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.  

 

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.

 

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.

 

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."

 

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.

 

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."

 

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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