TalkToEthan
Well-Known Member
Let's go to Disney World in 1973
From a cultural and operational standpoint those were far better days at WDW.
Today we have significantly greater attractions and many more offerings but a horrific corporate culture.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Let's go to Disney World in 1973
- Thread starter mergatroid
- Start date
From a cultural and operational standpoint those were far better days at WDW.
Today we have significantly greater attractions and many more offerings but a horrific corporate culture.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
My dad went in 1973. So this looks about what it would have for him the first time. Yeah people were in better shape then, wow. Dressed well, obviously kids were better behaved then.
Castle Cake Apologist
Well-Known Member
One thing to point out, remember how everyone says that there were never any lightbulbs not replaced 'back in the day'? Look at the 10:50 min mark there's 7 blown and not replaced on the Emporium sign alone along with a lot missing on Main Street and this was in 1973
www.youtube.com/watch?v=15W1Q-1hnDk&list=WL&index=107
View attachment 772321
The difference of course being that back then most of those lights would have been replaced overnight or at least within a day or two, whereas now they would remain that way for months.
No it's definitely been claimed on here that "every night lights were checked and replaced". Perhaps all 7 went a moment or so before that was filmed and perhaps 10 seconds later we missed CM's replacing them and giving free merch away to anyone who witnessed it?
Seriously though, I'm not arguing that standards are as good as they were all those years ago now. Yes there's vast room for improvement in the present Disney especially with the prices so high. It's just when I noticed that it reminded me of how we so often hear on here about how small details were never missed at Disney and how perfect everything was. That clearly wasn't the case but it's one of those things that's said that it's difficult to prove and so get's trotted out every time there's chipped paintwork or a missing bulb caught now. It struck me as odd that for the first time we can see that perhaps our memory was playing tricks on us as there's clearly a lot of missing lightbulbs in a very prominent area there before our very eyes at a time we're told that stuff like that never happened?
Last edited:
S.I.R. the Robot
Active Member
- In the Parks
- No
Does this video have starbursts that are cartoon in the White of Snow ride?? (backwards talk LOL)
Incomudro
Well-Known Member
My first visit to WDW was the year it opened, and I was in third grade.
I love seeing footage like we see here.
People really WERE better back then.
They had more self respect, and respect for others.
Looking at the 70's footage, and comparing it to current footage is like watching the evolution of Fudrucker's in the movie Idiocracy.
I love seeing footage like we see here.
People really WERE better back then.
They had more self respect, and respect for others.
Looking at the 70's footage, and comparing it to current footage is like watching the evolution of Fudrucker's in the movie Idiocracy.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
They would not have come out to change a lightbulb while on stage. In the days of the short lived incandescent they would have had ladders up all over the place. They did replace them overnight, but hundreds of others went out the next day up until very recently. They might have come out to fix a defective mechanical show item, but they also closed the attraction down to do that. Many people felt that if all they had was one day to see places like MK then they preferred to see one item not working then to not see any of them at all. And that only seems logical.No it's definitely been claimed on here that "every night lights were checked and replaced". Perhaps all 7 went a moment or so before that was filmed and perhaps 10 seconds later we missed CM's replacing them and giving free merch away to anyone who witnessed it?
Seriously though, I'm not arguing that standards are as good as they were all those years ago now. Yes there's vast room for improvement in the present Disney especially with the prices so high. It's just when I noticed that it reminded me of how we so often hear on here about how small details were never missed at Disney and how perfect everything was. That clearly wasn't the case but it's one of those things that's said that it's difficult to prove and so get's trotted out every time there's chipped paintwork or a missing bulb caught now. It struck me as odd that for the first time we can see that perhaps our memory was playing tricks on us as there's clearly a lot of missing lightbulbs in a very prominent area there before our very eyes at a time we're told that stuff like that never happened?
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
Look at those burnt out lightbulbs in 1973, I thought that didn’t happen till the 2000s?One thing to point out, remember how everyone says that there were never any lightbulbs not replaced 'back in the day'? Look at the 10:50 min mark there's 7 blown and not replaced on the Emporium sign alone along with a lot missing on Main Street and this was in 1973
www.youtube.com/watch?v=15W1Q-1hnDk&list=WL&index=107
View attachment 772321
S.I.R. the Robot
Active Member
- In the Parks
- No
I bet you there was one little kid who was the predecessor of me laughing uproariously as they entered the starburst room on Snow White.
That ride is kinda like what my upcoming novel series on Pixiv is like.
That ride is kinda like what my upcoming novel series on Pixiv is like.
Well that's what some say, apparently hundreds went each night? I went in the 70's and certainly the standards appeared to be better back then. I think back then there were more cast members on maintenance to the point that almost like firemen that some staff were there just in case they were needed. I would never argue that standards are better now but I'm kind of pointing out that some of the claims taken as Gospel about things like not seeing chipped paint or burnt out light bulbs were not true and I'm just providing receipts of that.
I think back then that employees at all levels had more love for the parks than the executives do now. Back then the idea of providing customer service at a higher level than everyone else made Disney stand out above the rest. It's like they realised that people seeing that would tell others who would come which justified the extra cost as it made up for itself. Now they seem to not employ people in roles they see as expendable and short term money savings are more common meaning the service is less satisfying for the guest.
However I think that can be said on it's own without the need to rewrite history by making statements that at best are exaggerated and at worst not strictly true.
donaldtoo
Well-Known Member
Depending on when this footage was shot in ‘73, I was either 10 or 11 years old. Seems like it was yesterday…!!!
And yes, I remember flying back in the day. I never flew without wearing khaki slacks, a light blue long-sleeved dress shirt, black belt and dress shoes, and a Navy blue blazer, that I pinned my metal (not plastic) pilot wings on…!!!!!
ETA…
I remember eating a lot of Chicken a la King on those flights, and I also forgot to post about the Navy blue clip-on tie I always wore…!!!!!
Last edited:
donaldtoo
Well-Known Member
I too thought the same thing… “OK, when do we get from the parking to the Park, already…???!!!!!”
Last edited:
donaldtoo
Well-Known Member
Yea, there weren’t many people in that footage that appeared to be overweight, even older folks.
I myself am 5’-10” and weigh about 260 lbs., and even though I’m down about 25 lbs. from a few months ago, I’m still well into the obese category.
Also, except for that short scene with the two strollers, there was a noticeable lack of them, as well as wheelchairs.
Was there even such a thing as “stroller parking” back then…?!
donaldtoo
Well-Known Member
Also, I’m pretty sure bulbs didn’t last as long then as they do now.
And if you’re talking LED lighting, that stuff lasts a good long time.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
Yea, there weren’t many people in that footage that appeared to be overweight, even older folks.
I myself am 5’-10” and weigh about 260 lbs., and even though I’m down about 25 lbs. from a few months ago, I’m still well into the obese category.
Also, except for that short scene with the two strollers, there was a noticeable lack of them, as well as wheelchairs.
Was there even such a thing as “stroller parking” back then…?!
We are in the minority here but the first two times our kids went to Disney our youngest was shy of 2 years old. We had a stroller that day for her. We went the following year when she was 2 and a half years old and did NOT have a stroller for her. The result was she lasted the 12 hours we were there and we carried her out after the fireworks were done and onto the ferry. That's it. She was fine. She walked, was rarely carried, and had a blast. No stroller needed. When a kid is that young and their legs are burning then you can carry them for a few minutes. No big deal. So I am a lot more 1973 than I am 2024 when it comes to the strollers. Your kid should not need it if they are three or older. Maybe even less. This is what people used to do.
Even more reason to make the statement about "Never seeing light bulbs out" even more laughable. We've literally gone from saying it never used to happen to now making excuses for the very thing 'that never happened'
donaldtoo
Well-Known Member
Even more reason to make the statement about "Never seeing light bulbs out" even more laughable. We've literally gone from saying it never used to happen to now making excuses for the very thing 'that never happened'
Yea, I’m not one of those people. I didn’t make it to WDW ‘til ‘88, so maybe lightbulbs were at least a little more reliable by then…?!
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I first went there in 1983 and to be honest I never even noticed if there were strollers or not, so I'd have to guess that there weren't many. They had lights out, they had chipped paint and they had animatronics that weren't working. I spent about three days in MK alone and what I do remember is anything I saw broken one day was fixed by the next or the attraction was shut down. Over the many consecutive years I went to WDW I never really saw any decline until all the extra "clean up staff" was reduced because they stopped open smoking in the parks, except for designated areas. Then it took a little longer for trash pickup to get coverage of the whole park.Yea, there weren’t many people in that footage that appeared to be overweight, even older folks.
I myself am 5’-10” and weigh about 260 lbs., and even though I’m down about 25 lbs. from a few months ago, I’m still well into the obese category.
Also, except for that short scene with the two strollers, there was a noticeable lack of them, as well as wheelchairs.
Was there even such a thing as “stroller parking” back then…?!
What I did notice was that most of the "guests" had a little more class. Oh, they did have the normal number of people bent on cutting lines, but other than that there were very few offensive things that happened. People were generally less entitled and therefore it was much easier to be surrounded by crowds of people. No cursing was heard (the F bomb was never uttered unless it was under the breath).
Those early years were a time when handicapped remained hidden for the most part so the wheelchairs were few and far between. I, personally, escorted many physically and mentally challenged, and I can tell you it was a lot of work. When I was with someone in the wheelchair we were usually directed to the exit of an attraction which allowed more time for transfer from chair to the omni-movers. In one attraction, if memory serves me right, I think it was World of Motion they had a few ride vehicles with chair parking places so they could roll the chair onto the ride where the wheels of the wheelchair would drop into slots on the floor so the chair couldn't move and the ride never stopped. But, for most of the first two decades society was more inclined to figure that it was not possible for a handicapped person to enjoy a place like WDW so they never attempted to take someone there that needed that type of assistance.
Over the years the people that went there seemed to be more and more entitled, had no respect for themselves or especially the people around them. So the loud cursing became more prevalent and the general lack of decorum started to increase amongst the "guests" to the point of myself feeling uncomfortable with that stuff happening around children and the elderly. Back then I wasn't part of the children or elderly dynamic like I am now.
I guess my point is that people tend, especially those the went at a very young age, to not have noticed in detail what the reality of the parks were. They, as it should be, were overwhelmed with the sounds and sights of a place like none of them had ever seen and it was so much bigger than life for them. They didn't see any flaws because they were occupied by the bright lights, colors and the magic that only their young brains could generate. So now as adults we are more inclined to be negative and notice negative things. Some of us could see it and understand that anything built by man has flaws and they cannot magically be fixed. It takes time and effort to correct the flaws but we don't have the patience to wait for the repair nor to simply look at it as a very little thing in the overall scheme of life. In other words expectations based on reality and also a real understanding of the magic is from within us and is only helped along by creative people setting us up to feel the magic. They did that for me for 4 decades and in many ways have improved on that situation with advanced technology, but at the same time put policies in that diminished that feeling and made it seem more like a very expensive job than an imaginary adventure.
Yes, I'm an old man now at 55Yea, I’m not one of those people. I didn’t make it to WDW ‘til ‘88, so maybe lightbulbs were at least a little more reliable by then…?!