Here's a batch of Randos (or are they Leftuggies?), starting with two undated slides (taken from the Skyway) that are probably from 1974 or '75. You can see that the Peoplemover and its track are under construction; that attraction opened on July 1st, 1975. Colorful Skyway gondolas enter and leave the terminal to the right, and of course the Contemporary Hotel dominates the scene.
A second photo shows a corner of Cinderella Castle, and a sliver of Tomorrowland.
Next is a very nice look at the Fort Wilderness Railroad, circa 1977. As pretty as it looks, this railroad was plagued with issues. From Wikipedia: The railroad officially opened on January 1, 1974, and provided transportation for the resort's various campsites. Due to issues with track maintenance, pedestrian safety, noise concerns, and the low fuel capacity of its steam locomotives, the FWRR closed permanently in February 1980.
I hope you have enjoyed these random views!
I'm still out of town, but I'll be talking to you all very soon.
That looks like Peoplemover track construction I think?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great place it must have been in the 70's...
Thank You Major P!
1) The white Monorail train almost gets lost on the (also) white beamway.
ReplyDelete2) Is that a giant cockroach climbing the turret roof? Probably just a speck of dirt on the slide... BUT IT COULD BE A GIANT COCKROACH!!!
3) So WDW doesn't have a steam train going around the Magic Kingdom any more? How is that possible? This is a Disney Park! I like the Spanish moss hanging in the trees... I'm sure it's animatronic though. This is a very attractive train. I love the overall shape and the color scheme.
4) How cute! Just what every childrens' nursery needs: A hideous severed head leering over a baby's crib! It'll toughen the little tyke up; build character. More of Walt's "hard facts".
They may be (more) Randos, but they're WDW Randos! Thanks, Major. (Hurry back; the feral GDB cats are stalking the AEDs, and Fudgie has broken out in hives!)
In the first image you can see the supports for SPACE MOUNTAIN. I would guess these slides were taken in 1973 as Space mountain was testing in 1974 and the Star Jets ( not even built yet in these images) was soft operating in December of 1974.
ReplyDeleteThe WDW 1975 TOMORROWLAND was to have a beautiful WDW RR train station … but it’s construction was put on hold because it was felt it’s location would cause a jamb with the expected massive lines for the double track Space Mountain. This was the SECOND WDW RR Tomorrowland train station that was put on hold. The first one was to have been constructed in 1972 - the same year the WDW FRONTIERLAND station was also built . The 1972 Tomorrowland station looked almost identical in design to the Disneyland Tomorrowland train station .., which would have been very out of place in the Florida Tomorrowland.
Disneyland’s 1967 Tomorrowland was designed mostly by architectural
Designers and automotive designers while WDW’s 1971-1975 Tomorrowland was designed mostly by Industrial designers and structural engineers . Both designs are very Disney yet both distinct and very much a reflection of what was possible when they were built.
At Walt Disney World there were selections of masks in the Magic Shop on Main Street USA , Merlin’s Magic Shop in Fantasyland and THE HAUNTED MANSION SHOP in Liberty Square ( part of the Keel Boat Boat house)
In phase two of Walt Disney World there was suppose to be a whole additional block of buildings in Liberty Square as well as a Market House Building . There was also going to be a Haunted Mansion Arcade …. Similar to Disneyland’s Pirate Arcade : with customized arcade games with a haunted mansion theme …. Here haunted mansion and related merchandise would be available as well … but these items remained in the HAUNTED MANSION shop in the keel boat building.
That Tomorrowland construction photo is a real beauty – thanks, Major. My first trip to WDW was in the late summer of 1973 and I have almost no memory of Tomorrowland other than the entrance towers. I was only six years old so my memory is naturally fuzzy, but so much from the rest of the park made such a huge impression on me at the time that I can't help but wonder if much of Tomorrowland was already down for construction by that point?
ReplyDeleteI concur with Mike that these first two were taken in 1973. Compare with this video compilation of MK aerial photos and it’s clearly 1973.
ReplyDeleteIt’s fun to see Skyway cabins at an angle perpendicular to the photographer. Those only familiar with Disneyland’s Skyway are thinking “Wait - if the Skyway is over there, where are we???”
Sharp eye, Mike, on the Space Mountain supports. I initially read those as a Monorail beamway, and I couldn’t figure out why it had temporary handrails or nor could I map it to a known part of the beamway in my head.
So strange to see a full-sized pickup truck on a trackless Tomorrowland Speedway. You can see the car storage and maintenance area in the lower right. Note that that area doesn’t have center rails but it does have narrow curbs to ensure vehicles stay aligned.
In addition to the aforementioned details, the second photo also features the Mad Tea Party’s roof in the lower left corner and the Tomorrowland Terrace (in appropriately Coca-Cola red and white) in the lower right corner.
I was terrified of those creature masks, which is largely why I remember the magic shops being there but not their interiors. I do remember seeing horror masks at the Haunted Mansion Shop in 1979. Thanks for jogging my memory, Mike; I had totally forgotten that shop was there.
Interesting to think how things might have been had they built that additional block of buildings in Liberty Square. I wonder if it would have just made the streets seem that much more crowded with today’s guest numbers?
JB, the photo is of the Fort Wilderness Railroad, which meandered around WDW’s Fort Wilderness Campground. As the Major says, it closed in 1980, although there are remnants there to this day if you know what you are looking for (I hiked the abandoned back-country right-of way in 1998). The better-engineered Walt Disney World Railroad still circles the Magic Kingdom.
Extra note: the unbuilt WDW HAUNTED MANSION ARCADE was to have been located just beyond the Mansion’s exit as an extension of the exit crypts that were built as part of the mansion. Sam McKim did do some preliminary mansion themed arcade games but I’m unaware of any prototypes having been constructed. I know the LIBERTY SQUARE “craftsmen buildings “ And “market”, and “The Haunted Mansion Arcade” were all Magic Kingdom PHASE TWO projects that were either derailed or completely canceled because of the energy crises. Then once EPCOT CENTER got underway so much of the WDW Magic Kingdom expansion and development enhancements were neglected. Sadly that seems to always happen once a second or third park opens …. ( except at Tokyo Disneyland )
ReplyDeleteImagine collecting the WDW HM ARCADE “Madame Leota Fortune cards” , the “Marc Davis HM vending machine concept postcards” or playing arcade games like “grave robber’s reward” , “crumbling crypts & tumbling tombs” , “the giddy ghoul” or making the attic hatbox ghost dance!! (Ala “hoofin’ Henry”)
I love construction photos. I wish there were some from the WDW Matterhorn.
ReplyDeleteIf there is any single thing that would get me to visit WDW, it would be the Contemporary Hotel, although I would probably still stay at the Polynesian. I would love seeing the monorail going through the lobby.
Hard to believe that Disney would be unable to get a train to work. That’s a sure sign of corporate decline. Was this one a refit of a sugar cane train, or a bespoke effort?
I love the rubber mask! I was fascinated by these, at Disneyland and elsewhere. They were very expensive. My mother steadfastly refused to let me have one until 7th or 8th grade but eventually I found one that was suitably gory and also in my budget and she relented. I didn’t trick or treat much by then, but I could wear it to Halloween dances and such. It was terribly hot and hard to see out of, and i stored it with some other plastic or vinyl toys and the rubber materials reacted with one another and it rotted. Oh well.
Thanks Major! Best wishes for safe travels.
JG
@ Chuck-
ReplyDelete"It’s fun to see Skyway cabins at an angle perpendicular to the photographer".
It was always a kick riding the WDW Skyway and passing through the 'dogleg', or 'L turn' changing the cable direction by around 90-100°. It appears the 2nd photo was taken just as the bucket was approaching the second tower beyond the 'turn', as it continues its journey into Fantasyland, proper. (Yes, WDW's Skyway also ran in a CW direction. Why mess with a winning formula-?)
Thanks, Major.
The phantom of the Op er ah is thereeee...inside my mind. I never understood this line: but I like the mask...for the stage show they went another direction: I like the gory version just fine. Those mask characters at Universal were very creepy, and I still have nightmares. These Walt Disney World photos are really awesome: I like seeing the starkness of the Contemporary and it truly holds up as relevant today. It's very impressive even with it's sister hotels near by. It really does need to be a solo act however as it is basically a piece of art. When you sail into it on one of the ferries: it's very impressive, as is the general approach to the Magic Kingdom. I feel that WDW still has some authentic "feelings" that Disneyland does not possess anymore: going through a toll gate: parking in the parking lot: then the trip via a Monorail/ferry/etc. There is an authenticity still there, and I recommend it during a time when it's not scorching hot, or pouring rain. And honestly, I'm not sure if there is a time that is like that...not in my lifetime anyway. I missed the train and Fort Wilderness...seems like it had a short life: hope it got a better home. Fort Wilderness seemed kind of not an experience that matches my needs as a resort traveler: but I was always fascinated by the treehouse villas. Never experienced them. With the Magic Kingdom so close, I'm not sure I'd be into roasting marshmallows or singing olde tyme songs around a fire pit .....there are RIDES to go on people! I mean: adventures and attractions of course. Nope: we called them rides. Still call them rides. It's easier to say. Seven syllables instead of one. I'm lazy. That being said: thanks for the trip to Floida this morning Major!
ReplyDeleteSome WOW photos today! All that swirling swooping cement around WDW is beautiful under that huge blue sky they have.
ReplyDeleteThat truck on the Speedway road with cars on a street behind give it all the feel of being real.
I remember being so unimpressed with their Autopia and Tomorrowland in those first few months (except those super incredible fountain towers at the entrance) , so no surprise that it was all being reimagined very soon. I would not see it again for decades.
Was that extra block at the heart of Liberty Square part of the original design, and got pushed back into phase two / never-land?
MS
Chuck, thanks for the Railroad clarification. Whew! The MK still has its encircling RR. I remember reading about your adventurous trek through the wilds of WDW, looking for vestiges of long-gone Disney things (like the RR tracks). It's been quite a few years since you told us about that, but not as long ago for me, maybe four years, as I was catching up on all of Major's earlier posts before I started commenting here.
ReplyDeleteWe should call the Major the Godfather, 'cause in his life story he'll be played by Marlon Rando.
ReplyDeleteIt was the early 80s before I got to WDW, but it was close enough to these pictures that I can imagine everything smelling the same. Thank you so much for the Saturday time machine trip.
I've never been able to afford to stay at the Contemporary, but I love hanging around there and pretending I can.
The new DVC cabins at Fort Wilderness are a great example of TRE. They might as well rename DVC The TRE Institute at the rate they're going.
And a happy belated birthday to Sue! I'm sorry I missed the celebrations yesterday!
ReplyDeleteMS: yes the LIBERTY SQUARE unbuilt block and market tower building was part of the original plan … both complexes appears in concept art and models as well as phase one blueprints and both complexes were completely done with full construction documents : they just could not be ready for opening day.
ReplyDeleteThe same with TOMORROWLAND 1975 : it was designed but just not ready for the opening year. Exceptions include the look of the WEDWAY vehicles - they would have originally looked like the Disneyland PeopleMover cars - but canopy-less . And the Disneyland rocket jet design was replaced with the STAR JETS design after Nasa released concepts for the space shuttle - WED decided to use the “manta ray” body shape of the first space shuttle concepts. for revised vehicle bodies.
The Grand Prix Raceway layout in 1971 was rather simple because they new the addition of Space Mountain would alter the space available … so once the foundation of space mountain was underway the more elaborate Grand Prix Raceway was completed. Since 1972 the WDW raceway track has been altered 4 times … prior to opening it was to be AUTOPIA like Disneyland … but when Goodyear was informed the WEDWAY PEOPLEMOVER they had planned on sponsoring in Florida was going to use magnets and nylon wheels - Goodyear was offered Autopia sponsorship . To help entice Goodyear to switch to Autopia, WED proposed the Racing theme and formula racing was EXTREMELY POPULAR on the east coast ESPECIALLY in Florida … so Goodyear was happy.
Tokyo Disneyland declined regular Autopia and opting for the racing motif - pAris wanted the raceway motif until WDI developed the 1930’s future theme and storyline “journey to Solar City” and the retro 30’s futuristic “Autopia Coupe”. Hong Kong Disneyland added Autopia shortly after opening … when Honda joined sponsorship - these used electric motors with the pAris style cars … because of the electric motors and the very short charge intervals the roadway in Hong Kong was very short - but heavy in theming . Both Tokyo and Hong Kong have removed their Autopia/raceway attractions .
Tokyo DL’s Grand Circuit Raceway cars were sent to Florida and replaced the older 1971 & 1974 built Grand Prix raceway cars with the newer 1983 TDL cars .
"for the stage show they went another direction"
ReplyDeleteHe had to be able to sing and enunciate, and they had to be able to see him from the cheap seats.
We can see the Monorail spur to the "roundhouse" - the track from the far left that merges with the curve from the Contemporary at the center of the first photo.
ReplyDeleteIn the second picture, I think that castle corner we see is the corner of the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride show building. All of the Fantasyland-facing buildings adjacent to Conderella Castle share its look.
Now that I think about it, we've seen a bunch of pictures of WDW's Tomorrowland Skyway station, but few of the Fantasyland station. I've seen many more of the DL Fantasyland station. Was it not photogenic?
Thank you, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteIn the first couple shots, the Contemporary looks like it's almost inside the Magic Kingdom. I'm not sure of the exact distance between the Contemporary and the Park, but these pictures are surprisingly deceptive.
Fun side-trip to WDW, today, Major - thank you.