If this scene looks familiar, it should. Those of you who have taken the Grand Circle Tour on the Disneyland Railroad have most likely enjoyed seeing this tableau featuring the triceratops and their babies hatching out of the eggs. But the car...what the heck is that doing in this image? Photoshop magic? Nope; not on this one. Instead, you are seeing this attraction in its original state from The 1964-1965 Worlds Fair in New York.
Called The Ford Magic Skyway, this attraction was sponsored (naturally!) by The Ford Motor Company. Guests were seated in a brand-spanking new Ford from which they were able to view the dioramas. The Ford sponsorship didn't transfer to Disneyland, but the concept of guests riding in slow moving cars did, and thus, The PeopleMover came to be.
This particular scene doesn't look a whole lot different today, proving that oldies can still be goodies!
See more vintage & current Disneyland Primeval World Diorama photos on my Primeval World web page.
What Primeval World needs now is an overlay from the forthcoming Pixar feature "The Good Dinosaur". Who can resist all that synergy goodness? I can see the t-shirts now. "Pixar Conquered Primeval World" or "Pixar! Conquering Disneyland, one attraction at a time".
ReplyDeleteThe CM who rode with us on our Lilly Belle trip told a story of a little boy who knew that the Grand Canyon critters were taxidermied and wanted to know if the dinos were too. Loved that :)
ReplyDeleteLOL @ K Martinez! Don't get me started on the concept of Primeval World Peace! jk jk...
I got to ride Ford's Magic Highway back in the magical summer of 1965. It was a great ride. I was VERY disappointed that only the dinosaurs were brought back to Disneyland and not the entire ride.
ReplyDeletePsySocDisney, that is a great story.
Dave, in awnser to your emailed question, I only remember the caveman scenes and the great start of the ride, when you rode out on the glass tunnels high above the fair and the people waiting in line just below. As for the rest of it, well, it's been almost 50 years and I rode it only once. But there were more. I remember that I was deeply disappointed in the transfer to the park at the time, when the memories were fresh. (I was also miffed that that great ride was not transferred while It's a Small world was transferred not only intact, but slightly enlarged, as I hated It's a Small World. Hated it then; still loathe it now. It was also a shame that Rolly Crump's wonderful giant tower of mobiles was not brought to Anaheim, as it was a beautiful thing. (Though back then, I had no idea who Rolly Crump is.)
ReplyDeleteThe lines were enormous. You spent HOURS in line. The Fair was not something you could do in one day. I was lucky. My uncle was the chief projectionist for the entire fair, and he got me into a lot of pavillion shows without waiting in lines, sometimes watching shows from the projection booths. But Uncle Mack had no pull with Disney, and all the Disney fair exhibits I had to stand in line for.
Oh, and I loved the ride vehicles. Riding in those lovely Ford convertibles on what was bascially the same ride system as the People-Mover was cool, fun, and very comfortable.
ReplyDelete@PsySocDisney - "Primeval World Peace!" I love it!
ReplyDelete@Douglas McEwan - It's cool to hear from someone who actually experienced these attractions before they were shipped to Disneyland. Thank you.
Douglas - Many thanks for taking the time to post your memories - much appreciated!
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