Disneyland Cast Members, 1982

When I clean around my scanner, sometimes I uncover treasures like this batch of previously unscanned/posted shots showing Disneyland cast members from 1982. The first three images show cast members from Space Mountain.



Note the Starcade sign on the right:



Moving over to the PeopleMover, this particular cast member rated TWO photos!





Looks like this cast member's badge fell off:



A closeup:



Could this guy’s hair be any more perfect?



Last one for today was a scan from a mystery black and white negative. I have no idea who these people are or where it was shot. It was just sitting next to my scanner. Anybody know?



See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

37 Years Ago Today: Fast Times on Space Mountain

In honor of the May 27, 1977 opening of Space Mountain at Disneyland I am sharing the true-life tales of former cast member Ken S., accompanied by some amazing construction photos taken by Bill H. As Ken recalls:

There was a recent item in the OC History Roundup blog about Tomorrowland which registered a memory of mine from the days before Space Mountain was open to the public. By mid 1976, much of the Mountain’s track was complete inside the shell of the building. By then the building looked like a round circus Big Top without most of the exterior walls, especially those panels fronting the ‘employee side’ of the building. There was quite a bit of excitement among the cast members as we had all witnessed the attraction slowly taking shape, and now were hearing the sounds of a test sled vehicle occasionally making the rounds of the track. We weren't allowed to walk up to the building and peer inside as there was construction fencing keeping us at some distance. But we all clamored for a glimpse.

While I was working over in Adventureland, I had a chance meeting or two with some of the Disney supervisors overseeing and validating the vehicle testing. I must have impressed them enough that one day, I got a quiet invitation..almost a whisper...from a supervisor to meet up at the construction gate after my shift. Once there, I joined a very small number of other cast members who must have also received the same invitation. We were invited to take a ride on Space Mountain!



What we didn’t realize at the time was that few, if any others, had ridden the vehicle(s) to date; most of the vehicle trips were done empty or filled with sand bags to replicate the experience of real riders. We realized later we were chosen to be real-life ‘test dummies’.

Given hard hats, we walked into the building still under construction down to the load position. At that point, the hard hats were then left behind. I can’t recall the instructions we were given, but no doubt they were the ones that all guests receive, other than a discussion reminding us that if the ride shut down we should stay inside the vehicle, and to “remain seated at all times”. We were the only vehicle on the track.



Once released, off we went up the chain drive, through the tunnel to the top of the ride. Now remember, there were no special effects and you could see outside the building, and the entire track complex. We were all primed for a good ride.



And a good ride it was. We were whipped and dropped and up and down and round and round we went at a very fast rate. The part where the bottom drops out for a momentary feeling of weightlessness would have pulled us out of the vehicle if it weren’t for the safety bar.



By the time we arrived back at the station, we were all full of adrenaline and, after catching our breath, wanted to go again, but were politely told no and given a ‘Thank you’ for volunteering. So provided our hard hats, we got out of the vehicle and with shaky legs walked from the building thinking this was the most fantastic experience we had experienced and couldn’t wait to do ride it again.

For a few days later, the test vehicle continued to run, but there were no riders which seemed odd. Speaking with one of the workers I learned there was a reason. Those of us who rode that day were in a vehicle that was running up to 10mph faster than considered safe…that if the emergency brakes were applied to stop the ride, we would have blown through it. They were now beginning modifications to the wheels and who knows what else to make the ride run slower. Obviously a solution was found, as Space Mountain was completed and opened.

There was a special ‘cast member only’ party one evening before it was opened to the public. I was excited to be there and was ready for the experience, but the experience wasn’t the same, the ride was definitely slower.



Thinking about it now, it's too bad there wasn’t a photo taken of us intrepid test riders coming back to the station as they do today. I wonder what the look was on our faces after we broke the ‘speed barrier.' It was probably much like the look of the supervisions and test personnel on the dock staring at us. I’m not sure it was a look of relief or the shock that we made it safely all the way down.

Many thanks to Ken for sharing these great first-hand stories!

See more vintage & current Space Mountain photos on my main website.

December 1982: Space Mountain and More

The Storybook December 1982 image from yesterday's post was part of this set, which naturally begins at the Main Street Train Station. How many children patiently waited for their parents to snap a photo in front of the floral Mickey while their hearts were racing to see all of the magic on the other side of the Station?

A Horse-drawn Streetcar drops another batch of guests off at Central Plaza. Note the festive holiday decor on the mane of this horse.



The snow-capped peaks of the Matterhorn stand out on this sunny December day.



Inside the Haunted Mansion, our 1982 photographer violated policy by using a flash in the Haunted Hallway of the Corridor. No complaints here; any vintage indoor dark ride shot is a bonus for me.



Apparently, this photographer was fairly brave, as he managed to take four shots inside of Space Mountain, while it was moving!









I hope you'll all forgive him for using his flash. More to come.

See more vintage & current Disneyland Fowler's Harbor photos on my Fowler's Harbor web page.

Meet Me at Disneyland Pt. 6: Tomorrowland

Of all the lands, Tomorrowland is the one I spend the least amount of time in. This trip proved to be the exception, as the light crowds permitted a walk-on situation for all the biggies. Despite that, the main reason I removed myself from the norm this trip was to get a few photos of the "Iron Man 3" exhibit at Innoventions, aka the former Carousel of Progress.



People playing video games.



Corporate advertisements.



Infomercials cleverly presented in the form of edu-tainment.



Semi-interesting displays.



And the main reason I came: the Iron Man exhibit, featuring costumes (or replicas?) from the movie.









This one shot made it all worth it. This kid was having a ball. Absolutely priceless.



A few more "Iron Man" shots, so that you don't forget the Marvel-Disney connection.





The Dream Home is still here, but now that it's over five years old, the "thrill" (and I use that term loosely) is definitely gone...or pretty much on the way out.









I didn't bother re-visiting the Dream Home; there were enough people milling inside that it extinguished the tiny bit of desire I might have had to go through once again.



Instead, it was onward and upward to Space Mountain.







Although this is one of my favorite "thrill" rides at Disneyland, I guarantee it wouldn't be half as exciting if the lights were on.



How dare that little girl attempt to cover my face!



Working my way back to the front of Tomorrowland, Star Tours was next on the day's to-do list.



One of the greatest comedy duos since Laurel & Hardy.











The doors open...one group departs, and the next one begins to board.



Time to put the camera away as the journey is about to start...and photos of the 3D screen look like ca-ca anyway.



Final Tomorrowland attraction for the day was Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters.



32?!? Wow...I really need to work on my game.



One closeup of the Astro Orbiter gate, and then I was finished with the Tomorrowland portion of my day.



Tomorrow, we'll meet on Main Street—both of them!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Tomorrowland photos on my Tomorrowland web pages.