Walt Disney World Opened In 1970 (Sort Of)

[epcat71]

Interestingly enough, over 1 million people visited the Walt Disney World Resort from January of 1970 to October of 1971. All to go to the Walt Disney World Preview Center.

I made a video about this topic for anyone would rather listen than read:


For those who would rather read:
The Walt Disney World Preview Center opened in the Mid January of 1970. It was a way for media and tourists to view the progress of the property. The building had a 625 square foot model of the resort, concept art, a location for merchandise, and even a snack bar.

When it opened it had an attendance of over 12 thousand visitors in the first 3 days. This was double the expectation that Disney had. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the preview center closed. However, by then it had already passed 1 million visitors. The building is still there to this day. It has been used as a post office, reception center for hotels, and is now the Headquarters of the Amateur Athletic Union.

One of the cool things in my opinion about the Preview Center, is the announcements that were made there. Many of the announcements never happened. There were 5 hotels announced at the Center:
1. The Contemporary

2. The Polynesian Village Resort (note the difference compared to what we got)

3. The Asian Hotel

4. The Venetian Resort

5. The Persian Hotel

So, two of the 5 actually ended up being built. Kind of crazy to imagine these hotels on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake don't you think?

 

[GlacierGlacier]

I'm most interested in that early art of the MK. What's up with the west side of RoA? Is that the Western River Expedition?

Heck, just seeing a labeled version of that'd be neat. The more you look at it the more different it seems.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm most interested in that early art of the MK. What's up with the west side of RoA? Is that the Western River Expedition?

Heck, just seeing a labeled version of that'd be neat. The more you look at it the more different it seems.

And what’s up with the monorail? Was it supposed to go from Contemporary through Tomorrowland to the front of the park? And what’s that weird set up west of Contemprary where it does a 180 to a dead end then heads up to the MK entrance? Seems unnecessarily convoluted.

 

[lazyboy97o]

And what’s up with the monorail? Was it supposed to go from Contemporary through Tomorrowland to the front of the park? And what’s that weird set up west of Contemprary where it does a 180 to a dead end then heads up to the MK entrance? Seems unnecessarily convoluted.

Yes, the monorail went from the Contemporary, to the Persian, through Tomorrowland to the front of the park. That “dead end” isn’t the monorail but the roadway going below the water bridge.

I believe Progress City, USA has photos of the models from that era. I will see if I can find the posts.

 

[Horizons '83]

Very cool stuff. Thanks for posting.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Timing was everything. Walt was very fortunate to be able to grab the amount of land, have the money/ investment/ backing to build, have the right prestige, reputation and theme to draw people in. Having that TV exposure came at the right time also. Right from the start his announcement on TV about a new park in FL drew the excitement and desire to visit it once it was built. And that has never stopped, only grown in popularity.

 

[Robbiem]

Its a shame the early hotel plans never panned out. I think tne original themes were much better taking you to a fantasy world rather than imitating existing vacation spots as the built resorts mainly do

 

[AndyS2992]

If you find this interesting then Disneyland Paris also had a preview center open from 1990 to 1992 known as Espace Euro Disney:
https://www.designingdisney.com/content/lost-treasures-euro-disney-preview-center-1990-1992

And if you like abandoned Disney building exploration then here it is in its abandoned state:
http://www.hiddendlrp.com/goodbye-espace-euro-disneyland/

There were videos of people exploring it but they seemed to all have been removed. It has since been demolished though.

 

[mergatroid]

I'm just waiting for somebody to point out the budget cuts that were made after the initial planning

 

[lazyboy97o]

Here is a look at the Phase 1 master plan model from 1968, including a comparison to the posted art from 1969.

A Model Kindom, 1968 « Progress City, U.S.A.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Did anyone on here actually go to this preview building?

The preview center is still standing at 1910 Hotel Plaza Blvd. It is now the headquarters of the Amateur Athletic Union.

 

[mimitchi33]

Interesting fact!