I've long wanted to flash fictionalize this whacked out pic but for the life of me kept drawing a blank. In fact, the more I stared at it, the more it reminded me of something out of Disney's Carousel of Progress -- that is if there was a mod martini-version of the attraction.
In keeping with last Friday's flash fiction theme of Uncle Walt, here's the skinny on the slightly creepy ride...
Created by both Walt Disney as the prime feature of the General Electric Pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair, the attraction was moved to Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, remaining there from 1967 until 1973. It was reopened in its present home in Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom in 1975.
Steeped in both nostalgia and futurism, the attraction's premise is an exploration of the joys of living through the advent of electricity and other technological advances during the 20th century via a "typical" American family. (To keep it up with the times, the attraction has been updated five times -- 1967, 1975, 1981, 1985, and 199) and has had two different theme songs, both written by the Sherman Brothers (Disney's Academy Award-winning songwriting team).
Various sources say Walt Disney himself proclaimed that the Carousel of Progress was his favorite attraction and that it should never cease operation. It is the oldest attraction not only in the Magic Kingdom, but the entire Walt Disney World Resort. It is the only attraction in Walt Disney World to have a direct physical tie to Walt Disney.
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Oh man. Hubby and I went on that ride during our honeymoon and it was the creepiest thing ever. The feeling haunted me for the rest of the trip. It was like being in the twilight zone: am I in the past or the future?
ReplyDeleteThe photo looks to me like some weird beauty pagent competition. Cook a meal and present it to the judge - a combination swimsuit/domestic goddess deal.
I almost want to adlib that picture with "What? You think by cooking that turkey and serving it in that getup is going to get me to forgive you for spending $1000 on a haircut? Are you fucking nuts"? Sorry, couldn't help it.
ReplyDeleteI remember that very well. I always thought it was very weird.
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