IASW, August 1969
It's just a fact of life, sooner or later I'm going to come across photos of the huge "It's a Small World" building. There's really nothing that you haven't seen before, and I am starting to think that it might be time to put a moratorium on examples that aren't exceptional. But that's something I will need to think through! Meanwhile, here's a standard view as seen from the Skyway. I've always liked the cartoon representation of famous buildings like the Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, a pagoda, an onion dome, and possibly St. Peter's dome (?). No golden arches, for some reason. At some point, somebody realized that putting a big souvenir stand right in the middle of the promenade would sell more bubble blasters than one off to the side would.
Tick-tock! This clock is accurate up to a billionth of a second, and it automatically resets for Daylight Savings Time. Walt did not opt for the built-in AM radio, and in retrospect, it was probably the right choice.
25 comments:
Major-
Did you say bubble blasters are for sale-?? Where, where...
Thanks, Major.
Well, it may be a "standard view" of iasw, but it's still a wonderful view! Everything came together to make a nearly flawless photo. We've got that white and gold 'city' smack dab in the center of the picture; surrounded by lush green foliage and blue sky. And it's in perfect focus! Amazing that the photographer got this photo from a Skyway bucket!... I'm keepin' it.
The second photo is almost as nice as the first one. But no blue sky. And no international dolls dancing around the base of the Clock. Looks like the display is about to begin, or has just finished. Every day, a poor soul is chosen from the churro dungeon beneath the Castle and placed inside the Clock, where he (or she) strikes a wood block every second, exactly, (to "a billionth of a second") to produce the tick-tock sound.
Major, as for posting only the best photos, I say "if ya got 'em, use 'em". You know that us Jr. Gorillas will ooh and ahh over the good ones, and make fun of the not-so-good ones; which is often even better. But then, I'm not the one who has to do the work. Today's photos fall into the "good ones" category. Thanks.
I always liked that little souvenir stand. And it was nicely understated, instead of a big gaudy monstrosity that partially blocks the view of the iconic facade. In addition to bubble blasters, that horrid "new" shop used to be sponsored by Mattel, so they once sold Barbies and other Mattel toys. When you think of it, it's kind of surprising that management didn't insist on having Barbie inserted into every scene of the attraction. Now that Disney owns FOX, I guess it won't be long before we see The Simpsons characters and the Xenomorph from "Alien" added to the attraction. I'm actually looking forward to that day! ;-)
Ahhh…iasw, back in the days when trees had no scale. Blue slurry is one of my favorite flavors precisely because of this scene. Can you imagine what this would have looked like if they had gone with the reddish variety? I don’t think it would have worked. It’s almost as if the OG imagineers knew what they were doing…
TM!, I never thought it was such a bad little stand. All it needed was a little love.
I hope you are talking about an actual xenomorph and not some stupid animatronic.
I hope you are talking about an actual xenomorph and not some stupid animatronic.
Chuck, naturally! Or would that be unnaturally? :-)
Now I'm hoping that the new Walt Disney A.A. vignette involves a facehugger and a chestburster. It would be totally appropriate, since Walt had secretly always wanted to own 20th Century Fox. Marty Sklar said so!
Small World is quite the amazing piece of art. I don't mind a Blurzle(tm) or two on this one. Since the approach is from afar, the guests can really take in the scale of facade. Some times things are better from far away. Unless it's a monstrosity of "exit through the gift shop". And speaking of that hideous gift shop, it's not like they have any really nice "World Showcase" merchandise from around the world....it's all the same goop as everywhere else. Exit through the gift shop is so cliche, but you see it everywhere....in WDW in Pirates I actually had to ask someone "HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE?"....it was like IKEA...or the Wonka Factory: "the people go in, but they don't come out". Now: I am 100% for gift shops and the joy they bring, but not when they destroy experience, art or architecture for commercial purposes. There is an appropriate way to do both. That Small World retail abomination needs to be torn down. That being said, it was great that Mary Blair/Rolly Crump go to really flesh out this facade in the most amazing of ways. If you look at the Pepsi Bldg. in New York, it looks rather like a "building": I know they ran out of time, etc. but the Disneyland facade really gave them the go ahead to dream big, and certainly it has held up over time. I do enjoy all the Christmas lights when it's that time of year, and I don't think that it sacrifices the original intent. If you had a Matterhorn with a giant star that would complete the holiday picture in this part of the park. Thanks Major!
I'm never not amazed at how wrong Walt Disney World got this one. The facad is half the experience with IASW, and WDW scrapped it for a tent. I guess TRE started a long time ago, but it wasn't the rule like it is now...
You know, Disney DOES have an extra Xenomorph laying about, after closing The Great Movie Ride... Just sayin'...
Disney DOES have an extra Xenomorph laying about, after closing The Great Movie Ride... Just sayin'...
Stu, I forgot about that! Weren't there two or three A.A.s of the Xenomorph in that attraction? I remember one that popped up from behind a section of wall, and another one that dropped down from the ceiling, but wasn't there a third one? They need to stick those just randomly, in some of Disneyland's attractions, like maybe three of the Fantasyland dark rides, or the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through! How fun!
Hey, you're right! I only remembered the one hanging down. Yep, that would spice up those tired, old, feel-good attractions!
IASW is inspired, I have no doubt. Every iconic building from the Tower of Pizza to the Taj Mahal, abstracted and purified. It’s wonderful, and apparently one of a kind. Any future iteration would have to include a miniature version of itself in a sort of cartoon recursion, right in step with putting character IP inside.
Major, I hope you don’t pass over too many IASW pics, I never tire of them even when blurry. I’m not a fan of the Gift Shop Exit, but at least they spent money theming it instead of how the Leota shop was handled.
Not opting for the radio was a good choice, I read the other day that either AM or FM broadcasting, not sure which, was ending, so clock radios will be a thing of the past.
Thank you Major!
JG
Good timing Major, it's a small world opened 59 years ago today. Space Mountain debuted 48 years ago today , New Fantasyland 42 years + 2 days, and maybe I should start memorizing baseball statistics.
On yesterday's post: the last two postcard shots probably started out as stereoscopic pics. I remember from my Frontierland ViewMaster pack the same raft and its riders in nearly the same position, the same striking cloud formations, and the same Red Shirts in the doorway of the Old Mill, larking about like Tom and Huck eavesdropping on their own funeral service. Only the cast member at right is missing; taken in the 1960s, this 3-D raft photo was still being used when View Master added scenes from the '72 Bear Country.
That is my favorite version of the IASW facade. All white & gold with the blue banner "it's a small world" presented by Bank of America". It never looked better than this.
I like what they did with the WDW version. It's different and not just a complete clone. I like it even down to the "flooded" scene rooms.
Thanks, Major.
I always love the August 1969 photos best, since I have the opportunity scrutinize them closely to see if my family is in there. That was our first visit, and at the time I was more interested in the Carousel of Progress and the Skyway than IASW, but it was all good and very magical.
Nanook, bubble blasters are FOR sale, but they are not ON sale. In other words, you’d better have $40 for that cheap plastic doo-dad! Bubble goop not included.
JB, well, gosh, you’re being awfully kind; on the other hand, maybe my heart has shriveled and dried up like a raisin. I’ve always loved the IASW facade, but MAN do I have a lot of photos of it. If I had ten million dollars for every one… I’d be very happy. I’m glad we can’t see the dolls in the second photo; one time as they were marching around, I swear one swiveled its head right at me and winked. I’M NOT CRAZY. It does seem like the boring photos often get more of a response than the better-than-usual photos, strangely!
TokyoMagic!, I agree, whoever thought of putting that merchandise building smack-dab in the middle of the plaza in front of IASW probably got a raise, but I think they should be drawn and quartered, and then nickeled. NICKELED, do you hear? Imagine Barbie in IASW… with her mostly-normal sized head, and, er, other attributes. She could wave at each boat and remind them that she was for sale when the ride was over. I’m fine with the xenomorph being added to every ride, so you get a gold star. Not a real gold star, it’s anodize aluminum.
Chuck, “Blue Slurry” was also one of Steven Seagal’s best films, he played a cop (and martial arts expert) who is also a computer hacker. Women couldn’t keep their hands off of him, if you can believe it. Scott Baio played his sidekick, McTavish, he wore a diaper on the outside of his pants for some reason. You should seek it out, if you can. Your comment made me wonder, “Why BLUE raspberry”? I know that red has already been taken, but still.
TokyoMagic!, xenomorphs are part of nature, and thus they are beautiful. I’ve heard that the Walt AA looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s body with Walt’s head.
Bu, these aren’t Blurzles™! Sure, they are a bit dull, but at least they are in focus, which is what people say about me. It’s nice that Walt brought Mary Blair back to the studio to work on IASW’s exterior; she was at the studio in the 1940s, and left several times. Maybe Walt was too mean, though, by all accounts, he was very fond of her unique artwork. Ha ha, I love that you couldn’t find your way out of the WDW gift shop. Talk about a nightmare. That new gift shop outside the Haunted Mansion is possibly even more egregious than the one in front of IASW, it is truly an eyesore, whoever designed it should be sentence to 20 years on Devil’s Island. Even the Anaheim IASW is basically a big metal shed, they’ve just done a better job of disguising it.
Stu29573, I can only assume that the sheer cost of WDW caused them to cut corners, such as their shortened Pirates of the Caribbean (though I guess that was not there at opening). With all of those square miles of land, it seems crazy that they did not get the biggest and best of everything.
TokyoMagic!, now I have to wonder what actually happened to those xenomorph AA figures. Somebody would want them! Maybe even me.
Stu29573, I know people loved The Great Movie Ride, and I’ve only seen bad videos, but it looked kind of “meh” to me.
JG, your comment made me wonder why Disney has never sold an accurate, miniature version of the IASW facade (as far as I know)? It seems like such an obvious idea. Maybe it could not be produced in a cost-effective manner. I promise to only pass over the most boring photos, believe it or not I do sometimes axe certain views that are so boring that I can’t even think of anything to say about them. I had not heard of the demise of AM (or FM) radio, but I stopped listening years ago when there were more commercials than content.
Stefano, well that is sure a coincidence! I probably wrote today’s post six months ago (seriously), but maybe an angel on my shoulder steered me in the right direction (doubtful). I know somebody who always seems to know when a movie’s 20th anniversary is. “Did you know that “Jerry Maguire” came out 20 years ago today?”. He had me at “hello”. I couldn’t tell you if the two raft photos from yesterday were for a stereo set, but I have seen old Disneyland postcards from different sets with some of the same people, which is trippy. When the Sawyer company was purchased by GAF, I wondered what happened to all of the (presumably) many unused 3D photos that had been taken over the years. Did they go into a dumpster?
K. Martinez, I agree, the original facade is the best, no matter what they try to do to improve it. Perfection can’t be improved upon! I don’t necessarily want the Florida IASW to be just like the Disneyland version, but you have to admit that it doesn’t look like much from the outside.
Tom, I can only hope that you find you and your family in a vintage photo someday! Just imagine!
The “It’s A Small World” toy shop and the re-versing of the original queue direction exiting guests directly into the toy shop was part of the sponsorship agreement with MATEL (toys) from 1993-2003. This also included the “sherbet” facade scheme. After MATEL exited Disneyland it was decided to restore the facade to the original
White & gold scheme as well as the restoration of the 1966 soundtrack and have it ready for Disneyland’s 50th in 2005 ( which it was )
….Walt Disney once said “Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world “ And today that imagination is at work as Disney imagineers currently are ruining “the happiest cruise that ever sailed “ by adding hokey repetitive verses and tacky props promoting other Disney company projects that you pay to see their commercials!
"I promise to only pass over the most boring photos, believe it or not I do sometimes axe certain views that are so boring that I can’t even think of anything to say about them."
Major, you could post every photo you have. I promise we won't ever get tired of them. It's a pleasant surprise, each day, to see where you're taking us. And we LOVE making fun of the bad photos.
Those bubble blasters spit out hundreds/thousands of bubbles a minute. What if someone decided to start using one inside an attraction?! It would make quite a mess, and ruin "material," I would think. I don't mean to give anyone ideas, but I know our group is somewhat civilized.
Thanks, Major.
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hopes and a world of fears....but I dread learning the stupid words to the new verse...
Stefano, and let us not forget that the "New Matterhorn" also debuted on this day, back in 1978! Of course, it did close down shortly after, due to problems. I never did hear specifically what those problems were! They were probably waiting for Marty Sklar to come up with a proper "backstory" for the Abominable Snowman, and how he used to be Diane and Sharon Disney's beloved pet, when they were children.
Mike and Sue, I hadn't heard about that! Have they really come up with new lyrics to use in the attraction? Who came up with that stupid idea? The hot pink & electric blue-loving lady? The man who totally ruined Tomorrowland in 1998? The geniuses who came up with Light Magic? The brainiac who foisted pirates upon Tom Sawyer Island? The Pixie Hollow genius? I know.....I bet it was the Madame Leota's souvenir shop hack!
TM! Per the internet:
The verse was written by late composer Richard M. Sherman before he died last May at 95. The new lyrics were first unveiled in the short film “The Last Verse” last November, with the verse reading: “Mother Earth unites us in heart and mind/and the love we give makes us humankind/Through our vast wondrous land/When we stand hand-in-hand/It’s a small world after all.”
It's very nice that Mr. Sherman wrote a new verse, but it doesn't easily 'roll off the tongue.' Let's leave everything like Walt originally planned, please.
Sue, thanks for that info! Yes, it is very nice that he was able to make one last artistic contribution to Disney, but I bet it wasn't HIS idea to change the song inside the ride! It had to come from someone in management, because they just can't keep their hands off anything. They will not be happy until they have ruined every single part of Walt's park.
......but it doesn't easily 'roll off the tongue.
Sue, it's even worse than trying to say, "Lucyeth's". ;-)
While I respect both Sherman brothers and the work they did for Disney and outside Disney , but you don’t just completely change something because someone - no longer working for the company jotted down in retirement. Sue is correct … it is overly wordy and it’s difficult to say …. AND it basically just re-peats messages already in the classic existing song. What if Ringo jotted down a new lyric this year and a whole Beatles song is changed forever…
On top of this the amount of money being spent to re-record all this and the programming is insane and is a waste of money - when other parts of the park are neglected ( TOMORROWLAND ) And I seriously doubt the new orchestrations will
Be as rich as the original… I’m
Only sounded negative because of the disastrous outcomes of many recent “improvements”…. But we will see …. (TRE)
Post a Comment