Trip Report SLIDE PHOTOS FROM 10/01/1971 NOW PREPARED & READY TO POST

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

acrab3t said:
All I can say is wow! So wonderful to be able to see the opening day. The lack of people is alarming. I bet Disney were worried it was going to be a flop! Thank you for converting these slides. I bought my dad a device a few years ago that would convert his slides to digital images. I am still waiting to see the finished product. I was convinced I was adopted because I had never seen any photos of me as an infant. All of my baby photos are on slides!

We were surprised at the low number of guests on opening day. The Orlando TV news was reporting possible record crowds and traffic jams of monumental proportions. I have found that news media often report with the “Chicken Little” approach to stories to create sensationalism and a “stay tuned for further reports” concept.

I have also read on the internet that Disney had only anticipated about 10,000 guests and planed their soft opening specifically designed with the attitude of getting ready for the “Grand Opening”. This was also very easy for Disney to report after the fact to look good. Of course no one can lie on the internet.

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

wdwmagic said:
Wow. very nice job converting those. Thanks for posting!

Fascinating to see how some things look so different, yet others nearly identical to today.

Thank you for whatever your administrator duties include for providing the opportunity for me to accomplish this. Once the pictures were ready on my end posting them was a piece of cake.

jme · Aug 20, 2015

Very nice set of pictures! I took the liberty of cleaning up a couple of them. I'm no professional but I think I restored some life into them. Hope you like them.

SleepyPuppy said:

sheriffwoody · Aug 20, 2015

This is such a wonderful post!! Thank you so much for putting all this together and sharing. I think this is probably my favorite thread on this forum

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

Thanks to all for the “Likes” and kind words. This is a project I have had in mind for a long time and finding this forum was the catalyst I needed to stop procrastinating and get busy. Now I may even send in my application to the procrastinators club. :devilish:

Many years ago as a college student, the motto of the university I was attending was “Having light we pass it on to others”. That has stuck with me through the years. I believe that one of the greatest abilities of the human race is communication. A forum such as this has a group of likeminded people with a love of something that represents a small part of our desire to escape to a place with wholesome values and fun. Disney is there to make a profit but I have almost always found that the CMs attempt to treat everyone with respect and provide the best possible service they are able. This was never more noticeable than on opening day. Posting my pictures of that day has made it possible to reflect on that experience and dwell in the memories once more. I am pleased I am able to share those with others. :joyfull:

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

jme said:
Very nice set of pictures! I took the liberty of cleaning up a couple of them. I'm no professional but I think I restored some life into them. Hope you like them.

Jme,

That is an improvement. I only have the Windows Live Photo option which I found to improve the pictures to a small degree. My son has some more sophisticated software and has agreed to work on improving some of these shots. I was please to get these old pics cleaned up and posted. The additional improvement you did is way cool. I am surprised at the number of folks interested in my humble efforts.

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

We are taking our son, DIL and granddaughter to WDW in April. I came up with an idea to try to capture photos of the present locations related to the ones of opening day and do composite post side by side examples. I obviously will not take every elephant on the jungle cruise nor would I have the buckets there to utilize but it might be fun to have something to look forward to. :geek:

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

WDW74 said:
Wow, just wow !!! We all appreciate this great effort on your part !

PS: Not sure I should admit this, but I currently have that same "pseudo" Hawaiian shirt and straw hat...

That is really funny. You admit to owning these items but I posted pics of myself in said attire. There is a lot of absolution acquired in four decades. I actually purchased that shirt in Lahaina on the Island of Maui. The hat was picked up at a shop in the MK that day. :geek:

NYwdwfan · Aug 20, 2015

SleepyPuppy said:
I am surprised at the number of folks interested in my humble efforts.

A lot of us on here are pseudo-obsessed with the origins of the parks and the changes through the years. These photos are amazing to see.

donaldtoo · Aug 20, 2015

SleepyPuppy said:
There was a great deal of advance planning for our wedding but the honeymoon plans were just booking a room at Daytona Beach. There was little mention of WDW on Ohio news media but what we did hear made us consider the option of attending. We found further info once in Daytona Beach.

Before I was able to get all the pictures together to post I did write a TR with narration only on the TR forum. I have not attempted adding a link to a post yet or I would provide that. Because of that TR I used limited wording with the pictures post or the slides post. A picture is worth many words is it not?

Cool!

I assumed as much about the wedding (I probably shouldn't 'cause a lot of people don't do it that way - although, ours and the recent wedding of our oldest daughter were heavily planned, well in advance. 1 year ahead of time for us, 1.5 years for daughter and SIL). I was mainly referring to the WDW aspect of the honeymoon.

Thanks for the answer, and thanks again so very much for sharing...!

WDW74 · Aug 20, 2015

SleepyPuppy said:
That is really funny. You admit to owning these items but I posted pics of myself in said attire. There is a lot of absolution acquired in four decades. I actually purchased that shirt in Lahaina on the Island of Maui. The hat was picked up at a shop in the MK that day.

ahhhh...the classics never go out of style !

Peter Pano · Aug 20, 2015

SleepyPuppy said:
We are taking our son, DIL and granddaughter to WDW in April. I came up with an idea to try to capture photos of the present locations related to the ones of opening day and do composite post side by side examples. I obviously will not take every elephant on the jungle cruise nor would I have the buckets there to utilize but it might be fun to have something to look forward to.

This would be the sweet cherry on top of the big fat cake that you served us. I love this idea! (Even cooler, you would do this at a time that I also plan to be around next April.)

Your photos are a true treasure trove. How special to have these tokens with real archival value and great personal meaning in such conjunction. Thank you so much for sharing them!

Worldlover71 · Aug 20, 2015

It's great that you took so many pictures. Before digital, many of us were kind of miserly because of the cost of film and developing. You've got some great historical documents here!

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

MinnieM123 said:
Wow--more amazing photos! What stood out to me were the lack of crowds and open spaces back then. Main Street USA looked so relaxed and inviting. I'm glad you took all those pictures of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse; that's always been one of my classic favorites in the MK. By the way, the two of you won the prize for most colorful shirts that day in the park! I love her hat, too!

Several people have mentioned the relaxed atmosphere that was apparent in the Kingdom that day. I would venture a guess that after the media hype prior to opening and actually entering the park the vision of the castle and lack of multitudes had a tranquil effect. I know that is how we felt. There was still some excitement from being someplace so magic but yet the desire to run to the nearest “E” ticket attraction never existed. There was so much to see we just wanted to take it all in slowly so the experience would last.

I also think the ticket book style admission had some influence on many of the guests. For under $5.00 admission was included and a limited number of attraction tickets were offered. We purchased additional attraction tickets but I’m not sure how many others did the same. Just the admission to the Kingdom offered many opportunities to enjoy music, shopping and generally sitting on a bench snacking on a delicacy while taking in manmade scenery that is still unmatched. A couple of Buckeyes having an ice cream in the hot Florida sun in October was priceless.

Looking back on our fashion for the day sure made me laugh but at the time I was in another time and place and felt great about everything. If that shirt still fit I would wear it on my next visit.

SleepyPuppy · Aug 20, 2015

These TR are directly related to the opening day slides:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ost-44-yrs-wdw-opening-day-10-01-1971.902780/
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/photos-from-opening-day-good-news-not-so-good-news.902894/

PineapplePrincess · Aug 21, 2015

What an incredible blast from the past! Thanks a bunch for sharing!

DisSplash · Aug 23, 2015

I love, love, LOVE this post! Probably even more than you love animatronic baby elephants ...

I am not only a Disney freak, but was a History major (and yes, I eventually landed a job after I went back for an advanced degree

) and so glimpses into life and the world that once was have always captivated me. Put the two (non-human) loves of my life all together and you really have my head spinning!

I thought you and your wife looked absolutely adorable in your colorful honeymoon outfits, and I could certainly appreciate how fashion-forward you two really were with all of the other outfits that were strolling about the place that day -- in my mind, most people looked as if they were going to work - I even noticed a few women in dresses and heels ...

The photos of the rides in their original habitat are simply fascinating to me, especially as you could be on a ride in one Land and see the rides and sights in another at the same time. I'll bet that helped you track what it was you still needed to see. Everything now is so grown in, that people (well, let's face it -- first-timers) really need to follow those maps in order to know where they are in relation to everything else (since the rest of us here could probably walk the parks with our eyes closed).

I am so impressed that you saved all of your memorabilia too -- I got a real kick out of the map and your ticket book/stubs. I still cannot get over the fact that a fiver could get you into the happiest place on earth, where you could stroll around all day just admiring the view -- which is something so many of us today may forget to do as we try to maximize our time and money by getting on as many rides as possible given the cost of it all. :greedy:

It's a shame in a way, but perhaps your post will help remind all of us that Disney is not simply about the destination or end goal, but rather the journey to and through it all.

disney4life2008 · Aug 23, 2015

I am in absolute awe - amazing, phenomenal photos. What is so interesting is that today we say "TRIP REPORTS" though this term probably has been around for ages (especially through photos and story telling). I have some observations - a lot of things in the MK still looks the same just with name changes. There are very few children (maybe because it was October) but a ton of older people. WDW was like this through at least the mid 90s, I remember thinking when I was a child in 1994 there were a ton of people from UK, Japan, China, and elderly people. On a side note, do you remember the waits for some of the major attractions? Any pictures of the food?

SleepyPuppy · Aug 24, 2015

DisSplash said:
I love, love, LOVE this post! Probably even more than you love animatronic baby elephants ... I am not only a Disney freak, but was a History major (and yes, I eventually landed a job after I went back for an advanced degree ) and so glimpses into life and the world that once was have always captivated me. Put the two (non-human) loves of my life all together and you really have my head spinning!

I thought you and your wife looked absolutely adorable in your colorful honeymoon outfits, and I could certainly appreciate how fashion-forward you two really were with all of the other outfits that were strolling about the place that day -- in my mind, most people looked as if they were going to work - I even noticed a few women in dresses and heels ...

The photos of the rides in their original habitat are simply fascinating to me, especially as you could be on a ride in one Land and see the rides and sights in another at the same time. I'll bet that helped you track what it was you still needed to see. Everything now is so grown in, that people (well, let's face it -- first-timers) really need to follow those maps in order to know where they are in relation to everything else (since the rest of us here could probably walk the parks with our eyes closed).

I am so impressed that you saved all of your memorabilia too -- I got a real kick out of the map and your ticket book/stubs. I still cannot get over the fact that a fiver could get you into the happiest place on earth, where you could stroll around all day just admiring the view -- which is something so many of us today may forget to do as we try to maximize our time and money by getting on as many rides as possible given the cost of it all. It's a shame in a way, but perhaps your post will help remind all of us that Disney is not simply about the destination or end goal, but rather the journey to and through it all.

Thank you for the kind remarks. I must admit that as I look at the photos it still seems rather incredible to me as well. We had not had these pictures out for viewing for quite some time. The ability to post and share these mementos was the stimulus I guess I needed to proceed with the project. My son and DIL cleaning out our accumulated relics was really the biggest motivation. When I look at our situation from another’s perspective it would appear we could be considered hoarders. These Disney articles were kept because they really mean something to us. The numerous photos are related to being newlyweds and it seems that weddings bring out the cameras. We just continued with the philosophy of capturing everything in a “Kodak Moment”, (or GAF moment for the sake of Disney) to have and hold dear for such a time as this.

SleepyPuppy · Aug 24, 2015

disney4life2008 said:
I am in absolute awe - amazing, phenomenal photos. What is so interesting is that today we say "TRIP REPORTS" though this term probably has been around for ages (especially through photos and story telling). I have some observations - a lot of things in the MK still looks the same just with name changes. There are very few children (maybe because it was October) but a ton of older people. WDW was like this through at least the mid 90s, I remember thinking when I was a child in 1994 there were a ton of people from UK, Japan, China, and elderly people. On a side note, do you remember the waits for some of the major attractions? Any pictures of the food?

Dear disney4life2008,

Congrats on your PHD. That is an accomplishment worthy of shout out. As with other responses I am pleased to be able to share with everyone who apparently has enjoyed the photos.

From the moment we entered the main entrance, rode the shiny new trams and boarded the monorail for transportation to the park it was obvious this place was something spectacular.

There was absolutely never any waiting in que for an attraction. The picture of Small World shows a few people boarding but once they were seated in their little boat the line had dissipated. Any other wait was due to something like Country Bear Jamboree with a timed program finishing prior to entry for the next performance. A great deal of this can be attributed to the low volume of guests in the park and using specific tickets to enter an attraction. It has been noted that many of the guests were elderly. They did not seem over anxious to purchase another book of tickets for attractions. The marvel that was the Magic Kingdom was more than worth the price of admission.

It is funny you should ask about food pictures. I did not take pictures of our cuisine until years later. We were having dinner in the castle in 1980 and I stood up to get a shot of our plates of food and surrounding guests laughed at me. It was good natured chuckling and several ask if they could take a picture of me taking a picture. Perhaps we were food photo trend setters? More about that in another upcoming retro TR; Right now I’m working on 1974.