Disneyland Resort: “Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals: the Atomic Age…the challenge of outer space…and the hope for a peaceful and unified world.” So said Walt Disney as he dedicated Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park in the summer of '55, inviting the world to “step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come.”
Inspired by Walt’s space-age optimism and the Disney Legends who joined his playful pursuit of great big beautiful tomorrows, Disney Vacation Club has created Star View Station, its first Member Lounge at the Disney destination that started it all.
Now open at Disneyland Park, the lounge invites eligible Members* to make themselves at “home” inside the Tomorrowland Expo Center, the cylindrical structure that’s housed everything from Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress and America Sings to Innoventions and Star Wars Launch Bay.
Entering through an “airlock” tunnel, Members view orbital images of neighborhood Earth ports (Disney Vacation Club Resorts) and excursions (Disney Vacation Club exchange options) en route to a “space” that embraces the futuristic feel of the Atomic Age, with curved lines, bold colors and geometric shapes celebrating the spirit of “yesterday’s tomorrow.”
While pendant lights, retro-modern furnishings and hexagonal carpet tiles are among the details underscoring the theme, two magical murals are most likely to attract immediate attention. Rendered by Disney Legends John Hench and Herb Ryman, and flanking a sculptural Disney Vacation Club medallion befitting the lounge’s sleek style, the murals reflect Walt’s identity as a relentless futurist.
Below is concept art created by Disney Legend John Hench for “Progressland,” the pavilion that housed the Carousel of Progress attraction at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. When the attraction moved to Disneyland Park in 1967, occupying the same building that now contains Star View Station, it included a three-dimensional model of Progress City – a concept that would later evolve to become what we know today as EPCOT.
Editor’s note: If the retro-modern font used in the Star View Station logo above looks familiar, you probably recognize it from the logo treatment used for WED Enterprises, the design-and-development organization founded in 1952 by Walt Disney (WED, of course, stands for Walter Elias Disney) to help him create Disneyland Park. The logo changed when WED became Walt Disney Imagineering in 1986. Our friends at Walt Disney Imagineering tell us that the Star View Station logo is the first to use this font since WED Enterprises, and we’re humbled by that honor.
And below is Herb Ryman’s rendering of the massive microscope in the queue for Adventure Thru Inner Space, an omnimover attraction that propelled guests on “Atomobiles” into the realm of molecules from 1967-1985. (The attraction later gave way to Star Tours.)
Nearby is a video area with content for kids, where you’ll find a texturized wall frieze of a former Tomorrowland mural by Disney Legend Mary Blair (whose unique style can be seen everywhere from “it’s a small world” attractions across the globe to the towering Grand Canyon Concourse tile mural – and its legendary five-legged goat! – at Disney’s Contemporary Resort). Echoing the space’s optimism, the mural celebrates “The Spirit of Creative Energies Among Children.”
The lounge’s kids’ space includes a texturized tribute to an iconic mural by Disney Legend Mary Blair celebrating “The Spirit of Creative Energies Among Children.”
The lounge features a custom replica of the “Witco Map of the World,” a bas relief map that decorated countless mid-century-modern American homes.
Among the lounge’s historic murals is this concept art created by Disney Legend John Hench for “Progressland,” 1964-65 World’s Fair pavilion that housed the Carousel of Progress attraction, which moved in 1967 to the Tomorrowland building that now houses Star View Station.
Also proudly on display as a mural in the lounge’s main gathering space is this rendering of the massive microscope that anchored the Tomorrowland attraction Adventure Thru Inner Space from 1967-1985. The piece is the work of Disney Legend Herb Ryman, who famously created the first concept art for Disneyland Park.
Created as a special “space” for selfies, a custom, curved mural finds a Disney Vacation Club rocket bound for Star View Station – with the space station’s exterior drawing inspiration from the historic S-1 space station model now on display in the lounge.
Also in the children’s viewing area is a tribute to the “Witco Map of the World,” an iconic bas relief map that hung in many mid-century-modern American homes. The mass-produced map was designed by artist William Westenhaver for the Western International Trading Company (Witco). The piece on display in Star View Station is a replica created for the lounge by Westenhaver’s granddaughter and her family.
While grabbing a beverage near the back wall of the lounge (where you’ll find complimentary tea service and Coca-Cola Freestyle soft drinks, as well as the entrance to the lounge’s restrooms), look for a “Space Station S-1” model that appeared in multiple episodes of Disney television series in the mid-20th century. The model first appeared in a 1955 episode of the “Disneyland” TV series titled “Man in Space,” offering a look at how America was preparing for the challenge of space exploration. Later that season, it played a key role in an episode called “Man and the Moon,” representing the base of operations for a crewed flight around the moon. And in 1962, Walt Disney himself presented the model in an episode of “The Magical World of Disney” titled “Spy in the Sky.”
Another treasure awaiting Members’ discovery is a spacesuit once worn by “K7,” a walk-around character who, along with a silver-suited “Space-Girl,” appeared in Tomorrowland from 1955- 1967. On loan from the Walt Disney Imagineering Collection, the suit is presented with a plaque that reads: “From the opening of Disneyland Park in 1955 until the land was reimagined in 1967, Tomorrowland was home to its own pair of intrepid space travelers. Guests from around the globe enjoyed the opportunity to meet and greet these explorers, who played dual roles as icons of Tomorrowland and ambassadors for Walt Disney’s optimistic vision of the future.”
Like Walt himself, Star View Station has one foot in fantasy and one in the future. It’s a place for both exhilarating exploration and restful retreat. And it’s pure Membership Magic!
A spacesuit worn at Disneyland Park by a “K7” walk-around character in the 1950s and 60s is among the Tomorrowland treasures on display in the lounge.
Entering Star View Station through its “airlock” tunnel, Members see playful posters promoting “Earth ports” (Disney Vacation Club Resorts) and “Earth excursions” (Disney Vacation Club exchange options).
Hovering in the lounge is an S-1 space station model that has made numerous appearances on Disney television shows, including an appearance with Walt Disney himself in a 1962 episode of “The Magical World of Disney.”
For a filmed look at the Disney Files Magazine staff’s favorite details in the new lounge, scan this QR code to enjoy the Star View Station episode of the award-winning, made-for-Members YouTube series “Details We Dig.”
*See important eligibility information at the bottom of page 1. Note that, as Star View Station is located inside Disneyland Park, valid theme park admission (sold separately) and theme park reservation is required for access.