Thanks to the miracle of vintage slides, you can now see what the Treehouse in Adventureland looked like as Walt originally envisioned it, circa 1971 (aka pre-Tarzan).
Naturally I had to zoom into the signage.
UPDATE: For those having a difficult time reading the signage, here's a previously posted crystal-clear shot from 1965:
I used to love seeing all of the Rube Goldberg-esque gadgetry here.
A vertical view...
and more signage closeups.
Not sure where this 1971 image is from, but it shows the attraction poster. The shadow shows an awning, which makes me thing of the Jungle Cruise.
More Swiss Family Robinson treehouse at Disneyland photos at my main website.
Thank you. It does my heart good to see this in it's original state. Too bad I can't read that signage but we're lucky/grateful to see what we can of it. I'll admit, that shadow does match the JC boat tarp, it even matches the illustration at the bottom of that pic. Perhaps on the water-facing side of the original JC boat house?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I like Tarzans Tree House and the modifications, I miss the water features of the original treehouse. Rube Goldberg indeed.
ReplyDelete"On this site July 17, 1805 the Swiss Family Robinson composed of myself, my good wide and three sons Fritz, Ernst and little Francis were the sole survivors by the grace of God of the ill fated ship Titus.
ReplyDeleteFrom the wreckage we built our home in this tree for protection on this uncharted shore."
The canton shield is from Bern and is one of the shields displayed in the queue area at he Matterhorn.
Great photos today. I always liked the suspended bucket, behind the paddle wheel, with rocks in it... slightly visible over the top of the palm tree of the 5th photo.
ReplyDeleteRegarding where that poster would have been located. I believe it was either along the fence near the news stand out in front of the train station. Or Carnation Garden which also had that similar wood detail under the roof line. The shadows are being cast through something and I never recall any posters being that close to Jungle Cruise boats where the sun would shine through it and onto the poster. Just my guess.
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
The Treehouse was a wonder of design intricacy and Imagineering. I can't pass this opportunity to tip my JC hat to Earl Archer, who 'manned' the attraction for many years, earing his reputation as "Mr. Treehouse" to us CMs of the era. KS
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave, great photos of a sorely-missed/ruined attraction. The Treehouse poster photo was indeed taken at Carnation Plaza Gardens.
ReplyDeleteEveryone involved in the transformation from Swiss Family to Tarzan - from concept to implementation - should be horsewhipped.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you already know all about it, but the inspiration for the treehouse came from a local tree that is about 1 mile from the park. Founders Park was built around it within the past couple of years and now the site looks really nice. I always recommend that visitors go see the tree. Everyone thinks its a strange recommendation, but once they're there they get it. It is an impressively HUGE and beautiful tree -- plus, if you're familiar with the treehouse, you can "see" the inspiration.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/california/orangecounty/4062_founderspark/
400 N West St, Anaheim, CA 92805