Should We Ride the Monorail? - April 1974
In my memories of past Disneyland trips, I think of myself as EXTRA happy to be in Tomorrowland. Of course I loved the other lands, but I was pretty taken with all of the friendly futurism on display here.
M O N O R A I L? Yes please! Most trains have two rails, but Disneyland removed one and passed the savings on to YOU. "Old Bluie" is up there, but it'll probably be zooming to the Disneyland Hotel by the time we get up to the station. I guess we'll probably catch the yellow Monorail? Or maybe even the elusive green train?!
Leonard Nimoy apparently likes the Monorail too, but he mostly likes the Speedramp. He bribed the cast members so that he could ride up the Speedramp, walk back down the regular old Slowramp, and the ride up again. Little did he know he could just do that for free!
14 comments:
Major-
I wonder if "Leonard's" sweater is mohair-? Only the best when riding the Monorail-!
Thanks, Major.
Major, you're probably right. Monorail Blue will sound its low-pitched melodic air horn and glide away toward the Hotel before we can get up to the boarding platform. I hope that orange Skyway gondola gets itself unstuck from the top of the Monorail before it pulls away from the station; that could cause all sorts of trouble.
Notice how Leonard Nimoy is covering the tips of his ears with that hat. He's visiting from the future and doesn't want any of the 1974 normies to discover his Vulcan lineage.
Nanook, the sweater looks like larryhair to me.
Thanks for the nice Monorail pics, Major. Back when the Monorail still looked like a future form of transportation, not a traveling advertisement, or cartoon.
It looks like Leonard's hatband has a leopard print. I wonder if he got the hat in Adventureland?
Nanook and JB, I think the sweater is made of shemphair.
I don't know if anyone noticed Ann Margrock in front of Mssr. Nimoy and his bodyguard: but there she is: dressed for Summer. The boys are dressed for a hard winter in the mountains of Anaheim: disguised as fashion forward lumberjacks. The queue for the Monorail has always been a bit of a conundrum: and guests were frequently confused especially when the Sub line was snaked and twirled about out there. I believe it's still not completely figured out: there is a lot going on in this somewhat small space where both lines are in the same place. The speed ramp was always the a fun ride within itself. Just seems that it would continue to dump people on the platform up above no matter if it was full or not. I don't remember if there was a ticket taker on the bottom to regulate the amount of people going up. Probably. I don't remember this costume that Mr. Retlaw is wearing up there, but it did change to a more jump-suit look in my time. I think I've mentioned that the "casting" of these Retlaw guys were a bit different than the general autocratic and "type casting" in the normal Disneyland: which was it's own very strict thing. A certain height and proportion "to fit the range of costumes". I think the range only included the same range of Nina Blanchard's or Eileen Ford's guys back then (high fashion model brokers: look them up.) Thanks Major for the morning memories.
Major, I’m spending all my rail savings on more rides of the monorail. Hopefully it’s a two for one deal. I can feel those SpeedRamp (better than any old SlowRamps) rollers on my fallen arches now.
Live long and prosper, my Vulcan dudes. “Struggles with hand signal”
JG
Nanook, when I think of all those dead mohs, I get tears in my eyes.
JB, it’s OK, I’d rather ride the Yellow Monorail anyway (tears in eyes)! There must be gum on the bottom of that Skyway gondola, and that’s why it stuck to the Monorail. Leonard knows how to blend in after all these years, the knit cap that he wore in that episode was a good look. “Larryhair”, ew.
TokyoMagic!, so funny, I almost made a “Shemphair” joke too, but then I looked and saw that you’d already done it! “Curlyhair” doesn’t really work.
Bu, Ann Margrock just came from Bye Bye Birdie. Did you see the “Mad Men” episode where they are watching Ann sing that song, and Peggy says she’s “shrill”? She’s not wrong! But she looked great, and that’s what mattered. Do the subs ever get long lines these days? I’m not sure how long I’d be willing to wait for the Nemo subs, though I am glad that the ride (and lagoon) is still there. Interesting thought about what would happen if the platform was full - they must have had some sort of system after a few bad experiences. I think I’ve saved some online photos of Monorail folks wearing outfits like that CM’s, it’s sort of a “futuristic airport employee” look.
JG, it is a two for one deal, but you can only ride up front for one of the trips. Rules are rules! I can do the Vulcan salute with my right hand, but not with my left. Yes, I feel shame.
“PLEASE CONTINUE MOVING FOWARD ONCE YOU HAVE REACHED THE TOP OF THE MONORAIL PLATFORM …. PLEASE CONTINUE FORWARD TO MAKE WAY FOR ADDITIONAL PASSENGERS ON THE MONORAIL PLATFORM”
1969 monorail station SPEEDRAMP recording that was in use till the day the Speedramps were removed from the monorail station.
I am PRO SPEEDRAMP & SPEEDWALK … Goodyear or Stu Adamson..
In my travels around the world I’ve noticed something ; CHINESE , JAPANESE, EUROPEANS and CANADIANS ALL continue moving forward at the top of Speedramps and escalators - away from the mechanism they just were deposited off of.
AMERICANS : do not - they stop and look around at the top trying to figure out where they are or ended up not thinking about the passengers coming up close behind them. They stupidly stop and stand right at the top like confused cattle. Why AMERICANS do this is unclear.
Another thing AMERICANS do : is on elevators ; they start to ENTER the elevator cabin BEFORE passengers have a chance to exit : the rest of the world : allow passengers to exit first …. Then board new passengers. I don’t get it … Americans invented both the SPEEDRAMP and the ELEVATOR and ESCALATOR…. Yet they do not understand how to use them …
It’s even worse today with the generation of CROOK NECK CELPHONE USING MORLOCKS.
The problems at the Tomorrowland Monorail station were USER ERROR not the technology.
Part two Monorail station 1969 recording :
THERE IS NO NEED TO FORM A LINE ONCE YOU HAVE EXITED THE SPEEDRAMP - PLEASE CONTINUE MOVING FOWARD MAKING SPACE FOR ADDITIONAL PASSENGERS ON THE MONORAIL PLATFORM.
Another thing you’ll notice is at the Disneyland Railroad …. AMERICANS do not understand how a bill pen passenger platform works … instead of filling up the “corral” space intended to accommodate 80-100 people .. they create a line …. So there are only 20 guests on the covered platform while a line spills out in front of the depot clogging walkways and passes. Last year on a project for New Orleans Square we got to study and witness this example for a long time .
I think it’s because as time has gone on few Americans use mass transit ( probably because it’s too dangerous now) and only experience train passenger bullpens at themeparks and don’t understand how it works … also they are soo quick to check there phone ANYTIME they come to a stop - even if they just went thru a turnstile .
New Orleans Square isn’t the only station with loading problems … it too has guests creating a line …. But another problem is guests entering both EXITS … then having to search for the correct entrance. This is a Disneyland operational failure as the entrance needs to be defined more with a better sign or by opening up the mouth of the entry ramp at the planter better…. This is especially a BIG problem at night.
Bill pen = BULL PEN
Omg … my phone just deletes and changes things at will . The OTHER train station is the TOMORROWLAND station … my phone felt that detail wasn’t important .
Before I scrolled down, I thought you were just making a reference to Leonard nimoy being in the monorail episode of The Simpsons. But there he is! Probably promoting his episode of Columbo.
Melissa I swear that Columbo episode is in every other day … when Spock tries to kill Grandpa Walton and Honey West!!
I think Americans have just gotten used to form a line as that's how most everything works at Disneyland. And given the fights I've seen over trivial things there, I wouldn't want to be seen as "cutting" the line by the wrong person.
Leopard headband on Leonard. Hat strap on, and is that an ascot? With those rims, and a bag strap across that very nice sweater.
Swank. Ann-Margrock is in fine company.
MS
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