Want to fly somewhere? The Disneyland Flying Saucers (1961-1966) would probably not be a good choice. As you can see from this October 1961 image, there’s more of a log jam issue going on. The little boy in the hover-craft below seems to be having fun, while he leans back in an attempt to steer his ride.
The three images in today’s post were taken sequentially. Dad seems to be having much less fun, having resigned himself to the fact that this damn thing was just not going to work.
Still sitting…
Even the cast members seem disinterested. “When are they going to remove this turkey?!?”
See more Disneyland Flying Saucer photos at my main website.
6 comments:
I consider us lucky that we got a redux of this ride from 2012 to 2015. Kudos to any of you who actually remember "riding" the original. I'm putting that in quotes because I've never heard one story from a rider yet who said it moved with any degree of satisfaction.
@Fifthrider, Sue B, who posts a lot on Gorillas Don't Blog, had some good pics of tiny her with her mom, who was able to navigate the saucers fairly well.
My memory of my one ride was that it was a bust, much like Dad in this series. Those CMs are talking about how happy they are that it hasn't broken down for almost an hour.
Dave, thanks for the photos.
JG
I remember riding this as a teen (probably 1964 or 65) and was disappointed when they removed it. Not to brag or anything, but I did pretty darn good on it! - Irene Kautto
This was a terrific ride, if you figured out how to "fly" your saucer across a large, open expanse. Like JG mentioned above, my mom was really good at this and when we rode together, she would move over to bigger, open areas, and then we'd lean towards the "open area" - to send our saucer quickly zooming across it. The most fun was when you kept zooming back and forth. I've never felt that quick, zooming-flying feeling on any other ride, since. Sadly, the folks who weren't able to maneuver their saucers were stuck playing bumper cars, getting wedged into little areas. That wouldn't be fun.
Fun pictures, Dave, thank you!
I am envious of all of you who could ride the original AND make it work. Truly, a great moment for the time capsule of Disney memories.
Rode this once as a kid. What I remember was being knocked into motion by another saucer and bouncing like a rock skimming the water.
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