Two From August, 1977
I have two nice scans for you, both from the summer of 1977. This first one is kind of a miracle, a pretty decent night shot looking down upon the Mad Tea Party attraction! I'm wondering where our photographer could have been - I'd say the Pirate Ship, but it feels too close. Maybe they had a zoom lens? I can't imagine the teacups were whirling, or else they'd be blurs. I like the cooler colors in the entry to the Fantasyland Theater.
The multicolored Skyway gondolas are what makes this next photo extra-nice. The Autopia sign has always struck me as echoing the kind of thing you might have seen at a World's Fair in the 1930's, but that is a compliment and not a criticism. A single Peoplemover train sneaks in for a guest appearance.
3 comments:
Major-
That IS quite the image of the Teacups seen with such little light - even with the "faster" film stocks of 1977. (Yeah, right-!) And to make the shot even more incredible, it can only have been taken from a Skyway bucket - as that's the only way the Mickey Mouse Club Theater can be directly behind the Teacups. The angle wouldn't work if it was taken from the Pirate Ship.
The Skyway buckets in the Autopia image look like a bunch of multi-color, individually-wrapped hard candles, each dangling from the Skyway cable. Yum.
Thanks, Major.
In addition to looking too close, the pic looks like it was taken from too high up to be the Pirate Ship? Several of the riders are turning the wheel in their Teacup, and a couple of riders look like they're plastered to the walls of their Cup from the immense G-forces generated by the Cup's wheel turner. None of this means that the Teacup ride itself was spinning, though. Some lunatics (JB timidly raises his hand) like to get their Cup revved-up to 457 mph even before the ride starts! The slide presents a nice "Disneyland after dark" vibe.
There seems to be a LOT of gondolas dangling from the Skyway cables! Maybe it's just the foreshortening aspect of the photo? The Autopia sign definitely looks like it was created in a 1930s font. Like you said, perfect for the 1939 NY World's Fair. The Matterhorn 'snow' looks especially realistic here.
Nanook, I agree that the first image was taken from a Skyway bucket. That would also explain the higher up view that I put forth, above.
Really nice shots today, Major. Thanks.
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