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The photo to the left shows
the old entrance to Tomorrowland. The People Mover opened in
1967 and took curious riders over and through the various
attractions of Tomorrowland. The Astro Jets, which stand in
the background, were a red & white circular rocket ride that
allowed passengers to change the height of their ship. For a
view of this section of Disneyland today click
here. The other photo shows the control lab of
the Flight to the Moon, sponsored by McDonnell Douglas. It
replaced the Rocket to the Moon attraction and was a simulated
space trip. The postcard depicts the animatronic control
room. |
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The Grand Canyon was a large
diorama alongside the train in a tunnel that came shortly before
the main train station. It gave passengers something to view
instead of having a "dead spot" in the ride. The
tunnel is surrounded by various office buildings and Walt felt
that the visitors should view scenes of Americana instead of the
backs of the park's administration center. |
The Primeval World comprised
the second half of the train tunnel. The dinosaur scenes
were from the Ford's Magic Skyway attraction (built by Disney) at
the 1964 World's Fair. They were assembled at the park for
the 1967 season. Although simple by today's standards these
creatures were the closest many visitors came to movie-quality
figures during this time period. |
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New Orleans Square was one of
many additions to the park for the 1967 season. The area
currently houses the Blue Bayou restaurant, the Pirates of the
Caribbean float-through dark ride and the Disney gallery.
The area is unique because it was not replicated at Walt Disney
World. |
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This period shot of guests as
they leave Frontierland and walk towards the hub at Main Street's
end. The area directly behind the gate is an "Old
West" fort ala Davy Crockett. Frontierland used to be
much more participatory and featured mules, a stagecoach ride, the
Mike Fink Keelboats and the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train (see
below). An article in Time read, "At nearby
Frontierland, a Wild West stagecoach and a mule train churn the
dust; if business slacks, villainous Black Bart conveniently shoots it out with Sheriff Lucky in a haze of gun smoke, later
distributes and used cartridges to the newly corralled crowd." |
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The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train
(renamed the Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland for the 1960
season) was one of the first large-scale rides the Imagineers came
up with. This attraction took riders throughout the scenes
of the west. The waterfall shown is Cascade Creek, a large
mountain and a fixture at Disneyland for 44 years until its
removal during the 1999 season. |
The ride also passed a replica
of Old Faithful. It sprayed up 70 feet into the air and
signaled the entrance to the Rainbow Cavern. From the spot
above the train looped in a circle and then went back through the
tunnel. Inside the tunnel was a beautiful mine ride that
featured many traditional dark ride tricks like rocks painted in
black light paint. |
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Walt was not only fascinated
by the old west, he enjoyed those who explored its myth. He
named his riverboat after one of America's greatest storytellers,
Mark Twain. Like many things in the park the boat was built
in 5/8 scale. The park claimed that this was the first
paddle-wheel boat built in the U.S. in over 50 years. The
ship was constructed at the Todd Shipyards in San Diego.
Disney lore said that it was shipped deck-by-deck up the highway
and then assembled at a Disney soundstage. A New York
Times article from 1955 read, "Its piece de resistance is
another river, plied by the 'Mark Twain,' a self-propelled
reproduction of a Mississippi stern-wheeler." |
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Three attractions are visible
in this picture, two of which are still operating. The
skyway joined the park in 1956 and ran from Fantasyland to
Tomorrowland. After the 1959 Tomorrowland expansion holes
were left in the Matterhorn so the sky buckets could pass through
the mountain. The Casey Junior Circus Train opened with the
park and allows visitors to ride in a cage if they wish. The
railroad gives an abbreviated view of the other ride in this
photo, the Storybookland Canal Boats. The cave shown in the
photo is now Monstro, the whale from Pinocchio. The ride is
a slow-paced, narrated trip through various Disney tales and some
of the pieces of scenery are from actual films. |
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