June 9, 2008

Retro Rockin' Space Mountain


At the start of Disneyland's second decade, there was an air of real excitement surrounding the future of the park. Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room has just opened and was wowing audiences with its Audio Animatronic magic. The most recent souvenir book not only included a three page retrospective of the building of the park, but it also had five full pages of up and coming attractions.

The second decade proved to be the real "Disney Decade", as Disney Imagineers delivered almost everything that had been promised. What what built in this amazing span of ten years? Oh, just some little attractions you know as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, all of New Orleans Square, a New Tomorrowland with the Adventure Thru Inner Space, Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, and It's A Small World. What wasn't built in time? Space Mountain, but its debut came in 1977, only a year or two after it was promised.

Here's a piece of concept art showing the inside of the mountain. Look at the very cool, very 60's style rockets! And notice the Peoplemover going through the mountain. The exterior concept shows a similar but different perspective that you don't see too often. That's coming in a later post...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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