Originally Posted By disneysnout Is this a rare product? out of stock? when were these released? anyone have any info on this? Thanks
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I'm not sure about when it was released...I think it was at the start of the anniversary. As to it being rare, I don't think so. When I was there this Christmas I bought one for my nephew and they were all over the place.
Originally Posted By knightnfrees I went a couple of weeks ago and they still had the Viewmaster set. They came out shortly after the initial start of the anniversary.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I don't think so. It only came with a few reels, and I haven't seen extra reels being sold. However, if you look on Ebay, there might be an old reel from when the attraction was new.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I took a quick look through my ViewMaster book. I do not believe that America Sings was covered by VM. I do not find images of this attraction in any Tomorrowland reels, either.
Originally Posted By dsnypaul Are they really of Disneyland? Because when I was there for the anniversary they had a set I almost bought until I noticed it was Walt Disney World images.
Originally Posted By smeeeko It has both the DLR and WDW logos on them (they are sold at both parks).. so can't say what is on the VM reels... as we didn't get them. (now if they sold them seperately we might get them) We have our L&S viewmaster we can use. =)
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 All of the images on the current viewmaster are of Disneyland and California Adventure. There are NO shots of WDW. There are a couple of "yesteryear" shots too that show past attractions...America Sings not being one of them...
Originally Posted By DBitz2 There are two separate sets, one for Disneyland and one for WDW. Initially, the WDW set was at Disneyland, but now they have the Disneyland set only. As a long time View Master collector, it is my opinion that they really missed the boat with this set. There are a handful of neat old images, but it is by no means a satisfying set of images overall. As to View Master images of America Sings, yes, some of the 1970's Tomorrowland sets have 3 or 4 images from the attraction. You have to be familiar enough with the various editions, though, to get the right ones on ebay or elsewhere.
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs <<DlandDug: I took a quick look through my ViewMaster book. I do not believe that America Sings was covered by VM. I do not find images of this attraction in any Tomorrowland reels, either.>> Good heavens man, isn't there anything you DON'T have?? This brings me to last year's dinner... sure some people got to sit with Margaret Kerry or Bill Farmer or Dick Jones or Terri Hardin or myself, but... threeundertwo gave View-Master sets to everyone at her table. Ah, I remember my View-Master. One of my presents at my 3rd birthday was the VM set that came in a canister. I believe they were all Disney reels, however the only one that sticks out in my mind was Bambi. What was really neat was that, because VM was supposed to be in 3-D, the Disney reels did not have screenshots of the animated films. They used 3-D models instead. Unfortunately, it wasn't until years later until I actually starting using both eyes for both eyeholes. Btw, I'm sure Dug has that gift set somewhere. My other reels included Popeye and a runaway rocket, Flying Smurfs, Disney on Parade (which included mascot characters for Henry and the Sun Bonnets on swings), Godzilla (from the 70s TV show, more or less) and He-Man (he's the Most Powerful Man in the Universe, you know). I had the two classic 70s/80s versions of the View-Master; one was the 70s red and white with blue level and the other was the 80s all-red with the orange lever. I remember seeing recent versions where the VM was rounder and the backside was like one big panel for light. I now have seen the newer VM models and they're shaped like portable CD players. Eh. I think it would be cool if DL had a basic 50th anniversary set and then sold other packs for certain rides. Perhaps 3 reels would be enough for one attraction?
Originally Posted By DBitz2 Here's the content of the 50th set, which will hopefully help anyone contemplating buying it. Reel A: (Picture captions with my description of content) 1. The Fab 5 at Disneyland (generic close-up by Matterhorn) 2. Dumbo the flying elephant(close-up of ride, fairly recent shot) 3. The Disney Princesses gather at the Castle (Cinderella, Belle, Snow White & Aurora; only part of castle seen) 4. 999 Happy haunts live at the Haunted Mansion (Fairly current photo of Mansion exterior, with part of hearse; not a great shot - shadowy) 5. Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland (An older shot from before 1990's enhancements & when it still had vines at the base - full shot from slightly at left) 6. Matterhorn Mountain (shot of the Abominable Snowman) 7. Frontierland (Shot of Mark Twain at dock with Thunder Mt. in bg) Reel B: 1. The Fab 5 at Disney's California Adventure (Close-up with little of Mickey icon on Screamin' in bg) 2. The Monorail passes through entry plaza (view towards entrance) 3. Soarin' Over California (Exterior with "mister rocket" engine prominent) 4. California Screamin' (coaster train going through loop) 5. Paradise Pier at night (long shot from across lagoon with part of Screamin' & Sunwheel, Maliboomer, Orange Stinger) 6. Grizzly Peak (Mountain with queue side waterfall in foreground) 7. Entrance to Grizzly River Run (Close-up of big bear marquee at enttrance) Reel C: (This reel is all vintage shots) 1. Walt Disney at the Disneyland RR (Great vintage shot of Walt on handcar, in front of one of the locomotives & water tower in Frontierland) 2. Walt Disney testing the Jungle Cruise (Walt with lions & zebra - a non 3-d version of this has been in books and publications before) 3. Walt and Mickey Mouse (1960's vintage, in front of Castle; close-up) 4. Disneyland straight ahead (shot of a 1950's billboard advertising Disneyland 5. Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth (shot with both old marquee sign and new one when old one was being replaced) 6. Celebrating 35 years in 1990 (shot of Mickey, Minnie & Goofy with Mouse-orail in front of Castle) 7. Celebrating 45 years in 2000 (long shot with many characters & confetti in Castle courtyard) There are some neat shots on Reel C, but the photo choices on the other reels for the most part don't really satisfyingly represent DL or DCA. This really should have included more reels and a better selection of photos. As it is, the photos wouldn't interest kids all that much, and they fall short for adults, especially fans or collectors. It's really a shame, considering there hasn't been any new Disneyland View Masters since the late 1980's. I hope this will be helpful.
Originally Posted By DBitz2 Also dug out my Tomorrowland sets. The GAF A 179, edition F set has four shots from America Sings. 1. America Sings (Eagle Sam, owl & "popping weasel" in gazebo) 2.Songs of the Wild West (about 2/3 of scene is shown.) 3. Southlands balads (same as above) 4. Musical sounds of today (nearly all of stage is seen with many of characters) Also, GAF Packet K 16 (a later version) has the same photos plus one of the exterior; this set is from the 1970's or early 1980's when they used an inferior film stock for the reels that tended to fade or turn magenta, unfortunately, so if you find this set, the photos may or may not be of good quality.) There may be other sets from the 1970's or early 1980's, but those are two that I happen to have. I can't believe I knew something Dug didn't!!! Hope this helps anyone looking for View Master sets that include America Sings.
