Trip Report Photos From Opening Day: Good News & Not So Good News

The good news is that my son and DIL have been cleaning up some of the eons of clutter that have amassed in our household. This was their Christmas present to us. It has been a wonderful gift. Our son brought box loads of photos up from our basement and spread them about the living room. He told me without hurting my knees I could sit and sort photos into different categories and place in appropriately marked containers. He got involved in the sorting process tonight and unearthed a pack of photos from WDW opening day. In my TR I was complemented on my good memory for details almost 44 years old. I had totally forgotten about these photos so I guess I had a major senior moment brain cramp.

The not so good news is that my son’s older laptop went “bluescreen” when he attempted to go WIFI. There is a chance I can download the necessary drive files for old scanner on a flash drive and load on his laptop. Then we will be able to “hopefully” scan the majority of our photos that were taken on 35mm.

If I can do this correctly here are some pics of 10/01/1971 @ WDW.

View attachment 104962

 

[pajammies]

Oh I love the little mice from Cinderella! I wish you could still meet them, or maybe you can I just haven't seen them?
I thought it was odd that Tiger still looks very much like he did on opening day. I'm guessing a good eye will spot differences but he looks (mostly) the same to me. Others looks drastically different!

I'm wondering if the Contemporary was open but they were still finishing up things, maybe that's why the cranes were there? I agree with the poster above, everything you read and all I've ever heard is that it was open ON opening day. I wasn't there though, so I don't know, lol.

I am loving the pictures! Thank you for posting.

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the report and the great photos!

 

[Gucci65]

Great pictures! Thanks for posting!

 

[SleepyPuppy]

Oh I love the little mice from Cinderella! I wish you could still meet them, or maybe you can I just haven't seen them?
I thought it was odd that Tiger still looks very much like he did on opening day. I'm guessing a good eye will spot differences but he looks (mostly) the same to me. Others looks drastically different!

I'm wondering if the Contemporary was open but they were still finishing up things, maybe that's why the cranes were there? I agree with the poster above, everything you read and all I've ever heard is that it was open ON opening day. I wasn't there though, so I don't know, lol.

I am loving the pictures! Thank you for posting.

Several posters have mentioned the Contemporary “open” issue. I got curious and did a search myself. I got the same as you found almost all sources list 10/01/1971 for the opening of the Contemporary. I do know that the monorail was not going through the concourse of the Contemporary and there were announcements made as the reason being construction was in progress. I was kind of bummed because I wanted to ride through the A-frame as it was a one of a kind opportunity. It is easy to see that twelve story cranes surrounding the structure and their monorail travel direction announcements would cause one to assume it was not open. I didn’t intend to mislead anyone.

I have considered that since the monorails were a six million “1971” dollar investment each that perhaps they were just protecting their assets from possible falling debris. Another possible theory I have is that through searching the internet on the subject I found a great deal of confusion over "Opening Day" and “Grand Opening”. One source stated that Fort Wilderness was also open on 10/01/1971. Another website indicates that it opened 11/19/1971. I guess it is all miniscule errors on info that is over 40 years previous. Nothing to really fret over.

I’m not agonizing over a mistake I made in my TR but I am a little persnickety about making things as accurate as possible. I stated that the paint was still wet on the Mark Twain riverboat at the Liberty Square. The paint was still wet but the name was the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat. It did begin operation on 10/02/1971 evidently after the paint dried. Here is a quote I found about the boat that I did not know and is rather interesting: “In 1980, The Admiral Joe Fowler was taken to dry dock for routine rehab. While the boat was being lifted by crane, it slipped and the hull was completely destroyed. The boat was then retired due to "mechanical problems". The broken boat was taken to the backstage "bone yard" for a while before being buried somewhere on the property. The Liberty Belle supposedly has a life ring from the Admiral Joe Fowler on board.”

 

[SleepyPuppy]

Oh, and by the way, as someone who sells vintage clothing for a living, Becky's tunic top is an item I covet.

Becky smiled at your response. She said it was something she purchased on sale for a few bucks at a women’s clothing store in downtown Dayton, Ohio. She also expressed a desire to be that size again. After being married all these years I have learned when my comments could be detrimental and silence a noble option.

 

[SleepyPuppy]

Good news on the opening day slide picture dilemma. I pursued all the avenues to be able to find software for my HP Scanjet unit with the 35mm slide converter. There just do not seem to be any for my OS and the download for my son’s laptop was a failure. If anyone knows someone interested in a HP Scanjet 3570c that has never been used please tell them I have one that is now a decorative piece in my office.

The good news is I did a search for reviews of slide/film scanners. I was surprised at how many are available. I got a good price on one that was highly rated. I also found some non-water base film cleaner, some super soft, lint free, static free cloths and a squeeze bulb to blow away dust. The unit is stand alone with data transferable to PC from internal storage or scandisk. Amazon has everything. I think I just one click purchased my Christmas gift.

I will be able to sit at the dining room table and process our 35mm slides. It will be an arduous undertaking but I have anticipated this assignment for some time. Keep checking the forum to see when I make some progress. I will most likely begin a new thread due to the amount of files necessary to post the finished pictures. I hope I have now eluded my photograph bad providence and on the path to better karma.

 

[MinnieM123]

Good news on the opening day slide picture dilemma. I pursued all the avenues to be able to find software for my HP Scanjet unit with the 35mm slide converter. There just do not seem to be any for my OS and the download for my son’s laptop was a failure. If anyone knows someone interested in a HP Scanjet 3570c that has never been used please tell them I have one that is now a decorative piece in my office.

The good news is I did a search for reviews of slide/film scanners. I was surprised at how many are available. I got a good price on one that was highly rated. I also found some non-water base film cleaner, some super soft, lint free, static free cloths and a squeeze bulb to blow away dust. The unit is stand alone with data transferable to PC from internal storage or scandisk. Amazon has everything. I think I just one click purchased my Christmas gift.

I will be able to sit at the dining room table and process our 35mm slides. It will be an arduous undertaking but I have anticipated this assignment for some time. Keep checking the forum to see when I make some progress. I will most likely begin a new thread due to the amount of files necessary to post the finished pictures. I hope I have now eluded my photograph bad providence and on the path to better karma.

Your pictures have been very enjoyable. Whenever it's convenient for you, I'd love to see more (and I'm sure many others would too). It does sound like quite a project you've undertaken, though, so take your time. It's important that you also have fun while sharing your photos with everyone, so no rush! (Reminds me of an old saying: Good things come to those who wait.)

 

[Disney-leaf]

This is wonderful! Almost feel like I was there!

 

[Figgy1]

Thank you for sharing, it's amazing how much has changed but so much of the magic is still there!

 

[JeffBostock]

These photos are amazing. I love looking at WDW photos from the early days of the the Magic Kingdom, The Polynesian and Contemporary Resorts. There are a few websites dedicated to this, however I have not come across many from opening day. What is really surprising is how empty the park was! Most people must have figured it was going to be packed on opening day and avoided it. Compared to Disneyland's opening day, the attendance figures at WDW apparently wasn't anywhere close to theirs. The quality of these photos are excellent! Thank you for posting these. I wonder what it must have been like to be able to walk up to any attraction with virtually no line or minimal waits all day. One can only dream of low crowd levels like this nowadays.

 

[Peter Pano]

These pictures are a marvel and the best is, there's more to come. How fortunate we are to have fans like George&Becky among us.

The calm emptiness of the park in these photos is an almost surreal sight. It likely never was and will be ever seen like that agin. Only a few happy souls who can claim "they were there"!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Love these photos!

 

[Tink28]

What wonderful photos, great to look back, thanks so much for posting

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Your photos are such a wonderful possession to have! Tank you so much for sharing them with us. It's crazy to see how much has changed, and yet how much is still the same. The same magic, the same smiles, the same sense of living in a fantasy world. Thank you again for sharing, this is the next best thing to memories!

 

[SleepyPuppy]

Here is a quick update on my progress with the additional pics (slides) from opening day. All the items I ordered from Amazon have arrived except the film cleaner which I need before I can scan the slides due to some debris on the four decade plus old pics. My son, Nick, came over this weekend and helped me review our slide collection and categorize them into a workable order. He brought our granddaughter, Evie, who spent most of her time watching Disney Jr. programs. Our DIL, Amber, remained at their home to work on her presentation for an important job interview she has this week. She came over later and provided some additional inspiration.

Collating the 35mm slides was a laborious task. We organized over 1800 35mm slides that were stored in projector carousels each with a 100 count capacity. There were 14 carousels and numerous loose slides in boxes and plastic baggies that had to be individually viewed and decisions made where they belonged in our new file system. The opening day pics were just a part of the total number of slides. There are others from subsequent WDW world visits and other vacations not in Florida. If anyone would be interested I will post some of our later WDW trip pics once I have completed the 10/01/1971 trip.

There are some slides I inherited when my parents died that are from California and Disneyland in the late 1950’s. Nick helped me with slides that were our collection that began in 1970. We have not begun to attack my parent’s collection yet.

Fortunately my Mom and Dad had a slide sorter that is a white plastic screen with five racks and light bulb behind it that each hold eight 35mm slides. This devise was a great item to help speed the project along. A funny thing happened while working on this project. The dining room table was completely covered as well as floor and some chair seat space. We have two Dachshunds, brother and sister from the same liter, and although we very seldom feed them from the table they always gather at our feet while we are sitting at the table eating. They were totally confused why were we were seated and a location usually associated with food all day and night and they never got so much as a dropped crumb of food. I did give them some doggie treats for being relatively well behaved while we worked.

I am working with the opening day pics first and then will do some 1974 on a different post and additional pics in ascending sequence if there is any interest in additional WDW chronological pictorial history.

 

[Figgy1]

Here is a quick update on my progress with the additional pics (slides) from opening day. All the items I ordered from Amazon have arrived except the film cleaner which I need before I can scan the slides due to some debris on the four decade plus old pics. My son, Nick, came over this weekend and helped me review our slide collection and categorize them into a workable order. He brought our granddaughter, Evie, who spent most of her time watching Disney Jr. programs. Our DIL, Amber, remained at their home to work on her presentation for an important job interview she has this week. She came over later and provided some additional inspiration.

Collating the 35mm slides was a laborious task. We organized over 1800 35mm slides that were stored in projector carousels each with a 100 count capacity. There were 14 carousels and numerous loose slides in boxes and plastic baggies that had to be individually viewed and decisions made where they belonged in our new file system. The opening day pics were just a part of the total number of slides. There are others from subsequent WDW world visits and other vacations not in Florida. If anyone would be interested I will post some of our later WDW trip pics once I have completed the 10/01/1971 trip.

There are some slides I inherited when my parents died that are from California and Disneyland in the late 1950’s. Nick helped me with slides that were our collection that began in 1970. We have not begun to attack my parent’s collection yet.

Fortunately my Mom and Dad had a slide sorter that is a white plastic screen with five racks and light bulb behind it that each hold eight 35mm slides. This devise was a great item to help speed the project along. A funny thing happened while working on this project. The dining room table was completely covered as well as floor and some chair seat space. We have two Dachshunds, brother and sister from the same liter, and although we very seldom feed them from the table they always gather at our feet while we are sitting at the table eating. They were totally confused why were we were seated and a location usually associated with food all day and night and they never got so much as a dropped crumb of food. I did give them some doggie treats for being relatively well behaved while we worked.

I am working with the opening day pics first and then will do some 1974 on a different post and additional pics in ascending sequence if there is any interest in additional WDW chronological pictorial history.

Thank you and I love pics from way back!

 

[pajammies]

Very excited to see more, thanks.

 

[corey154]

Love the pictures! I wish they'd bring back retro characters like Dumbo!

Yes!!! We want to see slides from other trips! I love older photos! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Tuvalu]

More, please!

 

[MinnieM123]

Wow. You have some real historical gems in your collection. As others have expressed, I'm also interested in seeing more (at your convenience). Thank you for what you have shared with us so far.