November 25, 2020

High in the Sky Over Disneyland

Imagineer Herb Ryman remains one of the favorite Disney artists, and this piece of concept art for Disneyland's long gone Skyway shows off his brilliance. While the landscape first looks serene, there's actually much movement to be found: the slight tilt of the bucket and the discreetly placed Casey Jr. Circus Train coming through the tunnel of the Storybookland Canal Boats. Riders got to see all this and a trip through the Matterhorn as well! 



The attraction poster for the Skyway in Tomorrowland captures this same freedom of movement. The limited color palette plays up the sense of adventure. (Do you love Disney attraction posters? My whole collection- the largest on the web- can be found here.)

Once the Skyway was removed- and what a big mistake that was!- Fantasyland didn't have quite as much energy as before. But that's nothing compared to how poor Tomorrowland fared. With the Peoplemover gone and the Rocket Jets moved to the front, the entire feel of the world of the future was much less inviting. It's a shame really. What once was one of the most interesting places in the park is now my least visited. One ride on Space Mountain and maybe a trip to Endor, and I'm done. Well, there's always Florida I guess!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

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