One man's observations today about the worlds of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.
PART II
Excuse me for a moment. I am going to reach over here and grab a soapbox again. There. Very good. Now I would like to stand on top of the soapbox and bleed my heart for another few minutes. You bought the ticket so let’s go for the ride.
A little background for those who missed Part I. I was admiring the worthy tradition at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom to honor those who have made an impact by placing their name on a window on Main Street. Walt Disney himself started the idea. According to Marty Sklar, the rules for achieving this honor are:
1) Only on retirement
2) Only the highest level of service/respect/achievement.
3) Agreement between top individual park management and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates the design and copy concepts.
So can somebody explain to my why Harrison “Buzz” Price does not have a window on Main Street in either Disneyland or Walt Disney World? If there was anybody who really deserved this, it has to be Buzz. He is a Disney Legend after all. He is one of the few who have not worked directly for Disney. He just worked for thee Disneys. Come on Disneyland. Please explain.
One of my favorite things about Disney history is the amazing artwork that preceded the construction of the attractions.
If you were a visitor to Disneyland in 1959 and were smart enough to purchase Walt Disney's Guide to Disneyland, not only would you be able to relive your visit but you would have gotten a glimpse of some of the dreaming going on at WED Enterprises. Inside the booklet are drawings of The Haunted Mansion, Liberty Square, and Adventures in Science. But the real treat was the Special Insert.
Many Disney historians have referred to the summer of 1959 as the second grand opening of Disneyland. Walt was feeling the heat from Pacific Ocean Park (POP). The seaside amusement park opened in Santa Monica. It was a joint project between the CBS network and the Los Angeles Turf Club, managers of Santa Anita Race track. CBS turned Walt down when he was looking the first time but they saw a good thing going on in Anaheim and they wanted a piece of the action. In 1958, the POP outdrew Disneyland. Maybe it was the park's appearance on the Lawrence Welk show?
As always, Walt would not rest on his laurels and he was always up for a challenge. He drove his team to complete the biggest expansion in the park’s short history. The results forever change Disneyland. In one shot, he built The Matterhorn, The Submarine Voyage, the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System, Motorboat Cruises, and new Autopia Freeways.
Walt called it, “A brand new Disneyland.”
Walt was proud of the growth of Disneyland in four short years. He said, “Today, there are 48 attractions in the Magic Kingdom – compared to 22 on opening day.”
“Calling Disneyland visitors to a thrilling bobsled ride, ‘snow-capped’ Matterhorn Mountain, rising as high as a 14-story structure, is an exact replica of the most famous Swiss Alp mountain. Bobsledding guests race around, through and down its slopes, gliding to a halt at the bottom in a glacier lake. Inside the Matterhorn, bobsled riders see glacier caverns and alpine grottos.”
The Matterhorn is easily the most visible attraction and the tallest structure in Orange County at the time. The location for the Matterhorn was the site for Holiday Hill aka, Snow Mountain. It was the dirt pile left over from the moat in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. As you can see, the drawing resembles Walt’s first concept for the Bobsleds. He originally wanted to have bobsleds slide down ice chutes. Admiral Joe Fowler convinced Walt that this was not a good idea.
One of the main inspirations for the Matterhorn was the need to hide the Skyway tower. What better way to camouflage a huge steel structure then to build a mountain around it?
“Traveling high above Disneyland between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, the already popular Skyway ride has a brand new treat: a view of the caverns and ice grottos as the cable cars pass through the Matterhorn. The Skyway also provides a breathtaking view over the entire area of new attractions.”
“The mysterious depths of the legendary Seven Seas have been brought to vivid reality for passengers who board Disneyland’s authentic, air-conditioned submarines. In the Submarine Voyage, Walt Disney has created a world of hundreds of deep sea fish, sunken treasures and beautiful flora and fauna of the undersea world.”
Now wouldn’t be cool to see a Cast Member saluting the crowd from the top of the conning tower? The Submarine Voyage started out a United States military operation and ended up as harmless research vessels surfing the East Australia Current looking for a kid who doesn’t listen to his father. Along with the nearby mountain, Walt did something nobody else could pull off. He built a submarine fleet. What started out as a glass bottom boat turned out to be something that could only be found at Disneyland. I especially like the Spanish style mission that is found underwater with the bells still intact.
“Looking through individual portholes in the submarines, Disneyland’s oceanic explorers see the fabled Lost Continent of Atlantis, the Graveyard of Lost Ships, and glide beneath the North Polar Ice Cap. And there are lesser known phenomena: beautiful mermaids and 60-feet long sea serpents!”
“Previewing the future of city mass transportation, the first complete Monorail system, operating daily, in the United States carries guests over and around the entire new attraction area. Climbing steep grades and racing around sharp curves the futuristic Monorail trains run over a “concrete highway in the sky.” Transportation authorities are already considering the electrically operated monorails as the solution to the problems of metropolitan area congestion. Even the access to the Monorail Train Station is futuristic; a Speedramp carries passengers from ground level to the loading platform.
Walt was the master of layering his attractions against a beautiful landscape. He realized early on that a variety of transportation related passing through the same space made money. Just look at Frontierland. When Disneyland first opened, guests could ride through the outback on a mule, a Conestoga wagon or a Stage Coach. Over time that network would evolve and a mine train through Nature’s Wonderland replaced the horse drawn vehicles. However, the mule pack remained until 1973.
The same thing was taking place along the banks of the Rivers of America. You could ply the river on a steam power stern wheeler, a reproduction of the first American three-masted sailing ship to circumnavigate the world, Mike Fink’s keel boats or a human powered canoe.
The landscape is what mattered and each transportation device gave guests a different perspective and enhanced the overall environment.
Walt would take this concept to another level in Tomorrowland with the addition of the Monorail. Riding high in the sky along the beamway were bright colored Monorail trains zooming by almost silently. Just below is an expanded Autopia miniature car freeway and small motorboats tooling around a waterway. Sadly the motorboat canals have been filled in for the most part and the Autopia freeway has completely been remodeled and now includes an off road section.
MOTORBOAT CRUISES
“Two complete Motorboat cruises have been designed on a new lake in the Fantasyland area. Guests pilot their own boats through whitewater rapids and rock-filled currents on this winding, swiftly-moving stream.”
“Disneyland’s most popular transportation, the Autopia Freeways, have been doubled in number to include four separate super highways. Youngsters of all ages drive their own individually gasoline powered sports cars over these multi-level speedways. Many of the cars are brand new, modern designs.”
PART I
Excuse me for a moment. I am going to reach over here and grab a soapbox. There. Very good. Now I would like to stand on top of the soapbox and bleed my heart for a few minutes. Okay.
One of the great traditions at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom to honor those who have made an impact is a window on Main Street. Walt Disney himself started the idea. According to Marty Sklar, the rules for achieving this honor are:
1) Only on retirement
2) Only the highest level of service/respect/achievement.
3) Agreement between top individual park management and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates the design and copy concepts.
So can somebody explain why Harrison “Buzz” Price does not have a window on Main Street in either Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Let me build a case.
Over at Tomorrowland, you can get an Angus BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Comes with the same big onion ring found in Critter Country.
I know, I know this would be a better update with a photo of the other burgers but I am just one person not a machine. Only Len Testa could eat that much in one just for research. If you would like photos and reviews of the other burgers, please hit the donate button at the top of the site and slide me a dollar or two. I will publish your name along with the review as a sponsor if you wish.
Just love Tom Sawyer Island. Spent a lot of time there and will be publishing that article soon. Next time you are in the cave looking for pirates, just across from the guy who is chained up, embedded in the walls are these wonderful impressions.
The pirates have jump on to the main land. I am looking forward to this show and the movie.
Did they misplace this from the Magic Kingdom in Florida. I guess this is a good way to hide the DVC cart but it does not fit. Then again, Disneyland's Tomorrowland has no real underlying them anymore as it is. The only theme I notice is the graveyard to "The World On The Move" with the Astro Orbitors in a hole, the PeopleMover track really silent, and nothing spinning up high. 
The rockwork for Carsland is simply amazing. Bring suntan lotion as you will be wanting to spend time in the desert.
