Hey old timers! Tell us your early WDW memories.

75disney

75disney

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
You very well might have seen Snow White there. In the early years MCO was very much into the Disney Theme. It is one of the things that I remember as my first impression of the Airport. I was 38 years old and thought that the Airport must have been owned by Disney. Everywhere you looked there was something Disney on display. I never saw any characters, but, that doesn't mean that it was done at some point.
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One year, maybe for the 10th or 15th Anniversary, Disney did have characters at the airport. Chip and Dale greeted us as we stepped into the terminal on our arrival. There was also a big birthday cake statue at the airport too. My mom (nickname Captain Kodak) took a ton of pictures.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
danyoung56 said:
Reservations were made on the day of. And there was a cool setup in Epcot, where you stood in front of a screen and a camera and made your reservation by talking to a person with a screen and a camera. Early video conferencing - very cool!
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Yes, I remember that too. Wasn't that in the area behind SSE? Seem like I remember making a reservation for China for two hours after we made the reservations. I did that once in DHS as well for Sci. Fi.
 
R

Rumrunner

Well-Known Member
First went in 1976 with my wife and 7 year old. The fireworks show and the patriotic music were awe inspiring. Never forget it. Also the park was open until 1 or 2 in the morning.
Still have some of the tickets-A,B,C,D, E rides etc. Disney even offered to reimburse me for the tickets I had left. I declined-will just keep them for the memories.
There was only the MK as far as I remember.
 
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RavenEd

New Member
We went in the summer of 72 - I was 7. Spent 2 days in MK, as you needed that long to see it all because of the crowds and (obviously) that's with many things that weren't there then. I remember Main Street being much more active with the trolleys, and entertainers on the street, and the swan boats around the castle at the end. Hard to remember too much about that trip, MK wise anyway, since there's been so many more and they blend together but definitely the A-E tickets, and ticket and skyway booths. I still can tell you where the one was in Fantasyland, don't recall where the one on the other end was in Tomorrowland but did take it. Think I closed my eyes through my first Mansion trip and now it's my #1 must do - multiple times. We also went to Cypress Gardens and Busch Gardens when the latter wasn't much more than actual gardens and birds.
I do remember in our third trip in '79, taking the monorail over to what would be Epcot and there was a large platform where you could view the construction and a model under glass of what was to come.
 
networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Wow this brought back some memories..

There use to be a plethora of water shows on the Seven Seas Lagoon as they were in competition with Cypress Gardens and it was much less utilized than today so the pitiful struggles of people trying to navigate their Bob A Rounds in a light breeze didnt cause any obstructions.

My grandparents took my brother and I to dinner and a show at the Top of the World lounge and I still cant get the ghastly memory of the pastel polyester clad performers dancing wile singing an insipid version of the Carpenters "Top of the World", but it got better because we got to see Phyllis Diller live ! That was really something being raised in South in the 60's and 70's ... it was still a backwater.


Now the Kaui Pono Polynesian Review in its early year was a real treat... but none of the vegetation had grown in yet so it was a stark trip down a concrete sidewalk where your adult party members got complementary Blue Hawaiians served out of a punch bowl on a folding table swarmed with bees. But the show was much better.. more in line with what you find at the Polynesian Cultural center in Oahu, HI these days.
 
75disney

75disney

Well-Known Member
Disney4family said:
We did too! We also went to Weeki Wachee to see the mermaids.
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We went those places too! At Cypress Gardens, my sister and I would fight over who got to be the Cypress Queen. The girls in those antebellum gowns were gorgeous. I also loved the water ski shows; I would love if I could take my kids to see something like that today.
Does anyone else remember Circus World? Or the Stars Hall of Fame wax museum?
 
Coaster Lover

Coaster Lover

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
None are THAT old, but memorable none the less...

The first would have been when I was about 6-ish years old (1989-1991 time frame). I wasn't the greatest of swimmers and we had gone to River Country. Most of the day I had been playing in the kids area, but at one point the family decided to wade out into the main section which was essentially just a lake so the further you walked out, the deeper the water got. I was behind my parents trying to keep up and they must not have realized how deep it was because at one point, they turned around and saw me essentially on my tiptoes with just my nose and mouth sticking above the water... ahh fun times!

I believe the second happened on the same trip. We had just spent a bunch of time on Discovery Island and were on the boat back to the shore. It wasn't raining when we boarded the boat, but no more than 60 seconds after we left the dock the sky opened up into a pretty nasty thunder storm. Rain was pouring in everywhere and the boat was rocking, but everyone just seemed to be laughing and having a good time (probably because the skipper kept things pretty comical). The rain stopped (or at least slowed) by the time we had reached the opposite dock and most of us were pretty wet from the rain, but everyone got off the boat laughing and smiling... fun times!

BONUS: When I was 2-ish (1986/1987), we were apparently (I was too young to remember, so I only know from the stories of my parents) enjoying the character breakfast on the Empress Lilly. I was seated in a high chair with wheels on it and apparently Goofy pushed me around the dining room at break-neck (well, maybe not that fast) speeds!
 
D

Driver

Well-Known Member
My first visit to WDW was in the mid 80's I was not able to go as a child my parents could not afford to bring the family. So I had to wait till I could pay for my trip. I fell in love with the parks! So much so, that I looked into employment sadly it wasn't in the cards my career was in the northeast. I have retired early and am presently a cast member now ! My fondest memories are the great anticipation of each trip. And exploring the new parks and changes to the existing thru the years. I count myself blessed that I can now go there 24/7 on a whim. Living the dream!!
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
This isn't my memory, but my parents. They camped when Disney first opened. I don't know what campground it was. They came home in awe of WDW, which was only the MK back then. They said there were only 3 rides, HM, SM, and ?. I'm sure COP was there and the Wedway People Mover! They loved all the performers in the park, the ambience, everything about it, even with only a few rides open.
They instilled the love of Disney in us with their magical experiences while at Disney that first year.
We got busy with family and work, and life, and only got to go to WDW for our first trip in l985 with our own kids. Now we have made numerous trips with our kids/ grandkids, family, and now by ourselves as 2 seniors. We do yearly trips by ourselves now and still find the magic and awe of WDW. Thanks to my parents for opening up that world to us:)
 
Buffalo Tom

Buffalo Tom

New Member
The first trip I remember, was in 1978 at 5 years old. I fondly remember the tickets for the rides and the family fights about which rides we were going to use the tickets on. It was so clean back then, like ridiculously clean. The ride in from the TTC on the monorail was one of my favorite things especially seeing all the bushes trimmed into characters along the way. The penny arcade on Main Street, 20,000 Leagues, getting whiplash on the Tea Cups, remembering when every ride did not empty into a gift shop......ah, the memories.

Driving into Disney all I can remember is all the orange groves that were there at that time and then all of a sudden you were in the parking lot. The amount of development is just crazy that has taken place.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
RavenEd said:
We also went to Cypress Gardens and Busch Gardens when the latter wasn't much more than actual gardens and birds.
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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.
Disney4family said:
We did too! We also went to Weeki Wachee to see the mermaids.
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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.
 
Big Hair

Big Hair

Well-Known Member
My Dad and Uncle took both families down in identical RV's to Fort Wilderness Campground in the late 70's early 80's. I was in my teens and remember such a good time. One highlight was one day in MK a large shadow blocked the sun, odd because it was a cloudless day, in March I think, looking up it was a 747 with the space shuttle on its back. It seemed so close that you could almost see the pilots through the window. It was awesome, a very moving experience even for a teenager.
 
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rich-ger

New Member
My family went in 74. My dad let us kids rent the mini boats and stayed out for most of day. Also one of my favorite things was the arcade on main (it is now a store) where they had a thing you put a nickel in and grabbed 2 brass handles and held on while it gave you a shock that got stronger and stronger the longer you held on.
 

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