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Monsanto’s Adventure Thru Inner Space

Monsanto's Adventure Thru Inner Space

Bring it back!

Now that all this George Lucas nonsense is finally over, can we please bring Monsanto’s Adventure Thru Inner Space back? Please? Don’t get me wrong; the Star Tours ride with the Pee-Wee-Herman-voiced robot was cool for about the first 15 years, but let’s bring back the real thing. Please?

Back in the good old days of the old parking lot, the snoring bear, and the Matterhorn sans Bigfoot, hitting Monsanto’s was an event. It was our traditional first ride of every day at Disneyland. Ah, the youthful glee we’d get as we marched from the car, crossed under the Monorail, and entered the park, happily accepting all the “E” tickets from Grandpa and Grandma before running north up Main Street to hang a quick right at the big Space Age embossed tin foiled structure to kick off 14 hours of bliss. We had it all with this one; we had the Paul Frees voice-over, we had the big stone crystals, we had the molecules shaped as Mickey heads, and the best finale of them all, the immense eye peering at our little bodies through the microscope. And let’s not forget how cool it was to stand in line while awaiting our turn to get shrunken down to the size of an atom.

Those were the days. I do miss Paul Frees, who also was the voice of the talking skull in Pirates of the Caribbean just before the waterfall. A couple decades ago the analog tape wore out, and was replaced with a re-recorded digital version. Disneyland’s never been the same since.

Then again, maybe all this perceived change is due to the simple fact that I’m no longer young enough to believe all those singing Pirates were real guys.

7 comments… add one
  • andreas June 2, 2005, 9:29 am

    Yeah, i miss the giant eye…and good point about the talking skull–it feels like a lot of those little nooks and crannies are getting whitewashed away. the last time i was there i noticed that the teacups seem to have speed limiters on them now.

    and what about mission to mars? wasn’t that uprooted by the incredibly bizarre captain eo?

  • jaced June 2, 2005, 10:45 am

    Mission To Mars, of course. Remember how the seat cushions would inflate? I remember a urban legend that people used to pop the seats with pins.

    Yeah, it was replaced by Captain E.O. in the 80’s. I believe it’s now Honey I Shrunk The Audience.

    Speaking of Tomorrowland, is the Lunching Pad there? And remember America Sings (the round, rotating red and white building). I believe all the animals therein migrated to Splash Mountain, kicking out the snoring bear.

  • andreas June 2, 2005, 11:31 am

    it’s true that at least some of the america sings animals migrated to splash mountain…also, america sings was one of the few rides at disneyland with the dubious distinction of having killed someone–a ride operator got caught between the outer wall and the rotating inner part. ouch. at least that’s what i heard (in the interest of avoiding a libel suit.)

    there’s a restaurant in tomorrowland called the tomorrowland terrace now…is that what used to be the lunching pad? it has the stage that rises up out of the ground.

    country bear jamboree? i think that’s still there, but i haven’t looked it up in a while. enchanted tiki room was one of those places i never understood as a kid…always seemed like a adult trap to me. now i wish it were there. i believe it became some aladdin-based lunch show, and now something else?

  • jaced June 2, 2005, 11:50 am

    Yep, the Lunching Pad is where the stage comes out of the ground.

    The Country Bear Jamboree changed for a while back in the 90s. Same animals, but different skit. They eventually brought back the original one, which was absolutely classic. The three talking heads on the wall (Moose, Buffalo, Antelope), the host, Trixie on the swing coming out of the ceiling, Al playing the one stringed guitar (There Was Blood On The Saddle), etc. Good times.

    Now, the building’s been converted to a spinning darkride with a Winnie The Pooh theme. Checked it out for the first time a couple years ago.

    Let’s not forget what Splash Mountain was before being inhabited by the America Sings immigrants. It was really nothing more than a grass and tree covered hill, right in front of The Country Bear Jamboree. If you stepped back from the foot of the hill and looked up, you could see a cave. There was an audio recording of a snoring bear that played all day long.

    I love Splash Mountain, but thinking back, I think we really paid a price for it. I loved that hibernating bear up there. I though he was real!

  • jaced June 23, 2005, 12:57 pm

    From what looks to be about 1973. Me and my brother are in strollers. That’s my Dad’s mom and my mom. I’m probably about a week and a half from being too old to be in a stroller, but I wasn’t complaining.

    Note Monsanto on the right, and the classic Saul Bass Pacific Bell logo on the left!

    Tomorrowland 1973

  • jon mattox September 28, 2005, 8:55 am

    In case it hasn’t been mentioned yet, check out http://www.yesterland.com/ it’s amazing!

  • rob June 13, 2006, 8:44 pm

    Thats the life.

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