1981: When Disney Met Star Wars in TomorrowLand...

Long before Disney bought LucasFilm...

...they took a shot at doing a Star Wars-style property!

Before the Disney Channel and Radio Disney, the marketers at The House of Mouse would occasionally try to tie-in with popular trends.

Halyx, a pop-rock band that performed at TomorrowLand in the early 1980s was one such attempt.

And, being Disney, it was no half-baked, quickie tie-in, but an example of the Imagineering crew at its' best.

You can read about the creation and implementation of the project (by one of the participants no less) HERE and HERE.

Here's the band performing (audio with still photos)...

Too bad they don't even make a cameo in the new film TomorrowLand...

TomorrowLand...the Way It Was!

Here's some kool posters from the early days of Disneyland's TomorrowLand...

...giving you a taste of the superb then-futuristic graphic sensibility that dominated the theme park.

The future was fantastic back then...

It's the same "feel" they're going for in the new flick!

Reading Room DONALD DUCK IN DISNEYLAND "TomorrowLand" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen..

...the Disney cartoon characters are given total access to Disneyland the day before it officially opens.

Splitting up to visit the various sections, Mickey Mouse and his nephews Morty and Ferdie go to TomorrowLand and meet Gyro Gearloose, who rigs the Rocket to the Moon flight simulator to actually work!

On the Moon, they run into the villainous Black Pete who stole Gearloose's spare space-travel device...

Yes, it's the "It was all a dream!" plotline!

Written by Carl Fallberg, penciled by Tony Strobl, inked by John Liggera (all of whom had extensive experience working on Disney characters), this section of the 100-page 25 cent comic Donald Duck in Disneyland is a classic example of Disney's knack for cross-media marketing for promotional purposes.
In fact, it was so effective that, when DisneyWorld opened in Florida in 1971, most of this issue (including this chapter) was reused in Walt Disney Comics Digest #32 (1971) as promotion for DisneyWorld along with new material about the elements of the theme park that differed from Disneyland!

Note: the various Disney characters did not appear in the actual TomorrowLand theme park.

They're just used here to introduce Disney-oriented kids to the concepts promoted by the exhibits.

TomorrowLand the Movie

opens Friday!

Reading Room DONALD DUCK IN DISNEYLAND "TomorrowLand" Part 1

When DisneyLand opened in 1955...

...Dell Comics produced a giant-sized one-shot promoting the new theme park.

To Be Continued...

Written by Carl Fallberg, penciled by Tony Strobl, inked by John Liggera (all of whom had extensive experience working on Disney characters), this section of the 100-page 25 cent comic is a classic example of Disney's knack for cross-media marketing for promotional purposes.

Note: the various Disney characters did not appear in the actual TomorrowLand theme park.

They're just used here to introduce Disney-oriented kids to the concepts promoted by the exhibits.

TomorrowLand is coming...

With the new movie TomorrowLand opening this week...

...we're going to take a look at a classic comic used when Disneyland opened in 1955 (60 years ago) to promote the theme park attraction that inspired the new flick.

Note that the first things listed after Main Street and The Hub are the primary elements of TomorrowLand; Space Station X-1, Rocket Pylon and Autopia Freeway.

It was the only part of the theme park not based on previous movies, cartoons, or live action tv shows.

(However, the year it opened, the Disney TV series [also named Disneyland] ran several episodes dedicated to science and future technology.)

Tomorrow, join Mickey and his nephews as they are given access to TomorrowLand the day before Disneyland opens!