Then and Now - WDW Comparison Photos

[Jon81uk]

Not to get off topic, but does anyone else wish there was some kind of QS snack place on TSI? There is a perfect little spot with a porch that I've always thought would be an awesome spot for an ice cream store.

Didn't there used to be Aunt Polly's on the island that served sandwiches and such?

It was even briefly open earlier this year https://twitter.com/MickeyUpdates/status/581869975050289152

 

[WDWVolFan]

The MILF thing has got to go, it just throws me off when ever I see it. Monsters is not what enters my mind when I see MILF.

We're getting rid of Stiffler's mom?

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Just a question-if we want the theming to be completely immersive and accurate, why would an old, abandoned, decrepit haunted mansion have young trees and neatly manicured grounds?

Ask this guy:

 

[FigmentForver96]

Little late to the party, but the difference between the two mansion photos are crazy. Just a few small changes could totally improve the area.

Leave most of the trees behind and beside the mansion, but cut back the weeping willows so the mansion can be seen more. Keep it creepy, but seeing an old mansion from far off is pretty creep enough. Boats running on the water is not a thing anymore, but why not dock a boat for thematic purposes? The building is a dock and one parked by the water wouldn't be wrong. The vegetation by the water needs to be fixed, it just looks like a wreck, and block the view of the tower.

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

BTM under construction

Hey look! A floating mountain. LOL

 

[FigmentForver96]

I live in the deep south of the US and old houses always have big trees for shade, it just looks right to me. Ever been to Savannah GA? The old parts of city have huge oaks on the streets and the old places just smell like they are old on the outside. LOL. Always stuff growing everywhere. For that matter ToT has a bunch of landscaping and it looks right to me.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the mansion is not inspired by the southern states like the one in Disneyland is with New Orleans. It follows more of the colony style seen in the northeast.

 

[WDWVolFan]

Tomorrowland's original entrance is way cooler and more futuristic than today's entrance. It's cheesy and not futuristic.
The rockets too...I wish they had kept the NASA theme with Orlando being close to the Cape and all

 

[Kevin_W]

With the extended awning and trees, I'm not sure anyone even notices the "front door" to the mansion.

You are correct in my case - I've never seen the front door before. Thanks for posting the old picture.

 

[GrammieBee]

We have been going to Walt Disney World since 1974 and have seen all of the changes. Some we liked and some we did not like at all (think Polynesian lobby). Some changes were so subtle they were hardly noticed.
We have gone from running to Space Mountain at rope drop, walking around the park for the entire day and finally jogging from the Haunted Mansion to Big Thunder Mountain at 1:00am for the last ride (we were in good shape and much younger) to now, due to age and other physical disibilities, having to use scooters. (And, no, we do not run into people..Rarely someone will cut directly in front of our front wheel or back into us when we are behind them as we cannot always guess what they are about to do and they are definitely not paying attention to what is around them.)

We miss the Swan boats and Alien Encounter, do not miss the large pylons holding up the long gone skyway, Aunt Polly's was a seasonal snack type restaurant on Tom Sawyer's Island, and many yeays ago you could get ice cream at the Dinosaur at the MGM (not Disney) Studios. Trees grow and fill out a somewhat barren landscape.

Seems to me the whole point of this fascinating thread is that no matter what Disney does or doesn't do, some people will like it and some people won't. They can't please everybody.

 

[danyoung56]

Which is why I'll betcha Disney doesn't come within MILES of threads like these!

 

[MississippiBelle]

I live in the deep south of the US and old houses always have big trees for shade, it just looks right to me. Ever been to Savannah GA? The old parts of city have huge oaks on the streets and the old places just smell like they are old on the outside. LOL. Always stuff growing everywhere. For that matter ToT has a bunch of landscaping and it looks right to me.

Hey we're neighbors! Maybe the big divide on this photo is a cultural one. I grew up in a town where the "creepy" house always had yards that were over grown and had giant live oaks and willows blocking them from view. The creep factor comes from not being able to see the whole house! I've come to realize that the South US is it's only little country within a country. I've had people from different parts of the country ask if we have indoor plumbing and basic education! But then again, I find myself wondering if people in the Northern part of the country go out at all during the winter. Do they hibernate? That can be a whole thread in itself!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Hey we're neighbors! Maybe the big divide on this photo is a cultural one. I grew up in a town where the "creepy" house always had yards that were over grown and had giant live oaks and willows blocking them from view. The creep factor comes from not being able to see the whole house! I've come to realize that the South US is it's only little country within a country. I've had people from different parts of the country ask if we have indoor plumbing and basic education! But then again, I find myself wondering if people in the Northern part of the country go out at all during the winter. Do they hibernate? That can be a whole thread in itself!

No, they go south for the winter or stay there up north and acquire a lovely shade of blue. They also mutter something to the affect of "let it go" a lot.

 

[Matt_Black]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the mansion is not inspired by the southern states like the one in Disneyland is with New Orleans. It follows more of the colony style seen in the northeast.

Yeah, it's not like the northeast doesn't have a lot of trees....

 

[FigmentForver96]

Yeah, it's not like the northeast doesn't have a lot of trees....

Oh absolutely without a doubt, I didn't mean that at all. My point was take that the original idea was to keep the mansion looking well groomed on the outside. It would loom over the river much like the Hudson River Valley mansions it was inspired by. It would be foreboding to guest who seen it in the distance.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Oh absolutely without a doubt, I didn't mean that at all. My point was take that the original idea was to keep the mansion looking well groomed on the outside. It would loom over the river much like the Hudson River Valley mansions it was inspired by. It would be foreboding to guest who seen it in the distance.

But, if keeping with theme how would it be explained that a house full of spirits would be able to maintain that well groomed look. No deserted mansion would have a ground crew would they? Or am I misreading your intent. It is really the same idea as the Tower of Terror. It's deserted, no one caring for it. Wild growth, dirty water lines, cobwebs and pretty much everything that one would expect to see in that situation. I remember being so impressed with the outside of the Tower, especially the fountain out front with the fake water line stain imply in that it once had water that evaporated away. Now that was attention to detail.

 

[MississippiBelle]

But, if keeping with theme how would it be explained that a house full of spirits would be able to maintain that well groomed look. No deserted mansion would have a ground crew would they? Or am I misreading your intent. It is really the same idea as the Tower of Terror. It's deserted, no one caring for it. Wild growth, dirty water lines, cobwebs and pretty much everything that one would expect to see in that situation. I remember being so impressed with the outside of the Tower, especially the fountain out front with the fake water line stain imply in that it once had water that evaporated away. Now that was attention to detail.

Plus the inside of the haunted mansion has cobwebs and dust everywhere so it makes sense that the outside would be in similar disrepair. BUT doesn't the mansion have a groundskeeper/caretaker? The old man with the dog? Maybe I'm just imagining that?

 

[Matt_Black]

Plus the inside of the haunted mansion has cobwebs and dust everywhere so it makes sense that the outside would be in similar disrepair. BUT doesn't the mansion have a groundskeeper/caretaker? The old man with the dog? Maybe I'm just imagining that?

That old man spends more time caretaking a bottle of hooch, I'd wager!

 

[Victor Kelly]

Didn't there used to be Aunt Polly's on the island that served sandwiches and such?

Yes. Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. I think fried chicken at one point but cannot remember since it was so long ago. I believe Ice Cream was also served as well. As to why it closed, not sure. Possibly the cost cutting made the place close. Stinks because it was the only place there to get food, something to drink and snacks.

 

[Victor Kelly]

Love everyone of the photo pairs. After reading all over this web site about how much Disney hates trees and the resort is losing it "park" look, these pictures say just the opposite. I seem to like the today pictures in all but the entrance to Tomorrowland. Hope more pairs are coming.

Look for a 1971 pic looking at the HM. Tom Sawyer Island was not there, it was all mowed lawn. You could see HM from where Splash now sits.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Look for a 1971 pic looking at the HM. Tom Sawyer Island was not there, it was all mowed lawn. You could see HM from where Splash now sits.

Was it mowed lawn or grass that hadn't had time to grow yet. It is still mowed, but, not conventionally. It is ragged and left to look like nothings been done there in years.