Shown on 9 large screens
From August 15, 1966 letter from Walt Disney Productions to AT&T
This is by way of being a progress report of the production of the now "America the Beautiful" film. You will recall that our objective is to follow the format of the existing picture, but attempt to introduce new scenes. Our procedure for making films of this type is to obtain photographic material which lends itself to the story that we are telling. Eventually, this material is assembled into a continuity which makes the best presentation of the story line being conceived. During this process, earns of the material would be eliminated because of either time limitations or because the scenes ire not appropriate in the story concept. This arrangement of scenic material then serves as the basis for the descriptive narrative. I would expect that this picture will roach the stage where a script consisting of continuity of scenes with descriptive narration will be available soon after the first of the year. In the meantime, you may be interested in knowing what scenes have been photographed and the photography which we plan to do later in the year.
SURFACE SCENES IN WHICH HAVE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED
Disneyland. Christmas parade.
Pasadena. Tournament of Roses parade.
Sun Valley, Idaho, in winter. Village, sleigh ride. Ice skating, scenic view from Half Dollar Mountain with skiers and ski lift.
Yosemite Valley, California. Panoramic view from Tunnel Lookout Point. Half Demo from valley floor, village.
San Francisco, California. Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, cable cars, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park.
Hawaii. Scenic view from Pali, scenic view from Round Top, scenic view from Makapuu Point, University of Hawaii, Waikiki Beach, the palace, pineapple harvest. Moana Hotel banyan tree.
Miami Beach, Florida. Fontainebleau Hotel pool area, Indian Creek Road.
Charleston, South Carolina. Boone Hall Plantation. old town.
Anapolis, Maryland. Midshipmen on parade and noon assembly for orders.
Mount Vernon, Virginia. Various views of the Washington home-stead.
Washington, D. C. Capitol Building from Pennsylvania Avenue, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, White House grounds.
Gettysburg. Pennsylvania. Various views of Gettysburg battlefield.
New York City. Long Lines room. United Nations, Central Park. Park Avenue, Statue of Liberty from boat.
West Point, New York. Cadets on parade, changing class, and noon orders assembly.
Rockport, Mass. View of colorful harbor from boat.
Concord, Mass. Concord Bridge.
Strafford, Vermont. Vermont church, meeting ball, and park.
South Strafford, Vermont. Vermont village.
Norwich. Vermont. Vermont village.
Tunbridge, Vermont. Covered bridge.
Indianapolis. Indiana. Various views interior Western Electric works.
Springfield. Illinois. Lincoln's home, New Salem State Park.
Chicago, Illinois. Various views of Chicago and lake front from Lakeshore Drive.
New Orleans, Louisiana. French quarter, Canal Street. river activity from boat.
Houston, Texas. Scenes from expressway, telephone building with relay horns.
Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cadets in graduation parade and formations in the quad, airplane fly-by.
AERIAL SCENES WHICH HAVE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED
Alaska. Anchorage, Mount McKinley, Yukon River, Matanuska Valley, Nome, Fairbanks.
Utah. Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon.
Colorado. The Rockies, Glenwood Springs, Colorado River.
Wyoming. Teton Mountains.
South Dakota. Mount Rushmore.
Kansas. Farms on plains.
Texas. Petroleum industry cracking plants.
Oklahoma. Petroleum industry cracking plants.
New York City. Statue of Liberty, Last River, Hudson River, Fifth Avenue.
Florida. Cape Kennedy. Miami Beach, Key West. Causeway.
SURFACE PHOTOGRAPHY PLANNED
Sailing activity from boat in Newport Bay, California.
Cotton harvest in San Joaquin Valley, California.
City of Los Angeles.
Seattle harbor from cable ship if ship's schedule permits.
We have given some thought to the proposed 45 second lead-in, but we do not have any suggestions for your consideration at this time. Did I understand correctly that you hoped the load-in would somehow tie in with the preshow and, if this is the case, it might be helpful if we had your description of the preshow.
From 1967 Tomorrowland Info Packet:
Across America
The audience sees the Circle-Vision 360 screen in all directions —in front of them, to the side and behind—and view America the Beautiful as if they were actually at its scenic locations, which include Hawaii, Alaska, national parks, historic landmarks and cities. They also come face-to-face with the people of our nation.
From Mountains To Seas
America the Beautiful opens with a stirring aerial panoramic view of Mount Rushmore's famous sculptures of four former United States Presidents. The wheat fields of the Midwest are also seen as the audience hears the majestic and moving chorale, America the Beautiful: "Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies, For Amber Waves of Grain..." Views of scenery from throughout the nation appear as the title and opening credits are projected. "For Purple'd Mountain Majesties Above the Fruited Plain ..." — a dramatic contrast to the flat-lands is experienced when cameras take the audience over ruggedly beautiful and pristine American wilderness characterized by the Grand Tetons. "America, America, God Shed His Grace on Thee..."—the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor—"... And Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood From Sea to Shining Sea."
PICTURESQUE NEW ENGLAND
The audience journeys immediately to another part of America and into another era as it enters a picturesque fishing port in New England. A rousing sea chanty accompanies sight-seers on a nostalgic return to the days of the great clipper ships. Cameras also take the audience into the countryside, across an old covered bridge and along a village green toward a classic New England church.
LAND OF LINCOLN
The tour continues down a country lane to an historic restoration of a pioneer Illinois town, New Salem, where Abraham Lincoln spent his young manhood as storekeeper and postmaster.
PRESIDENTS HOMES
Mount Vernon. the stately home of George Washington, over-looking the broad Potomac, is visited next. From the home of the nation's first president, Circle-Vision 360 then goes to the home of today's President—the White House.
CIVIL WAR REMEMBRANCES
The Gettysburg battlefield is then visited. The Battle Hymn of the Republic underscores scenes of the Lincoln Memorial with surging, dramatic music.
MILITARY TRIBUTE
From these patriotic landmarks. Circle-Vision 360 takes up the theme of military tradition through visits to West Point. Annapolis and the Air Force Academy.
GREAT LAKES TO THE GULF OF MEXICO
Cameras tour the city streets and major industry in Chicago then turn to the southeast—to Florida's Key West, Cape Kennedy and Miami Beach.
OLD SOUTH
Still another world is visited in this adventure, the old south, its mood established even more vividly with Stephen Foster's Swanee River. New Orleans' French Quarter and the city's waterfront are also on the itinerary.
WESTERN FRONTIER
The American portrait continues in Colorado. This is the American West. land of the legendary frontier, characterized by a tremendous herd of cattle in the rolling hills of the prairie country. The familiar melody of Git Along Little Dogies catches the spirit of the cattle drive.
MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS
"Aboard" a plane, audiences in the Bell pavilion sweep along the deep, narrow chasms of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park, then speed further west for a winter look at California's Yosemite National Park and Sun Valley, Idaho.
LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Alaska is next. Here, in our nation's newest frontier, tourists visit the Yukon River, Anchorage, Nome, and one of America's greatest sights, Mt. McKinley, highest peak in North America.
WEST COAST
For a dramatic contrast, Circle-Vision 360 takes guests to one of the nation's most dramatic cities—San Francisco—for a ride down Lombard Street and a stop at Fisherman's Wharf.
CITY OF ANGELS
A different mood is brought to the screen as guests take a wild ride with a hook and ladder fire truck through the streets of Los Angeles. Other Southern California stops include a behind-the-scenes visit to a movie set in Hollywood, Balboa Bay and a vista shot of Los Angeles at night, a sprawling community of cities that is transformed into a storyland of sparkling lights.
PACIFIC PARADISE
Circle-Vision 360 focuses next on Hawaii, our 50th and newest state. The audience sees the bustling city of Honolulu, the sparkle of Waikiki Beach, the dominance of famed Diamond Head and the beauty of the University of Hawaii campus.
EPILOGUE
Once again. America the Beautiful is heard, and the show enters the epilogue. Scenes include the Capitol Building and the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.. Miami Harbor, the City of Tulsa, apple blossoms on a country side, a village green in New England and the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor at dusk.
ALL NEW PRESENTATION
America the Beautiful is a completely new production of a long-time Disneyland favorite in Tomorrowland. The enlarged and redesigned pavilion houses the Circle-Vision 360 theatre and other areas in which presentations and demonstrations of communications techniques and devices of the past, present and future are featured.
THEME SONG
Inside The Bell System's pavilion, guests are greeted by the light-hearted strains of the show's theme melody, The Talk Song.
THE TELEPHONE STORY
A Bell hostess welcomes visitors to the attraction, then tells them the story of the evolution of Bell's activities, from the days of Alexander Graham Bell to the present. The PeopleMover journeys through this section of the Bell pavilion, giving passengers a view of the attraction's preshow area.
CIRCLE VISION 360 THEATER
At the story's conclusion, a 32-foot-long wall of doors opens up automatically, revealing the spacious Circle-Vision 360 theatre. Guests pass through the doors into aisles between conveniently located handrails.
PROJECTION TECHNIQUES
Nine synchronized, 35mm motion picture projectors are used to bring America the Beautiful to the completely circular screen which is formed in nine sections.
STEREOPHONIC SOUND
Stereophonic sound saturates the theatre from 19 speakers—nine in the walls and ten in the ceiling. Following the presentation of America the Beautiful, automatic doors again open to invite guests to move into the next area of Bell's communications pavilion.
COMMUNICATIONS OF TOMORROW
Here, visitors find amusing and interesting communications dis-plays, where guests can actually use advanced communications equipment.
VOICE MIRRORS
At two Voice Mirrors, visitors may hear and "see" their voices played back after recording them on an easy-to-use, self-operating recording device.
PICTUREPHONES
Though The Bell System's Picturephone Service, guests talk to and see the person to whom they are speaking. Every half hour, members of Bell's audiences are invited to demonstrate Bell's Picturephone Service by communicating with someone selected from audiences in the Associated Telephone Companies' pavilion at Expo ?, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. or at Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
HOMETOWN WEATHER
At the Weather Station, guests phone for the latest weather conditions in major cities throughout the United States.
FAMILY PHONES
Six Chatter Boxes enable the whole family to talk together over one line to any person anywhere.
KIDDIE PHONES
Nearby are ten Kiddie Phones, where youngsters telephone Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Snow White, whose portraits light up on a mural of Disneyland as they deliver prerecorded messages to callers.
DURATION
29 1/2 minutes (film, 17 1/2 minutes; preshow, 12 minutes).
From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968
Is an all-new filmed visit by an all-new Disney motion picture technique to historic landmarks and scenic locations throughout the nation, including journeys to Hawaii, Alaska, national parks and other interesting areas. The audience is completely surrounded by the spectacle of America through "Circle-Vision 360," Walt Disney Productions' technique of projecting a motion picture on a screen that completely encircles the audience. Presented by The Bell System, American Telephone and Telegraph and Associated Companies, hosted by Pacific Telephone.
From 1970's Attraction Showmanship
This inspiring circle-vision 360 film tour of the United States is a favorite free exhibit in Tomorrowland. Visitors are surrounded by nine screens providing the effect of seeing in all directions at once. From Alaska to Hawaii, guests visit all the fifty states from a scenic point of view.
Many different types of vehicles were used in the filming. A station wagon was equipped with nine cameras and sound equipment for the land scenes--various cruising vessels were used for the water scenes--and the cameras were suspended through the hatch of a B-25 bomber for the aerial sequences.
Presented by the Bell System and American Telephone and Telegraph Associated Companies, the attraction is hosted by Pacific Telephone operators, wearing colorful red, white and blue costumes.
In 1982 Bell announced plans to discontinue sponsorship of the attraction. So Bell employees spent the next year training Tomorrowland hosts and hostesses to take over.
From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982:
This 20-minute film is patriotic and somewhat sentimental, but as the film travels from one U.S. coast to the other, the scenery is so spectacular that it's hard to imagine how anyone could feel otherwise. This nation's beauty comes across all the more vividly because of the film technique, Circle-Vision 360, which involves nine projectors, nine 20-by-30-foot screens, and 12 channels of sound played through nine different speakers (one behind each screen), plus six others (one attached to the ceiling) to carry the narration. The experience is awesome, to say the least, and some of the flight scenes provoke a pretty fair case of vertigo in even the ordinary viewer. The film includes scenes from the United Nations, in New York City; Rockport, Massachusetts; New Salem, Illinois; Mount Vernon and Williamsburg, Virginia; Philadelphia; the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; the military service academies at West Point, New York, Annapolis, Mary- land, and Colorado Springs, Colorado; Chicago's Gold Coast and Michigan Avenue; the Overseas Highway, Cape Canaveral, and Miami Beach, in Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans; St. Louis's Gateway Arch and its old courthouse; the Colorado River Valley; Zion National Park; Inspiration Point, El Capitan, and Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park; Sun Valley, Idaho; the frozen Yukon River, Mount McKinley, and Nome, Alaska-the last on a nice day in summer when the mercury has risen to 49° F; the Golden Gate, twisty Lombard Street, and Fisherman's Wharf, in San Francisco; a fire engine in Los Angeles; Balboa Bay in Newport Beach; and Hawaii. The Vermont village with the church at the end of the street is Strafford; the covered bridge scene was filmed in Tunbridge. And the movie set near the end is at Walt Disney's own studios. A presentation at the beginning of the show tells how the long-distance telephone system actually works-an interesting story well worth a few moments' attention. And the postshow area includes exhibits of various telephones now on the market, plus a whole bank of telephone booths where guests can converse over spiffy-looking speaker phones. Incidentally, the 144,000 square feet of carpet here pose one of the more interesting of the park's cleaning jobs. An ordinary vacuum cleaner just isn't practical here, so the custodial department acquired a fancy self-propelled cleaner with a brush that is 24 inches wide. Presented by the Bell System.
