Tomorrowland Entrance, August 1970
Here's another pair of Instamatic images, courtesy of Mr. X. He took these photos himself in the summer of 1970. We'll begin with one of my all-time favorites, this gorgeous shot of the entrance to Tomorrowland, with two Peoplemover trains overhead (and more in the distance), NICE. I miss everything about that ride, even the groovy music. The flagpole is still there, not sure when that was deemed "expendable". And to our left, "America the Beautiful", with the delightful Saul Bass-designed Bell Systems logo on that silvery pylon.
A more traditional view is next, the Mighty Matterhorn, with Skyway gondolas a-comin' and a-goin'. The line for the Matterhorn snakes almost completely around the mountain, but I would happily wait in it!
22 comments:
Major-
Now here's a Tomorrowland worthy of our admiration-! How does one get there, do you suppose-??
Thanks to Mr. X.
The colorful clothes of the guests fit right in with the colorful PeopleMover trains. I think it was meant to be that way.
It looked like it was going to be another trashcanless day here on GDB, but I think I can see one in the Matterhorn queue, about 1/3 of the way in from the left. Can't tell for sure.
I like that color combination of Skyway buckets bunched up near the Nostrils.
Nanook, second star to the right and straight on till morning; that's how we get there.
Thankx Mr. X. And thank you, Major. A couple of nice photos today!
Nanook, it’s simple - just get aboard the Skyway in Fantasyland and…oh, right. I guess JB’s plan is really the only option at this point.
JB, you know a ride’s popular when even the trash cans get in line to ride.
Thanks, Major & Mr. X!
That is a LOOONNGGGGG line at the Matterhorn. Was the other side down? It took me a while to figure out how this photo was taken: at the highest point on the PeopleMover...it really got up there after leaving the Carousel of Progress building- or the Tomorrowland Area Offices- or the Tron Speed Tunnels (The speed tunnels I wish were like the ice cave at Universal...I remember thinking...oh...this is not very exciting...) Lets remove the super cool future city model and put in speed tunnels. At the time the word was that Tron was making more money on it's arcade game than the actual movie at .25 a pop. Tron was visually ahead of it's time, but a rather "cold" Disney movie. Teal looks like what they are serving at the Skyway Bar. I'm surprised that the flag pole is gone now, but perhaps it interfered with the Dumbo attraction at the entrance. There was a bit of a scandal with that flagpole and lowering it to half mast when there were some killings in Beirut. Disneyland refused to lower flags. Most of the flags in the park are not "real", but the Town Square one and this Tomorrowland one were. A ride operator (former Marine I think) went to the press, it became a "thing" and the President (Reagan) told us to lower the flags (I'm not sure if that snippet made the news)...the real ones anyway. I'm not sure what the official cadence is now, at the time the POV was that "Guests come to Disneyland to escape the outside world", however this is/was a touchy subject. I'm sure today employees fraternizing with the press is not allowable. I'm not sure what became of that ride operator. Did someone say those concrete sculptural benches at the entrance to Tomorrowland are gone? Or is the whole thing completely "TRE'd"? I will say that the fountains outside Bell and Monsanto I never saw working...they always had plants in them...like "space plants". Orange and purple are the colors of the future, which reminds me that my own Tomorrowland entrance needs to be planted as the ground has finally reached 70 degrees. Thanks M.X.
That couple at the base of the PeopleMover support, appear to be reading the brass dedication plaque, for the 1967 Tomorrowland. I wonder what happened to that plaque? Was it melted down, and used to help make Tomorrowland '98 even more "brown and gold"?
Bu, yes, those concrete benches were removed, along with the flower planters and the palm trees. They were replaced with huge brown "space" rocks and heads of kale. The "space" rocks were recently removed, after being an eyesore for 20 years. There was also a smaller pile of......rocks, in the middle of the walkway, with a "Tomorrowland" sign on top of them. They used to add to the problem with traffic flow in and out of the land, along with the inane placement of a "Dumbo" ride at the entrance. I haven't been to the park, since the removal of the rocks, but I imagine until they get rid of that "spinner" ride, there is always going to be a traffic flow problem at the entrance. Worst. Planning. Ever.
Thank you Mr. X and Major, for reminding us how wonderful Tomorrowland used to be!
Best. Tomorrowland. Ever. Thank you, Major & Mr. X!
Major, we could wait in that bobsled line and tell stories all afternoon, no problem.
I saw a “news” item a few weeks back, the Main Street flag was half-mast for the one-millionth Covid death. At least that was the story.
The Orbitor is just “Space Dumbo”, that’s funny, Tokyo.
JG
Happy belated birthday, JB!
I cropped the first picture to just show the Peoplemover track and the expansive sky. The mid-century swoops of the architecture are still so optimistic today.
And I'm convinced that I need to go spend all my money on orange and purple flowers right now.
Nanook, I’m afraid we’ll have to figure out how to get to one of the multiverses where Tomorrowland didn’t undergo so many crummy changes!
JB, man, it took me a minute to find that trash can in the Matterhorn queue, amazing that you spotted it. And yes, as Howard Johnson’s knew, turquoise and orange go together so well! I thought that maybe you could “head west on Fountain”, but I guess that’s how one gets to Hollywood.
Bu, I’m sure that these were taken during peak summer, so it’s no surprise that there were long lines. Is that the highest point on the Peoplemover? I thought maybe that could be more east, above the Motorboat Cruise, but maybe it just looks higher there because there are no buildings nearby. I don’t think they removed the Progressland model for the Tron tunnel, but I could be mistaken. Someone here will know! I agree, though, I am still salty over the fact that the Progressland model was sent to WDW, when it should be here. I remember being very excited to see Tron in the theater, and being impressed with the imagery, but not in love with the story. So Reagan actually told Disneyland to lower their flags? Seems weird that he would be involved in that. They definitely lowered the flags for the death of Walt Disney, and probably for JFK’s assassination, so it’s not like they’d never done it before.
TokyoMagic!, it’s weird to me that they removed that plaque. Did it ever show up in an auction? You’d think that anything with Walt’s words (or were they Marty Sklar’s words?) would be untouchable. But… we know better. I love heads of kale, and wish that there was kale everywhere. I’d rather go to a kale farm than Disneyland any day. Bonus: all the kale you can eat! And kale juice, served ice cold. Yum, bitter! It has always seemed weird to me that they put the Astro Orbiter where it is, when they already had the Rocket Jets up high, so amazing to look at and to ride.
JG, I feel like I must have waited in line for the Matterhorn when it was nearly that long, and in my memory, it moved right along. Maybe I was just having a good time and the wait didn’t matter. Half mast for the one-millionth covid death, you know a lot of people didn’t like that. Some people have lost their minds.
Andrew, don’t you like all those authentic, vintage people? They’re mint! I’d love to know who came up with the design of those swoopy arches for the Peoplemover track. Marvin Davis? George McGinnis? Even today they look “modern”, even if there is no ride above them. If you plant some orange and purple flowers, send us pictures when they bloom!
Second star to the right does sound like the most likely to succeed, JB. I'll go as straight as I can.
Looks like another Madras shirt is present in the first pic.
Nice, bright pics, Mr.X. Thanks!
Thank you Major.
Two lines circling the base of the Matterhorn and meeting up on the other side was the norm for the summer season. At least in the afternoon.
I hate kale as much as I hate pickles. Bleh!
BTW, that first shot of Tomorrowland '67 is heaven!
Thanks, Mr. X and Major too!
DrGoat, I was wondering if that was an actual Madras shirt. Not sure what the difference is between Madras and just plain old “plaid”. Maybe it’s the secret ingredient - love?
K. Martinez, I get hating kale, but PICKLES? I’ve never heard of somebody not liking pickles! Clearly you are from another dimension.
Chuck, the trashcans stopped riding the Matterhorn when Disney switched to the tandem Bobsleds. It made it too hard for them to get in and out.
Tokyo! and JG, I got a chuckle out of "Space Dumbo" as well. We've mentioned here before that the two rides were basically the same. The thing that elevated (haha) The Rocket Jets was its placement atop the PeopleMover, making it a much more thrilling ride. But the Astro Orbiter?... Space Dumbo.
Happy belated thank you, Andrew!
Major, I feel the same way about Tron. I was already a computer geek, of sorts, when the movie came out, so I got most of the references. But some of them left me befuddled, so I can imagine that the average theater-goer would be even more confused. The CGI imagery (as it existed then) was pretty amazing, but the story... only so, so.
DrGoat, with a sky full of stars, "second star to the right" is a little vague. We may have to try several before we stumble upon the right one.
Ken, now we know what to get you for your birthday: pickled kale.
Kale- A Passover story:
"Father, why do we eat these bitter herbs?"
"To remind us of the Tomorrowland that was. And the disappointment in what it has become...TRE."
"And why do we eat this unleavened bread?"
"Hm? Oh, those are churros; food of the gods."
Yes...it seems weird that the president would get involved in such matters, but it turned into a pretty big deal. I suppose with Reagans connection to Walt/Disneyland et.al. he may have been involved it in more than another president. Or perhaps it coincided with an official visit to the park- which there was a couple of official and unofficial ones. I was a bit non-plussed with Presidents and whatnot in the office (Jimmy Carter did another visit, but it was just having a run in the wee hours of the morning) , but I've seen photos of him there with my then boss. The story apparently has been buried, but from what I could gather was the dates of the official order from the President were from Oct 23rd - October 31 of 1983. By the time all the politics were done with the situation, I think the flag was lowered only for a day or two at the end of the week. Interesting that the story is nowhere to be found, but it was a long time ago. The bit about the President giving the order was given very hush hush...Disneyland had their feet in cement about not lowering it as an official proclamation only applies to govt. bldgs, etc. It was hush hush lowered with no fanfare as I recall. I came in one morning- probably Oct. 30th and saw the flag half mast and said "how did that happen?!" and was told that Reagan gave the "strong suggestion". The story seems to be buried like a few others. For another time.
JB, I agree, that is the only trash can in today's views. I had to have my big screen monitor at work to confirm it. It is the pink and blue Fantasyland livery, too far away to see if it has the little broom and dustpan armorial emblems on the escutcheon.
Kathy noticed those on a can in a recent post, and then I saw a similar can in post with photos from an earlier year, same colorway of pink and blue, but without the little symbols, so those were an enhancement at some point.
A Sky Full of Stars indeed, and Kale, a bitter herb, but no herb so bitter as the loss of the Tomorrowland that was...
JG
Guys, let’s be careful and make sure that thing full of stars is actually part of the sky and not some magnetic anomaly orbiting Jupiter. I don’t want to end up like Dave Bowman.
JB, I’m sure that similar issues are why they closed the Skyway. There was just no good way to get a trashcan on one of the gondolas. I don’t mind (much) that Dumbo and the Rocket Jets (or earlier Astro Jets) were both spinny rides, maybe I’m cutting them slack because they are classic Disneyland attractions. If they introduced them today, I’d tear my hair out and have a cow. A real cow! I still have some promotional “Tron” posters from when I was in school, and I had the “making of” book, so crazy to think of how far computer graphics have come since then. Entire believable movies can be entirely created digitally. And now I wish they gave out churros in church. “Yes, it’s early, and I don’t want to get out of bed, but then again… they have warm churros”.
Bu, I’ve seen a famous photo of Jimmy Carter jogging with his Secret Service guys, such an odd occasion. Ol’ Jimmy seems like a truly good man, devoting much of his life to helping the poor and needy. I’m torn about the flag situation - on one hand I agree with Disneyland being a place to escape the “real world”, but if one of my loved ones had been killed, I would probably be upset that the park wouldn’t even do that simple gesture of respect. I guess that makes me wishy-washy!
JG, I’ll bet that trashcan has the dustpan and broom, my new favorite heraldry. Who needs a lion, rampant against a field of gules? Not me! I generally like the Fantasyland trashcan designs the most, I love their hues and strong graphic looks.
Chuck, Dave Bowman is a big baby! There, I said it.
:-)
The original 1967 Tomorrowland plaque ( there were a few over the years as the brass cleaning and rubbing wore the etched lettering) was removed for new Tomorrowland 1998. A new brass plaque was added with a “Tomorrowland “T “ medallion inserted . This all brass plaque was difficult to read so a multicolor screen-printed enamel ( it’s a polyurethane finish since enamel is illegal in only one state in the Union now : California - there’s a reason WDI and eventually the Disney studios is vacating California ) plaque was created and this was in place until the 1998 entry rocks were removed. Currently there is no plaque but this will be temporary.
I know a collector who has one the several 1967 Tomorrowland entry plaques - it’s very very worn down but shinny …. The first style 1998 Tomorrowland plaque I’ve seen two worn ones - one was sold on EBay - both were missing their “T” medallion inserts. I’ve seen two of the current blue plaques as well… one had a big DING in it from sone idiot guest …. The other had been pried on the edges and had been presumably stolen.
I guess we can expect to see more watered down theming in Disneyland’s theme lands as crowds go crazy and corporate spending money runs tight.
Major: on my blog TOMORROWLOUNGE I did a post about the designs of the PeopleMover support structures and designs … “SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PEOPLEMOVER”
Almost all the sculptural designs of Disneyland’s 1967 TOMORROWLAND were created by Japanese-American Imagineer Mitsuo Natsume and Vic Greene . Natsume designed the entry fountains , the silver entry panels and the planter benches including the one that was blended into the the Flight to the Moon facade - he designed that too! The space mountain spires or “stateloides” were also Natumes work. Vic Greene figured out how to refine the designs and create the blueprints on how to a actually build the designs.
While Disneyland’s 1967 Tomorrowland was done mostly by automotive designers and artists , Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland 1971-1976 was designed by architects and industrial designers. Both Tomorrowland designs are striking and bold in their own way but both very distinctive in their own way. I love them both!
Mike Cozart, it seems odd to me that they seemed to have a hard time making a legible brass plaque, I see examples with shiny raised lettering and a darkened background, even at my local little league baseball field. Maybe the cleaning and polishing would wear through the dark background. I remember when that “Tomorrowland T” was all over the place in 1998 and shortly thereafter; screen-printed enamel doesn’t sound great, but maybe it looked better than it seems. If I had to hazard a guess as to why Disney Studios is vacating California, it has less to do with things like enamel being available, and more to do with the company getting tax breaks or something like that. Of course they will claim that they are doing it to benefit the employee, but I find that pretty hard to believe. Call me skeptical! Maybe with the latest shenanigans going on in Florida they are regretting their decision?
Mike Cozart, I am familiar with the name Vic Greene, but not Mitsuo Natsume, and I feel bad about that. Sounds like he was responsible for some pretty great stuff that I have loved for almost my whole life. So I’m glad you told me about him! Not to minimize Vic Greene’s contributions at all. Thanks for all that info!
Andrew, IMO the yellow and purple flowers look better together. Spend your hard-earned money on those. The orange and purple combo is too "Halloweenee." Unless that's the look you're going for. Hey, BTW, did you just graduate??
I always love Mr. X's pictures, and today's no exception.
Major, a couple days ago you said that Mr. X recently went to Disneyland. Please ask him if you can share more about what he experienced.
Thanks, Mr. X and Major.
Major: it’s not enamel paint that’s causing WDI to leave. It’s the extreme government restrictions on so many things…. I was using enamel paint as an example …. Only California has the restrictions it does. Again that’s a small sample of the “tip of the iceberg” dud you know most of the NAZDAR inks used in the attractions posters of the 70’s and 80’s cannot be used …. In ONLY Californian. Attraction posters if they were still screenprinted couldn’t be made here. The company that made the Cel paint for Disney and other graphic purposes closed its doors because of the California epa restrictions rather than relocate . When Disney recreated their animation cels they use vinyl house paint. Lol. It works I guess. At WDI most of the supplies of materials for manufacturing are no longer allowed in California . Foams especially. A company that has been a major supplier to movie studios , designers , prototypers , PLASTRUCT closed its doors after having been in business since the 1950’s. They sold to a company abs moved them out of california. 99% of all WED models and WDI models were made from that company’s material lines. Mattel was another big buyer for prototypes. Model railroaders , science fi modelers and miniaturist also were served by plastruct. And I can give you 2 dozen more Theme park and design related business that hade closed their California doors or moved to greener pastures. And yes, you are correct … taxes are a major issue in California.
The brass 1967 sign was replaced several times because of wear and exposure … like any sign of that type that needed to look new. The style was just outdated …. The 1998 brass sign on the brown rock work and brass and metal finishes surrounding it made it difficult to see and didn’t stand out well visually- and guests were constantly stealing the “T” medallion . The current blue one that replaced it works well and it easy to read and see , however there is just no place at the moment for the plaque to be displayed because the rock work it was attached too has been removed.
If a new plaque is added it will probably be a whole new design and logo as the Tomorrowland 1998 “TIMELESS” logo is dated Ave out of style being over two decades old!!
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