Tomorrowland, April 1974
Tomorrowland, 1974! Maybe not THE best Tomorrowland, but it was up there. In this first pic we have a family walking past Flight to the Moon; in about a year, the destination would be changed to Mars, because we had all been to the Moon by that point and we hated it. We also see a world-record number of folding chairs, possibly placed to see a famous musical act later in the evening, or maybe to see the Kids of the Kingdom. Hello, red Peoplemover!
Next is a very unusual view taken from what appears to be a blue Peoplemover train, somewhere along the track. But where? I would guess that it must be somewhere near the Tomorrowland Terrace, those arches and spires feel Crump-ish to me.
14 comments:
At least the Flight To The Moon / Mission To Mars facade still stands today...
Looks like the Peoplemover was gearing up to go around the former CAP, soon to be America Sings..?
Thanks Major!
Major-
I believe the Peoplemover track is just passing behind the old Tomorrowland Stage, about to go across the Flight to the Moon.
Feel(ing) 'Crump-ish', you say-? Is that anything like feeling 'sklonklish'-?? (Yes, the word is from a 1947 film). And the film won the Oscar for 'Best Writing, Original Screenplay'.
Thanks, Major.
There's a whole passel of "lizards and monkeys" headed our way. I'm guessing that the kid in the yellow shirt is a neighborhood friend of the kid on the right, who is a brother to all the other kids. Are there some twins or triplets in the group? They all seem to be about the same age. Mom must be taking the picture?
At first, photo #2 struck me as kind of a nothing burger. But we have all that interesting architecture everywhere. And we can see the motorized wheels in the PeopleMover track, which we don't often see. Plus, the clean, stark white and blue motif looks like a futuristic cityscape that you might see on a sci-fi paperback book cover. Location? I'd guess somewhere near Flight to the Moon... but I'm sure I'm wrong.
Thanks, Major.
Whaddya know! According to Nanook, maybe I'm not wrong about the Flight to the Moon location after all!
Nanook is right, we are behind the Tomorrowland Stage. We can see a smidgen of the red and white shade screen visible in the first photo. We can also see some of the metal framework (also visible in the first pic) which is holding the shade screen. If we could peek over that wall on the right, we would be able to see backstage, and the land on which Space Mountain would eventually be built.
I remember Mission to Mars as being decidedly anti-climax. It started with the big control room and the audio-animatronic host. Then you entered the spaceship and experienced simulated g-force and weightlessness. Finally ... MARS! Which turns out to be a vast, dull desert in accord with the latest science.
The original moon flight had drama and mystery with the flare-lit dark side of the moon, plus the sci-fi radioactive ruins. The updated version featured a delightfully cheesy visit with an astronaut at a lunar base (if the moon landing WAS faked, Disney didn't get the contract). The trip to Mars may have been more accurate, but it wasn't as fun.
Recalling the original "Man in Space" episodes from "Disneyland". When they got to the episode on Mars, scientists were already pretty sure it was a big dead rock. So they offered up playful animations of myths and fictions about Mars that came before science. And having broken the news that Mars was very probably a big dead rock, they served up that nightmare collection of life forms that MIGHT have existed on Mars ... if it wasn't, you know, Mars.
That is an AMAZINGLY RARE view!!!!! That’s right at the exit of the CHARACTER SHOP about to ascend above the TOMORROWLAND STAGE . To the very sharp right of the PeopleMover is a sliding door that leads to the original outdoor multilevel PeopleMover storage yard. The TOMORROWLAND STAGE facade was temporary as the unrealized TOMORROWLAND ‘68 ( new Tomorrowland part two) included a expansive indoor stage among a elevated dance floor, a space themed shooting gallery , a re-introduced Flying Saucers attractions as well as a indoor version of Rocket Jets called “SATURN” but also flying saucers. Tomorrowland central bathrooms and two restaurants would have also been part of the 1968 Space Mountain complex. The Stage facade was art directed by Rolly Crump … but it was designed by Mitsume … who also designed the Flight to the Moon facade and the 1967 entry fin murals and fountains . He and Vic Greene also created the sculptural modern tree branch PeopleMover supports.
MISSION TO MARS was planned to open much earlier than 1975 but was delayed because of a great deal of current information from Nasa & JPL. For the first few years the attraction featured “on board flight entertainment “ in the form of THE MAD MARS MYTH sequence … using much of the MARS AND BEYOND Ward Kimball animated scenes . Ultimately this was delegated when some updated scenes of Mars were included.
This version of Tomorrowland was so beautiful, with all the curves and spires and the negative space and the blues and whites and the hey nonny nonny and the what have you. It was like sepping into a city in the sky. (I'm basing this on the Florida version, which was architecturally similar.)
Mission to Mats was the first Disney attraction I ever experienced, and it was pure Disney magic to a space travel-obsessed kid. Maybe it was lo-fi stagecraft and hokum, but it worked. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a Peoplemover train passing in front of the MTM building; throw in the QUARTET of matching kids and that picture gets the biggest gold star I've got. I wish I could make out the design on their t-shirts.
"But where? I would guess that it must be somewhere near the Tomorrowland Terrace, those arches and spires feel Crump-ish to me. "
It's right outside... the Archy Bunker! (I'll show myself out.)
I am immediately drawn to the fellow with the short hair, GI "birth control" glasses, and Air Commando-style bush hat in the shadows of the right foreground. The Bic pen in his mouth says "don't mess with me, Pal, or I'll chomp down on this cigarette substitute and splatter ink all over your face." Speculating this is somebody who spent some time in Southeast Asia and was still actively serving.
The light-colored cord strung across the railing in the second shot proves that Mission Control was stealing cable from the Kids of the Kingdom. But can you blame them? The Gooney Bird Channel was a premium subscription they couldn't afford as a Government agency.
A terrific view of the Folding Chairs of the Future.
This Tomorrowland was why I always headed to the east side of the Park on opening.
I guess we had to go to Mars because the Moon got so crowded that no one went there any more. It’s a shame that this attraction just shut down with no replacement.
Maybe I’m silly, but I love the odd abstract PeopleMover track pic, I knew immediately where it was and I miss the PeopleMover.
Thanks Major, good start to the day.
JG
walterworld, somehow seeing the facade -but now it’s for a pizza restaurant - makes it worse, or at least it does for me. I think you’re right, the Carousel of Progress (and the model of Progress City) was next for the red Peoplemover!
Nanook, interesting, so the view in the second photo is from just to the right of the first photo! If I’m understanding correctly. I explained that poorly. “Sklonklish”, hey, Shakespeare made up his own words, I guess other people can too.
JB, I didn’t even attempt to figure out who was related to whom in that first photo. All I know is that it must have been something to deal with five kids, all approximately the same age (school chums?). I couldn’t make out what those t-shirts say, can you? Photo #2 is so unusual that I do not consider it a “nothing burger”, how often does one get a picture of a corner of Disneyland that we haven’t seen before?
JB, you made a good guess!
TokyoMagic!, thanks for pointing out the red and white shade visible in both pics. I wonder what exactly we would have seen backstage? Probably nothing very exciting, but I would have still been interested.
DBenson, I think the real Mars looks pretty interesting, there’s a surprising amount of variation for the small amounts that we’ve been able to see up close. Yes, it is a “desert”, but the desert can be beautiful in its own way. One of the old “Disneyland” (or “Walt Disney Presents”) episodes shows the great scene where a flare is fired at the dark side of the Moon, revealing ancient ruins, which is pretty cool. I think the combination of “scientific” with a little bit of “science fiction” made it more fun, while the Mars version was a bit more realistic and therefore a bit drier.
Mike Cozart, thank you for your observations; in some old aerial postcards you can see the backstage storage yard for the Peoplemover, with the different colored trains lined up. I think I might even have an aerial photo on my blog in which you can see the same thing. A space-themed shooting gallery, oh man! That could have been a lot of fun. I personally find the infrared shooting galleries to be unsatisfying, but maybe there is a way to make them feel more tactile and responsive? I looked up Mitsuo Natsume, described as “The Forgotten Imagineer” in the article I found - I think this is the first I’d heard of him, so the article was not wrong. I still think it could be fun to do some sort of Mars ride, though they would have to have a sense of fun and humor.
Melissa, they really struck gold when they cooked up the New Tomorrowland, I agree, it was a thing of beauty. And as a kid I instinctively loved it, without even knowing why exactly. The “stagecraft and hokum” you mentioned is part of what many people love about Disney rides, or that is my theory anyway. Funny about the “”Archy Bunker” joke, somebody just gave be a bag of different “Vote for Archie Bunker in 1972” pinback buttons!
Chuck, “birth control” glasses? I don’t think they are a reliable method of contraception. The guy with the hat is featured in one of my earlier photos. I’m all for stealing cable from the Kids of the Kingdom, or from AT&T too.
JG, sadly I didn’t always get my way, but I would have headed east every time if given the chance. It’s as if my siblings’ opinion mattered too, can you believe it? When they switched to “Mission to Mars” in 1975, I wonder if they believed that it would be just a few years until going to the moon would be a boring commute? And I love that PeopleMover track pic!
Yep...I immediately knew that the second picture was taken just short of when the Peoplemover would be in the position of the first shot. That is truly an amazing stroke of luck. Darn, I can feel the movement as the cars went over the individual wheels boosting them up the ramp right now. Or is that because I am sitting on a wheeled chair? You never forget that feeling. KS
Major, oh, looking at it from another angle, I guess that's not a real SEA hat. It does have a cool Larry Tetzlaff vibe to it, though. I'd wear it. And by the late '80s, those glasses were so out of style and ugly that they probably prevented more sparks than you might think. There's an entire generation or two of G.I.s who still call them "BCGs."
Wow - I never thought I would get a look at the Peoplemover track behind the stage ever again! The nice thing about this layout is that one got to traverse the entire length of the Character Shop before exiting the building. Thanks!
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