Not satisfied with faux mermaids for his Submarine Voyage attraction in Tomorrowland, Walt decided to get a few "real" ones.
These mermaids were only seen during the first year of this attraction, then disappeared until the Tencennial in 1965.
From summer 1965 through summer 1967, the mermaids could be seen for four hours a day on the rocks in the middle of the lagoon.
Another detailed closeup from the August 1960 snapshots:
A few previously posted shots in color, also from August 1960:
An undated image showing a trio of mermaids:
followed by the obligatory closeup, which shows the compartment where the female cast members changed into their mermaid costumes:
See more Daveland Disneyland Submarine Voyage photos at my main website.
It is often assumed that the mermaids disappeared with the advent of the New Tomorrowland, but that isn't true. You can find them in 1967-68 photos. I don't know when they really did vanish for good.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I worked for a guy who was a staff architect for WED.
ReplyDeleteHe said it was a stated goal of the design teams visiting the Park (his office was in Burbank) to try to get a date with one of the mermaids. Never succeeded.
JG
Hi Dan - Would love to see links for those 1967-68 photos that you mention.
ReplyDeleteHere's link I found you may enjoy, Dave...http://ejpcreations.blogspot.com/2010/10/disneyland-mermaids.html
ReplyDeleteHi Dave,
ReplyDeleteEven official Disney publications say the mermaids did not survive into the New Tomorrowland, but you can see them in home movies, smoking gun proof that they did.
1967 (around 4:24):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg0vq50Dk4k#t=265
1968 (around 4:28):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6qtblh1bvE