April 24, 2009: Skyway to Fantasyland

[Werner Weiss]

After taking off from a small, modern station in Tomorrowland, you're on your way to Fantasyland.

This may seem like a common, "off the shelf" theme park ride, but that wasn't the case in 1956.

Link to Skyway to Fantasyland

Please discuss it here.

[Barbossa]

I was looking at the photos and I was thinking "Wow! look at all those trees on the other side of the berm!" Good article.

[Katella Gate]

Barbossa beat me to the punch: I can't get over that Disneyland still had a "green belt" as late as the early 1960s. The large numbers painted on the San Diego Zoo system made me smile: I guess they were serious about arresting people who used the animals as target practice.

[theorajones]

Walt was right, it is transportation of the future. Just a few years ago, a skyway was installed in downtown Portland, Oregon. Portland Aerial Tram Home Page

[Tomorrowland67]

I miss the Skyway and the PeopleMover. It was really nice to take a relaxing ride, and the views were fun.

[JiminyCricketFan]

The skyway was a simple and fun ride. I have great memories. I have not ridden one since it closed.

[Athlonacon]

$300 thousand, huh? I think I got enough equity built up in my house to cover that. Let's rebuild the SkyWay!

And where do they get off spending $2 million on a section of the park. Bob Iger probably drives cars that are worth more than that. It takes like $100 million just to do the same thing for one ride today.

[xalesa]

Excellent article! I also love the photos that show outside the berm, as well as areas that had not yet been developed. I too miss the Skyway. I have ridden the one in San Diego Zoo; it was nice.

[mikeland]

I miss the Skyway at WDW. I try and ride that mode of transportation any time I get around the world. The best ones were in Switzerland.

[Disneykin Kid]

Nice article as always. A couple of comments - the first picture shows what looks like construction of the Autopia to the left, I thought Autopia was one of the opening day rides, unless this is just an expansion. Also I remember the Skyway and other rides like it for the slight sense of danger - danger from kids overhead spitting or dropping things from the sky buckets. I wonder if this is one of the reasons most of these rides were taken out. I do miss them and the fun they were. It was kind of cheesy though how the Matterhorn had these big holes in it, I guess you can't have everything. I haven't been to Santa Cruz Boardwalk lately, but I remember them having a sky ride too.

[Bruce Bergman]

Originally Posted by Disneykin Kid

Nice article as always. A couple of comments - the first picture shows what looks like construction of the Autopia to the left, I thought Autopia was one of the opening day rides, unless this is just an expansion. Also I remember the Skyway and other rides like it for the slight sense of danger - danger from kids overhead spitting or dropping things from the sky buckets. I wonder if this is one of the reasons most of these rides were taken out. I do miss them and the fun they were. It was kind of cheesy though how the Matterhorn had these big holes in it, I guess you can't have everything. I haven't been to Santa Cruz Boardwalk lately, but I remember them having a sky ride too.

For many years, Disneyland had two totally separate Autopia's, though the tracks were intertwined in the middle. Tomorrowland Autopia was obviously under construction (or reconstruction, not sure...) in that photo, and Fantasyland Autopia loaded directly north of the Matterhorn. They had to redo the tracks several times as the guide rail in the middle was added, then expanded. And they both had very simple welded steel shade roofs, "no expense spared"...

Note the big expanse of open land on the other side of Harbor Blvd., the trees screening the brand new I-5, and the gas station.

--<< Bruce >>--

[Eagleman]

I miss them

[RLS Legacy]

Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) still has its sky ride operating, and a webcam to prove it (http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun...cam.cfm?chip=6, although the pictures will be more interesting on May 16 after Ohio has thawed sufficiently to open the park).

[grrandram]

Originally Posted by Disneykin Kid

It was kind of cheesy though how the Matterhorn had these big holes in it...

Walt explained the holes were there because it was a Swiss mountain. Get it? So you're right, it was kind of cheesy.

The Skyway should return.

[grrandram]

The Skyway is needed in Tomorrowland. The Peoplemover as well. The Rocket Jets need to be up on top of that, what do you call it? gantry?These three elements, along with the Monorail gave Tomorrowland the look and feel of the future. The world in motion. Now it's just plain dead. No Skyway, no Peoplemover, no Rockets or Astro Orbitors high in the sky.
Is that what the future or tomorrow holds? Everybody walking.