News Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Historical Construction/Impressions

Phroobar

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
NobodyElse said:
Was it re-purposed? I recall a black panther on the rock next to the RR tracks (and thought it had some sort of fur, but I may be wrong). Isn't the leopard in the tree house smooth plastic (fiber glass)?
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I think it was the same thing just re purposed and painted. Let me see if I can find a picture. I know the rock ledge it was on is still there.
 
D

Deleted member 107043

mickEblu said:
Was there ever a giant skull perched over the DLRR on the backside of the Jungle Cruise or am I imagining things? I remember being very young in the old parking lot (now DCA) on the tram going towards DL and seeing a giant skull. This would be sometime in the late 80s.
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Nope, and Skull Rock, which once overlooked Fantasyland right about where Dumbo is now, was demolished in the early 80s for the New Fantasyland.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
phruby said:
Maybe they kept the giant skull after the Fantasyland redo?

Imagineering-Disney_New-Fantasyland_Skull-Rock.jpg
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I think you re right. Even if it was just relocated for a short time.
 
D

Deleted member 107043

mickEblu said:
Hmmm. R u sure? I want to believe I'm not imagining things. Maybe they moved it there ?
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Positive. I was a frequent DL visitor back then, probably hitting the park at least once a year from the Bay Area between 1977 and 1989. Something as major as the relocation of Skull Rock would have been big news.

Yesterland.com has a good article on the history of Skull Rock if you're interested.

http://yesterland.com/skullrock.html
 
Macro

Macro

Well-Known Member
Dr. Hans Reinhardt said:
Thanks for sharing this. Never thought about how much the ride has changed since the beginning. Do you recall what the Adventureland segment was like in the park's early years? I've always wondered if the Jungle Cruise was visible from the train.
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I don't remember seeing much of anything in the Jungle Cruise from the train but it was a heck of a long time ago. It's easier to remember Old Unfaithful. The train track didn't travel right through the back of the Jungle Cruise like it did with the Mine Train. Looking at aerial pictures it looks like there was a row of bushes or young trees between the track and the ride. The answer would depend quite a bit on which year because the park used to be much more visible from the train before the trees grew in.

That's one of the things which strikes me about old DL pictures. The place looks unfinished. Compared to the modern park, parts of the place were really basic. But it's the lack of trees which make it looks a bit sparse. I always remember the Jungle Cruise as having lots of trees but the rest of the park was much more open. That's part of what made the DLRR so entertaining. It was like the ground-based version of the Skyway. It would be a boring ride except it gave you views of an extremely interesting place. The motorboats were like that. The ride was nothing to write home about but you got to see much more fun parts of DisneyLand from it.

mickEblu said:
Was there ever a giant skull perched over the DLRR on the backside of the Jungle Cruise or am I imagining things? I remember being very young in the old parking lot (now DCA) on the tram going towards DL and seeing a giant skull. This would be sometime in the late 80s.
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The only giant skull I remember meant that I was about to have a tuna fish sandwich. And then run around a pirate ship while my Mom cooled her heels. Not really heels of course. We used to dress up to go to DL but she wasn't nuts.


That's another thing that strikes me about old DisneyLand pictures beyond the lack of trees. Women in dresses and men in suits. I was too young to wear a tie but I probably would have if I was older. Nowadays I'm more dressed up than 80% of the folks when I'm in long pants and a polo shirt.
 
D

Deleted member 107043

Macro said:
Compared to the modern park, parts of the place were really basic.
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Agreed. I think my first visit was in 1971 (it's funny to think that The Haunted Mansion was the park's newest attraction at the time) and even at a very young age I remember thinking how much more "polished" WDW's MK looked compared to DL when first visited in 1975. DL has come a long way since then.
 
D

Deleted member 107043

mickEblu said:
Cool article. Did you ever try the hot tuna pie? :depressed:
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No, lol!

Actually, now that I think about it I don't think I ever ate there. Back in those days fully realized restaurants at DL were rare. Captain Hook's was unique because it was elaborately themed as Captain Hook's Pirate Ship, but it was still just a walk-up counter with a small list of items for sale and small outdoor area for seating. The closest thing I can compare it to today is maybe Fowler's Galley in Frontierland.
 
Macro

Macro

Well-Known Member
Dr. Hans Reinhardt said:
Agreed. I think my first visit was in 1971 (it's funny to think that The Haunted Mansion was the park's newest attraction at the time) and even at a very young age I remember thinking how much more "polished" WDW's MK looked compared to DL when first visited in 1975. DL has come a long way since then.
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I think my first visit was '61 which would make me four at the time so I remember DL as a small easily-amazed person. It was much easier to be satisfied. And we had some odd stuff like the Hobby Circle and the Babes in Toyland walk-through. I'm glad I missed Holidayland. I think even I would have been disappointed with that. I still remember the control-line airplanes in the Hobby Circle. Nitromethane fumes with the occasional crash and no ticket required. It was better than it sounds. But still not that great. And the Babes in Toyland thing scared the crap out of me the one time I went in. It was somewhere on Main Street. It was dark and creepy in there. I swear I remember walking into a giant mushroom but the pictures I just checked only have a giant pumpkin. The subject came up once on another forum and I wasn't the only little kid traumatized by it. It didn't matter. The rest of the park was more than enough to make up for it.

Walt had to start learning theme park design on something. And someone. And with a tight budget. It was still amazing compared to the other "amusement parks" of the time.

But when they built New Orleans Square you started seeing a whole different level of design. The frustrating part was that the Haunted Mansion building had been finished for years but didn't open. The gates seemed to be forever closed. This was before even the ARPANET. Only the people who worked there knew about show buildings. It looked finished to us. As an adult I feel sorry for the poor cast member in the ticket booth right next to it. All day long and they'd get the same two questions: "Could I please have a book of E tickets?", and "When's the Haunted Mansion going to open?". No doubt they had some nice standard responses to the second one.
 

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