Did anyone here go to Walt Disney World in 1971?

[disneyny]

I went to MK for the first time in the early 80's and went to EPCOT right around the time it opened. Somewhere we have some pictures that I should locate because who knows what we might see in them! My mom was staying in Florida in the early 1970's and she visited the Preview Center. She remembers being very excited about it coming to Florida. My one memory of MK is that it was very hard to find and see characters so even though people complain about the lack of "spontaneously" coming across them today it was very hard to see them when they used to just wander around and get mobbed. The new system may not be perfect but thinking back to being a kid I think it is a lot better. And one more note....EPCOT bored me to death as a child and I so wanted to be at the MK. The only thing I really liked was Figment!!

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

I had to call my grandparents and ask them some more questions. :lol:

They mentioned the optimism of the time for Disney World. They talked about the preview center and the giant models and concept art on the walls, "the walt disney story", and Progress City....everything with the Magic Kingdom seemed to be big and now, and more was to come.....there was going to be a Persian and Asian themed hotel for crying out loud. But by the time they went to EPCOT Center (in 1983), much of it was gone, whatever remained of the space race was quickly turned into the tech boom of the 80s.

A cool thing my grandparents pointed out: the swiss family treehouse was always busy when they went, they believe one of the reasons why was because the trees is advertureland were so small, the treehouse stood out, and the swan boats also docked near the treehouse.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

I grew up 9 miles north of the Magic Kingdom. Disney was met with very mixed feelings by the locals. The land deals and political manuvering were seen as very shady. They caused quite a backlash in West Orange County because it seemed that Orlando was getting all the benefit and places like Ocoee, Windermere, and Winter Garden were being left out/taken advantage of. That changed a lot after the hiring started. Disney paid quite well for construction workers. I remember a number of people who got jobs as janitors or groundskeepers or hotel houskeepers who went from real poverty to a living wage because of Disney.

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Interesting comments; I think they're right on target.

My uncle, who is now deceased, owned a metal-working company in Orlando and did quite a bit of metal work for Disney during the construction of the MK. He took his son (who now owns the company and still does metal work for MK -- SSE, Alien Encounter and TL metal palm trees, for example) and both my aunts (his wife and her sister) to the MK for one of the preview days before MK opened to the public, and all my aunt (the one who's still living) can remember is riding Small World -- of all things!

I need to ask her what she thought about the whole construction process and the park in general when she first went. In later years, she had APs, so I know she enjoys WDW.

My first trip was in 1973 and I remember meeting Winnie the Pooh. I have a few photos of that trip and the one that stands out to me shows a refreshment stand in FL that is very plain and off by itself; except for the tent-like roof, you'd never know it was WDW. It makes today's FL look completely cluttered and over-stimulating.

 

[Sneezy62]

Interesting comments; I think they're right on target.

My uncle, who is now deceased, owned a metal-working company in Orlando and did quite a bit of metal work for Disney during the construction of the MK. He took his son (who now owns the company and still does metal work for MK -- SSE, Alien Encounter and TL metal palm trees, for example) and both my aunts (his wife and her sister) to the MK for one of the preview days before MK opened to the public, and all my aunt (the one who's still living) can remember is riding Small World -- of all things!

It's a Small World was probably the most impressive thing open at the previews. I remember that was what my folks seemed most impressed with. We don't realize today how socially progressive that show was at the time. Central Florida was still quite segregated. The MLK and Kennedy assasinations were still fresh. To have all those diverse looking dolls singing that hypnotic song was almost a political statement. Haters couldn't hate those cute dolls and people of more progressive mind could find vindication in the idealism. That show was at the center of the optimism. You left there and went right over to the Hall of Presidents and heard Mr. Lincoln or vice versa. The message was both optimistic and relevant.

EDIT: Thanks Epcot Explorer for your kind words!

 

[ChubbyK]

My brother and I took the long 14 hour trip to be there on opening day of the Magic Kingdom....We ended up being within the first 500 people in the gates that day....it was amazing to just be able to walk down Main Street..to see it's a small world was beyond words ( even though it is one of my least favorite attractions now )...I remember the food being ok, nothing to brag about...and every time I go back when I walk onto Main Street I still get that same feeling as I did back in 1971...like all is right with the world

 

[BigRedDad]

I was only 1 when I was taken in October of 1971. I got my head stuck in the fence rail at the Haunted Mansion. At least I think that was the time from the stories my mom and dad told. They have a picture of it, but there is no way for me to know what year it happened.

My mom still has an original booklet of tickets from 1971. This is when they had the little booklet of A-ride, B-ride, etc tickets. It is preserved as best as paper can be from back then. She has always wanted to see what it may be worth. It will never be sold and is written in her Will that way as well.

 

[drp4video]

My girlfriend and I drove down to FLorida Christmas 1971, for Christmas break as freshman in college. We were on our way to Miami and we stopped at The World spending an overnight in Orlando at a cheap bug infested Days Inn and a day at the Magic Kingdom. We got there when they cut the ribbon for opening that day, and I remember running down main street. Don't remember where we were running to though. lol.

I had been to Disneyland several times before and I remember being struck as to how similar it was, but how big Cindy's castle was compared to Snow White's in disneyland. Those days are a little vague, (the years between 1969 and 1972 are a blur for "hippie reasons" :lol: )so I don't remember too much more, I just remember how excited I was to be there...but I also remember having to be cool cuz I was 18.

 

[NX2I85]

Dating myself here...

Not exactly a real MK memory, but this is the best I can do. I remember living in Wauchula, Fl in 1968. I was four years old. The house was in the middle of an orange grove. My old man's passion was taking in as much spring training baseball as he could afford (not a bunch on a starting teacher's salary). I remember he and Mom taking me to some sort of preview site in Orlando on the way to a ballgame that year. I still remember the cardboard cutouts and posters I saw, and a little book/pamphlet I received.

In 1969 we moved to NC. I remember seeing an issue of "Look " magazine in 1971 with all the characters in front of the castle, wishing like heck I could be right there. Mom and Dad never did take me to MK as a kid. Money and time were tight.

In fact I never made it until 2000, when my wife and I took our oldest child (3yo at the time). I fell head over heels in love with evey inch of WDW, and remain crazy about it. I've been lots and lots of time over this past decade.

 

[xtina72]

I never went, but the costumed characters has giant bobble heads. It was SO odd to see the video advertisement for MK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wTcH49N-8A
[youtube]9wTcH49N-8A[/youtube]

This freaks me out on MANY levels...but most of all is something not obvious to most, the narrator for the Disney commercial is the same narrator for the trailer of the original Poltergeist movie and THAT movie trailer use to freak me out BAD as a kid. So his voice freaks me out more than anything.

 

[puntagordabob]

Yes...but I was like 4 years old...

 

[EPCOTPluto]

My parents visited the Magic Kingdom back in 1971. However, back then, they just thought it was another Florida park and did not thought much about it. In 1973, though, they wound up actually liking the park more and thus began to bring back maps and other goods from there. One thing they bought was a PVC Pluto. And I still have those maps in my house somewhere.


But what my parents really remember was visiting MGM back on May 5, 1989. Four days after MGM opened.

 

[disneychic71]

I was lucky enough to visit WDW in January of 1972 (I was almost 7 years old). I have some mixed-up memories of it, but mostly that I absolutely LOVED it! Small World was one of our favorites. I remember that seeing characters was pretty rare in those days and you felt very lucky if you spotted one. I remember being very, very impressed with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Peter Pan's Flight. Finally, I remember seeing Snow White, and getting so excited that I mistakenly called her "Cinderella." She was pretty snippy about it, and every since then I've thought of Snow White as mean!

 

[RiversideBunny]

I think our first trip was 1974 but give me a little leeway on that.
I remember that the MK was the only thing and they would keep it open until 1 am or so. The best time for riding things was after about 9 pm because people started leaving.

I remember the food in the MK at that time being not so good at all.

They used the A,B,C,D,E ticket system with the E rides being the best.
There was also a coupon for a trip to Discovery Island and WDW was having trouble getting enough people to go there.

We stayed at the Royal Plaza and used the Disney bus. It was a long trip because the bus also stopped at every Tree House. It also went to the Ticket and Transportation Center and not directly to the park.
At that time DTD was only one building, a little snack shop that they said was 'nesteled' along the shore of the lake. I remember the 'nestled' part.

I remember our younger daughter riding on Space Mountain when she was 3 years old. At that time they would let small children go on it if they sat on the parent's lap.
I carried her around on my shoulders a lot. At that time strollers were not so prevalent.

There were only 3 Disney resorts near the MK: The Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Golf Resort (now Shades of Green).
Later on a subsequent trip we stayed at the Contemporary.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

My parents visited the Magic Kingdom back in 1971. However, back then, they just thought it was another Florida park and did not thought much about it. In 1973, though, they wound up actually liking the park more and thus began to bring back maps and other goods from there. One thing they bought was a PVC Pluto. And I still have those maps in my house somewhere.


But what my parents really remember was visiting MGM back on May 5, 1989. Four days after MGM opened.

I am pretty sure my parents were in WDW in June or July of that year...I really should ask them to see if they made it to MGM.

 

[WDW-Crazy]

My dad and his family first went in 1972. When my parents got married in 1975, they also went back for their honeymoon. I have some old memorabilia from those times that they gave me, including an "America On Parade" park map, an oold parking voucher (forget how much it was to park back then), and some old ride coupon books (one I believe still has a ticket in it). I really treasure those items and am glad they are now part of my collection. Sometimes, mom mentions to me that she wanted to drive by just to see the castle, but my dad warned her that you can't see the castle from the highway lol.

My first time to the World wouldn't be until June of 1989. So whenever I see pics from 70's, I really enjoy looking at them.

 

[richiericher22]

I never went, but the costumed characters has giant bobble heads. It was SO odd to see the video advertisement for MK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wTcH49N-8A
[youtube]9wTcH49N-8A[/youtube]

That would be a horrible nightmare! Not being able to find the magic kingdom, but those "bobble headed" characters running around in the middle of the woods!

 

[dmbouton75]

I went to the Magic Kingdom in December of 1971 with my mom, grandparents, and 3 older siblings. I was 7 years old and my siblings were 12, 13, & 15. We stopped there for a day on our way to a Holiday Inn on West Palm Beach. We drove down in Grandpa’s Lincoln Continental. When we first walked in; I was fascinated by the ornaments on the Christmas tree—it had globes the size of basketballs. My favorite ride was “it’s a small world” and everyone took turns taking me on it for obvious reasons. I LOVED the Country Bear Jamboree. Grandpa rode on the cars with me. I remember my brothers scrambling for more E-tickets. I bought a large Pooh and Tigger with my Christmas money—they were $10 each! I still have both of them and an original map & souvenir book. We, also, went in December of 1972. We stayed overnight at a hotel called the Dutch Inn—it said it had a monorail (ha!). I wish I could remember every magical moment of both those trips.

 

[wdwaddict71]

If I had, I wouldn't have remembered it-I was born in 1971 I do love watching some of the vintage WDW video you can see on Youtube. The first time I went was in 1980-Epcot was beeing built.

 

[wdwaddict71]

That would be a horrible nightmare! Not being able to find the magic kingdom, but those "bobble headed" characters running around in the middle of the woods!

I don't scare easily but that video is creepy...:ROFLOL:

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

The Dutch Inn is still there....it's now called the Regal Sun Resort....located in Downtown Disney. I wonder if it said it had monorail service because of the proposed but never built peoplemover service to the disney village in the 70s.