The Sparkle of Disneyland's Tomorrowland 1967

The Submarine Voyage and the Peoplemover. What more can you say? Plenty! Add in the Carousel of Progress, the late and great Adventure Thru Inner Space and a refreshed entrance to Tomorrowland.  The year 1967 would remain one for the books in the annals of Disneyland history. 

Walt's park seemed better than ever under the guidance of those first generation Imagineers. And, boy, they were on a roll! It's a Small World was first, then Pirates of the Caribbean in the Spring of '67 and the Haunted Mansion a couple of years later. Let's not forget Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln coming hot off the World's Fair. 

Things would slow down for awhile, but as this photograph from the late and great Vintage Disneyland Tickets shows, the future was also moving at Disneyland- unless you look at Tomorrowland. That revision in 1998 was a dud- Rocket Rods aside-, and it was the last time that area of the park had even the slightest bit of cohesion. Will the Imagineering team bring a great new person of the future for the park's 75th Anniversary? Your guess is as good as mine!

(Photograph copyright Vintage Disneyland Tickets.)

The Disneyland Tomorrowland We Almost Got

I've never seen this piece of concept art for Disneyland before! A brand New Tomorrowland of EPCOT Center influence. It's one with smooth wide walkways of glistening white, multiple flags, elegant fountains, and streamlined curved wing roofs. Imagine a land on the move where the chain of cars in the Peoplemover are a variety of different colors instead of one individual color per train. Instead of a glowing Spaceship Earth, the Rocket Jets take center stage high above it all. Although I love her work, there wasn't a Mary Blair mural in sight. Very different than what was built, but both versions looked inviting. 

When those iconic Disney Imagineers of old began to dream up what could replace the pennant filled early and temporary land of the future, the final result was just astounding. It's true Disney park fans still speak of Adventure Thru Inner Space fondly, but it is so much more than nostalgia. This was a land of optimism and discovery! A living Carousel fo Progress. Under the watchful eye of Walt Disney who never got to see it open, the land was executed to perfection. How the Company that bears his name needs someone that visionary more than ever!

Tomorrowland 1967 at Disneyland remains the best version of the Land of the Future ever built in California! 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

A Golden Tomorrowland and a Revamped Space Mountain

Tomorrowland 1967- an iconic, much beloved, incarnation of the Land of the Future. And Disneyland was all the richer for it! This piece of concept art by the Imagineers reveals a new profile for Space Mountain than we've seen, a look at the Peoplemover and the Carousel of Progress, and a view of the entrance to Mission to Mars. 

The plan oozed ambition and a determination to give guests more than just an experience they deserved. It was to be an immersive journey into the future- and beyond. It worked...until it didn't. And then the land had to be revamped to keep up with an ever growing future. Then we mourned the loss of Adventure Thru Inner Space and the innocence of the age. Never to be seen again.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disneyland Without Space Mountain?

Disneyland without Space Mountain? Don't be so sure it could not happen. Shanghai Disneyland opened with Tron Lightcycle Run in its place- and not a single person seems to have expressed outrage they did not get to ride one of Imagineering's iconic attractions. But that is exactly what happened in 1967. The plans were clearly in the works to add Space Mountain to the brand New Tomorrowland, and you can see it in this page from the Disneyland Guide book. The concept art is right there front and center. When the revision of the land did open, Adventure Thru Inner Space made its debut and Carousel of Progress opened up on the West Coast after a great response to the show at the World's Fair. The Peoplemover covered the land in style. There was excitement everywhere! Except Space Mountain would not make its debut. That had to come later. Much later. A decade in fact.

Love Space Mountain and want to learn more about its history? Check out this mega-post with all the history and concept art you could want!

Miracles from Molecules Indeed

Isn't this a beauty? Perhaps you've seen this in person or maybe you weren't fortunate enough to personally ride Disneyland's iconic attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space. And this great piece of concept art is only a look at the exit platform of the journey. Yes, the exit. Hard to believe. (Click on it in order to see it in a very, very large size.)

With no question, Tomorrowland 1967 was the best incarnation of the land. 

Everything before- and certainly everything after- pales in comparison to what Walt Disney and his Imagineers put together. As with Pirates of the Caribbean, the genius didn't get to see this at opening. Individual attractions may have been terrific since, thinking Space Mountain here, but the sum of the whole was never better than what guests found in the Spring of '67. Toss in the eye catching Peoplemover and the Carousel of Progress, and you've got the core of an incredible land on the move. 

Perhaps when Star Tours goes by the wayside after Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens, the suits can let the space it occupies revert to something far better- by looking backward as they look forward.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.) 

The End of Adventure Thru Inner Space

Long before Star Tours made its debut at Disneyland, the deepest, darkest, most mysterious attraction to be found at the brand new Tomorrowland 1967 was a corporate sponsored presentation, Adventure Thru Inner Space. The Monsanto company was on the leading edge of bringing science into everyday life making them a great choice for sponsorship. 

Notice the Peoplemover overhead 

and the same general building shape as the current Star Tours. 

Due to the fact it was at the entrance to Tomorrowland, crowds were instantly drawn to it. Peeking inside the building, the display of a larger than life snowflake made for a compelling piece of eye candy, while the giant microscope at the end of the queue seemed to devour guests. 

Actually, it really did devour guests! The reason Inner Space had great numbers of riders was due to its innovative, continuously moving vehicles. Guests journeyed into the world of a snowflake in the Atommobile, the first use of the Omnimover, a vehicle designed by Disney Imagineers.  It not only kept the crowds moving, it was also used to direct the sightless of visitors as the car itself turned to specific show scenes. 

Nice piece of WED concept art.

This thrilling journey into the world of an atom was a fan favorite for a variety of reasons- including the opportunity to travel with the one you loved to a cool, dark, and relatively private place. All under the view of the Mighty Microscope, of course! 

The actual ending of the attraction is shown in the top rendering. On the right side, drops of oil flowed down hundreds of strands of Monsanto fibers creating a striking piece of art. Smaller exhibits surrounded guests exiting the attraction in an area much smaller than but similar to EPCOT Center's Communicore / Inventions.

Crowds packed out Inner Space for about 15 years. By then, it seemed to be time for a change. Disney Imagineers and George Lucas joined together to bring the Star Wars universe to Disney. It was the end of the beloved attraction.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Tomorrowland's Mighty Microscope

In a galaxy long, long ago, long before Disneyland's disjointed Tomorrowland became the mess we know it to be, Tomorrowland '67 was an incredible place filled with forward thinking attractions. It was scientifically focused. It was not about cartoon characters that had an adventure in outer space. That's the way Walt Disney approached the Land of the Future, and that is what was on the boards for Disneyland right before he died.

Some of the most inspiring concept art comes from this period of Imagineering and of the concepts designed for EPCOT Center's forward looking Future World. Imagineer Herb Ryman led the charge, creating piece upon piece of beautiful designs for the second Disney park in Florida. But back to Disneyland...

Here's Adventure Thru Inner Space's art for the huge Mighty Microscope. When guests boarded "Atommobiles", they immediately ventured into the microscope on their way to being shrunk to the size of an atom- and beyond. The soundtrack for this attraction is worth digging up for a great combination of excitement and retro fun.

In the next chapter of "Disney Theme Park Disasters", we'll look at the Tomorrowland of now and how looking at the future from a realistic standpoint has disappeared for the Disney parks. Going forward, it's either Jules Verne retro, cartoon visions of the future, or a whole lot of Star Wars. Yes, the snowflake has melted...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

WED Imagineering Announces Tomorrowland 1967

At a then staggering cost of $23 Million, WED Imagineering, the design arm of Disneyland, announced the July 2 opening of the New Tomorrowland 1967. 

Only in Disneyland's "World on the Move" could you journey in a submarine, explore the inner workings of a snow flake by going into a microscope, soar to the Moon, and experience transportation systems of tomorrow. 

Tomorrowland 1967 was a huge success. And it came on the heels of New Orleans Square with The Pirates of the Caribbean. Just a couple of years later, Imagineering would debut The Haunted Mansion. It was a great time to be a park fan- back when there were new, major attractions added every two or three years at the most. Back when Disneyland was the cutting edge theme park. In the day when Walt's philosophy guided the investors and company accountants and not the other way around.

(Image from Phil Sears.)