Last From June 1974
I'm sad to use up the last scans from a 1974 batch that yielded some nice images. Many had to undergo quite a bit of color restoration, but I actually enjoy that process - when it works, anyway.
First up is this shot of the Corner Cafe. It is in dire need of "depinkification" (as Melissa would say)!
And here it is, looking 95% better (there's still a little weirdness, but I can live with it). It's surprising how little this has changed - it still has the same sign and the same decorative wrought-iron, and probably the same hot dogs. Zing, I got 'em! What a sick burn.
This next one also needed restoration, but I didn't bother to save a "before" version. The rectangular Skyway gondolas were not only roomier, they were insulated in order to keep cold things cold, and hot things hot. Your icy soda would still be chilled when you got to Fantasyland.
Bobsled sighting! 20 points!
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I'm still on the road, but should be home by late tomorrow night!
15 comments:
Maybe if you look just hard enough to the left of the Refreshment Corner pic, you'll be able to see the famous half white, half red lightbulb. It's cool that that sign is the same as the one from the 70s - the font certainly dates it! Now, it looks like only the central archway is left, and the wire-backed chairs have been replaced by similar, more substantial ones. (Look for the light bulb...)
Oh, and the Skyway's primary colors are nice, too. Thanks!
P.S. I'm not trying to become redundant by adding the Street View links every day. I just like to share them when it gives an interesting comparison, which has just happened a lot lately.
I miss the Sky Ride. They also had one at Six Flags over Texas (with the same style of cars as these) and yes, they did keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold. Speaking of which, did McDonald's really think people would find Styrofoam packaging new and exciting?
Love that view in the Skyway pic. Takes me back.
Beautiful work on those images Major. What a difference.
Andrew, I finally spied the half-red bulb. Reminded me of that Star Trek episode with Frank Gorshin. And really, the links don't bother me at all. I certainly don't need an excuse to go to the park but I'll take one! Good work.
Great job Major, thanks.
I always thought Coleman would have made a good sponsor for the Skyway.
I guess I don't have to post that I love these pictures, but I will do that anyway.
For some reason, I never managed to visit the Coke Corner Cafe until 2008, but I found it to be a great spot to sit in the shade with a cold drink. I don't recall if the piano music was live or a background tape, but it's a good memory.
Andrew, I never knew of the Frank Gorshin bulb (hat tip to Dr. Goat), thank you for pointing that out. It makes sense to do that, since two of the same color would stand out in that kind of display. Also, thank you for the Street View posts. I find them very enjoyable. I often track these locations down myself, but I don't always post the links because I can't make nice clean ones embedded like yours. One of the best things about GDB is everyone sharing what they know or remember.
Beautiful Skyway shot, with the real you-are-there feeling. I miss this ride so much. Never thought of a Coleman cooler before, but now I can't stop.
Thanks Major for all your hard work keeping us entertained.
JG
What JG said, thank you for all the awesome decrapification of so many treasures. The skyway gondolas were a major upgrade from the old bucket style. I miss em. There is no one in the first photo, perhaps the photographer arrived before time started. I love that movie. Or he arrived on the day they introduced New Coke. Right up there with cancelling Star Trek or messing up the ROA for blue milk and a few Storm Troopers. Thanks Major.
Andrew, can you really see the half red/half white bulb? I can’t tell if you’re kidding! I don’t see it, anyway. It’s funny how a font can become so dated, that’s the reason I like to use classic fonts as much as possible, though a “novelty” font can have its place too of course. And I don’t mind the street view links, in fact I like them a lot!
Stu29573, I know a lot of people miss the Skyway; maybe we’ll get some sort of replacement, similar to the Skyliner in Florida. I liked the McDLT! I did feel bad that so much styrofoam was used for that dumb burger though.
DrGoat, alright, if you see the half and half bulb, I guess I need to go back and look again! So funny that a lightbulb can be the stuff of legend.
MRaymond, yes, Coleman would have been good! I know that school lunchboxes weren’t insulated, but Aladdin would have. been a good sponsor too.
JG, I think I have only literally grabbed a Coke at the Coke Corner, nothing else. Well, maybe a hot dog, who remembers? Not me! The fact that they would bother to paint a lightbulb half red just shows how detail-oriented they were. Would any other park do that? One way to help make long web links more manageable is to use tinyurl.com, they can take a long URL and turn it into something much easier to share.
Jonathan, I never experienced the old Skyway “bucket-style” gondolas, but they look very cramped, even though they are cute. What movie are you referring to (about being there before time started)? Nothing comes to mind. Maybe in a way, the original Star Trek’s cancellation helped it to gain the following that it has now. Just a thought!
I love these pictures! I never knew about that red/white light bulb until today - thanks, Andrew! (Major, it's only visible in the current google street-view, not in your scan. Directly above the entrance door, and over to our right.) Andrew, please DO keep adding the street-view links.
Great you-are-there shot on the Skyway! Not only do we have the bobsled, but the waterfall looks great, too. Would love to be on it, now!
I SEE IT! I SEE THE FRANK GORSHIN BULB!
Thanks for the hint, Sue!
It is in the Google StreetView in Andrew's link, it is in the right corner of the entryway alcove, where the right-hand angled wall meets the back wall (the wall with the door in it). Its right by one of the fluted "columns", the fifth complete bulb counting to the right from the green glass lampshade.
I also notice that the bulb sequence today has changed from the sequence in the posted photo. In the vintage photo, the bulb at the outer corner of the marquee (the side with Coca-Cola on it) is white, while today, the bulb at that location is red. I wonder why that happened?
That was fun. Thanks everyone.
JG
Lou and Sue, yes, that lightbulb thing is a fun little piece of trivia. I wonder if they have painted it half and half all the way back to 1955? Seems like if they just worked from that corner out, they could avoid the trouble! But then maybe they would have the same issue at another corner. And thanks for clearing up the fact that you can see the bulb in the recent photo! I thought I was going nuts.
JG, I hope the name “the Frank Gorshin bulb” sticks! It’s *just* obscure enough to make people scratch their heads. I’ll bet only a small percentage of people remember who Frank Gorshin was. Much less that he was on the original Star Trek. As for the changing of the order of the bulbs... I have my guesses, but no real knowledge (as usual).
Major, we recently saw a very young Frank Gorshin playing a down-on-his luck comic on a 1959 TV show called Mr. Lucky.
He was very thin and not at all the forceful actor we see in Batman and Star Trek. I think he was just starting out.
That was a great episode of Star Trek, the last season, before, as Jonathan points out, some bonehead cancelled the show.
JG
Frank Gorshin was also in That Darn Cat! BOOM!!! Double Disney connection points!
Whoa, Chuck, mind blown...
JG
Major, The Langoliers by Stephen King. At the end they appear in the airport because they were there before present time started. It helps to have one or two cocktails before you watch it. OOwe OOwe OOwe.
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