Disney World 1973

Originally opened in October 1971, Walt Disney World has grown into an American institution. My first visit was in 1973, when the park was only about a year a half old.

Stepping onto the ferry for the ride across the lake to the main entrance was exciting. Here's a view of lake with the park in the background- not much there yet!

disneylake73

The Disney officials did not allow any photos of the rides or attractions, so we didn't get too many photos at the time.

I do remember admission was a lot different than it is today. Back then, you purchased a booklet of tickets. You needed a ticket to get on every ride, so basically, you could only go on a ride once (unless they had different types of books for more money).

I also remember they were planning Space Mountain at the time, and we saw the area fenced off and under construction. So many rides have come and gone, including 2000 Leagues under the Sea, the submarine ride. If you pretended not to see the strings, the fish appeared to be swimming in the water. Here's a neat site with a lot of photos of the ride, including behind the scene pics: http://www.20kride.com/photos.html

It was probably the most crowded place I've ever been. We still talk about the crowd, but in those 30 years, Disney has really learned to keep that crowd moving. I'm sure it's more crowded now than ever before, but the lines move pretty quickly and you no longer remember the crowds more than the fun.

2 comments:

Amy Button said...

I'm not sure what year my first trip to Disney World was but I know it was in the '70s. We only lived about 45 minutes away so we went several times a year.

If you'd like to know the perfect time to go to Disney it's in the Fall. The temperature is usually in the 70's and it's not nearly as crowded. I went to EPCOT once in November on a Saturday and we saw everything by 3PM and hardly stood in line for anything.

They took out Mr. Toad's Wild Ride too- I was very disappointed.

Anonymous said...

Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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