If you look at my avatar, you will see a piece of Disneyland rocketry history, The Tomorrowland Rocket to the Moon Game! It is on proud display on my piano at home even as you read this. Before we take a closer look inside the box, however, let's back up and look at a bit of Disneyland history.
When Disneyland opened in 1955, Disney was already really good at merchandising. After all, they had hundreds of products based on their animated characters and films. They fully understood that such items built enthusiasm for their core product...family movies and shorts. With Disneyland they had a brand new product: a "theme park." No one had ever even heard of a theme park before. There were amusement parks, of course, and Mr. Knott had a wonderfully themed park just up the road, but the idea of a completely themed park was new. The dedication plaque in Town Square sums it up nicely:
Disneyland
To all who come to this happy place:
WELCOME
Disneyland is your land.
Here age relives fond memories
of the past...And here youth may savor
the challenge and promise of the future
Disneyland is dedicated
to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard
facts that have created America...With the
hope that it will be a source of joy
and inspiration to all the world.
July 17, 1955
You see, Disneyland was supposed to actually BE a different time and place. One of the ways this was accomplished was to have different areas in the park that represented different times and places. The original "lands" were Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. (Actually there was also a Holidayland, but that didn't last long and isn't even mentioned in the original concepts) Each of these lands were designed to whisk people away from the present, and take them to another place to entertain, inspire and teach them.
To promote this concept (and the park), Parker Brothers (and also Transogram) made games representing each of the lands and the park as a whole. They also produced a few games of individual attractions. I have several of these games in my collection, including Adventureland, Frontierland, and Disneyland. The one featured here is, of course, Tomorrowland.
Published in 1956, the box of the Tomorrowland game features our favorite Disney rocket, the TWA Moonliner with people in their best travelling clothes strolling toward it to board...or maybe just to ride the ride... You see, the illustration was taken from the actual Disney attraction and instead of a launch gantry, you see the show building in the background. There are several other rockets (although of a different design) flying about the sky, and a porter with a decidedly un-high tech megaphone calls for the next launch.
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The game board is a bit more interesting in that we actually see the Moonliner lifting off in its seldom seen "gear up" configuration. It also shows a mish-mash of actual Tomorrowland landmarks (such as the Clock of the World) and fictional structures (such as a helipad). The graphics are bright and cheerful and...optimistic. Disney was always very optimistic about the future!
The parts of the game were very simple. There were four wooden flying saucers and a spinner that was actually used on several of the Disneyland games. The instructions reveal that the game was played like a combination of a regular board game and tidily winks.
All in all it is a great reminder of a time and place that was created to inspire people to dream and reach for the stars. And that is exactly what they did. Who could have foreseen that in 13 short years, men really would be riding rockets to the moon!
Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!
