When a reader emailed me and asked me what TPE stood for, and I had to look at an old post to remember, I knew it was time to wrap up this series! So without further adieu, my Two-Thousand Post Extravaganza comes to a finish. Continuing in Tomorrowland, there are a number of things I would love to experience with my Time Machine, starting off with Adventure Thru Inner Space (or ATIS for those who don't like to type!)
As a youngster, I remember being amazed at how Disney miniaturized the guests!
As I got older and wiser, I realized that the amazing part was that the guests all looked alike! Hmmmm....something fishy going on in that shrinking tube!
I'd also love to visit some of the hokey fair-type exhibits that populated Tomorrowland when it first opened, like the Dairy Bag.
Whatever happened to home milk delivery? That concept never quite made it into the future.
I'd also love to play with the color wheels of the Dutch Boy Paint Gallery.
I'm not much of a scientist, but visiting the Hall of Chemistry surely would have helped my high school GPA!
Daveland reader Larry Gould submitted this way cool photo of he and his mother from the July 18, 1955, the first day that Disneyland was open to the public. Kaiser Alumninum was one of the many sponsored attractions guests could marvel over in Tomorrowland. As Larry recalls, "I was at Disneyland the first day it was open to the general public, July 18th 1955. The photo below is my mom and me from July 18th 1955. There must have been a professional photographer over in Tomorrowland taking pictures. I remember that my mom was holding a newspaper or magazine over my head standing in line for the Autopia. A kid with red hair and a short haircut was prone to sunburn."
The Moonliner/Rocket to the Moon attraction held the hope of space travel, and was a symbol of our innovation and forward-thinking nature.
How cool it must have been to experience this simulated flight. I have very vague memories of riding this attraction, trying to figure out if what I saw on the monitor was real or not.
Being a huge 20K fan, I would have loved to have walked through the sets of the movie when they were on display.
And that, dear readers, is the end of the TPE series. Before heading back to the present, I'd want to get a shot of the now defunct Tomorrowland Skyway station...
and then I'd want to ride a Blue Monorail back to the Disneyland Hotel.
So many cool things to see along the way.
And here we are...right where we started, back at the Disneyland Hotel.
When next you visit my blog, I'll be back to my regularly scheduled posts!
See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.
19 comments:
LOVED THIS SERIES!!! Thank you for all your hard work Dave. This TPE series is a far better tour of Disneyland than ANY book I've ever seen, and its FREE! Larry's 7-18-55 photo is awesome, check out the way he and his mom are dressed.
That was truly awesome! Very good work and thank you so much. I am not ashamed to say that a few of these almost brought a tear. So many wonderful and "happiest' memories came flooding over my mind.
Loved ATIS! So many "special" memories of rides on it! ;)
Well, your TPE sure went out with a bang. Awesome vintage Tomorrowland stuff!
I like Larry's Kaiser Aluminum photo of him with his mother. It really conveys that sense of wonder.
Thank you for a most fantastic trip down memory lane.
Absolutely incredible series of pics Dave. And the finish is tremendous. Thanks for all the look backs. Much appreciated.
ATIS scared the cr*p out of me as a 9 year old. Never rode it again. Still kicking myself that I never experienced it as an adult.
I have thoroughly enjoyed your TPE series. Such nostalgic and fond memories of so many wonderful moments that I've spent at the happiest place on earth have been brought back to life as I have poured over so many of your posts.
As a child and as a teenager, ATIS was always the ride that I saved for the end of my Disney Day prior to heading down Main Street and back out into the "real world" again. I sure miss my ATIS. I haven't been miniaturized or looked at by a giant eyeball through a microscope ever since. LOL
It is so nice to be able to visit your blog and reminisce along with other avid Disney fans who really "get it". Thanks for all your hard work and for creating all these super posts.
Thanks Dave, great job...a unique and fun way to present your photos. I remember the spaceship but was "Rocket to Mars" so, probably late 60's as we just went to the moon and Disney probably couldn't compete with the real deal. The seats shook, monitors at the top (where we're headed) and below (where we've been).
- Darryl
Great series Dave. The old Moon Ride even smelled like aluminum. Speaking of milk; in those days we had milk delivered by Cal-Va Dairies, and they came in the back door every morning and put it in the frig. Gone are the days.
CoxPilot
Thanks for all the nice comments. It has been fun revisiting some of my older photos, and cherry picking the best of the best for this series. Glad you all enjoyed it!
I loved this ride, but Dave - we still get our milk delivered to our door, and have since I was a kid.
Susie - Either you found a time machine or the area you live in is part of a very fortunate minority!
As a fan of 20,000 LEAGUES since seeing the movie in its original release when I was 4, the 20,000 Leagues exhibit was my favorite thing in the park as a child. Since they didn't make you leave, I'd go in and spend HOURS in there, pretending I was Captain Nemo, and sometimes daring to lean over the velvet ropes to touch the keyboard of Nemo's big organ. I was devastated when they took it out. The Psychedelic Light Show, excuse me, I mean Adventure in Inner Space ride never held a candle to it for me. I was, after all, 17 when AIIS opened, and not impressed by its obvious illusions, however much hokey fun Paul Frees's narration was. I found myself thinking stuff like: "If we're smaller than an atom of Oxygen, how am I able to breathe?" I wanted the Nautilus back!
Today a lovely silk-screened print of the 20,000 leagues Exhibit atraction poster graces my kitchen wall.
I live in Granada Hills - San Fernando Valley. Its the Alta Dena Dairy and our Milk Man Ron retired this year, but he was our delivery man since before I was born. We don't need it but I think my mom keeps ordering it just to keep a little something from yore around in our lives.
What a fantastic finale to this series! I have thoroughly enjoyed every stop on this vintage journey, and the end is bittersweet. But I am looking forward to the next great thing to continue your blog. Thanks!! :)
Hey Dave...what time of day when those mainstreet shots were taken? The lighting is fantastic! Well done!
@Douglas McEwan: Nemo's organ never left Disneyland. Today it's enjoyed by the ghosts in the ballroom of the Haunted Mansion.
Hi Todd - If you are referring to the shots from a previous post, those were taken at 7am. Thanks—glad you like!
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