Trip Report It Began Here ~ Magic Kingdom, July 1972 *COMPLETED*

The title says it all....my love for Walt Disney World began with my very first visit a mere 9 months after the Magic Kingdom opened its gates. My grandparents had recently moved to Florida and we made the long drive from New England to spend a week with them. During that week we would get to spend one glorious day at the Most Magical Place On Earth.

I can still remember my excitement and anticipation. Naturally I wanted to see my grandparents, but this Disney World had captured my thoughts. What would it be like? The only castle I had ever seen was one made of sand. How beautiful a real castle must be! I counted the hours until our pre-dawn departure (it was a couple hours drive.) Once on the road I kept my eyes peeled for THE sign: Disney World, Next Exit.

One sign, one exit. No grand archway like there is now. No purple directional signs. No mouse ears. Nothing but a two lane road. A very long, straight and boring road! (Try to visualize World Drive with nothing to look at!) Where was this Magic Kingdom? Why is it taking so long to get there?

Finally....the Toll Plaza. But as you all know, you can't see the Magic Kingdom from the Toll Plaza!

Just a few minutes longer and we parked the car. Then we got to ride the coolest form of transportation ever.....the monorail!! Which deposited us here:

Okay, I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me explain the pictures. My dad had a 35mm camera from which he developed slides. Which, 35 years later, we scanned into his computer. So the quality of the photos is marginal at best. And film was expensive in 1972, so he didn't take many pictures (which we all regret now!)

Today I was at my parents' house to discuss their upcoming Disney vacation with my youngest brother's family. I decided to tag along when I saw the ridiculously low Southwest fares (SW got me too, @Doc Disney!) Mom was able to add me to their dining reservations and I was able to snag similar fastpass times (even for Frozen Ever After! ) We ran across these old pictures that I thought would be fun to share with my WDWMagic friends.

So if you wouldn't mind being a little more patient for my July 2016 trip report (I'm looking at you, @TrolleyFollower91 ) I now give you this:

Main Street, July 1972

 

[sheriffwoody]

LOVE this!!! So cool seeing Tomorrowland before Space Mountain especially. Can't wait to see more!

 

[Tuvalu]

YAY!! I ***LOVE** vintage Disney!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! Love that view at the Speedway! You were such a cute little girl too, not that you're horrible to look at now or anything...wait...this is coming out all wrong lol...nevermind...following along @Tuvalu

Why, I think that is a perfect was to describe me now.....I AM Vintage Disney!

This is beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for following!

LOVE this!!! So cool seeing Tomorrowland before Space Mountain especially. Can't wait to see more!

Glad to have you along, @sheriffwoody !

 

[Tuvalu]

All too soon, our day at the Magic Kingdom had come to an end. We could not stay through the evening as my grandmother had a health issue and we needed to get back on the road.

Notice the exit turnstile and the meticulous janitor keeping the area clean .

There was a water-skiing show on the Seven Seas Lagoon featuring Mickey and Goofy. I remember catching part of it before boarding the monorail but my dad did not get any pictures.

Though I don't recall what happened next, the incident is very vivid in my mother's mind. As we backed out of our parking space, she heard muffled sobs from the back seat.

Mom: "Honey, what's wrong?"
Me (in what would be one of the most ironic statements ever spoken) : "I bet I'll NEVER get to come back here AGAIN!!"



Stay tuned for our next visit.....in 1973.

 

[PacNWTigger]

I'm loving the pics! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

This is so great! The pictures are awesome and it is so fun to see the original Disney World. Thank you for sharing! Definitely following along!

 

[JennSmith]

This is awesome!

 

[Ciara]

WOW WOW WOW i love these photos! Especially tomorrow land, its looks so different And the gondolas! I remember the beams being left over from my first trip ever in 1999 but i have never seen them in action! So cool

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm loving the pics! Keep 'em coming!

Posting more soon

This is so great! The pictures are awesome and it is so fun to see the original Disney World. Thank you for sharing! Definitely following along!

Happy to have you along!

This is awesome!

Glad to hear it!

WOW WOW WOW i love these photos! Especially tomorrow land, its looks so different And the gondolas! I remember the beams being left over from my first trip ever in 1999 but i have never seen them in action! So cool

The Skyway was one of my favorites. Was very sad to see it go.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I love this. So cool to see old pictures of Disney World.

 

[coachwnh]

Agree with what so many others have said!! This is really cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JenTen1585]

What an awesome trip report!!! I was trying to think back on my first Disney visit ... I think it was in 1984. We don't have any pictures of it sadly. What amazing memories to have!

 

[Tiggerish]

Though I don't recall what happened next, the incident is very vivid in my mother's mind. As we backed out of our parking space, she heard muffled sobs from the back seat.

Mom: "Honey, what's wrong?"
Me (in what would be one of the most ironic statements ever spoken) : "I bet I'll NEVER get to come back here AGAIN!!"

This made me laugh out loud.

Love the photos! My first visit was in 1980, I was in high school and went to Daytona Beach for spring break and a few of us took a bus over to WDW.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Love this! Thanks for sharing! I love to see pics from years past and compare them to the way things are now!

 

[Tuvalu]

I love this. So cool to see old pictures of Disney World.

Agree with what so many others have said!! This is really cool. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you both for your kind words.

What an awesome trip report!!! I was trying to think back on my first Disney visit ... I think it was in 1984. We don't have any pictures of it sadly. What amazing memories to have!

I'm jealous of the current generation who will have lots of clear, well-focused pictures of their childhood Disney vacations...taken with a phone no less!

 

[Tuvalu]

This made me laugh out loud.
Love the photos! My first visit was in 1980, I was in high school and went to Daytona Beach for spring break and a few of us took a bus over to WDW.

You were there in 1980 and didn't say hi?!

Love this! Thanks for sharing! I love to see pics from years past and compare them to the way things are now!

Truth be told I was motivated by your honeymoon TR .

 

[HurricaneHanna]

Gideon! Thank you, @HurricaneHanna . Do you remember any Bicentennial events during your first visit?

Yes! I was actually there on July 4th. I'm foggy on a lot of things and this was my first trip to Disney World, my first time in Florida, my first time flying on a plane, so everything is just a whirl of excitement. You've really taken me back here and it's a very nice feeling! I remember that there was a lot of hoopla in the area around The Hall of Presidents. There was quite a wait to get inside and outside there was a band playing patriotic music. There were also performers dressed as the more well known Presidents. I think they were doing historical recitations. There were red, white, and blue decorations everywhere. There was a special parade. It was called something like America's Parade. This was the first parade I'd ever seen other than the ones you might see in a small town where local officials and community groups and the high school band walk down the street, or the Macy's parade on television. It was amazing. I remember feeling like the crowd was huge lining the streets to watch but everyone was so polite and they let the small children move to the front. Everyone was given little flags to wave. We left the park for a while in the evening to go to a special dinner that my father had saved up for. It was on the top of the Contemporary. I think. I remember it being called The Top Of The World but that doesn't make sense since Top Of The World is the name of the lounge over in the BLT. I also remember it rotating which again I'm not sure is true. Obviously you're a way better historian than I am I did absolutely eat shrimp scampi that night and it was the best thing I had ever eaten! After dinner we went back to the park for the fire works. Amazing falls short as a description. I was particularly impressed with how the show was timed to the music. I'd never experienced anything of the sort before. Other random things I remember- climbing The Swiss Family Treehouse. I'd never been to the south so I was certainly feeling the heat, but that Treehouse didn't need a ticket so there was no way my family wasn't going up. Waiting 2 1/2 hours to ride Space Mountain. It was terrifying but so exciting. The seats must have been different then because I'm pretty sure my little brother sat on my lap or between my legs. Wow.

 

[Tuvalu]

July 1973

One year later and my Disney World dreams doubled in size....not only were we making a return visit, but we would have two whole days AND spend the night in the Contemporary Resort Tower!! I was positively giddy when we arrived at my grandparents' house. Thankfully their retirement community had a pool where brother Mannix and I spent lots of time as we waited for D-day ~ Disney day! (Even though it meant cramming my long hair into a hideous "bathing cap" before being allowed into the water. Yikes, those things HURT!)

I remember being wowed by the Grand Canyon Concourse ~ the giant Mary Blair murals and watching the monorails whoosh through the hotel! There was also a ticket booth located in between the escalators which led to the monorail platform (very convenient for hotel guests.) How many ticket books would my dad buy for us? One for each day? Or would we have to stretch our tickets over the two days? There were three levels of tickets: child age 3-10; junior age 11-17; and adult. (Wouldn't it be great if Disney still had that mid-price junior level rather than count kids 10 and up as adults?!)

Many people today choose to stay at the Contemporary for the convenience of walking to the MK. In the early years, walking to MK wasn't an option. It was monorail all the way, which suited us just fine! Plus there were these really neat topiaries to look at during the ride:

I can't believe I'm back!!

 

[MinnieM123]

I wonder what the nightly rate was back then at the Contemporary? I assume a better deal than now!!

By the way, the Grand Canyon Concourse with the Mary Blair gorgeous tilework still makes me go, "Wow!"

 

[unkadug]

@Tuvalu

This is great. I'm loving your trip report and the pictures. Thanks for sharing.

My first visit was in the spring of 73. All the pictures have long been lost, so your pictures bring back memories of how pristine the park seemed to be back then.

 

[Tuvalu]

I wonder what the nightly rate was back then at the Contemporary? I assume a better deal than now!!

I can't vouch for 1973, but a girlfriend and I spent one night in the tower in 1979 and split the $75 (tax included) rate. Those were the days!

@Tuvalu

This is great. I'm loving your trip report and the pictures. Thanks for sharing.

My first visit was in the spring of 73. All the pictures have long been lost, so your pictures bring back memories of how pristine the park seemed to be back then.

I am glad to help you relive fond memories. I wish I had more pictures and other documents (maps, ticket stubs) to share....