Hey old timers! Tell us your early WDW memories.

[Minnesota disney fan]

I went to Cypress in its final years. I loved strolling through the gardens and from what I understand Lego kept the gardens. The southern ladies were still there. The famous waterskiing show was still great back then.

My family went there and also Silver Springs on our first trip to Florida. It was 1962, long before Disney arrived on the scene. We were in route to Key West but never made it further south then that area. It was mid July and way to hot for a group of northerners with a pickup camper with no AC. Pure misery. The shows were neat though, I still remember them and I was about to turn 14 at the time.

Yes, I remember Silver Springs when they had the glass bottom boats, and the water was crystal clear with huge fish everywhere. We went back several years later, and the water was still clear, but there were hardly any fish of any size! I'm glad we got to see it when it was special. We also went to Cypress Gardens for the water ski shows and gardens too. So glad to have those memories now.

 

[Debbie]

My first visit was in 1976. I was 12 and we all loaded into the family station wagon. The theme that year was our bi-centennial and it was a big deal everywhere. My family could only get the cheapest ticket package offered. We rode the freebies many times and I can remember going back to our hotel for lunch. We stayed at a Days Inn on US192. I remember feeling kinda disappointed as our neighbors had just gone and they rode everything! and here we only had one E ticket The way my dad traveled, you only spent one day at a place.) The rest of the week was spent at SeaWorld, Kennedy Space Center (got to see Smoky the Bear!), Gatorland, and the free tour of the Tupperware Center. Anyhow, when I graduated in 1981, my godmother and uncle invited to go with them. We stayed a week, at the Contemporary, and the ticket system was gone. We got to ride everything! I got to know Magic Kingdom quite well! With only one park at that time, a family could really relax, spending time at the resort, maybe a half day at Discovery Island, River Country and leisurely go to the park. When I came home I immediately made reservations for the next year. This sometimes took a week to get through as you often got a busy signal trying to make a reservation and it was long distance too. I am so glad I took the opportunity to go and experience the different resorts when I could. Disney has pretty much out priced me nowdays

 

[John park hopper]

It must have been in the early 60's (my grandmother moved to south Florida in 58) we went to visit in a 1960 Dodge the thing was huge. We stopped on the way at Silver Springs rode the glass bottom boats and the water was crystal clear and as the previous post said it was loaded with fish. If I remember correctly ? the TV show Sea Hunt with Loyd Bridges, some of the scenes were filmed there. Also went to Cypress gardens and the usual Florida alligator farm. Remember begging my father for a baby alligator (back then they sold them) guess what his answer was---- NO!! may have been a He!! NO.

 

[Eddie90210]

I remember driving to Florida from Texas, wanted to stop and pet a live baby gator per the 10,000 billboards- nope! Parents did let us stop in all the state welcome centers for freebies though!

I remember riding the monorail and seeing all the giant topiaries shaped like Disney characters...I was super duper impressed by that...even if that was all I saw of Disney I would have gone home happy

I remember being absolutely blown away by the talking robots in Hall of Presidents and The animatronics in Pirates, Country Bears, etc. Oh! And the Swiss family treehouse replica was really something to behold as I was a huge fan of that movie!

 

[Prince-1]

Can you speak up (or type larger) i can't hear (or see) you.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Can you speak up (or type larger) i can't hear (or see) you.

????? Would there, by any chance, be any purpose for that post? What is it connected too?

 

[Prince-1]

????? Would there, by any chance, be any purpose for that post? What is it connected too?

Yes.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yes.

OK, well in that case it probably isn't worth the cyberspace it's occupying... I'll move on, not understanding and no longer interested.

 

[Prince-1]

OK, well in that case it probably isn't worth the cyberspace it's occupying... I'll move on, not understanding and no longer interested.

Ok, thanks for taking the time to tell me you are no longer interested. And just because you still are the thread title starts with, "Hey old timers..."

You can figure out the rest.

 

[Goofyernmost]

OK, good joke, but, you have to be much clearer on the story and not just the punch line. It's like only putting in the lines... "tomorrow if I get the car". Doesn't make much sense without the rest of the joke. Rule of thumb, coming from an apparently deaf and blind old timer... a joke that has to be explained probably isn't all that funny.

 

[Disney4family]

We liked the joke. We got it. We laughed. We thought it was pretty clever @gsam4ever.

 

[Prince-1]

OK, good joke, but, you have to be much clearer on the story and not just the punch line. It's like only putting in the lines... "tomorrow if I get the car". Doesn't make much sense without the rest of the joke. Rule of thumb, coming from an apparently deaf and blind old timer... a joke that has to be explained probably isn't all that funny.

Or...............it could be just you.

 

[LAM378]

Oh my gosh, I've loved reading this thread. My family started visiting in 1987 and so many of you are bringing back such happy memories from the 80s and 90s. The pirate adventure cruise for kids (complete with creepy trolls). Dining on The Empress Lilly. THE FIESTA FUN CENTER, which I still feel a stab of sadness for whenever I'm hanging around the CR. That shooting gallery, we loved it. We also loved the Neverland Club and wanted to spend every night of our vacation there.

I remember the old Disney Village really well, with the big Christmas shop and the original, far superior Chef Mickey's. They should have retired the name when they opened that current mess at CR.

I have vivid memories of Minnie's Menehune breakfast at the Poly (I don't know what the restaurant was called, but it was where Ohana is now). And another small restaurant at the Poly that served amazing chicken a la reine soup, but I can't remember what the place was called.

I still miss the Fireworks Factory at Pleasure Island, and when HS was MGM and they had a real celebrity in the parade every day.

My favorite memories, the ones that still give me chills when I'm in WDW, are memories of the construction. We'd go once a year, and seeing projects progress (faster than they do now, btw ) was always thrilling to me. I remember what it looked like when Splash wasn't there, and the WOL pavilion, and Norway. I remember seeing the GF under construction, and the monorail actually stopping at the station even though it wasn't completed yet, thinking, "Next year, it'll be open!"

The best one by far, though, was the Boardwalk. One year there was nothing across from Y&BC, just water. The next year, just the actual boards and construction walls (I walked the boardwalk one night, and it was creepy). The next year, a big, gorgeous resort. I think of that every time I look over there.

Thank you all for sharing your memories!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Or...............it could be just you.

I doubt it!

 

[Disney4family]

 

[Prince-1]

We liked the joke. We got it. We laughed. We thought it was pretty clever @gsam4ever.

Thanks.

I doubt it!

For someone who lost interest awhile aginyou do seem to still be fairly interested.

 

[rt06]

I can't even remember the damn year I first went. Mid 80s, couldn't have been older than 10. I remember sirens going off when my father passed through the turnstile. He won a pin. He let me choose from the selection:

I got very emotional thinking about this. I would pay $1k for the original pin.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I remember Body Wars at Epcot.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I by no means am a Disney old timer, having taken my first trip in 1990 at 3 years old. But I so feel very proud and thankful to have experienced a bygone version of Walt Disney World, chock full of beautiful and cherished memories with my family. Sometimes I just sit and think and look back at old pictures or souvenir books and remember how it used to be. Not to say I dislike it now. I still love it. Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, and maybe I just saw things differently through my eyes and mind as a child. But I feel super lucky to have experienced a special era of WDW. A simpler time.

 

[heapster411]

My 1st trip was in 1976 and we stayed at the Polynesian. It was beautiful and had a certain pleasant smell that we could smell when we opened our suitcases for years. I have stayed at all of the hotels except the most recent ones built. Each hotel had things unique to them like soap tins and sewing kits at the Grand Floridian, matches with the Polynesian logo etc. The toiletries had Mickey on them. They even had shower caps. Everything was so clean. I had never seen such clean public restrooms. I never experienced a ride breakdown until the last few years. In the earlier years, I never heard a cast member complain or be rude. I'm sure they had complaints but they didn't make them when they were "on stage". I felt I didn't have a care in the world while I was there and the whole family had so much fun. The lines were short and went fairly fast. The monorail didn't stink. The food was not generic. Each place had a unique menu. The prices didn't rise every 3 months. They had a welcome center in Ocala that got you into the Disney mood. You could get tickets or make dining reservations and you didn't have to know 6 months in advance what you wanted to eat. You could view the fireworks at great locations and you didn't have to pay through the nose to have a great view. I'm glad I knew the Disney magic from back in the day.