No Foolin'

Today is Friday, April 1 - April Fool's Day - a day when many a Disney website or blog runs phony stories about developments in and around the Walt Disney Company. Well... I won't be doing that. Instead, I present to you this week's final series of vintage Disney Parks photos. Each tells a story that, if not for the photographic evidence, might seem just as far fetched as an actual April Fool's Day prank. Enjoy.

Epcot replaces Disney Characters with

Larger-than-Life People of the World

When EPCOT Center opened in 1982, it was the first Disney Park designed outside the Disneyland mold. To help further differentiate the park from the Magic Kingdom, it was decided the traditional Disney characters would not appear in EPCOT Center (it was actually this decision that led to the first wide-spread use of "Hidden Mickeys"). Instead, the new park would feature a cast of characters all its own, from Dreamfinder and Figment in Future World to the People of the World in World Showcase. These oversize, doll-headed characters were adapted from America on Parade, which ran at the Magic Kingdom in the mid-70s. Brought to EPCOT Center, they were dressed in international costumes and set out to pose with guests around the World Showcase Lagoon. It wasn't long, though, before visitors to the park expressed their expectation that Mickey and friends would be on hand, and the People of the World were retired in favor of the Fab Five in "futuristic" silver jumpsuits.

"Three Little Pigs" Musical Added in Expansion

of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park

As part of an early effort to add extra offerings to the Magic Kingdom (significantly more modest than the current park expansion), the Fantasy Faire Stage was created in the back of Fantasyland to host musical performances starring popular Disney characters. Various shows telling stories ranging from "Winnie the Pooh" to the "Three Little Pigs" graced the stage over the years. Even as recently as the mid-90s, this spot was home to Disney Magic Music Days guest performers and Miss Minnie's Country Christmas during holiday events. The Fantasy Faire Stage closed for good in 1996, to be replaced by Ariel's Grotto, and the site is now being transformed once again into part of Belle's village for New Fantasyland.

Disneyland Rivers of America Run Dry

You're not seeing things. This is the dry riverbed of the Rivers of America in Frontierland at Disneyland, with the guide rail for the Columbia and Mark Twain visible on the ground. This level of refurbishment on the park's main river has only been undertaken a handful of times. This particular photograph is from early-1992, when the original infrastructure was added for a new Disneyland nighttime spectacular set to debut that spring - Fantasmic!

Goofy Seen Water Skiing on Seven Seas Lagoon

In the early years of the Walt Disney World Resort, when the Magic Kingdom was the only park to visit, guests crossing Seven Seas Lagoon were often treated to surprise appearances by the Disney characters. Favorites like Goofy and Mr. Smee could be seen water skiing alongside the ferries on their way to the park. More than just entertainment value, these stunts also served as a promotion of sorts of the resort's varied recreation offerings, something new that had never been available at Disneyland.

Replica of Mos Eisley Cantina Built at Entrance

to Star Tours at Disney's Hollywood Studios

It's true! Full disclosure, though: The cantina structure was temporary, only built for the official grand opening ceremonies for Star Tours held on January 14, 1990. Look closely at the photo, and you can see the band playing (that's Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes for you die-hard Star Wars fans out there). Michael Eisner and George Lucas presided over the day's events. Star Wars stars Mark Hammill and Carrie Fisher were also in attendance. Even though Darth Vader and his Imperial Guard made an appearance atop the attraction building to try and stop the proceedings, everything opened according to plan. Now, twenty-one years later, we await the debut of the next chapter with Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, opening May 20.

Meeting Some Real (and rare) Characters

Continuing our series of vintage Disney Parks photos this week, today we take a different perspective and look at some shots of characters rarely seen in the parks these days. DisneyShawn blog reader Katherine Sanders from Saskatchewan, Canada, contributed this series taken on her first visit to Disneyland in 1994. That's her with Roger Rabbit, near the Carnation Plaza Gardens. Following the 1988 release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Roger became a regular fixture in the Disney Parks, nearly as ubiquitous as Mickey Mouse.

I find this next shot interesting for a couple of reasons. Goofy's son, Max, can still occasionally be seen in the parks, but this is a rare instance of Goofy himself in his "Dad" outfit as seen on the "Goof Troop" TV series and in A Goofy Movie (released in 1995). He's much more commonly spotted wearing his traditional yellow vest and green hat. Click on the photo for a closer look, and you're sure to also get a kick out of the enormous video camera and fanny pack the fella in the red shirt is sporting!

These next pictures were taken in Mickey's Toontown, a fairly new addition to Disneyland at the time, having just opened in 1993. During that period, the Disney Afternoon TV programming block was very popular. In fact, this back corner of Disneyland had hosted Disney Afternoon Avenue a couple years earlier, so it's no surprise that on her visit young Katherine was able to meet stars like Launchpad McQuack from "DuckTales" and "Tale Spin" or Gadget (the inspiration for Gadget's Go-Coaster in Toontown) from "Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers."

Katherine's rarest find of all that day, though, was probably this guy: Bonkers D. Bobcat. Bonkers, of the Hollywood Police Department - Toon Division, was introduced in segments of the short-lived 1992 Saturday morning series "Raw Toonage." In 1993, Bonkers was spun off into his own, self-titled series on Disney Channel and in syndication, but he made very few appearances in the parks.

So what about you? Anyone else out there have some great vintage photos from your early Disney Parks vacations? If so, I'd love to feature them here on the blog. Maybe you captured something long gone or forgotten. Maybe you have a picture you just can't place or don't know anything about. Send them my way, and I'll do my best to help shed some light.

Where in Disneyland? Alice in Wonderland

So how did you do? Today's image was actually a pair of rabbit footprints... from a White Rabbit, no less. He was obviously running late, as he scurried along the path and down the rabbit hole. That's where Alice followed him on her adventure, and it's the path we take in our caterpillar cars on Fantasyland's Alice in Wonderland dark ride.

Alice in Wonderland, a Disneyland exclusive, was added to the Fantasyland lineup in 1958 and enhanced with the rest of Fantasyland, reopening in 1984. To this day, it's a "must do" on any trip to Disneyland. It's definitely one of my favorites!

Where in Disneyland? Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Quite a few of you guessed this one correctly. It's a detail seen from the queue for Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and the TL59 stands for Tomorrowland and 1959 - the year the original Submarine Voyage attraction opened.

Submarine Voyage opened at a time when nuclear subs were in the news and seen as the future of technology. At the time, one of the subs in the fleet was christened Nautilus after the USS Nautilus. Launched in 1954, the USS Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine and became the first to cross the North Pole (a story point incorporated into the ride).

Following their naval inspiration, the subs at first were painted a military grey. This changed in the 1980s, as the story was adjusted slightly to focus more on marine research and the subs were painted yellow.

The original Submarine Voyage took its last dive in 1998, the victim of ever-increasing maintenance costs, but a strong desire remained to revive the attraction in some way. With the Pixar film Finding Nemo as a motivator for a new story line, the Submarine Voyage finally returned in 2007.

To solve some of the challenges previously experienced with the attraction, some of the show pieces are actually presented behind glass or via other special effects. This still creates the illusion that they're underwater, but protects the scenes from the damage caused by being submerged. In the case of the coral, it was painted using a new technique in which colored glass was incorporated into the paint, allowing it to hold its color exponentially longer.

Now, thanks to the creativity and problem-solving skills of the Imagineers, guests at Disneyland can once again enjoy the thrill of diving to the ocean's depths -- just as they did back in 1959.

More Mountain

Have you ever had the experience of knowing you had a particular photo in your collection and simply not being able to find it? It's a frustration that seems even more prominent in the digital age, with thousands of pictures in our hard drives. Well, this morning I stumbled upon some detail shots of Space Mountain at Disneyland that I had intended to share with you in last week's article. What is it they say? Better late than never!

As we discussed last week, Space Mountain is the space port of Tomorrowland, and quite a few details were added for the attraction's 2005 relaunch to help further support that story. The photo above, taken from the upper-level queue area, shows a landing platform for spacecraft. The platform and the queue are actually on the roof of the Magic Eye Theater (now showing Captain EO). When Space Mountain opened in 1977, this space was open, and guests waiting in line had a view of the live entertainment hosted down on the Space Stage.

This graphic seen just inside the building shows us how Space Station 77 appears from outer space, where it docks with other space stations. Look closely in the lower right corner, and you'll spot a cargo ship, just like the one that hangs overhead in the loading bay.

Passing through the queue, the wall finishes and details really make it feel as though you've entered a space station. There are even air locks and gantry elevator portals.

Oh, and speaking of that cargo ship...

While the number in Space Station 77 obviously refers to the attraction's opening date, the cargo vessel docked at the loading bay bears the designation DL05 for Disneyland and 2005, the year Space Mountain opened after a nearly two year refurbishment.

House of the Past, Present & Future

The Starcade isn't the only relic from Tomorrowland's past. Hints of the area's 55 year history can be found throughout the land... if you know where to look.

From 1957 to 1967, Monsanto sponsored an exhibit near the entrance to Tomorrowland, called the House of the Future (photo ©Disney). Touring the inside of the house, guests could see a variety of innovations that promised to make future living easier and more comfortable, from plastic furnishings to a microwave oven and electric dishwasher.

After a new Tomorrowland debuted in 1967, the House hosted its last visitors and closed for good. The stories are legend about how the House of the Future was resistant to demolition. It ultimately had to be torn to pieces to be removed. Not all of the former attraction is gone, however. In the garden near Pixie Hollow, where the House of the Future once stood, you can still find its reinforced concrete base. It's been painted green to better blend with the current surroundings, but it stands testament nonetheless to a vision of future past.

A caveat, if you wish to seek out this bit of Tomorrowland history for yourself: The above photo was taken several years ago, when the area was Ariel's Grotto. Now that Pixie Hollow occupies this space, I can't attest to how visible the platform still is.

Go Retro in Tomorrowland

For all the things that have changed in Tomorrowland, there are a few corners where time seems to have stood still. The Starcade, near the exit of Space Mountain, is one example. Having made its debut alongside Space Mountain and the old Space Stage back in 1977, the Starcade is a bit of a relic in an age when we carry more sophisticated video games in our pockets.

For a blast to tomorrow's past, though, there's no place like it. Step inside under the "celestial lights" and star field murals, and you'll discover an array of games both current and classic. The games themselves have changed with trends and technology over the years (and the orange tile floor from the '70s was recently replaced), but you can still count on the Starcade for that retro thrill of dropping tokens into a machine for a few minutes of fun.

In its heyday, the Starcade occupied two levels of the Space Mountain complex. With the attraction of video arcades lessening, the most popular games of the Starcade were consolidated on the lower level, and the upper level was reserved for special events.

You can still see a bit of that upper level, including a nearly full-scale X-Wing Fighter. This model, which provided the centerpiece of the Star Traders shop after the opening of Star Tours in 1987, was moved here when the shop was remodeled in the late-'90s. Legend has it that the model was actually used in the production of one of the original Star Wars films.

As with any underutilized facility in the Disney Parks, the Starcade's days will be numbered once a better idea comes along. So if you enjoy experiencing the cacophony of light and sound that is an '80s-era video arcade, grab a role of quarters and head down to the Starcade in Tomorrowland.

Mountains in Space

Along the outside of the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters building is this mural, dramatically depicting various spacecraft in flight. It's designed to mirror the Star Tours mural across the way, but it also puts an interesting spin on an old Tomorrowland story. The image shows Star Command ships blasting through space. We're also shown enormous space stations resembling none other than Space Mountain. Look closely, and you can even see little passenger rockets flying in and out of the docking bay.

Space Mountain opened in Tomorrowland in 1977 (after a successful 1975 launch at Walt Disney World). It was conceived as a futuristic version of the Matterhorn, but with a story line that positioned it as Tomorrowland's space port.

The interior of Space Mountain further establishes this story, as guests board their rockets inside the large docking bay. A cargo transport is docked overhead, and you can see a star field through the forward windows.

When Space Mountain at Disneyland reopened in 2005 after a lengthy refurbishment, the story was enhanced with additional effects in the docking bay and on the ride itself. It was also at that time that the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters mural debuted. Tying it all together, the queue passages leading into Space Mountain were dressed as corridors and air locks within Space Station 77.

The temptation is to hurry through this space and get to the ride as quickly as possible. Slow down to read the graphics, though, and you'll be rewarded. In addition to those details which support and enhance the story, you'll also come across this bit of Hidden Disney. The mention of Captain J. Hench refers to John Hench, the legendary Imagineer responsible for the design of the Space Mountain attractions here and around the world.

Store Command

Adjacent to Star Command Headquarters in Tomorrowland is Little Green Men Store Command. Leave it to those LGMs and their Uni-Mind to come up with a way to capitalize on Buzz Lightyear's success and market products to all the new recruits.

From within Store Command, you can see hoards of LGMs outside the window, just waiting for a chance to get at the location's array of merchandise, from Buzz Lightyear action figures and collectables to their very own Astro Blaster cannons. There's even a rocket ship on the platform loaded with items, ready to blast off with them to distant space ports, helping satisfy the demand. Disneyland history buffs may recognize this craft as one of the original Rocket Jets ride vehicles that soared over Tomorrowland from 1967-1997, when the ride was replaced with the Astro Orbitor.

Along another wall is a display of various trophies, awards and honors bestowed upon Star Command. All of them, it seems, have been earned by Buzz Lightyear. There's The Golden Claw trophy, the Laurel of Heroism, Triangle of Bravery and others, along with photos of Buzz with alien dignitaries and a certificate for Gamma Quadrant Protector of the Millennium, presented to Buzz Lightyear "for consistently thwarting Emperor Zurg's evil plans of galactic domination."

Back where recruits land their XP-40 Space Cruisers and leave the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters adventure behind, another portal in the wall provides a view of Zurg's most recent fate. He's been captured and "repackaged."

Nearby, a couple of LGMs are marking the receipt to return Zurg from whence he came. Close inspection of the receipt reveals some of the other items purchased from Al's Toy Barn: a Space Cruiser, Dreadnought Play Set, Star Command Play Set and Astro Blaster Target Play Set. It also looks like Zurg was a real bargain. He only cost $8.99. I guess it's true what Al says. "I'll save you bucks, bucks, bucks!"

It's an Astro Blast!

Across from the Star Tours spaceport in Tomorrowland is the entrance to Star Command Headquarters and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. As soon as we step inside, we get an alert over the walkie talkie: Evil Emperor Zurg and his robot army are attacking, stealing power to fuel his ultimate secret weapon. Our help is needed to defeat Zurg and protect the Galactic Alliance.

Just around the corner, Commander Buzz Lightyear is instructing all of us new recruits on our mission, with the help of a giant Etch-A-Sketch (this is the Toy Story universe, after all). Look closely in this shot, and you can make out Zurg's weapon on Etch's screen. You can even see the Green Planet, home to the LGMs, through the window behind Buzz.

The star map alongside Buzz details the path we must take on our mission. We're currently at Star Command Headquarters in the Gamma Quadrant (if it looks familiar, check out this article). You can see the position of the Green Planet, along with our destination: Planet Z, way beyond the Danger Zone in Sector 9.

While many of these place names and details come directly from Toy Story 2 and the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" TV series, the names of the other planets on the map were created just for the attraction. In fact, if you read them carefully, you'll realize they're derived from the names of Imagineers. For example, Planet Chokbloo refers to none other than Imagineering artist Chuck Ballew, who created the map.

After the Briefing Room, we get instructions on how to operate our Astro Blaster, and then it's off to the Flight Deck where our XP-40 Space Cruisers await. The craft that transport guests through the original version of this attraction in Florida are XP-37s, but since the Disneyland version opened several years later, these are more advanced models. It's also worth noting that the name of the attraction was changed from Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin in the Magic Kingdom, since it turned out that most guests wanted to move their Space Cruiser to aim but didn't actually spin it. (Besides, a completely different attraction named Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters is part of DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World.)

Once on board, the LGMs gather outside the window to wish us luck. We follow the cone signals and blast off on our mission to save the universe!

The Future Has Arrived

Over the years, Tomorrowland has seen more change than any other land in a Disney Park. When the original opened with Disneyland in the '50s, it was intended to represent the world of 1986, when Halley's Comet would next return. It was a time when satellites were new, man had not yet travelled in space or landed on the moon, and home computers were the stuff of fantasy.

Today, the future has arrived. At the dawn of 2011, we may not have flying cars or colonies on Mars, but we carry sophisticated touch-screen computers in our pockets and watch wafer-thin televisions that hang on the wall. With the rapid advance of technology, Tomorrowland has had to adapt. The science-factual futurism of Tomorrowland past always ended up feeling dated, so Imagineers have transitioned the storytelling in the land more toward science fiction.

This shift began back in 1987 with the debut of Star Tours. To help the characters and settings of that galaxy far, far away fit into the land, the attraction was positioned as an intergalactic journey originating from a Tomorrowland spaceport. Storytelling details helped support this idea: "Gates," "Terminal," Baggage Claim signs at the exit, the Flight Attendant delivering the safety information.

In the more than two decades since the opening of Star Tours, nearly all of Tomorrowland has embraced the concept of a fantastic spaceport. Shuttles blast off from Space Station 77, XP-40 craft take brave space rangers to the Gamma Quadrant to defend the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg, and young Padawans learn the ways of the Force in the Jedi Training Academy.

While a fantasy Tomorrowland becomes dated far less quickly than a realistic one, even those sci-fi adventures can benefit from advances in technology. Later this year, we'll see the fruits of that with Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, bringing digital 3-D and branching story lines to these voyages through outer space.