The title says it all....my love for Walt Disney World began with my very first visit a mere 9 months after the Magic Kingdom opened its gates. My grandparents had recently moved to Florida and we made the long drive from New England to spend a week with them. During that week we would get to spend one glorious day at the Most Magical Place On Earth.
I can still remember my excitement and anticipation. Naturally I wanted to see my grandparents, but this Disney World had captured my thoughts. What would it be like? The only castle I had ever seen was one made of sand. How beautiful a real castle must be! I counted the hours until our pre-dawn departure (it was a couple hours drive.) Once on the road I kept my eyes peeled for THE sign: Disney World, Next Exit.
One sign, one exit. No grand archway like there is now. No purple directional signs. No mouse ears. Nothing but a two lane road. A very long, straight and boring road! (Try to visualize World Drive with nothing to look at!) Where was this Magic Kingdom? Why is it taking so long to get there?
Finally....the Toll Plaza. But as you all know, you can't see the Magic Kingdom from the Toll Plaza!
Just a few minutes longer and we parked the car. Then we got to ride the coolest form of transportation ever.....the monorail!! Which deposited us here:
Okay, I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me explain the pictures. My dad had a 35mm camera from which he developed slides. Which, 35 years later, we scanned into his computer. So the quality of the photos is marginal at best. And film was expensive in 1972, so he didn't take many pictures (which we all regret now!)
Today I was at my parents' house to discuss their upcoming Disney vacation with my youngest brother's family. I decided to tag along when I saw the ridiculously low Southwest fares (SW got me too, @Doc Disney!) Mom was able to add me to their dining reservations and I was able to snag similar fastpass times (even for Frozen Ever After!
) We ran across these old pictures that I thought would be fun to share with my WDWMagic friends.
So if you wouldn't mind being a little more patient for my July 2016 trip report (I'm looking at you, @TrolleyFollower91
) I now give you this:
Main Street, July 1972
I can still remember my excitement and anticipation. Naturally I wanted to see my grandparents, but this Disney World had captured my thoughts. What would it be like? The only castle I had ever seen was one made of sand. How beautiful a real castle must be! I counted the hours until our pre-dawn departure (it was a couple hours drive.) Once on the road I kept my eyes peeled for THE sign: Disney World, Next Exit.
One sign, one exit. No grand archway like there is now. No purple directional signs. No mouse ears. Nothing but a two lane road. A very long, straight and boring road! (Try to visualize World Drive with nothing to look at!) Where was this Magic Kingdom? Why is it taking so long to get there?
Finally....the Toll Plaza. But as you all know, you can't see the Magic Kingdom from the Toll Plaza!
Just a few minutes longer and we parked the car. Then we got to ride the coolest form of transportation ever.....the monorail!! Which deposited us here:
Okay, I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me explain the pictures. My dad had a 35mm camera from which he developed slides. Which, 35 years later, we scanned into his computer. So the quality of the photos is marginal at best. And film was expensive in 1972, so he didn't take many pictures (which we all regret now!)
Today I was at my parents' house to discuss their upcoming Disney vacation with my youngest brother's family. I decided to tag along when I saw the ridiculously low Southwest fares (SW got me too, @Doc Disney!) Mom was able to add me to their dining reservations and I was able to snag similar fastpass times (even for Frozen Ever After!
) We ran across these old pictures that I thought would be fun to share with my WDWMagic friends.So if you wouldn't mind being a little more patient for my July 2016 trip report (I'm looking at you, @TrolleyFollower91
) I now give you this:Main Street, July 1972
.
