Tomorrowland, July 1970
1970 would have been a fine time to go to Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It had all of the wonders of Walt's 1967 "New Tomorrowland", still going strong. That includes the Carousel of Progress, which was only there for a mere six years before being shipped off to Florida. In this first photo, we're in the Plaza looking up at the curving Peoplemover track, with those cheerful little trains that never stopped. I believe that the blue Peoplemover train was about to head back to the station beneath the Rocket Jets, while the red train had just left the station and was curving toward the buildings on the south side of Tomorrowland, allowing guests for a peek inside some of the attractions.
There are lots of fun details, like the metallic panels on the entry gates, the "flying whale" fountains, the Bell System and AT&T logos ("Presented by your host company, Pacific Telephone"). And even a sliver of a Mary Blair tile mural.
Ah, the wonderful old Rocket Jets. Let's get rid of them! I like the clear orange nosecones that glowed at night, the result of friction with the Earth's atmosphere. Even the details of the system control rockets that would maneuver the command module way up at the top of the Saturn V add to the story.
17 comments:
Major-
"I believe that the blue Peoplemover train was about to head back to the station beneath the Rocket Jets, while the red train had just left the station and was curving toward the buildings on the south side of Tomorrowland, allowing guests for a peek inside some of the attractions". Check.
Hail to thee - Rocket Jets.
Thanks, Major.
I don't remember ever seeing that particular mural/signage inside the doorway to the Circle-Vision Theater. Were they trying to be a little Mondrian-ish?
You are right about 1970 being a fine time to visit Tomorrowland, Major. My favorite era for Tomorrowland is 1967-1973, but it was still pretty darn good up until 1985/86, when they started to ruin it.
Thank you Major, and Mondrian!
I bet that's Ethel Merman with her back to us in the bright pink outfit and hat. It looks like the sort of thing she would wear. At least that's how she dressed in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World".
I always get a little angry when I see vintage photos of the PeopleMover. Colorful, kinetic, pleasant, and just plain cool... And then they ruined it. Grrr. But, at least we can see them in these photos and old videos.
Ooh! Nice picture of the Rocket Jets! I'm saving this one. "system control rockets"? "maneuver the command module"? Too many fancy words, Major. "They spin around that there rocket thing fer a spell and they go up 'an down, too!" There. Fixed it. ;-p
The way it was. Thank you, Major.
I love the pointy walls sticking up in the background with the good old Saul Bass Bell logo! The pink-hatted lady is either Ethel Merman or Fun Mom's sister Fun Auntie. And there's a lady at right wearing a top inspired by the classic Hudson's Bay point blanket. While I love the Florida Peoplemover for still being open, the ability of the OG version to go uphill and down was pretty special.
JB, I don't think that's Ethel Merman. I think it's Lieutenant Hurwitz. Shell shock, you know.
Faint memories of "World of Color" showing off the New Tomorrowland, making a big deal of the fact you rode an elevator up to the Rocket Jets, just like a real astronaut! Was that when to Rocket to the Moon began showing the cheap-looking astronauts jumping on the moon's surface, or when it became Mission to Mars, scientific but kind of boring after the blast off seat effects?
I liked the retro-future idea; if only they committed the money to make it work. Dreams of the Verne-themed attractions in Paris and Tokyo ...
Meanwhile, I've got old-school Tomorrowland music on my old-school iPod to cheer me: Inner Space's "Miracles from Molecules", the perky 50s Monorail instrumental, the long version of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", Fred MacMurray talk-singing "Flubber", and the Tomorrowland movement from the old Disneyland tour album, with Walt setting a glorious peaceful future in the 1980s. Tempted to toss in the title song from Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". Yes, it's a love song sung by Frankie Avalon or Fabian or someone ("Come with me ... Come with me ... On a Voyage ... To the Bottom ... Of the Sea ...").
If memory serves, there was a light moon-themed love song in "Moon Pilot". That sitcom-like Disney movie was about an astronaut who gets in trouble with his superiors after meeting a pretty alien with powers like a genie. Surely a coincidence a TV sitcom came along thereafter about an astronaut who gets in trouble with his superiors after meeting a pretty genie.
Like Tokyo , I have never seen that version of the America The Beautiful lobby entry marquee…. The font seems a bit loose ….. but a popular lettering format of the late 60’s early 70’s. This is showing that a lobby entry redo must have occurred fairly early after its 1967 opening. I get the impression there may be more variations of the entry … I know there were 3 changes between 1976 and 1983…. I suspect this is because AT&T at this time was promoting its “decorator” and designer “fun phones” so keeping everything very contemporary was probably a big priority to the company not only selling phone service but actual telephones.
The Rocket Jets, when they had silver instead of gold highlights! Yay! Not that I’m particular - I’d take any Rocket Jets today, even with Montana Future Brown highlights.
JB, ”I always get a little angry when I see vintage photos of the PeopleMover. Colorful, kinetic, pleasant, and just plain cool... And then they ruined it. Grrr.” Easy there, pal. I don’t think Bob Grrr had anything to do with ruining it.
Melissa, I have a Hudson’s Bay point blanket that my grandmother got on her honeymoon in 1939. Well, it’s actually two blankets, now - she cut it in half to fit twin beds. It’s in great shape and still gets occasional use. Would be a little warm for a sleeveless summer blouse, though. Scratchy, too. But it would still insulate when wet.
TM!, just so everyone has context: Lieutenant Hurwitz
DBenson, it was Frankie Avalon, who played Lieutenant Romano in the film. Or was it Lieutenant Hurwitz? Been a minute since I last saw it.
Chuck, war is hell!
Chuck, I thought *my* Mom was the only one who cut king-size blankets in half for our twin beds!
The pink lady: Minnie Pearl? Hedda Hopper? Pink Lady and Jeff? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKUDIjLXTM8 Note: voted in the "Top 10 worst Television ever produced". I don't know....Hugh Hefner, Jim Varney....Greg Evigan? Sounds like a winner to me. Tomorrowland looks especially shiny in these photos! 1967 Tomorrowland was epic and I don't know if things like this would ever be produced again without a super strong visionary. Rocket Jets: also the unexpected "Thrill Ride"....doesn't look too high from underneath...I remember being in those jets up to the highest point with like a flimsy thread holding you in...my friends and I would bounce up and down making it "springy" which added to the fun. I have a 8mm film of this...somewhere....my attic is like the last scene in Raiders of the lost Ark...you pull back the camera...there's a lot of stuff. Jules Verne is an interesting take on a "Tomorrow"Land...but you have to do that stuff really good to pull it off....Jetsons Tomorrowland is a better choice: cleaner and brighter and more optimistic. Jules Verne? Can we leave him for 20K...and didn't we yank him out somewhere else? I have ideas. Thanks Major!
Best. Tomorrowland. Ever.
My profile pic was taken right at that Y in the tracks. I can’t stand in the exact spot today since it is a planter in the Orbitron queue. Boo.
I would stretch the period of Peak Tomorrowland through 1977 to include Space Mountain since WED had been taunting us with it on the Park maps for over a decade. But I can’t forgive losing CoP to America Sings. I probably only saw the CoP show 6-8 times and the music is fresh in my mind, while I can’t recall anything of AS except being bored.
I remember noticing the Rocket Jet nose cone lights were sealed-beam headlights like our car. More examples of off-the-shelf imagineering to great effect.
DBenson, that sounds like a great playlist! Ironic how todays TL loop track includes music whose origins few guests now remember. The retro-future should have been great.
Chuck & Melissa, I had a blanket that was too short, so I cut a foot off the top to sew on the bottom. Worked like charm.
Thanks Major!
JG
I do like how Walt Disney World still has their Peoplemover and Astro Orbiter (complete with elevator ride up to the attraction). However, the last time I rode the Astro Orbiter, they had obviously switched out the rockets with smaller, less comfortable models! The fiends!
This was the only Disneyland Tomorrowland I ever saw- even though I love the Moonliner. I think I'm ok with that...
Nanook, don’t you mean “10-4, good buddy”??
TokyoMagic! I prefer “Partridge-family-ish” to “Mondrian-ish”. I wish I hadn’t recommended that the Disney folks ruin Tomorrowland, but I was feeling naughty.
JB, oh Ethel… the wind whispers her name. I know what you mean about feeling angry when looking at old pictures of the Peoplemover. Removing it was one of the worst decisions in the history of Disneyland, and that’s saying something. I admit that I like to show off how much I know about rockets, thanks to my “Big Book of Rockets”.
Melissa, yes, it’s funny how things like vintage logos can seem like old friends, almost. Fun Mom, I miss her. Fun Dad, not as much! I wish I had a genuine Hudson Bay blanket to make into a shirt.
TokyoMagic!, at least the Lieutenant didn’t think he was a chicken, like I did.
DBenson, you can watch that TV special with the introduction of the New Tomorrowland, it’s on YouTube. Hosted by the current Disney Ambassador, since Walt had died only months before. I didn’t remember that the astronauts on the surface of the moon looked cheap, but then again, it’s been a while. I agree, I was actually kind of excited at the idea of a Jules Verne-inspired Tomorrowland, but it was done in such a half-assed manner. Maybe even 1/3 assed (is that better, or worse?). Love that Tomorrowland music, I used to listen to it a lot, back when you could find it all on the Internet, and it seemed like such an amazing discovery. I still particularly love the Monorail theme. I haven’t see the “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” film since I was a kid, I barely remembered that Frankie Avalon was in it, much less that he sang a song. What, no Annette? I’m familiar with the title “Moon Pilot”, but that’s one I’ve never seen.
Mike Cozart, it does seem as if the entry for Circarama/Circlevision was changed fairly regularly. Not sure why, but it’s nice that they went to the effort. I didn’t even notice the version in today’s photo because it’s so dark. When I get home I’ll try lightening it up in Photoshop for a better look. Hey, some of those “decorator phones” are pretty cool!
Chuck, I agree, the silver was better than gold, but I’d take gold highlights on the Rocket Jets if we could get them back up where they belong. Cutting a 1939 Hudson Bay blanket in half sounds like something that shouldn’t be done, but I’m looking at it from 2021 eyes (I’m two years behind). Maybe the halves would be good for picnic blankets? And anyone who didn’t know who Lieutenant Hurwitz is should have their liberry cards revoked. Or something.
TokyoMagic!, um, you said a swear.
Melissa, when you think about it, if you cut a blanket into 20 pieces, you will then have 20 blankets!
Bu, Pink Lady and Jeff, I actually remember watching that when it aired. Poor Pink Lady. Whatever became of them? I saw Jeff Altman on Ventura Boulevard once (coming out of a Coldstone ice cream place), he seemed cheerful. Not sure why I am telling you that, but you needed to know. The Rocket Jets really did seem WAY up there, it was so cool. Did they move that ride because the whole gantry thing was seen as too clumsy and slow? If you have any Faberge Easter Eggs in your attic, save them for me. You can keep the Ark of the Covenant. Oh, a Jetsons Tomorrowland sounds awesome!
JG, do you have the profile photo of you in that spot? Is it handy? I agree, Space Mountain was a great addition to Tomorrowland, I still love it to this day. And while I know that many people loved “America Sings”, I saw it once, and that was enough for me. That dumb weasel! One of the big auctions of Disneyland stuff had a Rocket Jet, and man did I wish I could bid. I’m sure it went for many tens of thousands of dollars.
Stu29573, I am truly jealous that WDW has their Peoplemover and Star Jets (or did they rename them to “Astro Orbiter”?). I’ve noticed that ALL of the ride vehicles are now smaller and less comfortable!
Major, I think she cut it in 1940, so it's not like it was an antique at the time, but it still makes me cringe a bit to think about it. Reading the Wikipedia article that Melissa linked, that was apparently a pretty common thing to do. It did make for two decent (and exceptionally warm) twin bed blankets. I was always toasty when I stayed at her house in the winter, and I've never frozen to death when I took them camping. At least, not yet. I'll let you know if it happens.
Best darn Tomorrowland there was and has been. Period! One day I'll tell you what I really think too! KS
Chuck, yes at the time she was just being frugal or practical. Who would ever imagine that a blanket would have collector value?! The fact that you still have the two blankets is wonderful, and I'm glad you still put them to use!
KS, I'm not going to argue with you!
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