Disneyland Transportation Cutbacks: Fantasyland & Tomorrowland

One of the lesser-known transportation cuts at Disneyland was the extended route of the Omnibus. This duo of July 1957 images shows the Omnibus in Town Square. Nothing strange about that! However, the next shot clearly shows it in the middle of Fantasyland, near the Fantasyland Autopia!



Before the construction of the Matterhorn, the Omnibus took guests right into Fantasyland, as seen in this 1958 shot:



This December 1957 shows Snow Hill (eventually the Matterhorn) on the left and the Monsanto House of the Future at right.



Shot from the Skyway (more on that in a minute), you can see it near the Alice attraction, circa July 1958:





This provides a great segue into one of my largest transportation disappointments at Disneyland. When Toon Town opened in 1993, it had the Jolly Trolley, which took guests around the new land. It didn’t take long for the Park to bolt this little cutie to the ground and turn it into a photo op:



I wish…oh how I wish…that instead of bolting it down, the Disney Corporation would have seen fit to expand its tracks to have the Troller run all the way to Central Plaza. Once at Central Plaza, there is no good way (other than walking) to get to Toon Town.

The Skyway opened in the Summer of 1956:



Guests could soar over the Park from Fantasyland:



All the way to Tomorrowland, as seen in this July 1957 image. What a great way to save time, steps, and get some incredible views!



This one is probably a debatable transportation cut, as it really falls more into the attraction category. Still…for a nice leisurely cruise, the Motor Boat Cruise operated in one form or another from 1955—1993. The Skyway afforded this overhead shot from August 1956:



Loving this 1960s shot with the Monorail AND the Motor Boat Cruise dock all together:



Last time I saw it, the Motor Boat Cruise dock was just rust and decay. Here’s an interesting idea…with the Autopia sorely needing an update, how about creating a vehicle that goes on land AND water. Since both attractions use a track for the vehicles, I wouldn’t think a hybrid would be all that difficult.



Finally, the most mourned loss of Transporation in Tomorrowland is the PeopleMover. Circa July 1968:



August 1969 gives a great view of the Rocket Rods when they used to soar majestically over the center of Tomorrowland, and the Mary Blair murals on the right:



This 1969 images shows the PeopleMover entering the attraction building. So much to see on this slow little attraction!



The PeopleMover was changed into the Rocket Rods in 1998; they were a bomb, and ended up shuttering the entire thing by September 2000.



Today, the decaying/crumbling tracks are all that are left of this one.

Did I miss any?

See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Floating through the Matterhorn, 1980

Disneyland newbies probably don’t know this, but at one time you could “float” through the Matterhorn attraction in a Skyway bucket. Oops…those newbies might not even know that you could travel from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland in the air, looking over the guests and attractions while doing so. Ah…those were the days. These June 1980 images were taken by a guest doing said activity.



The Skyway existed from 1956-1994. The buckets were changed in 1965 for the Disneyland Tencennial celebration, converting the shape from round to a more square configuration. Below is a closeup of Fantasyland back when it had its original Festival Tournament façades. Another piece of history lost on the newbies.



This carefree family (they look like they might be a bit of fun) are exiting the Fantasyland Skyway Station (visible on the hill on the upper left). Yes, newbies…another piece of Disneyland history that is gonzo.



This November 1967 image gives a better view of the beautiful structure:



Also from November 1967, you can see one of the buckets entering the station:



Below is an undated 1960s image, back when you didn’t have to worry about guests throwing/spitting things from the bucket (for the most part!).



In the “don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today” department, the historic Hollywood Center Motel on Sunset Boulevard has burned to the ground. So glad I took the time last March to snap a few shots.



Edited from Empty Los Angeles:

The Hollywood Center Motel - consisting of a 1905-ish house surrounded by bungalows built a few decades later - caught on fire early this morning. The motel, which was originally housing, was recently nominated for landmark status. Victorian houses are very, very rare in Hollywood. LAFD reports that it was a knockdown fire. Citizen reports it was a two-story structure, and a few of the posted videos show fire damage to the original house, El Nido. The motel had a known issue with squatters (a vacate order was posted last month). At least two people were trapped inside the burning house, and one of them had to be taken to a hospital in unknown condition. I was afraid of this. I’ve mentioned previously that we have a demolition-by-neglect problem in Los Angeles, and the motel has had previous fires. Now LAFD’s arson unit is investigating. I also mentioned in an earlier post that the owner of the motel had previously applied for demolition permits, despite not having a replacement project lined up for the site. Because of this fire, they may not need one - at least for poor El Nido.



A fire due to squatters in California? Shocking.

See more Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

Soaring Over The Sea

The Chicken of the Sea, that is. This July 1968 shot taken from a Skyway bucket shows so much! Look at all the guests exploring the deck, including the little varmint on the right who appears to be a tad too close to the edge of the ship. I wonder how many kids tried to climb up the ropes?

Here you can see all the Skyway buckets circulating through the nearby Fantasyland Skyway station, and a cast member walking through the hills of Storybook Land:

This May 1968 image shows the Chicken of the Sea Mermaid:

What a beauty; note the blond tresses cascading behind her:

Also from 1968 is this shot of the ship, with cannons ready to fire!

See more vintage Disneyland Chicken of the Sea Restaurant photos at my main website.

TGI-Skyway!

It’s time for the weekend, and what better way to do that than to get on the now non-existent Skyway at Disneyland? In this September 1958 image bucket #38 is soaring into the Fantasyland Skyway Station from Tomorrowland. I’d never really paid any attention to these two rooftop details before:

A closeup view of bucket #38:

Our September 1958 guest also got this shot of the Fantasyland Station:

A detailed view of the building which sadly no longer exists, either.

From May 1957, showing the buckets floating over what is now the Matterhorn:

And another shot of the Fantasyland Station from December 1957:

Hope you have a great weekend!

See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

Skyway Construction

If you’ve been to my main website before, you might have seen this previously posted shot of the Fantasyland Skyway Station at Disneyland under construction. This recently acquired image provides a nice “next step” shot of how the station looked shortly thereafter. Also note the hinges on Dumbo’s ears; those disappeared when they became a maintenance nuisance.



Let’s zoom in on the station, shall we?



Final shot today shows the finished product, which I am sad to say was recently leveled. Torn down. Razed. 86ed.



What a beautiful structure this was:



See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.

The Skyway, Summer of 56

This Summer of 56 batch has yielded some amazing vintage views of the Park, including this journey on the Skyway attraction. For all you newbies, the original attraction had buckets that carried you from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland (and vice versa!).

At first glance, this just looks like an unfortunate composition of the buckets.



This zoom in view provides a glimpse of one of the Mickey Mouse Club Circus wagons.



I also did a close-up of this guest with his camera. Where's that footage now?!?



Sailing over the Storybook Land attraction:



Looks like maintenance is doing some landscape work:



And here we are at our final destination, the Fantasyland Skyway Station:



This gorgeous little structure had a long life, even lasting many years after the attraction had shut down.



Thanks to Ken at Stack's Liberty Ranch, we have this additional view of Robin Hood (this time without Will Scarlet). Looks like they posed with guests for $$. I wonder if they gave the proceeds to the poor?



See more vintage Disneyland Skyway photos at my main website.