REMEMBER... OPENING OCT. 1971

We conclude this week's countdown of Walt Disney World anniversary milestones with... a countdown. This time, it's the ticking clock for construction crews and Imagineers putting the finishing touches on the Magic Kingdom park for its grand opening, a date emblazoned on the face of Cinderella Castle for all to see. (All photos ©Disney)

Although an initial groundbreaking ceremony had taken place in 1967, quite a bit of preparation had to be done to the land before actual work could begin. Construction started in earnest on May 27, 1969, with just over two years to go before the big day. The pictures you see here represent the final weeks and months leading up to the opening.

In the photo above, City Hall is nearly complete, and the Victorian woodwork is being added to the front of the Emporium. Below, the towering pylons at the entrance to Tomorrowland await their final paint and tile. Trees have been planted along the waterway, fresh sod is being laid and a wooden mock-up of a Plaza Swan Boat is placed in the canal to test for clearances (although the actual attraction wouldn't be ready to open until May 1973).

In this next shot, we see the famed Liberty Tree. This 100+ year old southern live oak was identified on the south end of Walt Disney World Resort property, and then transplanted to Liberty Square. Steel rods were drilled through the center of the tree, allowing it to be lifted onto the truck by crane, driven slowly to the Magic Kingdom and lowered into place. The holes left by the rods were then sealed, allowing the tree to survive and thrive.

Our last shot today offers a peak into Fantasyland, where Dumbo is almost ready to fly. This is the original 10-arm Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction, which was replaced by the current 16-arm version in the early-90s. Look closely at the photo, and you can also spot one of the Skyway towers and the palm trees surrounding the lagoon for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

As we prepare to embark upon the celebration of Walt Disney World's 40th year, Dumbo the Flying Elephant is under construction once again... this time as part of Storybook Circus in New Fantasyland. The circus big top is already going vertical, and Dumbo will soon fly east to his new home, set to debut in 2012.

Another View of '72

I have more great vintage Magic Kingdom photos for you today, these shared by DisneyShawn blog reader Pat Chastain of Indianapolis, Indiana. Pat's first picture (above) provides further confirmation of the fact that the Mad Tea Party in Florida was built without a roof, just like its counterpart in Disneyland. This particular shot was taken from the Grand Prix Raceway side of the attraction, looking toward 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the background.

Next, Pat provides a couple more views of Tomorrowland. Above, you can get a better look at the waterfall monolith structure at the entrance to Tomorrowland. This image also provides another clear indication that the path for the WEDway PeopleMover was established from the beginning, even though that attraction wouldn't make its debut until 1975.

The image below offers an entirely different view of things, this time from the old Top of the World Lounge on the 15th floor of Disney's Contemporary Resort (where California Grill is today). Look past the groovy orange chairs and track lighting, and you'll catch a glimpse of Tomorrowland in which the Skyway station is the dominant structure. After all, prior to the mid-70s expansion of the land, there was no Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, PeopleMover or Star Jets.

Pat's final shot from that March 1972 trip at first appears to present a bit of a mystery. It's obviously some kind of construction effort, as seen from the Walt Disney World Railroad. My first thought was that this would have been for Pirates of the Caribbean, which was added to the Magic Kingdom in December 1973. The site, though, is clearly much closer to the Rivers of America (you can spot Liberty Tree Tavern and the smokestacks of the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat in the distance). Perhaps this was the site intended for the planned Thunder Mesa expansion, but instead used as a "lay down" area for the work on Pirates when those plans changed? Solid theory, except for the fact that real construction on Pirates of the Caribbean didn't get underway until the Fall of '72.

Then it dawned on me...

When the Magic Kingdom opened, the Walt Disney World Railroad featured only one station. Guests boarded the train at Main Street, U.S.A., for a "grand circle tour" of the park. The station in Frontierland wasn't completed until May of 1972. It appears, from Pat Chastain's photograph, that work on the new station stop was well underway in March of that year.

For the full story on the original Frontierland Railroad Station (replaced in 1992 with the construction of Splash Mountain), check out this article from Widen Your World.

Yesterday's Tomorrow

In the last article on this blog, we took a long look at a vintage shot from the Magic Kingdom, discovering many forgotten details. One of these was the giant waterfall pylons at the entrance to Tomorrowland. In today's 1975 shot from Daveland.com (photo used with permission), we get a better view of this classic Tomorrowland scene.

Look closely, and you can see jets of water shooting down the face of the pylons and cascading over the sky blue tile walls on either side. The water effects here didn't last and in 1983 were replaced with colorful paint on the pylons and a tile pattern on the walls, all of which lasted another decade until the launch of New Tomorrowland in 1993-94.

In this photo, you can also make out the entrance to the rose garden on the left. Here, the marquee still reads "Plaza Swan Boats." The boats operated from 1973-1983.

In the distance are the spires of Space Mountain and the spinning rocket ships of the Star Jets (where the Astro Orbiter stands today). Now, you may notice that at the beginning of this article, I referred to the photo at the top as a "classic" Tomorrowland scene. It is not, however, the original view of Tomorrowland. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, Tomorrowland consisted of only Flight to the Moon and "America the Beautiful" in CircleVision 360, both on the main concourse, along with the Skyway to Fantasyland and Grand Prix Raceway on the outskirts of the land.

This 1972 shot from the Skyway provides a rare glimpse at this corner of the Magic Kingdom at a time when there was precious little for anyone to photograph. There's a whole series of planters and trees that no longer exist, plus the back of the white Tomorrowland ticket booth that is still there today in the form of a Disney Vacation Club kiosk.

The entire center of the land is filled with nothing more than an early (and particularly groovy) version of a Tomorrowland stage and a cluster of colorful picnic tables. The Star Jets wouldn't rise here until November 1974. They were the first link in a major expansion of Tomorrowland that also included the addition of Space Mountain (Jan '75), the General Electric Carousel of Progress (Jan '75) and the WEDway PeopleMover (July '75). Interestingly, you can see some of the support framework for the PeopleMover track even in this early photo. Perhaps it and the Star Jets were planned additions simply put on hold in the push to get the Magic Kingdom opened.

Finally, just beyond the disco orange walls of the stage facility, you can make out some obvious construction. The dirt pile on the left would later become the site of Carousel of Progress, but the work seen in this photo was most likely associated with the preparation of "If You Had Wings." This classic ride-through attraction, sponsored by the now-defunct Eastern Airlines, opened in the summer of '72. The building went through several iterations over the years, before becoming Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in 1998.

Pictures from the Past

As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Sometimes, an old photograph of a Disney Park can offer just as many windows to the past, as I recently discovered browsing the phenomenal collection over at Daveland.com. Take, for example, the photo above (image used with permission). Go ahead and click on it for a better view. What do you see?

The first thing that likely jumps out at you is the construction site. This spot on the edge of Fantasyland was once home to the Fantasyland Art Festival, where guests could have their portraits made or a caricature drawn. Today, it's where you'll find the Enchanted Grove snack stand, along with area restrooms and Fairytale Garden.

What intrigued me most about this image, though, was the Mad Tea Party. Now, I happen to know quite a bit about Walt Disney World, but I certainly don't know everything, so I especially love it when I come across some new nugget of information. Before seeing this picture, I had no idea the Mad Tea Party was built without a roof. Of course, the Disneyland version of the attraction is uncovered, but then again, it rains far less in Southern California than it does in Central Florida. This picture was taken in June 1972. Judging from other shots I've seen, it looks like it didn't take long for the park to commit to a canopy so they could keep the party going rain or shine.

Look around in the photo - really stare at it - and other details of the past will become apparent. Sticking with the Mad Tea Party, the color scheme of the turntable and teacups has changed over the years. You may also notice the top of the old operator booth, plus the fact that there's no teapot (or Dormouse) at the center or Alice in Wonderland topiaries and leaf sculptures in the planters. It's a bit hard to tell, since the image cuts off at the bottom, but the present day Mad Tea Party may even have more cups and saucers than this original, offering a higher capacity.

What else do you see? There's an original-design Fantasyland trash can and old school metal and blue rental stroller near the green teacup on the right. What about Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe? In 1972, this corner was the Tomorrowland Terrace (a name now used for the former Plaza Pavilion near Main Street). You can make out the red oval sign for the restaurant, jutting out from an old Tomorrowland pylon, and the original geodesic dome roof over the Tomorrowland Terrace stage. Sonny Eclipse holds forth nowadays, but back then this was the spot for live cover bands with names like "The Dallas Soundtrack" and "Tabasco."

Further afield, close observers might notice the original trees in the Central Plaza (since removed after they grew so large they obstructed the view), the lack of a rose garden pathway (the rose garden leads down to the old landing for the Plaza Swan Boats), and the absence of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa from the horizon (you can just make out the Grand Ceremonial House at Disney's Polynesian Resort).

This picture also includes a view of the giant waterfall pylons that once graced the entrance to Tomorrowland, but we'll talk more about those, well... tomorrow, when I'll have another great old photo to share. Until then, I'll leave you with one last observation: The vantage point from which today's photo was taken. You can't really see it (except for the blur at the lower right that is the out-of-focus edge of the cab), but our photographer was perched high above the Magic Kingdom on the Skyway to Tomorrowland.

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.