Memories of your first visit to WDW.

[JIMINYCR]

First visit was 95, and it was a 10 day trip. First trip ever was as an adult with DW & DS. We stayed at the Poly. I remember thinking I'm finally here fulfilling a dream. Blown away by everything we saw and experienced. It exceeded all my expectations and more. And I remember thinking... I'm going to do everything I can to come back. And thankfully we have had that good fortune and opportunity to do that multiple times.

 

[ExRoadie]

Summer of 1977. Mom, Dad and five kids age 7 to 20 in a Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon pulling a StarCraft pop-up trailer with no air-conditioning. 10 days at Fort Wilderness on Possum Path right against the small scale steam train tracks. Being the oldest son meant helping Dad setup the trailer and campsite with the train going by and blowing the whistle before crossing the entrance to the loop.

Only the Magic Kingdom and River Country were open. We did side-trips to the Kennedy Space Center, Busch Gardens and the Elvis Museum.

Made friends with other families that were leaving and collected their extra MK entry and ride tickets which made it so much fun and saved Dad lots of money.

My fondest memory was our second day there. We were at River Country when a bunch of girls my age (17) were behind me in line for the water slide. When I hit the water I turned around to watch them and one girl was having problems. I helped her to the shallow water. As she was thanking me I realized they were all from Sweden.

By the time River Country closed I had made five more buddies wanting to hang out with me and my new friends. Spent the next day at the MK and the day after back at River Country with the girls before they headed home.

The last night we went down to the beach and watched the Electrical Water Pageant which became a must-do on every subsequent trip staying at Fort Wilderness.

 

[jloucks]

Summer of 1981. Only had Magic Kingdom and recall wishing we could visit EPCOT Center. We could see it, but it was not open. Remember main street. Remember Haunted Mansion. Remember Crystal Palace (remembering it more like a 5 star restaurant? ..and not a meh buffet). Remember 2000 Leagues. Remember Its a Small World. Remember Sawyer Island. Remember Splash Mountain. I guess that is about it. that was a looong time ago.

On Edit: The nighttime parade! Complete with stinky exhaust smell. Didn't matter, was awesome.

 

[jloucks]

April 1981
-The drive down from Massachusetts
-Orange Juice at the Florida welcome center
-EPCOT under construction
-Staying in a rental trailer at Fort Wilderness
-River Country
-Long ride home

You beat me by 60ish days!

 

[PopPopBear]

Summer of 1977 (aged 7) with my granddaddy, his second wife (called her Nanny) and their two children. That technically makes them an aunt and uncle although they were only 6 and 3 three years older than I was. I remember we drove all night from Atlanta area and got to Orlando early in the morning. We stayed at a local Days Inn and went to the MK two days.
In addition to riding the monorail from TTC the rides/attractions I remember are:
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
TTA Wedway People Mover
Peter Pan's Flight
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Tomorrowland Speedway
Enchanted Tiki Room
Dumbo
Haunted Mansion
Hall of Presidents
I remember having lots of fun until our last night when a thunderstorm (I was deathly afraid of them then) began. It seemed as though everyone began running for the exit. Nanny grabbed my hand and we made it on to the TTC Ferry but I had lost one of my shoes during the rush. So I was wet, crying and missing a shoe. Nanny sent my aunt back to look for the missing shoe but she was unable to find it. What a sight I must have been! On top of this I had cut my foot on a piece of glass in the hotel pool. Looking back they may have regretted having me tag along on their family trip. All in all though I have nice memories of the trip. Next trip to WDW was in 1992. I wasn't afraid of thunderstorms by then.

 

[Ben_since_1971]

1972 - 5 years old.

- If you had wings
- Flight to the moon
- Small world and getting flustered when the cleopatra doll winked at me
- Country bear jamboree - talking bears were awesome
- Seeing all the wild animals on the jungle cruise
- Got to ride front of monorail
- 20,000 leagues - thought it was so awesome to be so deep under water. Then rode again in 1985 on spring break and was so disappointed when I realized we never submerged
- Favorite memory was Haunted Mansion. I only remember my father's knee. I was so scared I buried my face in his leg for the entire ride, except when he had me look at the ballroom scene. Very next scream from the ride - back to the leg. Laughed my butt off in 1985 trip ("I was scared of this??

 

[Simba’s Mom]

Fall of 1987. We ate at a QS restaurant in FW of Epcot (somewhere around what's now Starbucks), and although I like Pizza, it was the WORST Pizza. Also, there were signs around Epcot the day we were there that they were going to be filming for some circus, so FW would be closing at 3:00. However, I do remember loving the French Bakery. In MK, we rode the Railroad, and got a great view all around MK. Our DSs thought the monorail was one of their favorite rides, followed closely by Space Mountain.

 

[Robbiem]

What was your main memory (or couple) from your first visit to WDW?

Mine was back in 1989 on the hotel bus approaching EPCOT and feeling really excited as Spaceship Earth got closer. Also, I remember how everything was incredibly clean and well run compared to UK theme parks at the time.

Exactly the same as you. Summer 1989 first ever trip outside the UK. We arrived in a thunderstorm and the next day headed from our hotel on international drive to magic kingdom. Standing on the bus my dad taped my shoulder and said look over there and i got my first view of spaceship earth. My jaw literally dropped. Good times and happy memories

 

[tonymu]

Summer of 1972. Family trip driving from Houston along an unfinished I-10 in the station wagon. I was number 9 of 10 kids. It was a packed extended station wagon with sky lights. The stop at the Disney Ocala Welcome was the real start of the Disney World trip. The billboards for miles leading up to it got you excited. The topiaries out front and then all the cool displays plus the brochures to keep you occupied for the rest of the drive. Then the Florida Turnpike with it's cool service centers. They had these wax molding machines that made different toys. Watching the hot wax pour into the mold under the glass dome was awesome. We would also buy the little magazines that you used like a highlighter pen to unmask puzzles and games.
Then finally the exit off I-4 onto 192 West Irlo Bronson to get to World Drive and the entrance to Walt Disney World! The excitement building as we drove down World Drive and to the parking ticket booths. Then parking and taking the tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center to buy our ticket books as we got a glimpse of the Castle across the lagoon. Then the incredible ride on the Highway in the Sky Monorail through the Contemporary Hotel while we "Por Favor Mantengase Alejado de las Puertas". I remember the excitement standing in front of the train station and realizing that you were about to enter an incredible place. Then walking through the tunnel under the tracks and being transported to another world. Then spending the rest of the day enjoying the most incredible attractions ever imagined! The first of many Happy trips!

 

[LUVofDIS]

1994, other than just being amazed by everything Disney, I fought the idea of going, thinking it was just another amusement park, my fondest memory was being what seemed to be the only people left on Discovery Island during a thunderstorm and getting completely drenched. We had so much fun during that storm.

 

[Simba’s Mom]

My son was 7 yo back then, and his big memory isn't from any park, but from River Country and Fort Wilderness (where we stayed in what were then called the "trailer homes"). It reinforces what they say about kids-for many of them, the biggest thing they'll remember from the trip is the hotel pool!

 

[DimpledDevil18]

Summer 1987 - I was 3 almost 4 so I have snapshot like memories, but what sticks out is pretty random.

-I don't really remember my first plane ride (or the return trip) yet I do remember having an accident at the car rental place. I'd told my Mom I had to go, but she asked me try to wait since we were next on line. Then having a complete meltdown because my Mom had told me that "Mickey Mouse doesn't let boys and girls who have accidents go visit him." lol
- Staying at an off site Holiday Inn and getting to eat dinner with Holiday Hound.
-Being terrified at the end of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
- Being terrified of the witch in the Snow White ride.
- Being just a tad too small to ride Big Thunder Mountain and being sad because I wanted to ride the "runaway train."
-Eating at the castle and the butter was shaped like the 80's logo for the Disney Channel.
- Being terrified of Captain EO (lol are you seeing a theme here?)
- Figment. Literally he was all I remebered for years.
- The strollers at Sea World being decorated like different sea animals.
-Going down to the tank at Shamu Stadium to see the killer whales with my Dad. There was a good chance I was terrified.
- The jumping fountains at Epcot.

It would be another ten years until I was able to visit again. I always wish that I had been old enough to remember a bit more.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

It was the late eighties and I’ve been told I was almost 3. I remember being picked up and put up on a ledge somewhere inside the archway through Cinderella Castle for a picture.

I remember it was dark. Unsure if it was just dark inside the tunnel or actual at night.

 

[rickdrat]

Summer of 1976, I was all of 9 years old. It was the Bicentennial so there was a lot of red, white, and blue everywhere.

Some standout memories;

• Being called onstage to assist in a magic show (can't recall exactly where show was) and being repeatedly victimized by the old broken magic wand trick. I was compensated for my embarrassment with a balloon giraffe which I managed not to pop for a good 14 minutes.
• The realization that I wouldn't be riding 20,000 Leagues as I stared down into it's drained lagoon from the sky ride.
• Giving my father a headache as I managed to violently and repeatedly slam into the center rail on the Speedway.
• I just knew that some of those Presidents on stage had to be real people.
• Glimpsing what I thought was the Space Mountain cars zooming around crazy fast from the PeopleMover. Time has blurred the memory, so I can't recall exactly what I saw (not actual cars, but an effect?) Either way it was enough to give me cold feet when it was time to ride it. My brother went by himself.

I realize this reads like a bad visit, but it wasn't. This was my first ever visit to any amusement/theme park and I had a great time. These are just some of things that still stand out in my rapidly degrading memory.

 

[Omnimovin]

Since it was 1985 and my first ever park was EPCOT CENTER I would have to say all of Future World and going to Centorium and picking up a hologram necklace and desktop thing you flip over and over to watch the blue dots go down the spiral ramp, both of which I still have...

 

[Walt Disney1955]

1991 and I was turning 11 that year, so I was still 10. Just loved it. It was so different. I did stuff like Darien Lake, Canada's Wonderland and Boblo Island and such before this, but this was a whole new level. In 1991 our parents took us down and we went to Magic Kingdom, Sea World and Busch Gardens that year. While I loved them all I loved Disney the best.

I remember talking to a couple from France while waiting in line for the skyliner. They could barely speak English but I knew French very well back then and spoke with them fluidly more or less. They told me how excited they were about Disneyland opening in France the following year. They were an old couple, in their 60s at the time and more than likely have since passed on, but I remember that vividly. My parents tried talking to them in English but they just stared blankly more or less.

I remember thinking that the Hall of Presidents was real people. I thought Carousel of Progress was an animatronic because our seats were closer but I still loved that show. Loved Big Thunder Mountain too. Small World was the first ride I ever went on there. I was constantly looking for the Castle in every section of the park because I thought it was so lovely. I thought Pirates of the Caribbean was awesome as well. Was very much impressed with 20,000 leagues as well.

One of the things that kept my love of Disney going was keeping the map of MK and reading it again and again. I can see the map in my memory, each section was colored differently and it made it unique.

 

[graphite1326]

1979. Young man in my 20's. There was only MK.
- Hated 20,000 leagues under the sea. It was hot,cramped, and all you saw was some fake fish.
- rode Space Mountain twice. The second time was a walk on.
- the one and only time I rode the Tea Cups

I was there with a friend and we did almost everything and left before 5:00 PM

 

[Baldy]

Summer of 1984
I was almost 8 and my brother was 2.
- using a touchscreen at EPCOT center (I was beyond amazed)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (at one point I was worried we had gone too deep. I was convinced that squid was real). Lol
- getting Mickey balloons (with balloon ears)
- eating Cheeze Whiz sandwiches from the trunk of our rental car in the sweltering summer heat

 

[J_Carioca]

Summer of 1984
I was almost 8 and my brother was 2.
- using a touchscreen at EPCOT center (I was beyond amazed)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (at one point I was worried we had gone too deep. I was convinced that squid was real). Lol
- getting Mickey balloons (with balloon ears)
- eating Cheeze Whiz sandwiches from the trunk of our rental car in the sweltering summer heat

The balloons with the ballon ears! I know exactly what you mean! On my first trip (I was about 2, let's say 1975 or 76) apparently my grandmother bought me one and handed it to me and commanded "DON'T LET GO!", at which point I allegedly let go and burst into tears as the balloon flew up and away over Main Street.

 

[Baldy]

... commanded "DON'T LET GO!", at which point I allegedly let go and burst into tears as the balloon flew up and away over Main Street.

The exact same thing happened to my brother and he never got over it. Lol
It has taken me until this year (35 years later) to convince him to go back. His kids are 5 & 7