Tomorrowland, July 1970

1970 would have been a fine time to go to Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It had all of the wonders of Walt's 1967 "New Tomorrowland", still going strong. That includes the Carousel of Progress, which was only there for a mere six years before being shipped off to Florida. In this first photo, we're in the Plaza looking up at the curving Peoplemover track, with those cheerful little trains that never stopped. I believe that the blue Peoplemover train was about to head back to the station beneath the Rocket Jets, while the red train had just left the station and was curving toward the buildings on the south side of Tomorrowland, allowing guests for a peek inside some of the attractions.

There are lots of fun details, like the metallic panels on the entry gates, the "flying whale" fountains, the Bell System and AT&T logos ("Presented by your host company, Pacific Telephone"). And even a sliver of a Mary Blair tile mural.

Ah, the wonderful old Rocket Jets. Let's get rid of them! I like the clear orange nosecones that glowed at night, the result of friction with the Earth's atmosphere. Even the details of the system control rockets that would maneuver the command module way up at the top of the Saturn V add to the story.

Birthday Fun

Today we're gonna be celebrating our friend JG's birthday! Happy Birthday, Julio Garza*! I hope you have a fun day full of Spaghettios and Mountain Dew (or whatever you like).

Sue B. kindly provided this vintage photo of somebody else's birthday... that young girl with the lace collar and velvet dress is sitting with... Grandma? I don't think that's her mother, but I could be mistaken. That wonderful kitchen is a spotless as a hospital OR. On the table is a cake with the most interesting candle arrangement I've ever seen. First of all, they are bits and pieces of full-size table candles. And they are arrayed in a manner that makes no sense to me. It's Lovecraftian!

Somehow the candles made me think of this cave in Mexico, filled with giant selenite crystals.

And because of JG's love of pylons, Sue wanted to re-share these scans (from September, 1971) that heavily feature the most pylony pylons that ever pyloned... the examples that support the Alweg Monorail at Disneyland! 

MORE PYLONS!

So far, I have leeched off of Sue for this entire post, so I decided I should contribute by sharing this leftuggie from May, 1960. In the foreground, a young boy enjoys an ice cream cone (from the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor, of course). Strawberry ice cream, good choice. And there's a trashcan, another one of JG's passions!

Thanks as always to Lou and Sue for all their help.

*His name isn't actually Julio Garza

More Bu Pix

It's time for a third installment of GDB friend Bu's photos from his personal collection. Images and commentary courtesy of Bu! 

In this first one, that's Bu, a mere child at that point. Bu says: The photo of me as a kid: that was the LA Unified Schools “Bicentennial Pageant” produced by Disneyland Entertainment.  Loads of 70’s stars were there.  My costume was Main St. Merch., my sisters was Hills Bros Coffee House.  Don’t remember what the frilly one was in the middle. Costumes were marked on the collars, etc.  We did a turn of the century number with Arte Johnson, and there the ones that were on stage with him.  It was a big deal held at the LA Colosseum, with a couple of days of rehearsals.   It was hot, people were fainting.  It was ALL DAY.  Literally from dawn to midnight.  “KEEP PERFORMING KIDS!”   It was the drama classes from across the LA area, but we had some special connections so had some starring roles.

Next we see Bu hamming it up for the camera while he plays one of Disneyland's famous customized arcade games ("I'm Gomer - Fly Me"). This was presumably in Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade. Flying Gomer: my favorite machine.  I was incognito this day as we were doing inspections on tours.  Basically:  accountability on whether or not the guests were getting the experience that they paid for.  Some people made it through, some people didn’t.  Some of the guides I followed I thought:  “wow….you passed your first tour?….how?!” 

I was pretty tough on people (as others were to me) and was not very popular after this particular "developmental strategy."  We didn’t do it for too long as it caused some morale issues.  We gave people 3 chances to pass, and some did not make the cut.  There were two of us on these tours to keep things objective.

Oh yes, there are more photos from Bu to come! Thanks, Bu!

Main Street, September 1971

Today is our friend JB's birthday, and Sue (as usual) has come up with some fun scans to celebrate the occasion.

First up is this pic of a kid's birthday party (date unknown). I love the art gallery on the wall to the right. Looking at the food selection, there are TWO cakes (such decadence!), and then a lot of things that I can't quite identify. Of course every party needs a bowl of little tomatoes. Are some kids munching on breadsticks? And maybe salami and hamburger bun sandwiches? NO idea what the things are in the bowl closest to us, I'd say they are chicken nuggets, but I'm not very confident about that guess.

And because JB is a fan of AEDs (Animatronic Exploding Ducks), here are three tough customers. Just look at them! They have no fear. In fact I think the one stepping toward us is trying to intimidate us!

And now, on to our regularly scheduled program - I have three fun scans of slides, once again courtesy of Lou Perry and Sue B! So you know they'll be good. 

Lou was obviously taken with the general hubbub of Main Street, along with the old-fashioned sign for the Candy Palace. I always like to go into the Candy Palace and ask if they have hotdogs. I get my laughs! Signs for the Sunkist Citrus House and the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor can also be seen. 

Some of the same guests can be seen here, I think this one might have actually been taken a few moments before the previous image. There's Miss Pink Pants, and Mr. Striped Shirt the third. Lou dispensed with the Dutch angle on this one!

Now we're into the Plaza, it looks like it was a beautiful, sunny September day. Was school not yet in session? Who knows. But it's pretty busy down past the Streetcar, lots of folks appear to be arriving late in the day, perhaps it was a Saturday, and they were going to stay until 1:00 AM. Fireworks, a parade, twinkle lights... what's not to like?

THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!

Cute in Frontierland and Tomorrowland, March 1962

Well folks, today I'm sharing the last two scans featuring our friend Ginny, the muse of a man who was just nutty about her. It's been fun, but all things must end, I suppose. 

There she is, on the hurricane deck of the Mark Twain, overlooking a bulldozed Frontierland. The Columbia was out of service during this period, and was moored at the southern end of Tom Sawyer Island, as you can see here. Ginny has not folded her 1962 souvenir guidebook, but she really should be wearing white cotton gloves to prevent any handling wear. I'll forgive her! Who knows, maybe the example that I own was once hers.

I wish we had a better look at this construction, part of an expansion of Frontierland that would eventually also include New Orleans Square a few years later. To 1962 eyes, this was an eyesore, but if I could go back in time, I would have snapped so many photos!

And last, but certainly not least, here's Ginny back in Tomorrowland, standing on the Speedramp up to the Monorail platform. Was the ramp in motion? We'll never know. This is one of my favorite pictures of Ginny, and a fitting last look.

Jungle Cruise Views, 1970s

SNOOZLES™! I have two kind of boring Jungle Cruise photos for you. And... looking at this first one makes me wonder if I accidentally scanned it the wrong way. Shouldn't the giraffes be on the right? It's known now that giraffes prefer to stand to the right out in nature. Something to do with the Earth's magnetic field and the constellations and crypto-currency. In other words, I accept no responsibility, and blame teenagers. 

The Lost Safari has spent an awful long time on that strange branchless tree. In fact, that tree is so odd that I wonder if it was always supposed to look that way. I wish I had my Marc Davis book handy, but again, I blame those teenagers. This scene has undergone recent changes that I have no problem with, that dumb hunter should get the point!

New York, New York

New York City. Maybe you've heard of it? I don't want to brag, but I've been there. I hit the Applebees in Times Square. JEALOUS? 

Anyway, I have some nice scans of vintage scenes from the Big Apple... starting with this September 1962 view of MacDougal Street, one of the most interesting and vibrant art and culture spots in the city (which is saying something) and maybe even the whole country. Click on THIS to read the Wikipedia page about MacDougal Street, it's pretty interesting.

Zooming in, we can see the legendary Cafe Wha?, where so many famous musicians and comedians performed early in their careers, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, The Velvet Underground, Peter, Paul and Mary, and MORE. In fact, a mere ten months before this photo was taken (on January 24th, 1961), Bob Dylan took to the stage at Cafe Wha? for his first performance in NYC. 

Here are some vintage photos that I scrounged online for your edification.

Next, from October, 1958 comes this photo taken looking southeast along East 57th from 5th Avenue (roughly). It's just a beautiful scene, like something out of a movie! The building to the left with the arched entrance is the old Steinway Hall. The tall building in the distance to our left is (I believe) the Ritz Tower, though I could be mistaken. Hey, what do I know, I still don't have indoor plumbing. 

Well.... here's a current-day view. Hmmm. Can I go there, only circa 1958??

Let's go grab a slice of pizza. I'm walkin' here!

Tomorrowland 1960s

Friday has almost become "Tomorrowland Day", but I won't make it official because I am indecisive. I have another pair of beautiful Tomorrowland scans for you, from "sometime in the 1960s".

Oh man. How great would it be to be able to walk into that Tomorrowland?? You've hardly set foot inside before you are greeted with the Avenue of the Flags. 50 States, 50 flags. And those attraction posters, which lined either side of the path. Rocket to the Moon! Submarine Voyage! Matterhorn Bobsleds! Plus there's the Clock of the World, America the Beautiful, and even that United Nations emblem, indicating that this must have been United Nations Day, a celebration that I believe the park acknowledged for several years.

Now we're way inside the land, and it is vibrant with the color and movement of people. Sit underneath a checkerboard shade, it's fun! Well, maybe not "fun", but where else are you going to do it? 

I zoomed in to try to count the number of souvenir hats! Notice the giant golden thimble in the upper right, it loomed above the deadly "Thimble Drome", one of my all-time favorite dromes. 

Swiss Family Treehouse, October 1981

It's time for more scans from our friends Lou and Sue! You know 'em, you love 'em. Today we'll be visiting the Swiss Family Treehouse and Tapas Bar. 

Lou captured a photo of these signs, which I guess were entirely hand-painted? Beautifully done. I need the one that says "Swiss Family Treehouse" for my conservatory, where it will compliment my collection of rare tropical plants from around the world. Meanwhile, I love the sign for ticket book holders - by June of 1982 (a mere eight months later), ticket books were eliminated. I'm admiring the faux wood grain on that turnstile.

Did you know that some treehouses had exits? This one did! It's kept the Robinsons from bumping into each other at night (you could always tell when that happened because it sounded like two coconuts bonking together). I truly loved the multiple levels of the treehouse, accessible by stairs that had been salvaged from their shipwreck. A single stroller sits, looking so lonesome.

In my opinion, that huge tree is a real work of art, not to mention an amazing piece of engineering. It is entirely convincing as a real living tree, even up close. It's interesting to me the way that bits of New Orleans Square are apparent here, from the diamond-shaped lamp to the right, and the trash can, which would be right at home outside the Haunted Mansion.

 MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue!

More From Keith

It's time for more scans from Keith Schad - these are from the 1971 batch! As I've mentioned before, the photos were taken by Keith's father in-law Ed at the very end of '71.

We'll start with this classic look at the Mark Twain - familiar and postcard worthy. It looks like it was a beautiful day to be at the park.

Next is my favorite of today's trio, this wonderful view, possibly taken from a Peoplemover (?), looking down on the Autopia with its elaborately intertwining freeways and cheerful cars in yellow, blue and red. Way up at the top edge of the picture is what appears to be some sort of construction, but I have no idea what it would have been for.

And finally (for today), a swell look at Rainbow Ridge (the "home base" of the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland). I strained my eyes to see if there were any guests on pack mules up on the ridge, but I don't see any.

THANK YOU, Keith!