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) ) (July 17, 1955–Sept. 7, 1997) BACKSTORY: Initially presented by American Motors, Circarama was previewed before opening day with the film “A Tour of the West.” Circarama used eleven 16mm projectors mounted on the roof of an American Motors car (thus the red color for the letters "car" on the marquee in pic #3) to create a completely circular picture on a 360-degree screen. The original films were shot by Paul Mantz and Frank Tallman, of TallMantz Aviation.Guests stood in the center of the screen and were able to look out in every direction and observe views of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Las Vegas, Balboa Bay, and the streets of Los Angeles. The patent for Circarama was filed on the one-year anniversary of Disneyland by both Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, and was granted four years later on June 28, 1960. 1960 brought a number of changes: in June, the film was now “America the Beautiful” and the sponsor became The Bell System. The film process changed, coinciding with the opening of the New Tomorrowland on June 25, 1967, this time using a 35mm print that was enlarged from the film of nine 16mm cameras instead of eleven. A few Bicentennial scenes were added in 1975 and ran until January 3, 1984. The film was changed again on July 4, 1984, this time to “Wonders of China” (shown in the morning) and “American Journeys” (shown in the afternoon & evening), lasting until July 7, 1996. The attraction closed down for good in 1997, with "America the Beautiful” (the 1975 version) returning for the final year (July 11, 1996–September 7, 1997). |
>VACATIONLAND SUMMER 1960 |
>VACATIONLAND SUMMER 1967 |
>COX PILOT REMEMBERS |
FROM VACATIONLAND MAGAZINE, SUMMER 1960 |
FROM VACATIONLAND MAGAZINE, SUMMER 1967 |
 Bell Telephone New Circle-Vision Film Expanding and re-developing what was one of the most popular shows in Disneyland the past twelve years, the Bell System announces the completion in Tomorrowland this summer of an entirely new exhibit pavilion and an all-new “America the Beautiful” presentation. Through the versatility of “Circle-Vision 360,” an enlarged theater-in-the-round where guests view the motion picture on a screen that completely encircles them, Bell presents a trip through beautiful America. In addition to the “America the Beautiful” presentation, the show also presents a display of present and future communications systems and techniques. Most advanced of these systems will be Bell’s futuristic “Picturephone,” where guests can actually see the person to whom they are talking. New Tomorrowland Presents Restaurant of the Future |
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) Circarama and The AT&T Satellite: As I recall, there was a satellite that circled around on a big arm on top of the building that housed the Circarama show that included space and satellites. Both the arm and the satellite would turn, and they were a replica of the AT&T telecommunications satellite. It was a big deal in those days because of the TV broadcasts of the Olympics. Later the big ball stopped turning (another detail that was left to fall apart). A little side note: one of our airplanes (the biggest one) broke its lines during a show. It did a half role and zoomed right towards the clock about 20 feet off the ground. At the last minute, it rolled over again and took a right turn and slammed right into the big AT&T sign. We paid, and WED began to re-think our being in the park. |
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