Please excuse my tardiness for this TR but I don’t believe there was any World Wide Web in 1971. Tales such as this were circulated verbally from generation to generation or represented by petroglyphs etched on cave walls.
The adventure began in Ohio on a rainy Saturday late in September, 1971. Wedding vows were spoken. I cried. Cake was cut. Punch was served. Bouquet and garter were hurled. Wedding garments were replaced with travel attire. The tux was given to the best man to return to the rental store and the bridal gown was given to the mother of the bride for special handeling. The bride and groom (ME) mounted their trusty steed, Chevrolet, and proceeded south for their honeymoon in the sunshine state.
I was four years senior to my young bride and was eager to expose her to the wonders of our great country. She had never been south of the Ohio River. I considered myself a well-traveled man of the world. As a youth my father was national president of a fraternal organization and I got to travel all throughout the country. I had been through most of the western USA and was most thrilled about my trip to Disneyland in the late 1950’s. The year before our marriage I had trekked to Hawaii for two weeks as a musician. With credentials such as these my new bride certainly had to be awestricken. (Author’s note: Awe does not last as long as it used to.)
We arrived at our destination in Daytona Beach and checked in at the Hawaiian Inn. Our first activity was a swim in the Atlantic. My new bride had never seen the ocean and had some trepidation about stepping out into the surf. I assured her with utmost confidence that Daytona Beach had gentile waves. Regrettably, hurricane Ginger was several hundred miles off the Florida coast. There was no imminent danger of landfall but she was kicking up some bodacious waves.
My inexperienced bride entered the ocean just as huge breaker was coming in. She was knocked from her feet and her bikini top was snatched from her chest and washed down the beach in the surge. This was a wee bit more exposure than I had anticipated for her to experience. Fortunately it was late September and the beach was mostly deserted. I managed to retrieve her top and only a little embarrassment was shared by both of us.
The rest of the week we did touristy things like the Space Center, Silver Springs and seeking out a roadside stand selling oranges. It was off season for the citrus but we found a place that had some of the ugliest spheres of fruit I had ever seen. The lady at the fruit stand assured us the fruit was orange inside and let us sample some. It was actually sweet and juicy so we bought a bag. There was no way we could return to Ohio from Florida without some oranges.
Prior to our departure from Ohio there was very little mention of the new Disney attraction in Florida on the television news. While at Daytona Beach the Orlando television was a different story. There was non-stop coverage of WDW and the possible impending disaster that was expected to the highway transportation system. The highways were expected to be jammed into parking lot status as far north as Georgia. The Governor of Florida had called out the National Guard.
We made a critical decision. There was nothing going to dissuade two brave Buckeyes from missing something as big as opening day at Walt Disney World. We have been in Cincinnati during baseball season. “It don’t get no worse than that on the roadways”. We also were able to contend with Michigan drivers. They only needed to exhale on a mirror and fog it up to pass a driving license exam. WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!
Early on Friday morning, October 1, 1971, we had some toast and orange juice, filled the Chevy’s gas tank and headed west to Orlando. We encountered very little traffic and it was smooth sailing all the way to Orlando. There were National Guard troops stationed near almost every overpass. They had walkie talkies and other communication gear recognizable by the large antennae. It looked as if the troops had been there all night. There were single engine aircraft and helicopters in the median of the highway and signs along the roadside with hundreds of shiny silver discs displaying instructions to flash your vehicle headlights if you needed assistance. Due to the lack of the expected traffic we considered that the opening may have been canceled.
We came to a road sign that indicated WDW was the next exit. We took that exit and traveled for quite a while with no trace of any further directional signs. We passed a building and since I am not a typical male as is usually presented on TV sitcoms, I stopped and asked for directions. The building was a Disney property because the occupants all had Disney name badges. They apologized for the lack of road signs and gave me great instructions to get to the Magic Kingdom. They also verified that the park was going to open.
We got to the main parking lot with no further problems. We followed the directions of the guys in the parking area and pulled into a space as instructed. There was a tram waiting to take us to the main entrance. I had been on a tram before but the ones at the Ohio State fair are much different. They are a tractor pulling an old wooden hay wagon fitted with rickety seats. The drivers were usually some guy who looked as if he just came from Green Acres. The tractors all traveled at a slow plowing speed because those people walking to the entrance passed us on the way. The Disney tram was way cool. It was shiny brand new with multiple cars and it had a PA system.
Once we were seated on the tram the driver announced that we should remember the dwarf character assigned to our parking area so we could find our vehicle later. The tram took off for the main entrance which I think would now be the ticket transportation center. Wow, we weren’t even in the park yet and we already had a Disney ride.
There were fewer passengers departing the tram than the amount of ticket windows available so there was no wait. The cast members in the ticket booths were actually waving their arms in the air to summon customers. We purchased our ticket books and received a brief explanation on the use of the tickets from our cast member sales agent. The booklets contained detachable tickets that were to be presented at each attraction. The first ticket was our park admission the rest were printed with letters ranging from “A” thru “E”. Each attraction in the park had a prominently displayed sign indicating which ticket should be used. The “E” tickets were the most valuable and were used for the “Best” attractions. We were told that they had a monetary value of about $.90 equivalency. This ticket format was the same as Disneyland. The surfer/beach culture had adapted the phrase “E-Ticket” to insinuate anything really awesome especially an extremely attractive young lady.
We were directed toward the monorail platform for transportation to the Magic Kingdom. At Disneyland the monorail was an attraction but at WDW it was a passenger conveyance to the Happiest Place on Earth. We are not even in the park yet and we are on another Disney ride. How cool was that?
The monorail was so shiny and new. Stepping inside and sitting on the new seats felt as if you were entering a new dimension in time. The Disney philosophy of assaulting all of an individual’s sensual perceptions was in full operational mode. We were tingling with excitement as the monorail silently slid out of the platform. The monorail was unable to make the full loop due the continuing construction at the Contemporary Resort. It was really something to watch huge construction cranes as the modular rooms were placed into assigned slots in the massive A-frame structure. The monorail would travel to the Magic Kingdom entrance; deposit passengers then reverse direction back to the T&T platform.
We held hands as we exited the monorail and walked down the ramp toward the main park entrance. It was all we could do to avoid running down the ramp screaming like precocious adolescents so we squeezed each other’s hand tighter to help summon some grownup discretion.
We passed through the main gate and stopped to take a picture of the Mickey Mouse depicted in planted flowers. A lovely young cast member asked if she could take our picture posed in front of the Mickey flower display. That is an iconic portraiture if there ever was one.
We entered the portal and stood on Main Street gazing at the castle. I’m sure our mouths were gaping no matter how hard we attempted not to show how overwhelmed we actually were. We were two people in love standing at the entrance to a storybook land of enchantment.
A cast member dressed in a plaid skirt and a blue hat suggested that we take the train ride around the park to be able to take in all the sights to help decide what attractions we would like to add to our plans for the day. We boarded the train at the Main Street station and anticipated our trip around the Magic Kingdom. This is something that has become somewhat a tradition every successive visit to the Magic Kingdom since then.
The first unique feature we noticed along the ride was the Native American village. There were audio recordings of drums and chanting but no characters visible. There were however, the electrical connection boxes where the characters were going to be installed. This is an indication of just how new the park really was. I found it kind of neat for some reason.
Once we departed the train we began our journey down Main Street. The sights, sounds and aromas were assaulting our senses from every direction. There was too much to take in all at once. It is impossible to describe how overwhelmed we both were.
When we got to the hub it was very noticeable that Tomorrow Land was not open. The entrances were boarded up and cast members were near the bridge advising visitors about the delay on the construction of the future. There were majestic white swan boats that were not operational just off the perimeter of the hub in the direction towards Tomorrow Land. The water was so clear that the tracks the swan boats were to travel along was very visible. I don’t think the swans ever did operate because we never saw them again on subsequent visits.
After enjoying many of the attractions at the rear area of the castle we got a Cinderella punch and sat to relax for a while. The punch was a mix of lemonade and grape juice. It was cold and quite refreshing. The only place we ever found the punch on later visits to the Magic Kingdom was in King Stephan’s Banquet Hall in the castle. That place now has a new designation of course. As we were finishing our punch music began and a stage came up from beneath the park with Mickey Mouse and friends. The thing I found very unique about this was that some foreign children standing near us repeatedly shouted “Michael Rodent”. I would have thought that “Mickey Mouse” should be the universal translation for the character that began all of this.
We wandered on toward the Frontier Town area and noticed the Mark Twain riverboat. It was a beautiful sight docked on the waterway. It was all gleaming and white but not accessible because the paint was still wet.
We entered every available attraction with no wait all day long. Many attractions we did at least twice. One of our favorites was the Haunted Mansion. It was October but the Florida sun was hot and the Haunted Mansion had the coolest temperature of any attraction in the park. It was a relaxing respite from the sun since many of the trees in the park were young and had not yet reached full shade potential.
We had lunch at the Hospitality House operated by Hormel. This is where Tony’s is now. Our lunch there was excellent and the décor was remarkable. We also had a hot dog and a Coke at the joint located at the castle end of Main Street and enjoyed the piano player on the wheeled piano as he played Ragtime style tunes.
As evening approached an announcement was made that the park would soon be closing for the day. The Emporium would remain open a little while longer so last minute purchases could be made. We were surprised by the closing announcement but we were also getting a little tired and almost out of “E” tickets. We made our way to the Emporium and purchased some post cards and a square glass plate with the castle embossed on it. I believe the glass plate was possibly an ashtray so we never displayed it because we did not want anyone extinguishing their butts in our keepsake. We still have the postcards in the little bag from the Emporium along with the sales receipt dated October 1, 1971.
The rumor was that the park was closing early due to poor attendance. It was speculated that only about ten thousand guests were there that day. Some thought media anticipation of major traffic jams frightened people enough to stay away or that since it was Friday that those with children in school were waiting until the weekend. All I know is that we were there and even though it was not a complete park that was open it was an experience we will never forget. WDW was part of the beginning of our new life together and will always be a special place.
Additional Note: I do have 35mm slide pictures from that day but in our early married life we lived in an old house. The basement was damp and musty. It was not a good place to store our pictures. I talked to a guy at a photo store about cleaning the slides and he suggested a film cleaner. Unfortunately it is only available to professionals. If anyone has any method to clean old 35mm slides please pass along. I do hope to post some photos at some time in the future once I clean them up and transfer to digital format.
Thanks to anyone to reads our memories and excuse the excessive length but it was a long time ago and old tales are usually profuse.
George & Becky
The adventure began in Ohio on a rainy Saturday late in September, 1971. Wedding vows were spoken. I cried. Cake was cut. Punch was served. Bouquet and garter were hurled. Wedding garments were replaced with travel attire. The tux was given to the best man to return to the rental store and the bridal gown was given to the mother of the bride for special handeling. The bride and groom (ME) mounted their trusty steed, Chevrolet, and proceeded south for their honeymoon in the sunshine state.
I was four years senior to my young bride and was eager to expose her to the wonders of our great country. She had never been south of the Ohio River. I considered myself a well-traveled man of the world. As a youth my father was national president of a fraternal organization and I got to travel all throughout the country. I had been through most of the western USA and was most thrilled about my trip to Disneyland in the late 1950’s. The year before our marriage I had trekked to Hawaii for two weeks as a musician. With credentials such as these my new bride certainly had to be awestricken. (Author’s note: Awe does not last as long as it used to.)
We arrived at our destination in Daytona Beach and checked in at the Hawaiian Inn. Our first activity was a swim in the Atlantic. My new bride had never seen the ocean and had some trepidation about stepping out into the surf. I assured her with utmost confidence that Daytona Beach had gentile waves. Regrettably, hurricane Ginger was several hundred miles off the Florida coast. There was no imminent danger of landfall but she was kicking up some bodacious waves.
My inexperienced bride entered the ocean just as huge breaker was coming in. She was knocked from her feet and her bikini top was snatched from her chest and washed down the beach in the surge. This was a wee bit more exposure than I had anticipated for her to experience. Fortunately it was late September and the beach was mostly deserted. I managed to retrieve her top and only a little embarrassment was shared by both of us.
The rest of the week we did touristy things like the Space Center, Silver Springs and seeking out a roadside stand selling oranges. It was off season for the citrus but we found a place that had some of the ugliest spheres of fruit I had ever seen. The lady at the fruit stand assured us the fruit was orange inside and let us sample some. It was actually sweet and juicy so we bought a bag. There was no way we could return to Ohio from Florida without some oranges.
Prior to our departure from Ohio there was very little mention of the new Disney attraction in Florida on the television news. While at Daytona Beach the Orlando television was a different story. There was non-stop coverage of WDW and the possible impending disaster that was expected to the highway transportation system. The highways were expected to be jammed into parking lot status as far north as Georgia. The Governor of Florida had called out the National Guard.
We made a critical decision. There was nothing going to dissuade two brave Buckeyes from missing something as big as opening day at Walt Disney World. We have been in Cincinnati during baseball season. “It don’t get no worse than that on the roadways”. We also were able to contend with Michigan drivers. They only needed to exhale on a mirror and fog it up to pass a driving license exam. WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!
Early on Friday morning, October 1, 1971, we had some toast and orange juice, filled the Chevy’s gas tank and headed west to Orlando. We encountered very little traffic and it was smooth sailing all the way to Orlando. There were National Guard troops stationed near almost every overpass. They had walkie talkies and other communication gear recognizable by the large antennae. It looked as if the troops had been there all night. There were single engine aircraft and helicopters in the median of the highway and signs along the roadside with hundreds of shiny silver discs displaying instructions to flash your vehicle headlights if you needed assistance. Due to the lack of the expected traffic we considered that the opening may have been canceled.
We came to a road sign that indicated WDW was the next exit. We took that exit and traveled for quite a while with no trace of any further directional signs. We passed a building and since I am not a typical male as is usually presented on TV sitcoms, I stopped and asked for directions. The building was a Disney property because the occupants all had Disney name badges. They apologized for the lack of road signs and gave me great instructions to get to the Magic Kingdom. They also verified that the park was going to open.
We got to the main parking lot with no further problems. We followed the directions of the guys in the parking area and pulled into a space as instructed. There was a tram waiting to take us to the main entrance. I had been on a tram before but the ones at the Ohio State fair are much different. They are a tractor pulling an old wooden hay wagon fitted with rickety seats. The drivers were usually some guy who looked as if he just came from Green Acres. The tractors all traveled at a slow plowing speed because those people walking to the entrance passed us on the way. The Disney tram was way cool. It was shiny brand new with multiple cars and it had a PA system.
Once we were seated on the tram the driver announced that we should remember the dwarf character assigned to our parking area so we could find our vehicle later. The tram took off for the main entrance which I think would now be the ticket transportation center. Wow, we weren’t even in the park yet and we already had a Disney ride.
There were fewer passengers departing the tram than the amount of ticket windows available so there was no wait. The cast members in the ticket booths were actually waving their arms in the air to summon customers. We purchased our ticket books and received a brief explanation on the use of the tickets from our cast member sales agent. The booklets contained detachable tickets that were to be presented at each attraction. The first ticket was our park admission the rest were printed with letters ranging from “A” thru “E”. Each attraction in the park had a prominently displayed sign indicating which ticket should be used. The “E” tickets were the most valuable and were used for the “Best” attractions. We were told that they had a monetary value of about $.90 equivalency. This ticket format was the same as Disneyland. The surfer/beach culture had adapted the phrase “E-Ticket” to insinuate anything really awesome especially an extremely attractive young lady.
We were directed toward the monorail platform for transportation to the Magic Kingdom. At Disneyland the monorail was an attraction but at WDW it was a passenger conveyance to the Happiest Place on Earth. We are not even in the park yet and we are on another Disney ride. How cool was that?
The monorail was so shiny and new. Stepping inside and sitting on the new seats felt as if you were entering a new dimension in time. The Disney philosophy of assaulting all of an individual’s sensual perceptions was in full operational mode. We were tingling with excitement as the monorail silently slid out of the platform. The monorail was unable to make the full loop due the continuing construction at the Contemporary Resort. It was really something to watch huge construction cranes as the modular rooms were placed into assigned slots in the massive A-frame structure. The monorail would travel to the Magic Kingdom entrance; deposit passengers then reverse direction back to the T&T platform.
We held hands as we exited the monorail and walked down the ramp toward the main park entrance. It was all we could do to avoid running down the ramp screaming like precocious adolescents so we squeezed each other’s hand tighter to help summon some grownup discretion.
We passed through the main gate and stopped to take a picture of the Mickey Mouse depicted in planted flowers. A lovely young cast member asked if she could take our picture posed in front of the Mickey flower display. That is an iconic portraiture if there ever was one.
We entered the portal and stood on Main Street gazing at the castle. I’m sure our mouths were gaping no matter how hard we attempted not to show how overwhelmed we actually were. We were two people in love standing at the entrance to a storybook land of enchantment.
A cast member dressed in a plaid skirt and a blue hat suggested that we take the train ride around the park to be able to take in all the sights to help decide what attractions we would like to add to our plans for the day. We boarded the train at the Main Street station and anticipated our trip around the Magic Kingdom. This is something that has become somewhat a tradition every successive visit to the Magic Kingdom since then.
The first unique feature we noticed along the ride was the Native American village. There were audio recordings of drums and chanting but no characters visible. There were however, the electrical connection boxes where the characters were going to be installed. This is an indication of just how new the park really was. I found it kind of neat for some reason.
Once we departed the train we began our journey down Main Street. The sights, sounds and aromas were assaulting our senses from every direction. There was too much to take in all at once. It is impossible to describe how overwhelmed we both were.
When we got to the hub it was very noticeable that Tomorrow Land was not open. The entrances were boarded up and cast members were near the bridge advising visitors about the delay on the construction of the future. There were majestic white swan boats that were not operational just off the perimeter of the hub in the direction towards Tomorrow Land. The water was so clear that the tracks the swan boats were to travel along was very visible. I don’t think the swans ever did operate because we never saw them again on subsequent visits.
After enjoying many of the attractions at the rear area of the castle we got a Cinderella punch and sat to relax for a while. The punch was a mix of lemonade and grape juice. It was cold and quite refreshing. The only place we ever found the punch on later visits to the Magic Kingdom was in King Stephan’s Banquet Hall in the castle. That place now has a new designation of course. As we were finishing our punch music began and a stage came up from beneath the park with Mickey Mouse and friends. The thing I found very unique about this was that some foreign children standing near us repeatedly shouted “Michael Rodent”. I would have thought that “Mickey Mouse” should be the universal translation for the character that began all of this.
We wandered on toward the Frontier Town area and noticed the Mark Twain riverboat. It was a beautiful sight docked on the waterway. It was all gleaming and white but not accessible because the paint was still wet.
We entered every available attraction with no wait all day long. Many attractions we did at least twice. One of our favorites was the Haunted Mansion. It was October but the Florida sun was hot and the Haunted Mansion had the coolest temperature of any attraction in the park. It was a relaxing respite from the sun since many of the trees in the park were young and had not yet reached full shade potential.
We had lunch at the Hospitality House operated by Hormel. This is where Tony’s is now. Our lunch there was excellent and the décor was remarkable. We also had a hot dog and a Coke at the joint located at the castle end of Main Street and enjoyed the piano player on the wheeled piano as he played Ragtime style tunes.
As evening approached an announcement was made that the park would soon be closing for the day. The Emporium would remain open a little while longer so last minute purchases could be made. We were surprised by the closing announcement but we were also getting a little tired and almost out of “E” tickets. We made our way to the Emporium and purchased some post cards and a square glass plate with the castle embossed on it. I believe the glass plate was possibly an ashtray so we never displayed it because we did not want anyone extinguishing their butts in our keepsake. We still have the postcards in the little bag from the Emporium along with the sales receipt dated October 1, 1971.
The rumor was that the park was closing early due to poor attendance. It was speculated that only about ten thousand guests were there that day. Some thought media anticipation of major traffic jams frightened people enough to stay away or that since it was Friday that those with children in school were waiting until the weekend. All I know is that we were there and even though it was not a complete park that was open it was an experience we will never forget. WDW was part of the beginning of our new life together and will always be a special place.
Additional Note: I do have 35mm slide pictures from that day but in our early married life we lived in an old house. The basement was damp and musty. It was not a good place to store our pictures. I talked to a guy at a photo store about cleaning the slides and he suggested a film cleaner. Unfortunately it is only available to professionals. If anyone has any method to clean old 35mm slides please pass along. I do hope to post some photos at some time in the future once I clean them up and transfer to digital format.
Thanks to anyone to reads our memories and excuse the excessive length but it was a long time ago and old tales are usually profuse.
George & Becky
Last edited:
.
