The Magic Kingdom
Here are three Magic Kingdom RANDOS for you! Starting with this photo from November 1973. If you wanted, you could have your poor kid sit still while an artist drew her portrait in pastels. The look on her face speaks volumes. I wonder how long a typical drawing took? It seems to have been a popular feature, but it's possible that, over time, guests passed it by.
Next is a beautiful photo, dated "November, 1978"; the sun has just set, and the sky is all pinks and violets. The Tomorrowland entrance pylons/fountains look striking at this time of day - the castle moat reflects them in a wiggly way. Which is the best way to do anything, you must admit.
And finally, an undated and unusual night photo showing the Tomorrowland entrance looking straight in from the Plaza. I love seeing the Star Jets Saturn V rocket spotlit as if it was on a launchpad at Cape Kennedy.
13 comments:
Major-
The original entrance to Tomorrowland was so striking and elegant. (As for that gal having her likeness preserved 'for the ages' - her expression exudes the very personification of happiness-! Webster's take note...)
Thanks, Major.
Poor kid. I think she's blinking "S-O-S" with her eyes. She's probably thinking of all the wonderful, magical things she could be seeing and doing if she wasn't stuck in this chair. The artist doen't seem to mind her less-than- joyful expression.
Ah, that magical twilight time of day when it's getting darker and the lights are all coming on. It never fails to produce a deep-felt mood change in everything... for the better.
The lighted pylons remind me of the flashlights with colored cones attached that movie theater employees use when checking the auditorium... They also remind me of candy corn.
A nice Saturday visit to WDW. Thanks, Major.
The WDW TOMORROWLAND Sunset image would have to be from 1973-1983. The Plaza Swan Boat landing is visible (1973)…. And the entry pylons and shields do not yet have their tile mural pattern yet (1983). The Tomorrowland nite time shot is 1975-1983 …. Possibly 1974 since the Star Jets and WEDWAY were testing by then even though they did not have their grand opening till 1975. If I could read the Circle Vision and Spaceport signs I could pin point the year even closer . It’s odd that SPACE MOUNTAIN isn’t even slightly visible in the nite shot …. At least even its bright glow.
From the look on the face of "portrait girl," I'm wondering if her parents had told her that they would be back in an hour or so, after they finish riding Space Mountain a couple times.
Those two shots of the Tomorrowland entrance are beautiful. The fact that they demolished that entrance is another case of THEY RUIN EVERYTHING! Once again, I'm okay with change, as long as what replaces something is at least as good, if not better than what was there before. Unfortunately, Disney management doesn't feel the same way. They love to replace perfection with crapola.
When visiting the Magic Kingdom back in 1978 I remember the Tomorrowland entrance still has its wonderful water elements intact and working. It was really beautiful. Then when I returned in 1983 to see EPCOT Center, I also returned the Magic Kingdom. Seeing the Tomorrowland entrance again, I saw that it had its water elements removed and changed/painted to look like Tokyo Disneyland's Tomorrowland entrance. I was very disappointed.
I was also disappointed to discover the water fountains in Adventureland's Caribbean Plaza had been filled with dirt and flowers later on. These are wonderful photos of when the Magic Kingdom was at it's best. Thanks, Major.
Ah, the Magic Kingdom when it was at its best. You still had the early attractions, but they had been augmented with POTC, Space Mountain, the COP, and all the “upstairs” Tomorrowland attractions. The fountains all worked per the original design parameters, there were two steamboats, the Adventureland Veranda was open, and the Teacups had sprouted a roof to protect it from Florida rain and sunshine. The only thing missing was the Western River Expedition, and that would never be. I’d love to see this place in person again.
The second photo sent me down a rabbit hole. I had forgotten about the restaurant to the north of the entrance to Tomorrowland, looking out over the Plaza canal and Castle moat. This was the (confusingly-named for us Disneyland people) Plaza Pavilion. The Tomorrowland Terrace was the restaurant to the south of the entrance. They combined the two into the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station in 1994, which eventually became just the Tomorrowland Terrace. I think the northern seating area is now mostly used for an upcharge fireworks viewing area (not sure if it comes with a Zinger).
The last image is pretty impressive for a handheld night photo of the era. It’s got just a hint of softness, with the only visible motion blur in the water to either side of the entrance.
Thanks, Major, for a great excuse to put off changing the oil in my car for another hour!
Argh. I must have accidentally overwritten my commentary on the first photo.
Note the mom in the floral blouse peering around the corner of the easel to check the progress on her daughter’s picture. “Can you hurry it up? We have reservations at King Stefan’s in 10 minutes!”
You can see from the little bit that’s visible of the portrait of the girl doing the Jeremiah Denton impersonation that these were rendered in a realistic style, unlike the rapid caricatures we are used to seeing at theme parks and carnivals today. I wonder if these were a popular thing before the caricatures came along? My grandmother had a yellowed charcoal profile portrait of my mom hanging in her living room, but I don’t recall the story behind it and now I can’t ask either of them about it. :-(
There - I’ve managed to stall another 10 minutes…
The little girl desperately wants to be somewhere, anywhere else than sitting still. I’m sure the artists were accustomed to this and produced happy portraits in spite of it all.
Those are beautiful pics of Tomorrowland. I’ve never seen it before or since, so I will restrict my comments to say this is a beautiful scene and why would anyone change it?
Fountains in architecture are funny things. Designers love them, often owners do too, but facilities managers hate them. They are expensive to build, run, and maintain, and often (constantly) have effects unforeseen by the designers. Overspray, wind-blown water, algae, birds, to name a few. Not uncommon to see them blocked up and converted to planters.
One more bit of architectural criticism. The odd mansard roof on the restaurant (?) is a uniquely 1970’s interpretation of the classic roof form, notice how the roof slop is an inward concave curve, rather than a straight line or a convex outward bulge. This form was common in the neo-Victorian revival forms, fast food restaurants and strip malls frequently indulged. This is one of my criticisms of WDW Park in general, the architectural forms are much more “trendy” and identifiable as designed in a particular time or era than those of Disneyland, which are practically timeless, that is, each land is true to its style without reference to the world outside. Even Anaheim Tomorrowland 1967 is not all-in 1960’s the way Tomorrowland 1955 was for the 1950’s.
Enough ranting. Thank you, Major!
JG
@TM!-
"From the look on the face of "portrait girl," I'm wondering if her parents had told her that they would be back in an hour or so, after they finish riding Space Mountain a couple times".
You can understand that 'look' when you realize this image is from November, 1973 and Space Mountain isn't scheduled to open for another 14 months, on January 15, 1975-! She's probably deep in contemplation about her life choices, so far...
Nanook, I’d love to know if the artist sketching that little girl added a hint of a smile, rather than drawing her actual “waiting at the dentist” expression!
JB, I’m sure I would have been just like that girl, “Why am I sitting here when I should be going on fun rides??”. I’ve seen old pastel portraits from Disneyland on eBay, they were clearly not treasured items! That twilight photo of the Tomorrowland entrance is so pretty, I was very happy to find it. I like the use of colored lights in the Florida Tomorrowland, it adds a kind of theatrical atmosphere to everything.
Mike Cozart, the sunset image is dated “November 1978, so you were right in there. I guess I am surprised that the Star Jets weren’t in Tomorrowland until 1974 (?), I thought they were always there! I don’t know where Space Mountain is in relation to everything else, but my guess is that it must be *just* out of frame.
K. Martinez, just like with old Disneyland photos, I often think that the early WDW photos are the park I’d like to visit. It looks so great! Are those pylons still at the entrance to Tomorrowland? I have no idea what the area looks like today. I understand (sort of) why fountains get filled in at the Anaheim park - in drought-prone SoCal. But Florida has lots of water! Usually, anyway.
Chuck, imagine TWO steamboats on the river in Florida! It must have been quite a sight. I think that the Western River Expedition would have been so incredible. I know the cost would have been huge, but to this day it would have been considered one of the great theme park achievements. I didn’t know that the building you mentioned (in photo #2) was a restaurant. “The Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station”, really? Jeez. I hate the idea of an upcharge for a good fireworks-viewing area, but that’s the world we live in today. Chuck, why don’t you just have the butler change the oil in your car??
Chuck, I thought that perhaps the lady with the floral blouse had just had her own portrait drawn. “Make me look like Lana Turner!”. I’m going to have to look up Jeremiah Denton, apparently everyone else knows who that is. Did he sell insurance? Hmmm, good question, did those caricatures replace the pastel portraits? I think there was still a pastel artist in New Orleans Square the last time I was at Disneyland. My sister had her caricature done, and she told the artist that she liked tennis even though she didn’t play. So she had a tennis racket and was running in the direction of a sign that said “BOYS”.
JG, I would have wanted to be anywhere else too. Posing for a portrait, SNORE. I feel like changes are sometimes made because the new regime feels like it has to do *something*. Even if those changes make things worse (as often happens). I don’t understand why they can’t just turn fountains off on windy days. Turn them back on when it’s nice! That doesn’t seem like such a crazy concept. I think that mansard roof was on a shelter where guests could wait for Main Street vehicles, such as the Jitney. I’m not positive though! I suppose trends can’t be helped, they are just part of the zeitgeist, the architects are probably not even conscious of them. It’s like signage with the latest trendy font that now looks dated and awful decades later.
Nanook, I’ll have to look, but I think that Tomorrowland didn’t have a lot going on in the early days. There was the Grand Prix Raceway, the Skyway, the Peoplemover, and maybe a few other things. I would be willing to wait 14 months for Space Mountain!
Originally the PEOPLEMOVER, ROCKET JETS , EASTERN AURLINES “RIDE” and a TOMORROWLAND train station were scheduled for opening in 1972. However only the Eastern Airlines attraction “IF YOU HAD WINGS” opening in 1972. There had been more design changes for Space Mountain so a newer larger Tomorrowland train station was designed , but it two was never built. Because the linear induction Version of the PeopleMover had developed it was decided to hold off on the PeopleMover that would have used the tires and push plates like Disneyland , and go with the WEDWAY version . The ROCKET JETS were still scheduled for 1972 - but in 1971 Nasa revealed its concepts for the future SPACE SHUTTLE and WED decided to redesign the Disneyland 1967 ROCKET JETS to look more in shape to the curved belly SPACE SHUTTLE … so the design change to STAR JETS delayed the attraction till 1974 … even though it’s grand opening wasn’t till 1975 like the WEDWAY.
The second TOMORROWLAND WDW RR station even though was completely designed ( even its marquee and signs were made!) did not get added for the 1975 grand opening or ever. It was decided that the area with Space Mountain’s entry would have caused too much congestion.
......this image is from November, 1973 and Space Mountain isn't scheduled to open for another 14 months.....
Nanook, oh yeah! I should have said that her parents went off to ride Big Thunder!!! ;-)
Major and JG, that little structure with the faux mansard roof is what Mike was pointing out as the Plaza Swan Boats dock. You can see a little bit of a side railing thingy in the water, where the boats pulled in. That little structure is still there today but it doesn't serve much purpose. It might be used for character meet and greets, however I've never witnessed that during any of my visits.
- TokyoMagic!
Also while both Disneyland’s 1967 Tomorrowland and WDW’s 1971-1975 Tomorrowland have many similar elements Disneyland’s was mostly created by automotive designers and animators while WDW’s tomorrowland was designed by architects , urban planners and industrial designers - and that decision was intentional since WED wanted a grander - BOLDER look for the sophisticated WDW guests of the 70’s
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