Then and Now - WDW Comparison Photos

[Goofyernmost]

Hee hee . . . @Goofyernmost , why am I not surprised that you'd share a comment along those lines?

I guess I can save a lot of time and just let everyone figure out what I might say about a topic. That attitude really solidified when I was following two elderly ladies** through that faux AK town, Marumbanana, or whatever and they were both completely upset because it was falling apart already. You know plaster, missing from the external parts of the building, cracks in the pavement, etc. "how could they have just let this go in such a short time" was one of the comments. I would have corrected them, but, I couldn't stop laughing. The results of living in the states all their lives and not having a clue what the outside world might look like. It never even crossed their minds that it was intentional to recreate a real third world community.

Spoiler: **

At least elderly looking at the time. However, probably what I look like to others now. So let's just say, young looking older women.

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

Yea, most time I laugh so hard at odd comments I hear guests talking about. On my last visit in May I witnessed a small group of guests running towards the back of Magic Kingdom saying they "Need to hurry and catch the monorail". I'm still laughing at that one.

 

[Chef Mickey]

"Mr. Twain, the Golden Age was never the current age."

As the resident American Adventure nerd, I must correct that this is actually, "The Golden age was never the present age."

 

[WDWtraveler]

Seventh photo pair. Then: May 1974.
Pathway to the Haunted Mansion. Almost a cheery place with those bright red flowers. Lots of grass to mow in the mansion lawn.

Now: July 2015.
The lamp post in the center of the photo is still there, but the tree from 1974 behind it is gone. Most of the lawn has been replaced with shrubs.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Seventh photo pair. Then: May 1974.
Pathway to the Haunted Mansion. Almost a cheery place with those bright red flowers. Lots of grass to mow in the mansion lawn.

View attachment 104933

Now: July 2015.
The lamp post in the center of the photo is still there, but the tree from 1974 behind it is gone. Most of the lawn has been replaced with shrubs.

View attachment 104934

Too bad the exit gate is gone, although this was before the current front gate/marquee was put in place.

 

[yaksplat]

I like the change in the walkway. Nice muddy hoof prints.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Seventh photo pair. Then: May 1974.
Pathway to the Haunted Mansion. Almost a cheery place with those bright red flowers. Lots of grass to mow in the mansion lawn.

View attachment 104933

Now: July 2015.
The lamp post in the center of the photo is still there, but the tree from 1974 behind it is gone. Most of the lawn has been replaced with shrubs.

View attachment 104934

Wow, the early open lawn gives the "Mansion" a much more real feel, as if it's a real home. I'm sure the bushes were added as a deterrent for fools walking all over the lawn, but the old picture has a lot of charm.

 

[DisneyJeff]

Seventh photo pair. Then: May 1974.
Pathway to the Haunted Mansion. Almost a cheery place with those bright red flowers. Lots of grass to mow in the mansion lawn.

Now: July 2015.
The lamp post in the center of the photo is still there, but the tree from 1974 behind it is gone. Most of the lawn has been replaced with shrubs.

Is there a bird on top of the central tower or is it an incredible coincidence between these two photos?

 

[DisneyJeff]

Is there a bird on top of the central tower or is it an incredible coincidence between these two photos?

Actually, never mind. I just Googled photos of the HM and they all have that same bird (or bat) on top. Either that is one dedicated bird, or it's staged.

I don't know how I never noticed that before.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Fifth photo pair. August 1978: Entrance to Space Mountain.

View attachment 103413

Now: July 2015.

View attachment 103414

I love that old statue in the entrance so much.

Look how dirty Space Mountain was back when WDW was perfect!

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Is there a bird on top of the central tower or is it an incredible coincidence between these two photos?

It's a bat-shaped weather vane.

 

[Raineman]

Seventh photo pair. Then: May 1974.
Pathway to the Haunted Mansion. Almost a cheery place with those bright red flowers. Lots of grass to mow in the mansion lawn.

View attachment 104933

Now: July 2015.
The lamp post in the center of the photo is still there, but the tree from 1974 behind it is gone. Most of the lawn has been replaced with shrubs.

View attachment 104934

I think the current look matches the mood of HM better than the original-a creepy haunted house should look overgrown and imposing, not with nicely manicured lawns and pretty flowers.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

True, but in this case the odds are that the "victim" was highly responsible for it. There is a difference between sitting at a stop light and traversing through a theme park. Ask your insurance company how many "no fault" accidents you have to be in before your rates go up. The theory is that if one is involved in an accident often enough it tells them that they are not paying attention to their surroundings and therefore not making the right decisions that might have prevented it.

I don't want to have to watch traffic when walking in a theme park.

 

[Matt_Black]

I don't want to have to watch traffic when walking in a theme park.

Well, to be fair, I don't want to have to watch traffic when I'm going for a pleasant stroll in the park, but if there are other people around, I kind of have to.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't want to have to watch traffic when walking in a theme park.

Then be prepared for pain. Accidents happen and if you are not proactive in preventing your own personal harm, why should anyone else care. No one individual is that special. If you want to get through the experience pain free and even event free, then pay attention to your surroundings, even in a theme park. Otherwise... oh, well... hope it heals quick.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Then be prepared for pain. Accidents happen and if you are not proactive in preventing your own personal harm, why should anyone else care. No one individual is that special. If you want to get through the experience pain free and even event free, then pay attention to your surroundings, even in a theme park. Otherwise... oh, well... hope it heals quick.

If somebody is looking at their kids rather than at you, or, God forbid, looks together with them at a castle or some princess, are you welcome to drive your scooter into them? Because after all, you shouldn't have to care about hurting them because they don't?

No, Goof, no.

That is the mentality of those scooters (and cyclists on walkways, cars on zebra crossings etc) who drive through a crowd honking and yelling, thinking they have derived from that some right to mow people and kids over, because, well, they hear him coming, no?

 

[Goofyernmost]

If somebody is looking at their kids rather than at you, or, God forbid, looks together with them at a castle or some princess, are you welcome to drive your scooter into them? Because after all, you shouldn't have to care about hurting them because they don't?

No, Goof, no.

That is the mentality of those scooters (and cyclists on walkways, cars on zebra crossings etc) who drive through a crowd honking and yelling, thinking they have derived from that some right to mow people and kids over, because, well, they hear him coming, no?

Oh, for heavens sake. It's a two way street. I am not absolving others from accidentally running into you, I'm saying that you also have an active roll in this. What you are saying is that you want to be free to look at your kids or at the castle without having to think about what is around you, but, no one else is. You are putting the entire responsibility on them. The sad truth of the matter is that it is YOU that gets run into regardless of "whose fault it is". Now you can justify it until the cows come home, but, it is you that will suffer. So, pay attention to the area you are in. If necessary take evasive action because if you don't, you might just get hit and it might just ruin your vacation. If you prefer to just sit in your hotel room and curse the other person, go for it. Personally, I prefer to have sidestepped a harmful situation and continued to enjoy the park.

This isn't about whose at fault, this is about avoiding the accident to begin with. Sort of like defensive theme parking. It would be nice if it wasn't necessary, but, it is... so just watch out for yourself. That will prevent a lot of pain and suffering.
I also think it is terrible to assume that there are people out there that just love to run you over. That is not the case in any scenario that I have ever seen or even heard about from a dependable source. Some accidents are unavoidable, but, most are completely avoidable. If you don't think that you should take responsibility for your own safety and stay out of harms way... then I guess there are a lot of ER visits in your future.

By the way, there is only one recorded incident of the yelling and honking of horns. 1 in how many millions visit the parks yearly. Hardly a basis of comparison. Incidentally I saw that lady on the scooter and yes, I might have turned around and taken the keys out and flung them into the crowd, but, she didn't run into anyone, she just annoyed them to the point of justifiable homicide.

 

[officialtom]

I absolutely love this thread!

 

[WDWtraveler]

Eighth photo pair. Then: August 1978.
Tomorrowland bridge and waterfall towers over castle moat. Swan Boats were still operating, with the Swan Boat dock on the right side.

I know better than to bring up the subject, but here goes anyway.....do you see any strollers on the bridge. (Forgive me)

Now: July 2015.
The large expanses of grass have been replaced with trees, shrubs, and ground cover.

 

[FettFan]

This thread will showcase changes to Walt Disney World over the years. My intent is to post pairs of photographs, from years ago to present day, of various WDW views to show the changes occurring to WDW. Some changes will be quite apparent (i.e., buildings, vegetation), while other changes will be more subtle (i.e., paint colors, details). You may enjoy "finding the differences" as you review the paired photos. All current photos were taken from as near as possible the exact spot as the original so that the perspective will be the same. However, some conditions were not controllable, such as weather.

I will only post photo pairs on occasion, so stay tuned. I have been collecting these photographs from private individuals and my own collection for some time, so I want to ensure they are accurate comparisons. Enjoy! - WDWtraveler

First photo pair: Then: October 1973. Cinderella Castle as viewed from Fantasyland's Mad Tea Party. The building on the right is Cheshire Café. Note the castle hillside is planted with grass.

View attachment 101071

Now: July 2015. 42 years later, the trees on the hillside obscure most of Cinderella Castle.

View attachment 101072

You know, you really should create animated GIFs of these pictures to show the transformation.

Example: Shanghai 1990 morphing into Shanghai 2015