A Visit to Captain EO-Land

It's back! Almost 13 years after it's last showing, Captain EO has made a return to Disneyland. Personally, I'm very happy about this. It's not because it was my all-time favorite Disneyland attraction, although I did enjoy it a thousand times more than what replaced it. It's just the fact that ANY retired attraction that gets to make a return to Disneyland gives me hope for more of this happening in the future.

I was practically shocked out of my wits to see the 1967 version of "America The Beautiful" make a return to the CircleVision Theater in 1996. Until then, I don't think anything like that had happened before. Then the Canoes made a return to the Rivers of America after being closed for a year in the late 1990's. The Submarine Voyage also made a return, even if it does have a new theme now. We've also gotten to see the reopening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-thru. Now if we could just see the PeopleMover come back.....oh, and Adventure Thru Inner Space......and the return of the Carousel Theater as an ACTUAL theater....oh, and Nature's Wonderland. Am I being too greedy? Okay, just the PeopleMover would be a nice start!

So Captain EO is back, but how long will it stay? Well, Wikipedia already has the closing date listed for it as January 2, 2011, but knowing Disney, that date isn't necessarily set in stone. Whether it stays one year or ten years, will probably depend on how popular it is and whether or not Disney wants to spend the money to put something else into that space. In the meantime, I thought that it might be fun to go back through the history of this particular attraction "space" at Disneyland and look at all the different things that have sat on that spot over the years. Ready for another time traveling post? The time machine is engaged........here we go!

In the beginning, there were the Flying Saucers. Speaking of returns, they're coming back too, but this time to DCA. They are going to be redesigned as "hovering tires." Will they be as visually attractive as the 1960's Tomorrowland version? I guess, we will just have to wait and see.


Next, there was the Tomorrowland Stage which played host to The Kids of the Kingdom, The All American College Marching Band, The Osmonds, E. J. Peaker , the broadcast of the 1969 moon landing, and a whole lot more during it's nine year run.

In the 1970's, when Space Mountain was planned for this spot, a stage was worked into the design so that outdoor stage shows could continue in Tomorrowland.

After EPCOT CENTER opened in 1982, the 3-D movie "Magic Journeys" premiered at Disneyland on the Space Mt./Space Stage. Of course, since it was an outdoor theater, performances couldn't begin until "Nightfall."

Then in 1986, this pleasant open air space was walled up, changing the appearance of the original Space Mountain Complex forever. The newly enclosed area was renamed The Magic Eye Theater and hosted Captain EO for the next ten and a half years. Personally, I would have rather seen a temporary ceiling and walls go up around this space, so as the film's attendance declined over the years (which it did), it could have been shown only at night, allowing for the Space Stage to be utilized again during the day.

The photo above was taken in 1997 after Captain EO had already closed permanently. Note the empty case that once held the attraction poster. Below is a photo of the poster and the display case from two years earlier.

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These next two photos were also taken in 1997 after the attraction closed. Notice the construction reflected in the sign in the first pic. The construction that was taking place was the conversion of The Carousel Theater into Innoventions.....UGH!

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Below.....original sign or "Tribute" sign?

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Next, this space hosted another EPCOT film, "Honey I Shrunk The Audience"....a film that fit in perfectly with the new depressing "Brown Tomorrowland" of 1998. I was never a fan of this film and actually found it almost painful to sit through. This is one attraction that I hope never returns to Disneyland! Bye-bye H.I.S.T.A.!

WELCOME BACK, CAPTAIN EO!!!

POST UPDATE: Check out my newer post: Captain EO-Land At Tokyo Disneyland!

The Lunching Pad Revisited

Let's take a look at a long extinct Disneyland eatery, The Lunching Pad. This little snack bar used to be located underneath the PeopleMover station and Rocket Jet platform in Tomorrowland. It's original name was The Space Bar and that signage can be seen in these next two photos from Gorillas Don't Blog (used here with permission - THANK YOU, Major Pepperidge!) Incidentally, there was a larger "Space Bar" restaurant in the first version of Tomorrowland, but it was torn down in 1966 to make way for the Carousel Theater and the New Tomorrowland of 1967.

Looking through my collection of old Disneyland guides, it appears the name of this facility changed from The Space Bar to the The Lunching Pad sometime between the Spring and Summer of 1977. The change appears to have happened around the same time that Space Mountain opened. Here's a pic of the Lunching Pad as it appeared in September of 1995.

I like the font that was used for the signage.

After the release of "Toy Story" in 1995, The Lunching Pad received a "Little Green Men" makeover. These next photos were taken in October of 1996.

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Notice the white architectural element that sits between the two popcorn cases and also biscects the area behind the counter.....later, we'll see a shot of how that appears today.

A close-up of those purple Disneyland cups can be seen (here.)

What, no Space Mist? I guess it had already been removed from the menu. How about those 1996 prices!

Shortly after the 1998 redo of Tomorrowland (UGH!), this space was transformed into the headquarters for Radio Disney. While I don't have any pics of the building during this time, I do have this magnet that was given out free (yes, free!) at the park to promote Radio Disney.

In 2007 this space changed once again, and it is now a souvenir shop called TomorrowLanding, featuring "Gifts from Outer and Liquid Space."

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That architectural element pointed out earlier is now located in the middle of the shop. There are more of these that surround the building. I believe they are the actual supports that hold the structure up. Unfortunately, the rest of these were partially covered up with walls during changes that were made in 1998 for the Rocket Rods. I would love to see this structure returned to it's original 1967 glory with the Rocket Jets twirling up above once more, and some version of the PeopleMover brought back. The new shop could even stay! ;-)

Just for fun, here's a shot of Walt Disney World's current Lunching Pad.

Tokyo Disneyland has a snack bar under their Rocket Jet platform too, but theirs is called the Space Place Foodport. The gantry lifts that take guests up to the Rocket Jet (Star Jet) flight deck can be seen in the background. Hey Disney, bring back Anaheim's gantry lifts!

I hope everyone enjoyed this little trip back in time to Disneyland's Lunching Pad!

More EPCOT in Anaheim

In my last post , I included photos of some figures from EPCOT's World of Motion attraction that found their way to both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Let's take another look at those figures as well as some of the others that made the long trek from Orlando to Anaheim.


Here again, is the sea serpent from World of Motion's "Christopher Columbus scene."

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He is surrounded by other props in the Hollywood Backlot area. With the upcoming changes planned for DCA, I wonder if these items will be staying?

I've been reviewing old attraction footage trying to figure out if these other props are from WOM as well. I haven't come to a definitive conclusion yet. Maybe I need to see some better footage!

Here are the pirate, the horse and the goat from Pirates of the Caribbean that were mentioned in my last post. All three of these figures were originally from WOM. I wonder where they are now?

And just a few feet to the right of these figures, was a pig from WOM that used to sit next to the "gluttonous pirate" in the chase scene. Notice the pirate's belly sticking out under his sash...that was a 1997 addition. Thank goodness they covered it back up when Jack Sparrow was added to the attraction in 2006. And that cat that used to rise up on a platform from inside the barrel was just plain ridiculous!

Here's the partner of the pirate that was seen pulling on the rope in my last post. (He can also be seen in the background of this photo.) This squatting figure was originally from the Assyrian scene in WOM, where he was attempting to get a seated Zebra to stand up.

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I hope everyone enjoyed this peek at some old EPCOT remnants. My next post is going to be another vintage trip report from Disneyland in the 1980's. Get your time machines ready!

EPCOT In Anaheim

Once upon a time in EPCOT, there was an attraction called World of Motion. It was housed in a large wheel shaped building and was a 15 minute Omnimover ride through the largest assembly of Audio-Animatronics ever produced in Disney history....188 figures in total.
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The attraction was similar to Spaceship Earth, but instead of tracing man's achievements in communication, World of Motion traced the development of transportation from man's earliest forms of mobility, up to present times (and even hinted at some possible future methods.)


Another difference between this attraction and Spaceship Earth was that most of the scenes in World of Motion were infused with humor. Here's one of the scenes from the attraction showing an encounter between Christopher Columbus and a sea serpent during his search for the New World.

Unfortunately, after entertaining guests for 14 years, World of Motion closed in 1996 and was eventually replaced by Test Track. So what happened to all those set pieces and figures? Well, a small number of them went on to have a life after WOM. The sea serpent from the Christopher Columbus scene can actually be found today in Anaheim, at Disney's California Adventure. I'm wondering how many people right now are saying, "Where in the heck?" Well, he is hidden behind the buildings on the north side of the Hollywood Backlot, just next to the Hollywood Backlot Stage. He's surrounded by some wooden barriers that have "Props Dept." stenciled on them, as well as a few other props such as some Roman columns and a Chinese rickshaw. I haven't yet been able to confirm whether or not these are also from World of Motion, but I would tend to believe that they are. Maybe someone out there can say for sure.

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Here's the sea serpent in his new home.

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Now let's go back to EPCOT. Does this figure from World of Motion look familiar? He should. He resided in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean from 1997 to 2006. He was one of the two pirates right before the chain lift that were trying to make off with a heavy load of treasure.

Below, is a photo from Daveland (used here with permission) showing how this figure appeared at Disneyland. His partner that was bent over in a rather unflattering position while trying to help lift the load, was also from World of Motion.

There were other figures that were taken from World of Motion and installed in Pirates of the Caribbean during it's 1997 redo, but I need to find some photos of them in order to show the comparisons. These figures included the pirate from the "chase scene" that was trying to keep a basket of fruit away from a horse and a goat (both from WOM as well) and the pig that used to sit next to "the pooped pirate/gluttonous pirate" in that same scene. If anyone has photos of any of these World of Motion figures from either Orlando or Anaheim and would like to share them, please let me know!

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***Post Update*** Click here for my next post: More EPCOT In Anaheim to see more figures from WOM that ended up in Anaheim's Pirates of the Caribbean.

Vintage Tomorrowland Ride Vehicles

Where in the 1998 Tommorrowland could you have found Rocket Jets, PeopleMover cars AND Skyway buckets? I know what you're thinking. You are thinking "nowhere" because Disney destroyed all of those attractions. Well, the answer to that question is actually The Premiere Shop, located at the exit to the Rocket Rods attraction. (Of course, the queue for the Rocket Rods even had part of a vintage Monorail car, but that's the subject for another post!)

Notice the upright Rocket Jet vehicles being used to display merchandise in the next two photos.

Here's a better view of one of the merchandise displays. Hey, the control lever is still in place! Doesn't it make you wish you could go for a ride...but up on top the old Rocket Jet platform? .

After Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters opened in 2005, the shop was renamed Little Green Men Store Command and was given a Buzz makeover, but a few of the old ride vehicles remained and can still be seen in the shop today. Here is what the displays look like today with their new paint jobs.

This is what the cash register counter looked like back in 1998. These are actual pieces of the old PeopleMover vehicles.

And this is what that same counter looks like today.

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This scooped out area on the bottom is where the small white panels originally went as seen here at Daveland.

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I definitely liked all of these vehicles better with their former paint jobs, but I'm just glad they're still around to remind us how cool Tomorrowland used to be!
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*Post Update - 2015: To view a newer post with more pics of vintage Tomorrowland ride vehicles, including the last remnant of a Mark IV Monorail, click here: Mickey's Mouseorail