s one in Toluca Lake, the oldest Bob’s, it’s very cool, I’d love to go try more of their menu.
JG, like you I had thought that the Viewliner station might have been used for Tomorrowland Station (and Fantasyland Station, as I mentioned in today’s article), but as you pointed out, Tomorrowland Station was already in place. So we’re back to square one!
MAJOR: as I mentioned the scrap yard Casey Junior wasn’t a attraction train but from a Disneyland parade - there was a engine , a few cars and a caboose.
I don’t think anyone really thought that the viewliner station was reused for the Tomorrowland DLRR station as the TL DLRR has full construction blueprints with no mention of anything being re-used for the much larger station. I think that over time people saw the deign was similar and speculated.The company that provided the steel for the Tomorrowland DLRR depot was located in Santa Ana - the same city the scrap yard was located in!!
Over time working with Disney off and in I learn so many STORIES and legends that over tune even Disney them selves propagate are wrong and not true .... while others things said to be just a myth turn out to be true!
Country Bear Jamboree designed for Mineral King Resort ( not true at all ) The NEMO organ used inside the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland ( not true - but the film prop drawings were used to create the mansion props at DL & WDW) etc etc.
The VIEWLINER station design/ style probably was duplicated in a larger scale for the Disneyland RR..... etc. besides , didn’t Paul Lynde use the Viewliner station for one of his 9 outdoor bars??
DrGoat, regarding your comment left at 8:37 this morning. Wow, that was over two years ago! Thanks....I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Mike, I have read about Paul Lynde having an alcohol "problem," but he actually had 9 outdoor bars? Was that a different one for each weekday, and two for every Saturday and Sunday?
TOKYOMAGIC: he needed those 9 bars JUST to get to the garage!
PAUL LYNDE after looking at a Submarine Voyage attraction poster;
“A voyage through LIQUID space!?? The only liquid space I want to voyage through has an Olive floating in it!!”
When I was at WDI on Thursday’s we did a clean up of all the shop equipment more so than we normally did - but in the mornings it was “What would Paul day?” Thursday’s and my boss would have me respond in Paul Lynde’s voice to something in the news or relative to the model shop. Sometimes I’d be walking in the hall and someone would catch me off guard to say something as Paul. I got pretty good at it.
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