Tomorrowland at Night, September 1971
Oh boy, more night photos from Lou Perry and Sue B.! And this time we're in Tomorrowland, which was one of my favorite places to be in the day, but even more so after the sun went down. Being "A Land on the Move", there was lots of kinetic energy to keep things lively, from the Peoplemover to the Rocket Jets to the spinning Carousel Theater. Wonderful! I'll bet the view from up on the Rocket Jets would be great, let's do that. You can kind of see some of the lit "capsules" that contained animated scenes advertising Goodyear products. Go Go Goodyear!
It appears that the Rocket Jets are in the "up" position, but they mostly vanish in the darkness, unfortunately. Still, don't you wish you were there on that September night??
Many thanks to Lou and Sue!
18 comments:
OK, so the rows of lights are the star of the show here. Defining the PeopleMover track as it swoops around and through Tomorrowland. I rode the Rocket Jets at night in August of 1975 with two my brothers (it was a tight fit). Being that high up, after dark is kind of scary, kind of serene, and beautiful.
Lou really knows how to take a good night photo!
I knew that Lou would stick around long enough to get a photo of the Rocket Jets in action; it's one of his trademarks. The GE sign looks like a big full moon on the rise. And it's not a "bad moon" either!
Amusement parks/theme parks are always special at night, Disneyland especially so. Thanks, Major.
1967 Tomorrowland looked just as beautiful at night, as it did during the day. I love how the lighting on the Carousel Theater really makes the mural on it's exterior "pop."
I'm still hoping that one day, we will see close-ups of those Goodyear capsules/pods. Maybe Lou got good shots of them?
In that first pic, I think we are seeing the hidden tube lights behind the curved white edge of the Character Shop facade. Those white Tomorrowland walls sort of stuck out, away from the rest of the building and the adjacent Mary Blair murals. I guess that method of lighting would be considered "rear-lighting"?
Thank you for these, Lou, Sue, and Major! And a happy Juneteenth, to everyone!
TOKYO is correct : those are the recessed SHADA tube lights for the Mary Blair murals . Yes! I hope Lou saves the day and that he took amazing shots of the Go Go Goodyear animated pod signs …
“ALL SOULS MOVE ON RUBBER SOLES BY GOODYEAR !!”
“WINNERS GO GO GOODYEAR!”
“EVERYTHING MOVES ON GOODYEAR RUBBER CONVEYORS”
“HIGH FLYERS GO GO GOODYEAR!”
“MOVE MOUNTAINS WITH GOODYEAR INDUSTRIAL TIRES!!”
…….I miss these so much!
I’ve mentioned this before but the pattern of the Carousel of Progress mural was inspired by electronic display waves that electrical impulses created … John Hench - the mural’s creator , saw this wave patterns at a tour of a GE research facility WED Imagineers had been given a tour of whine developing the New Tomorrowland. One of the first versions of this mural featured GE products painted in intervals around the mural ; I’m glad they left those off!!
A follow up to the Carousel of Progress mural inspiration: using an electronic visual display to create a stylized mural wasn’t anything new in 1967 …. John Hench created the spiral -twirl lighting pattern on the dome of the New York World’s Fair Carousel Theater after seeing an electronic display of electric impulse intensities .
Today Imagineers are unable to create Tomorrowland works of art and can only re-use or copy Mary Blair art or slap Toy Story Aliens on everything ….
One of the first versions of this mural featured GE products painted in intervals around the mural...
Mike, I wonder if that's where they got the inspiration to include stylized musical instruments within the America Sings mural, seven years later?
Top form here!
Disneyland is excellent in the daylight, and a whole different place at night. Tomorrowland is the top place to be after dark, followed closely by Main Street. These beautiful shots show why.
Thank you Lou and Sue! GO GO GOODYEAR!
I was impressed by the eerie lighting in Wookie World too, but that’s another story.
Thank you Major!
JG
JB got it in one - the rows of lights give the same sense of movement that the various tracks do in daytime pictures.
Awesome photos...took me back immediately to the "Disneyland After Dark" feeling...which is visceral. I can hear the sounds of "Gazelle" at Coke Terrace in the distance and the smell of Popcorn coming from a location I used to work but for the life of me can't remember! "Snack Bar under PeopleMover". I would like some Space Mist right now, and a "Magic" burger...the off the menu burger before off the menu burgers were a thing...or WAS it an off the menu burger? Someone knows, and I have....deep in the recesses of photos...a photo of me working at Coke Terrace with a menu in the background, and Mary Blair back splashes intact. I even remember the date: New Years Eve Party, 1980. I was kind of pissed I was put at Coke, which was rare at ODV, but I'm sure there were scheduling issues at Coke, and ODV was sent in to save the day...or I was...it was only me. Disneyland fast foods is very much like New York...if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere....and it is the truth in both cases. I will say a 8 hour shift at Coke Terrace goes by in a nano-second. You look up, and it's time to go home. The people (95% ladies) at Coke really loved it there..from what I could gather...and had a lot of pride in how they looked with perfect costumes and perfectly placed Coke Bottle Cap hats. All hair worn up...NASA look for girls...Boys got a jump suit, unless you were a proper lad and worked as a fry cook...who got the normal white fry cook ensemble. See where these photos take me?! Anyway....Tomorrowland at night was grand, as most of Disneyland is. Go Go Goodyear! Love those animated vignettes, and the boxes they were in. Goodyear logos throughout! Tomorrow: Commerce, Movement, Technology....and the Character Shop! Thanks Lou and Sue for a couple of terrific photos!
Ah...THE Tomorrowland. Enough of my rants...I'll just say "Sigh". KS
JB, the lights definitely attract the eye in all that darkness - although the darkness is somehow friendly and not scary! I’m not sure I ever rode the Rocket Jets at night, though of course now I wish I’d done it 100 times. Lou and my friend Mr. X both knew that a photo of the Rocket Jets was best when the rockets were in flight!
TokyoMagic!, I agree, I’ve always liked that abstract mural on the Carousel of Progress, I’m surprised that they didn’t paint something more representational to be honest. And YES, I would flip if Sue someday finds photos of those Goodyear pods. Good eye on those tube lights from the Character Shop, I didn’t even really think about them. “Rear lighting”. This is a family blog!
Mike Cozart, I only really remember one of those Goodyear pod dioramas, it had the wheels of a jet touching down on a constantly-moving tarmac. So clever! I would have never guessed that the mural was based on electronic display waves, but I like it. I’ve never seen the mural with the GE products, was that just a concept? Or was it actually used at the park? I agree with you so much about the art at the park, another example of how Walt benefited by using his brilliant animation people to design his park.
TokyoMagic!, the stylized musical instruments were nice, but kind of an obvious idea when you think about it. Not being critical, but the whole show was about music after all!
JG, it really is amazing at just how different Disneyland is at night. The best is when the crowds start to thin out, and you feel like there are actual quiet spots and plenty of room to move. I never saw Galaxy’s Edge at night, the last time I was at the park, “Rise of the Resistance” had broken down all day, so I never wandered over there (this as in January).
Melissa, for some reason now I’m imaging the lights blinking in a “chasing” pattern, which to be honest would not have been great, but that’s how my brain works!
Bu, “Gazelle”? I assume that’s the name of a band. Better than “Hippo” I guess. I wish I remembered what “Space Mist” tasted like, I know I had it, but it was too long ago. Citrusy? Fruit punch? Vodka and tonic? I had no idea you could even order an “off the menu” burger. “You get what we give you, and you’ll LIKE IT!”. I’m surprised that you were moved around from place to place so much as a CM, somehow I thought that employees generally did one or two jobs, until they were moved to some other location. I’ve watched the people making the food, it looks like HARD work, and I don’t envy them. I hope they get plenty of breaks. Just imagine the non-stop demand. All day long. Even McDonalds has its slow periods. I love how these photos stimulate your memories - memories that you might not have even known were still there!
KS, You said it!
MAJOR : the PeopleMover animated pod you remember is “ HIGH FLYERS GO GO GOODYEAR” … it featured a passenger jet plane with crew and passengers looking out the window …. Following the plane was a delivery stork wearing a delivery cap and carrying a baby bundle in its beak …..
The animated gag : is the landing gear with tires lowers from the plane’s underside….. and at the same time and motion , landing gear with wheels also lowers from the underside of the flying Stork!!!! Then both’s landing gear retracts and the gag repeats .
The base of the vignette is painted a contrasting color to represent the ground or runway below …. But the tarmac is static and does not move …
You are probably confusing a moving runway with the constantly moving conveyor in the vignette pod “move everything on GoodYear rubber conveyors “
the 10 vignette pods remained the same from 1967 until their removal in 1981… but a few were slightly updated like the 1967 Beach Woodie and surfboards in the sand “swingers go go Goodyear!!” Was changed in the mid 70’s to a Van and the surfboards replaced with cactus : “Off Roaders Go Go Goodyear!!”
The sexist pod - based on a very popular goodyear as campaign “When there’s no man around - Goodyear is!” Featuring a lone female at nite with a flat tire … but when she has the goodyear spare tire within a tire …. She doesn’t need a man because the double tire … this vignette remained mostly the same, but updated the look of the lady motorist and remove her dream bubble of a muscle man to fix her flat … and the tag “when there’s no man around” and replace it with the Goodyear double Eagle flatless tire … then once her thought bubble thinks is the goodyear double Eagle flatness tire her car’s flat tire repairs itself.
The carousel of progress mural with the products painted along with the abstract pattern was a concept only … and they were not stylized images of the products …. And made the mural look like it had been graffiti-tagged by a highly skilled realistic illustrator .
TOKYO It’s possible that idea was revised for the America Sings instrument pattern mural . The instrument pattern was only on g the first floor mural … the second floor mural were “Stars and Stripes “. So technically AMERICA SINGS had two murals . the carousel of progress mural was designed to look like a single two story mural block even though only the lower panel rotated.
Today Imagineering adds little green men to Tomorrowland , monkeys to Adventureland and glitter-glam paint to Fantasyland….
I also appreciate the Tomorrowland "neon" look at Magic Kingdom, but it has nothing on this '67 masterwork. ;-) No flashy neon, just mid century elegance backed by Peoplemover silhouettes. Thanks so much, Lou, for capturing the moment.
Mike Cozart, gosh I did not remember the crew and passengers part… I thought it was just the lower part of the jet, along with the landing gear that would extend and retract. Now with your description I REALLY want to see a good photo of it! The stork is also a part I have forgotten. Wow, I thought that the tarmac was on a roller, but maybe you are right about me confusing it with another vignette. I have to wonder if Goodyear has records of those dioramas? I’ll just pop on over and ask! ;-) I also wonder if Disney had anything to do with the design of those dioramas. I may be biased, but the idea of a lone female at night dealing with a flat tire is not the worst thing in the world. It happens to everyone after all. I’d sure love to see the artwork for the concept mural, not sure if that is out in the wild anywhere. Thanks Mike!
Andrew, the two Tomorrowlands definitely have their own looks, which is nice. I’m partial to the Disneyland version, but having seen photos, the WDW version looks good too.
MAJOR: yes the Goodyear pod vignettes were designed by Disney animator - imagineer T. Hee. He also designed similar animated vignettes for Adventure Thru Inner Space “miracles from molecules” exit area display. Monsanto gave out a booklet with these animated displays …. Why did Goodyear not give out a brochure with THEIR animated displays …???? ……. Or did they????????
Ironically a smaller “thumbnail” ( still almost 2 feet long) concept of the GE mural with products was sold by Disney in EBAY… again under their DISNEY -AUCTIONEERS EBAY site…. It sold for like 400 bucks …. Today it would be more than 4,000!! Infact after John Hench died , Disney & EBay did an auction with all the stuff from John Hench WDI office …. Some amazing things were sold off. I was broke that week and won nothing.
WDI has a more refined mural guide artwork for the carousel theater.
The current WDW carousel of progress mural is inspired by John Hench’s 1965 concept painting “Progressland and Disneyland” and the mural he shows in that artwork.
Mike, thanks for reminding me of those Goodyear animations, I do remember the runway with the stork and the plane. Pretty funny stuff, and the "sexist" one was just par for the course of the moment, I guess.
Major, on our last night visit, we waited briefly in the line for the Buzz Lightyear attraction. The Castle was beautifully lit with (I assume) LED ice-blue spotlights. The couple in front of us in line were struggling to get a selfie, so I took their pic for them. I posed them to block the parade light tower so only the Castle showed. It was a magic moment with a beautiful backdrop. No place as pretty at night as Disneyland.
JG
Photos, schmotos. We don't need no stinkin' photos of the Goodyear pods. We've got Mike Cozart to paint the descriptive pictures in our heads!
(But I still wanna see the photos. ;-p )
I enjoyed all the stories shared today, about TL. I would love to be back there in the evening. Always beautiful at night.
"Photos, schmotos. We don't need no stinkin' photos of the Goodyear pods. We've got Mike Cozart to paint the descriptive pictures in our heads!"
JB, I agree! (Mike, are you going by memory???)
"Today Imagineering adds little green men to Tomorrowland, monkeys to Adventureland and glitter-glam paint to Fantasyland…"
Mike, LOL!
I'm still hoping to find the Goodyear animated "pods" pictures in my dad's collection. I have lots more slides to look at. Plus, I have home movies of DL, too. Maybe, just maybe, we'll find them in motion, in the home movies. Cross your fingers. Am hoping to eventually get those movies on the internet for all to enjoy.
Thanks for all your nice comments!
"Mike, thanks for reminding me of those Goodyear animations...we waited briefly in the line for the Buzz Lightyear attraction."
OK, from now on I'm going to think of him as Buzz Goodyear. (My other Grandpa's nickname was Fred Firestone, because he used to sell Firestone tires.)
"The couple in front of us in line were struggling to get a selfie, so I took their pic for them.
That's one of the nicest "little things" about the Disney parks - people taking strangers' pictures for them. I love how sometimes it feels like we're all just hanging out together, and some of my favorite Disney pictures were taken by helpful strangers.
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