Next up is the center of Fantasyland with the central ticket booth and two characters, the Big Bad Wolf chasing after a tasty Little Pig.
Of course the Dumbo attraction is highlighted. First up is an image of the ride with a couple of people waiting.
The photographer joined that line, and snapped this image while riding Dumbo.
Who can resist giant spinning Teacups. (I for one can, but I always like to watch them.)
Ending with a big finish is this nice image of the Matterhorn and Skyway taken from the ground by the Pirate Ship. I like the caption with Cable Car through Matterhorn.
The Teacups and Mr. Toad, my absolute favorite rides when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteFor how awesome Disneyland was in 1967 it's kinda sad to see it in B&W.......
ReplyDeleteHey there!
ReplyDeleteHad to revisit your blog after having bought annual passes for my family (by far the best investment for us and our 3-yr.-old son, who's gotten hooked). My wife and I compared notes as to what we remembered of Disneyland from our '70s and '80s childhoods. These particular memories stood out:
- we both remember that there used to be boat rides next to the submarine. Wasn't it similar to Autopia in the sense that you could command your own vehicle?
- I remember riding in the sky cars(?) through the Matterhorn and looking down, saying to myself that I would never ride it. I indeed didn't, until I was in high school.
- I realized that it took Disneyland soooo long to consider that mayyyybe some of their rides were totally dated in terms of pop culture and mass appeal––for instance, Mission To Mars and Voyage Through Innerspace (two of my favs, but anyway). I went on Mission to Mars in 1987-88, and there must've been 4-5 of us in there.
- this is more of a mid- to late-'80s thing, but there was at one time a big dance floor/"club" attraction for teens and such who needed a place to escape their parents and the whole family aspect of Disneyland (I know, because I went!) It was, I think, in the area now occupied by Toon Town...not exactly sure though. Can anyone elaborate? How long did that attraction last?
Hi narvolicious,
ReplyDeleteYes, your memory is right on both counts. There was a motorboat ride near the entrance to the Matterhorn, and like Autopia, you could work the steering wheel in front of you. Also like Autopia, it didn't matter because the vehicle was on tracks, so you went wherever the spirit of Walt led you.
The teen dance floor was put in in the 80s by Mike Eisner to bolster the teen demographic. It was called Videopolis, but Disney soon realized that the teen demographic also brought in teen problems like sex, drugs, and knife fights.
Push came to shove, and Videopolis was turned into an open-air theater. It's still there, Toon Town is a few feet north of the old Videopolis site.