Does anyone else remeber the WDW welcome center that was built somewhere in .i.

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
Florida to advertise the parks? I remember the building being somewhere outside of Orlando..perhaps closer to Daytona Beach or St Augustine. It was paneled on the inside and they would show film of Walt Disney talking about the new park and I think there was a model of the park there as well. They also sold some early WDW souveniers.

I was only 4 the first time I went there and I'm sure it closed after the park opened. We would stop every year on the way to my grandmother's in St Pete.

Does anyone else remember this place?
 

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
Florida to advertise the parks? I remember the building being somewhere outside of Orlando..perhaps closer to Daytona Beach or St Augustine. It was paneled on the inside and they would show film of Walt Disney talking about the new park and I think there was a model of the park there as well. They also sold some early WDW souveniers.

I was only 4 the first time I went there and I'm sure it closed after the park opened. We would stop every year on the way to my grandmother's in St Pete.

Does anyone else remember this place?

They had one in Ocala I think... but it closed a year or 2 ago.
 

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks! I think that's it. Dad passed away a few years ago and in cleaning out his house I found a lot of the souveners they sold...like license plates and ashtrays.
 
Florida to advertise the parks? I remember the building being somewhere outside of Orlando..perhaps closer to Daytona Beach or St Augustine. It was paneled on the inside and they would show film of Walt Disney talking about the new park and I think there was a model of the park there as well. They also sold some early WDW souveniers.

I was only 4 the first time I went there and I'm sure it closed after the park opened. We would stop every year on the way to my grandmother's in St Pete.

Does anyone else remember this place?

I think I remember stopping at that place on my first trip back in '95 and possibly in 2000. Didn't it have a big Mickey statue in front?
 

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
I think I remember stopping at that place on my first trip back in '95 and possibly in 2000. Didn't it have a big Mickey statue in front?

I don't remember.

Where is Ocala in correlation to Orlando?

Perhaps that is the one I actually saw and not the LBV one.... I remember going several times from the 60's till WDW opened, so being opened only from 70 to 71 , the LBV one probably wasn't it.

What was in the building that they were able to keep it open till recently? Probably would have made a good offsite DVC office.
 
I remember the Welcome Center vividly. I asked in Guest Relations once where that building was located and I was told it was located in the area of the Disney main office building across from Downtown Disney. I was 5 years old at the time. My dad was a commercial artist so he was very interested in Disney. He and I would go once or twice a month to visit the welcome center it was so fascinating to me and my father. I remember all you mentioned, but also the topiary's outside of the building were fascinating to me as small child. That small building holds many warm memories of me and Dad, holding hands gazing at the model, and he explaining different things to me from and artist point of view. That is the magic of Disney, dreams that become memories to hold forever.
 

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
I remember the Welcome Center vividly. I asked in Guest Relations once where that building was located and I was told it was located in the area of the Disney main office building across from Downtown Disney. I was 5 years old at the time. My dad was a commercial artist so he was very interested in Disney. He and I would go once or twice a month to visit the welcome center it was so fascinating to me and my father. I remember all you mentioned, but also the topiary's outside of the building were fascinating to me as small child. That small building holds many warm memories of me and Dad, holding hands gazing at the model, and he explaining different things to me from and artist point of view. That is the magic of Disney, dreams that become memories to hold forever.

True! That is defintely the magic of Disney.

My dad worked for a corporate sponsor and my dad was a Disney fanatic (probably because of the great dels that we used ot get through dad's company to go to WDW).

The picture of the center on LBV just showed up on the Widen Your World site (slow internet tonight...sheesh). That's the one I remember.

Perhapss I visited the Ocala one, not sure at this point.
 
Yes, I just visited the sight also, that is the building. Oh my gosh, seeing that building, brings a flood of memories. My dad was a disney fanatic also. He passed over 3 years ago. That my visits to Disney extra personal and magical. Every step I take there are wonderful, priceless memories and I can feel my dad with me. My children will have the same memories to carry with them. And for me it began not only with the mouse, but the WYW building.
 

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
Yes, I just visited the sight also, that is the building. Oh my gosh, seeing that building, brings a flood of memories. My dad was a disney fanatic also. He passed over 3 years ago. That my visits to Disney extra personal and magical. Every step I take there are wonderful, priceless memories and I can feel my dad with me. My children will have the same memories to carry with them. And for me it began not only with the mouse, but the WYW building.


It certainly did for me as well. My dad passed on Easter 2004 and I still can remember his excitement when visiting the welcome center. He even quit smoking cigars to be able to save extra money to go to WDW! ( we had a contest who could give up something the longest...he and his cigar or me and my pacifier...I was really young...lol).
 

beachclubbasics

New Member
Original Poster
I just looked upthe Ocala center on the internet..it's not the one I visited...and it is still open? (At last that's what a recent website says...).
 

Mickey&Minnie

Active Member
We visited the Ocala welcome center on our honeymoon, but as mentioned it has closed.:cry: We were devastated when we returned and the doors were locked. Here are some pics.

PICTU1A.jpg


PICTU1C.jpg
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I never saw the Ocala Welcome Center but your post made me remember the Epcot preview presentation they had on Main Street at the MK prior to Epcot's opening. I saw that when I was little. I remember how amazed I was! :lol:
 

Hoop Raeb

Formerly known as...
The one near Downtown Disney is still there. Actually the first building on the WDW site. Pretty cool to see but now is owned (or rented) by someone else. It's a sports organization office now.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
^ It couldn't have been the first building on property if it opened in 1970. However, I guess it was the first one open to the public.
 

Nansafan

Active Member
We prefer to fly from Chicago but every three or 4 years we would drive and we'd always visit the Ocala center when we drove down. It was our last rest room stop before property and we'd check out the souvenirs and pick up our free gift with the coupon in the Birnbaum book. Our last drive down was in 2002 and the gift was a Mickey Mouse key chain.
 

Zummi Gummi

Pioneering the Universe Within!
It definitely was a great way to get "psyched" up at the end of a long drive, knowing you were getting really close.

I remember it was also a way to get people to book a stay on property last minute. They had a sign up listing which resorts on property had rooms available and at what cost. They were trying to lure in the travelers who were going to just "find somewhere off property" to stay. I believe they also offered last minute room discounts as well.

I suppose its purpose became outdated when cell phones and the internet became very prevalent.
 

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