Disneyland’s Tomorrowland was once a land on the move. This September 1967 image in both static and Genuine FauxD© mode showcase the land shortly after its rechristening as “New” Tomorrowland on July 2, 1967. In one image, you can see the Skyway buckets, the PeopleMover, the Matterhorn, and the Monorail. All were attractions that guests could see moving by as they walked underneath on the pavement below.
Get up close and personal on the PeopleMover tracks:
…and in Genuine FauxD© mode. It’s the next best thing to being there!
This January 1968 shot shows an empty PeopleMover train. While they were not the most thrilling attraction (they did move fairly slowly), it was wonderful to get off your feet for a bit and see Tomorrowland from the comfort of your PeopleMover car.
There is a lot to see in this July 1968 shot. The Rocket Jets soar over Tomorrowland, the Skyway is floating overhead back and forth from Tomorrowland, the Carousel of Progress is still rotating, a yellow Monorail is visible below, and the PeopleMover cars flow along at a leisurely pace giving guests an opportunity to peek at some of the land’s attractions.
A closeup view of the Rocket Jets perched atop the platform:
…and the Yellow Monorail with the GE Carousel of Progress in the background:
From the same batch you can see the Ethan Allen submarine:
How the “New” Tomorrowland entrance looked; the floral is reminiscent of the Yellow Brick Road from “The Wizard of Oz” in Munchkinland!
Zooming in you can see the Disneyland Hotel in the background, the roof of the Enchanted Tiki Room, and in the foreground, the Plaza Pavillion.
More from July 1968:
The distinctive roofline of the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge can be seen at right:
Moving ahead to August 1969, this shot was taken from a Skyway bucket in Fantasyland:
When you look closely, you can see the PeopleMover on the left and a Matterhorn bobsled whizzing by the falls while the Skyway buckets float THROUGH the Matterhorn!
Taken from the PeopleMover, August 1969, with the Mary Blair tile mural at right:
Oh, to have the Jets back up on the platform again, AND something moving on the PeopleMover tracks!
A semi ho-hum shot from August 1969:
…except when you get closer you see ANOTHER attraction that moved that is no longer: The Motor Boat Cruise.
LOVE this shot of the Tomorrowland Skyway station:
…with The Mod Hatter below. Take some time to check out the selection of hats! You just know that sewing machine was moving faster than the PeopleMover to keep up with all the embroidery orders from guests.
I hope you enjoyed this vintage view of Tomorrowland when it was once vibrant and full of movement!
See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my main website.
4 comments:
It was about the energy of having all those things scrunched together that made them fun. Every 30 feet there was something. The Mod Hatter, the stairs to the skyway, the subs, and especially how the PeopleMover gave you a leisurely stroll through the east side of the park. To me, the whole east side lost a lot of interest once the PeopleMover went away. I like the concrete benches, too. They offered plentiful places to sit, but no backrest; a polite way of saying "don't get too comfy" and "move along now." Some of those hats are wild, I recognize the ones with built-in sunglasses.
These are all wonderful images, and I especially love the Genuine FauxD shots; but my absolute favorite is the Tomorrowland entrance with the swirly purply-pink and yellow-gold flowers. To this day, any time I see any combination of purple and yellow flowers anywhere, I'm instantly transported back to this beautiful spot in Tomorrowland from my childhood visits.
Thanks, Dave, for the fun memories.
It amazes me that Disney continues to allow this land to languish. Could it be they are out of ideas about the future? KS
Fond memory of the motorboats. Yes, they were obviously on a track. But they cruised a rather generous body of water, especially in contrast to the carnival rides that featured a circular metal troth under a kiddy carousel with boats. And other Tomorrowland rides traveled over the motorboat channel on bridges, a mutual scenic enhancement.
The idea of playfully reflecting "yesterday's tomorrow" is a sound one. Buzz Lightyear and Star Tours are both nostalgia: Toy Story was keyed to what boomer adults played with, and for all the sequels and spinoffs Star Wars evokes a very specific moment in the 70s. Space Mountain is sleek 1960s with nods to movie 2001. Even the subs, now painted explorer yellow instead of military gray, summon up memories of Cousteau and National Geographic. Instead of campy 1930s futurism, they might embrace the gee-whiz optimism of the 50s-70s, a design aesthetic that's now old enough to be novel.
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