Monday, December 23, 2013

Dumbo and the Skyway



Today's post is another salute to the Fantasyland Skyway Station, the cute little Swiss Chalet that is about to go bye-bye. They way termites...I say neglect. In the vintage aerial view, you can see the Station smack-dab between Storybook Land and Nature's Wonderland.

Here's some early Bruce Bushman concept art:



Interesting to note that in both pieces of art, the Stations (Tomorrowland and Fantasyland) are featured.



At first, this image looks like a shot of the Dumbo attraction:



the beauty of it is that it also captured the construction of the Fantasyland Skyway station. Note the curious guests who have stopped to watch the activity:



This Dumbo shot from late 1956 shows the complete Station in living color:



Zooming in for a detailed view of the Chalet:



Two more Skyway station photos, disguised as shots of the Dumbo Flying Elephants attraction:







One of my favorite Skyway shots shows New York Opera publicist Constance Hope and The Begum Aga Khan, on February 7, 1957:



Another satisfied Skyway customer waves to her friend, with a helicopter hovering over Tomorrowland in the background:



Last Skyway shot for today gives a dizzying view over the Submarine Voyage lagoon, circa September 1959:



See more vintage Skyway photos on my Skyway web page.

3 comments:

K. Martinez said...

Anytime you post something about the Skyway, it' a winner with me.

It's hard to believe Skyway has been gone for nearly 20 years now. It's still the one Disneyland attraction I miss the most. As far as the Swiss Chalet goes, it's too bad they didn't find a way to utilize it. Oh well! I've become kind of jaded about the whole thing and what Disneyland does with their past these days.

Thanks for the great pics today.

Daveland said...

Ken - Ditto...I feel a bit jaded as well on the whole thing; once the Carnation Bandstand was removed, it shifted how I feel about the park.

JG said...

I remember that helicopter very faintly. The markings brought back the memory.

Any idea what that was? An airport shuttle perhaps?

JG