As is often the case on a Snoozle Sunday, I have a pair of way-too-dark scans for you - they don't measure up to a regular Monday thru Saturday post, but they are perfectly fine for today!
Our photographer was aboard a Skyway gondola, heading from Tomorrowland towards Fantasyland (circa 1974). There's not a lot to say about the image, since 50% is so dark that it might as well be black.
I'm happy to have this photo of a sign pointing guests in the direction to the Skyway to Fantasyland, styled appropriately for Tomorrowland. But, like the previous image... it's too dang dark!
Major-
ReplyDeleteIn spite of all the darkness, you gotta admit the angle of the first image is just perfect for 'seeing through' the Matterhorn. And it's possible there may be a bobsled sighting in the upper-left of the image.
Thanks, Major.
Not only is there a possible bobsled sighting as Nanook pointed out, but we can also see three mountain climbers, Fudgie, Tinkerbell, and the dent! ;-)
ReplyDeleteDark image #1: Except for the dark bits, it looks nice... except for the dark bits (Did I mention the dark bits?). The Matterhorn looks especially grand and stately here.
ReplyDeleteWas our photographer standing on top of the gondola? He seems to be looking down on the other gondolas.
Removing the Matterhorn's nostrils, and the Skyway that went through them, was the single most egregious example of TRE committed by the Disney uppity-ups.
Dark image #2: Like you said, Major, it's nice to have a picture of this sign for documentation purposes, but I can't help wondering why the photographer felt the need to use one of his precious frames of film on it. I mean, Lou Perry would, yes. But the average picture-taker most likely wouldn't. Perhaps this picture-taker was above average... and the cost of film, and processing, didn't phase him.
Not sure where this sign was; near the Tomorrowland Railroad Station exit?
Nanook, there is definitely something up there on the left. After messing with the image, I can see something yellow (a bobsled?), and what appears to be a passenger, maybe with a white hat.
Tokyo!, you forgot The Stain, which is plain as day here. Also, I only see two of the mountain climbers.
"Snoozle" sounds like a Seussian word, or maybe a Roald Dahl neologism. In any case, thank you for them, Major.
JB, the Skyway sign was located at the base of the staircase, leading to the station. Here is the Google street view. This was as close as I could get us, but the sign and the staircase were located right behind the Autopia Winners Circle shop (formerly the Hatmosphere and the Mod Hatter). In fact, last time I checked, the staircase is still there, but it now has a wooden door in front of it, blocking access to the common folk.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm wondering if the big tree in the Google view (behind the shop), could be the sapling we see in Major's pic:
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8123615,-117.916514,3a,75y,93.83h,99.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSxXmJ0-K8qahFNACSoT9rg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu
I know where that sign is today …. However if now has a 3” crack on its face as it has become brittle being over 55 years old. But it is in a loving home.
ReplyDeleteIt’s actually not too rare to see photos of park signage - especially in slide film as the photographers tended to use the signs as title slides for their “slide shows”
Starting in the late 80’s a friend and I wold do entire Disneyland trips every year and spend the day photographing signs and posters and other graphic elements. Often we would get many odd looks . One time while trying to photograph a trashcan in Tomorrowland we had to move a cluster of chairs cluttering the subject… a custodial cast member came over to help and said “oh let me move that for you” ….. and moved the trash can away. We stood there with our tripod … And we had to embarrassingly admit that it was the trashcan we were photographing. He looked at us like “huh!??? …. Why??”
A fellow follower of GDB and I would go on Disneyland photo safaris and picked subjects for the trip like … FRONTIERLAND lighting fixtures …. Architectural details of New Orleans Square …. Park weather vanes …. Tom Sawyer Island….. etc. those trips were fun and now we have images that in many cases are rare GEMS.
One time I spent part of a day just photographing the PEOPLEMOVER …. For part of the visit I stood at the unload area and photographed PeopleMover trains coming into the station with their canopy’s raising and doors opening etc … some PeopleMover “action” shots … a exiting lady saw that there were no people in the vehicles and in a mouthy sassy tone told me “I buy a postcard if there’s no people in the picture” …. I had to bite my tounge and hold back several variations of responses that flooded my mind at that point…..lol!
Snoozles (tm) also known as CSIGDB. Snoozles jumpstarts rabbit holes in addition to spending lots of precious time on seemingly nothing that actually matters but DOES MATTER!!! I have some photos of the bottom of those stairs leading to the Tomorrowland Skyway, which is to the right of that sign. TM is correct that the stairs are still there...and do go to the upper level of that facility, but clearly they were rearranged further up (the structure changed) to be some type of egress or escape route from the Rocket Rods, or the actual PeopleMover after the Skyway became defunct...not sure, and not sure if it matters that much...BUT...the stairs are still there and here is a vintage photo of both the sign and the stairwell: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/265782815483566885/ You can see why a giant sign was needed, with a super cool frame on it as well. "Go behind the Mod Hatter and there will be a secret staircase to seemingly nowhere, but it does lead to a ride...." I will say that I do not recall ever having an issue with not finding the entrance to the Skyway. I also agree that it is an odd thing to waste an entire shot on in the 35mm days...perhaps someone REALLY liked the Skyway. I have that same photo of the Matterhorn...almost in the exact same spot. Must have been a "Wow" moment, and there are probably many duplicate shots out there. As far as the tree goes...there is a very large tree there now, which looks like it has matured in that spot. The shot in the Pinterest photo shows Bamboo behind the Mod Hatter, and a awning of some type where the giant tree is now living. The current tree is massive, but plants grow fast in California.....and ....these photos are decades old...so perhaps it started out as a baby banyon, or fig....or... The bamboo is definitely not there anymore...which may be a good thing: it is quite invasive, and in my part of the world, there are lawsuits over bamboo migrating over property lines. Thanks Major for today's Snoozles (tm)
ReplyDeletePhoto 1 demonstrates perfect Nostril Alignment, leading to that brief glimpse of the Bobsled Backstage, where we knew everything was fake concrete and steel, but it didn’t matter. Those few seconds were worth the trip.
ReplyDeleteThe buckets have little red and green lights, like boats or airplanes. How was electricity served to these fixture? Was it DC in the support cable? The buckets don’t appear to have a connection to the static center cable (which we know to be communications). Did those lamps not light up? Did the skyway run at night? I cannot remember and I should.
My friends here will not think it’s weird, but I have noticed that big thrifty tree and have spent some goodly time trying to sort out the changes to Skyway station, no luck. I’m sure todays guests just race on by. Thanks for the photo links!
I do like that sign, but I would never take a picture of it back then. It, and everything else, would always be there next year for my next visit, and the Park would keep improving and getting better… …and where was I going with this? Never mind.
Thanks Major.
JG
Nanook, I appreciate that you are finding a “silver lining”! I do like seeing through the Matterhorn, but I’d still like the picture 200% more if it wasn’t so dark. And I think you’re right about that tiny smidgen of a bobsled!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, you sure see a lot of stuff!
JB, yes, the dark bits. Too much (or too many?). Yes, the photographer climbed out of his gondola and he was standing on top of the roof. The folks at the park encouraged such creative behavior! I agree, removing the Skyway (and filling in the nostrils) was a crime. I often wonder why people take certain photos - obviously most guests want a nice picture of the castle or the Mark Twain, but I am grateful for those people who think a little differently. I can’t imagine that I would have been somebody to take a photo of the Skyway sign, though today, with digital pix, maybe I would have?
TokyoMagic!, I figured that it only made sense that the Skyway sign would be near the steps. Otherwise, why have a sign? Thank you for the link to Google Maps though! Interesting to think that the tree in the “today” pic is the same one as that sapling.
Mike Cozart, oh, I never thought about slide shows, but you’re right, the signs would make for good headings for upcoming subjects. Funny that the custodian could not imagine that anybody would want a picture of a trashcan. You’d think at some point the employees had seen it all. It sounds like you captured a ton of details of various lands that nobody (even Lou!) captured, you need to start your own photo blog! Most Disneyland postcards of rides show guests in them (with a few rare exceptions), I guess that lady didn’t buy many postcards!
Bu, I have to admit that 3/4 of the fun of Snoozles is the rabbit holes that we get to go down. Ha ha, thanks for the link to my own photo! It does clear up exactly where that sign was. I love the shape of the sign, it kind of echoes what they used at the Disneyland Hotel around that same time. I guess it was considered a “cool new shape”. Folks have “wasted” frames of film on worse things than that Skyway sign, how about some ducks in water, with no context? I always think, “Those look like every other duck you’ve ever seen, WHY take that photo?”. I wasn’t sure if that was bamboo, but it seems like an odd thing to use in Tomorrowland. Except for now, since it is an ecologically responsible material. My sister got bamboo floors in a bedroom and they look great.
JG, I am glad that the Matterhorn did not have a deviated septum, that can cause problems. Yodeling problems, especially. Seeing the “fake” parts of the Matterhorn was a highlight, not a bug! Somebody smarter than me (a low bar) will have to tell you about how electricity was channeled to the gondolas. If I had my E-Ticket magazines, I’m sure the Skyway issue covered that detail. But they are at my mom’s house. And yes, I always assumed that everything would always be there at Disneyland. The Keelboats, the Tahitian Terrace… etc!
Major: I don’t think the E TICKET showed the Skyway station stair layout … but those Tomorrowland Skyway terminal photos I sent you do. At least as they looked just days before the attraction closed forever.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting how low the station stairs wall/railings were …. Had they been kept in guests use extra height would have been added.
The stair system was kept as it became an emergency ROCKET ROD exit from the Carousel Theater / Innoventions The PeopleMover emergency exit used to exit guests into the PeopleMover storage room ( from Tron speed rooms) and onto the roof of skyway storage …then down a hatch and down the exit stairway of SKYWAY … the exit stairs and skyway storage were demolished.