You can't honestly be stupid enough to think Disney wasn't corporate back in 1973. Two theme parks, movie studios, toy lines...every character they had was marketed to squeeze every possible dime out of the public.
This is the Disney World that I remember... innocent and natural! Our family went there in 73-75. It was so much good fun for a 11 year old like me. The President's Hall was so patriotic!
My Dad was so cool he took me out of school in the early 70s so we could go on vacations to Disney World. One year we stayed at the Polynesian and the other year at the Contemporary. It was a magical time. I've reflected fondly on those trips for the rest of my life. My Dad is gone now but I'm so thankful for those times.
You're so lucky. I'll never forgot my mom announcing "we are staying on property this year", and 7 year old me me expecting the Contemporary. Surprise it was the Holiday Inn, one of the good neighbor hotels near what was The Marketplace. lol
I cannot thank you enough for this video! My parents took us there in 1973 and this brought back so many memories. I started crying when the nightly water parade was shown. I thought I would never hear that music or see it again. The first night we were there (stayed at the Contemporary) my parents had just gotten us down for the night when the water parade music started playing. I remember my mother saying "Now what?" Once we saw what it was, my father whipped out his recording camera. Unfortunately those home movies were lost to time. I wish Disney World was still like that.
And for our society. Brings tears to see where we were and how far down we are today. My first time as a kid was 74. A beautiful place. And beautiful people back then all around.
It's typically done with one narrator which you rarely see on screen. Nowadays they have to show a diverse group of people who may or may not actually know what they're talking about, inter-cut with actual scenes.
Visited for the first time on my honeymoon in 1980. Cried when I left to fly there, and cried when I exited the gates to go home. We were lucky enough to return four more times over the years, (2015 was our last). Honestly, the changes in navigating the park are intimidating to us now, but hopefully we'll make it back for our 50th anniversary!
My grandparents both worked at WDW from 2000-2018. During that time I visited them quite often and every summer we’d visit the parks together. A blessing I’ll always be grateful for. As someone that visited quite often, the magic seen in this video was still present in the early 2000s. But sadly as the years went on, after about 2010 or so, I can’t put my finger on it but the magic started to disappear. And it wasn’t just because I was getting older. Something genuinely changed about the energy and vibe in the place. But at least I’ll always have the memories of how it used to be before smartphones and corporate IP integration into the parks.
I envy all you folks who got to visit Disney world in the '70s. I always wanted to go as a child, but we were too poor so I didn't make my first trip to Disney world until 2010 when I was 40 years old. Better late than never I guess. I was like a kid at 40 years old having finally made it 😀
We didn't start coming until the 1990's - but even now can't believe the changes since the Pandemic! Disney doesn't pick your family up at the airport anymore! The other guests are pushy and entitled & the cast member act like they don't care!
Thank you. The 70s were really the true glory days for Disney. But I am so happy you got to go when you did and be a real kid with it! That is what makes it fun. My last time was 98. I went many times in the 70s, 80s, and some in th 90s. But your first time is always the best. so dont feel bad you went at 40 in 2010 - it was a glory day for you!!!!! Blessings. I am 3 years older than you and there are many places I have never been that everyone and their brother have been. But my day is coming. Blessings
I would have never imagined that I'd be able to go one day. We didnt have much money as a child but when I did go, I was truly saddened by how few American children were in the parks! Very few people spoke english, guests and cast members alike. This amazing place exists and it's so far out of reach for most!
It took me until 1980 to get there. Fortunately by then, not much had changed except that things like Space Mountain had been added. I spent 7 years trying to figure out how to get there as a kid. Then someone against all odds, my high school senior class voted for WDW over a Caribbean cruise, as our senior class trip, and OMG, my dream would come true. I came back with over $100 of merch, consisting of most of my savings as a 17 year old, LOL, and lots of tales about how it was as wonderful as I thought it would be. Apparently cue the parental guilt, because the next thing I knew I was given an ultimatum: I could choose whether my high school graduation present was the graduation party I'd wanted since I missed out on a party for my 8th grade graduation (I'd also never had a birthday party; mom was an agoraphobic, and back then having a kids' party meant having people over and the idea freaked mom out), or a family trip to WDW so that I could go again and my siblings could see it for the first time. I of course chose the latter. So after YEARS of wanting to go to WDW and not getting there, I got to go twice in 6 months. To save money, we stayed off property for a week, but I insisted on a couple days before that on a higher floor at the Contemporary Tower, Bay Lake view because I wanted to show them WDW as it was designed to be experienced. We got there and the bellman opened the drapes to reveal the view and my mother looked at me with an expression that said, "OMG. This is breath-taking. And you knew this all along and tried to tell us. I should have listened years ago." I offered to take my siblings to the park for a while if they wanted some time to relax without us around after travel, and said we could stay at the park until after the fireworks if they'd provide money for us to eat some burgers for dinner at the park and get a snack later. LOL, that was some of the easiest money I'd ever gotten out of them.
Wife and I honeymooned there in the summer of 1974! Yep, fifty years later next year, we're still together, retired, the kids have left home and......we can't afford to come back!
When I was 9 yo my Grandparents took me to Walt Disney World in 1973 and we stayed at the Polynesian Resort for 3 days. The next year they moved to Florida and so did my immediate family. I went to Disney World several times a year for most of my Life. Had my Annual Pass for many years, but in 2010 I decided that the Walt Disney World I knew and loved was no longer in existence, so I just stopped going. I do have MANY Great Memories though. Thank You for posting this Video.
Me too, we went so many times during the 70s I lost count after 100. We kept going thru to the 90s, and by the 2000s i no longer felt nor saw the same magic, stopped renewing our APs, havnt been back since.
@@gc4644 Yes, it's sad to see what has happened to the Parks in the last Decade or so. I keep searching TH-cam for 1972 to 1990 for Videos to go along with "my" Home Videos of the parks. :~)
@@slimlouis6441 grew up going there in the late 70's thru the late 80's, just went back 3 weeks ago and you ain't kidding! Where did all the orange groves go among other things? Seems like every highway is a toll road now too.
What simpler (and better) times. People seemed more elegant and refined and civilized in those times. Look at the way they dressed to go out to the parks. And NOPBOBDY staring into a phone. Everyone there was enjoying the moment, and there wasn't the constant need to check on ride times, or dinner reservations, or fast passes or lightning lanes or whatever. And the crowds seemed so much more manageable. And there was so much more to do than just be in the park. I went there in 1976 and in 2015. The 1976 time was much more enjoyable.
Unfortunately I refuse to go into the Hall of Presidents until they remove the traitor and criminal who has and still does try to destroy our democracy!
I was there in 1976. It was a great place then!! All the children are in their fifties and sixties, and the elderly are gone now!! Would the children today even know some of the tunes played like “Oh Susannah”?
Probably not. We had a music teacher in grade school that would come once a week. We had a new music book each year and looked forward to learn some of the long time favorites.
I was impressed when some people in their 20s at Disney World were singing along to the instrumental versions of "Wells Fargo Wagon" and "Bicycle Built for Two" when it was being played over the background music sound system.
Had dozens and dozens of trips to WDW throughout the 70s, and can honestly say most about the property back then WAS much better. The water in the 7 seas lagoon was crystal clear and we swam in it all the time! The Poly had a MUCH better lobby, and the game room in the Contemporary resort was the biggest & best in the whole country! The Fort Wilderness campground had a working train, and a great restaurant! Progress does not always mean things get better..
That game room in the Contemporary brings such fond memories❤️the click-clack of everyone playing air hockey, the snack bar, shooting range, and skee-ball. I spent many many hours there.
Contemporary arcade aka the Fiesta Fun Center! That horse racing game on the big screen where you pushed a button to get your horse to jump over an oncoming barrier, racing against others doing the same, and the classic Atari Breakout game were my idea of great fun.
This was exactly the time our family first went to Disneworld on vacation!! We went every year for about 10 years thereafter n it has always he'd a special place in all of our hearts, and we have visited several times in the 1980's n 1990's and experienced wonderful family reunions there. It truly is "the Magic Kingdom!!!" Thank ever so for posting this excellent walk down memory lane!!!!
Same here..First time was in '72, just graduated from high school. Never dreamed that I would be bringing my children some day. And behold, bringing my grandchildren also. Wish I could turn the clocks back 50 years and do it again!
I so miss those early trips. No fast passes or alcohol sales so mom and dad actually had fun and did not need to get tanked. It was clean, good inexpensive food, and great customer service. You needed tickets for each ride. The E tickets were for the best attractions.
AND, the guests (customers) were polite, dressed nicely, obeyed the rules, spoke politely and at normal decible levles, smiled, laughed, and were REAL people. Oh the days our nation was clean.
My Grandmother took us every two years to Disney in the 70s and 80s. It was all about family back then and it was affordable for almost everyone. Now it's not affordable even for most middle class families.
Dad and Mom took us to DisneyWorld when it open in 1971. I was only 9 years old and I can tell you it was amazing, unbelievable really. I continued to go for years and then with my own family until about 8 years ago when it became so crowded, so woke, and so money grubby that I may never go back again...Ah wish the old days were back!
@@Sashazur Nah, not al all, yeah right...like CHANGING many of the rides and characters to make them people of color or politically correct...Like a BALANCE would be good not to swing the pendulum completely around...Like heck Snow White is no longer white but black now...makes no sense...
I stopped going by the late 90s. I never would go back after I heard how bad it started getting by the early 2000s. The 70s were the true glory days of Disney World. I am so happy my first time as a kid was 74. And I went wiht my family the first summer River Country opened. I remember like yesterday.
I think, based on the comments, some are blinded by nostalgia about how simple life was back then and how much happier the country was. In 1973? Watergate, long lines at gas stations due the oil embargo, NYC constantly on the verge of bankruptcy, rampant air polution choking Southern California, on-going turmoil with Vietnam, race riots in all major cities, inflation doubled up to 9% in 12 months and the average Federal income tax rate was 50% for average income of about $150k in today's dollars. it's about 39% today.
@@katlindstrom8667 yeah, except Nixon was President in 73, not Carter. But you're right, Carter inherited a mess from Nixon/Ford and couldn't lead the country out of it.
This was the Walt Disney World my wife and I fell in love with on our first trip in 1978. When we moved to Florida in 1997, we began buying annual passes and visited about once a month as work allowed. Sadly by 2016, the magic was gone and we let our annual passes expire. We have never returned.
That’s interesting, as someone who has a long history with WDW, in what way has the magic been lost? I went as a child but haven’t been back so I’m interested in your perspective.
@@thegteam4349 The simplest answer is Automation. Everybody is in too much of a hurry now. We much preferred the days before Fast Pass. Everyone was in one queue, there was time to look at the imagineering that went into the creation of the queues. Fast Pass eliminated the leisurely entry to attractions. In the Magic Kingdom, the changes to the hub, the elimination of the Swan Boats, elimination of the Sky Ride are just a few examples of changes that in my opinion were not improvements. The total destruction of EPCOT That has taken place irks me. Movie based attractions do not belong there. What is educational about Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratatouille. I believe there were ways they could have updated that portion of the park with out resorting to I.P. , but it seems if they can’t get a corporate sponsorship to pay, resort to using movies. I miss Horizons, Body Wars, other original attractions that made you think. Going back to the automation aspect, once upon a time, when you arrived at a deluxe resort, you were greeted at the portico by name, your luggage was unloaded, you were escorted to the check in desk by a cast member, a personal touch. Now days, the expect you to check in on your phone, order your meals on your phone, pay on your phone, basically eliminate interactions of the human kind. I won’t even go in to the change of the Studios into Star Wars land. And the proposed changes to Animal Kingdom are too insane to discuss. There is more but I’ll end my rant here.
I agree. My first time as a child in 74 and so happy I experienced it then. The 70s were really the true glory days of DW. The 80s were nice too. My last time was 98 because believe it or not, even then, because of the belligerent attitude of the new society of the 90s then changed the magic of DW. I never went back after 98 - and when I heard how bad it started to get by 2002......I am so glad my last memories of DW were the glory days. I remember the People Mover, River Country (I went the summer it opened), If You Had Wings, The Ski Lift, Plastic House, Presidents Carosel, the cute ticket booths, and on and on and on. Looking at videos like this brings many tears.
@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits we are locals and my children in their teens just went for the first time in years w/their niece and nephew bc it’s become so bad and we as a family disagree w/them getting involved in such personal issues and politics. And the prices are ridiculous, unfortunately Universal and Sea World are winning the theme park wars here and Disney isn’t doing a very good job respecting the people that created their empire!
Born and raised in St. Petersburg since 74. This is the Disney I remember as a kid. After Covid I cancelled my passes. It’s such a far cry from this it’s depressing.
Wow this brings back lots of memories. Actually my first visit to the Magic Kingdom was at Disney Land I was 11 years old (1964). I live in South Florida, so I visited Disney World in early 1972. It open in Oct. 1971. You had to buy a ticket book to get on the rides (A thru E). An A ticket was used for the best rides at the time. Just turn 70 in May of this year and have been going to Disney World for pass 51 years, with my daughters and now with my Grandkids. We are DVC members, so we now go every year. But I have to admit the early days of going to Disney World were the best, it was a place to bring you kids with lots wholesome fun. Things have changed at Disney World in past several years, so it's not true family values I experience when I was kid and raising my daughters. Really loved the old Disney World!!!!!
I remember the A thru E tickets. Went in the summer of 1972. My parents started saving for that vacation as soon Walt Disney announced the construction on the Sunday night tv show.
Your memory is a little fuzzy, grandpa. The A tickets were for lower tiered things (like the train on Main Street). It was the E tickets that were for the top tiered rides and were highly coveted (Pirates of Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion etc). Google it if you don't believe me.
74 first time and remember the ticket booths. Last time for me was 98. It already started to chage - or people started ruining it. Bad behavior and many other crap atrocities. I never went back. The very best glory days of DW in Fl were the 70s. am so greatful I was able to be a part of that time.
My first trip was in 1975 and I thought the Poly was the most magical thing ever. I cried when we left. I’ll always be grateful to have gone to Disney as a kid, a young adult and our kids have kind of grown up there tool. So many fun trips! We haven’t been in a few years - I think we’re afraid the magic is gone but we have a college graduate next year and a big anniversary so maybe we’ll give it a return visit. Love this video so much!
I've been going to wdw for 53 years now. This video was a joy because I was too young only 2 years old to remember this. Thank you so much for having this video available
Anyone else get freaked out seeing old footage of people. These people walking about 50 years ago and now most people over 30 years old in this video are now dead. It’s so weird how we can instantly look back on time. Life’s too short.
Not freaked out but I thought how these are people’s family. and wouldn’t it be great to see a relative that has passed away and you didn’t know there was this memory of them.
Yeah...I try to imagine how I'd feel if I watched this and saw a young version of my mom enjoying herself here, especially if she was one of the bikini girls on the pedal boat. And then a new generation identifying the same girl as grandma another 20 years later. Would blow my mind.
Yes! At 17:09 I see a tour guide leading her tour from Frontierland into Adventureland. I wonder if I know her? I was a tour guide in the MK from 1977 to 1980. We didn't take tours on this route. Plus, what is going on with her hair? Looks like she took her hair down from a ponytail and the elastic made such a deep crease in her hair that it now looks weird. Plus, we were never allowed to wear our hair down in that costume. I'm almost 65 years old and many of my TG sisters from that time are even a few years older! Thanks to Facebook, many of us have reconnected and stayed in touch for the past several years. Fun memories!
Disney's studio orchestra with its customized background music scores were so uniquely customized to each film scene. Much better than copying & pasting today's generic stock music.
The good old days, when families could afford multiple days and truly enjoyed themselves. I remember sword fighting Captain Hook and eating breakfast with Mickey, Minnie and Goofey. I've been to Disney the past three years and it's just not the same. I'm an 1989 kid, but it's just not the same atmosphere. This is the prime of Disney, through the 90s and early 2000s before it went downhill....
That was before fast food and processed food was popular. Everyone ate healthy fresh food without all those chemicals in it. There was only 1 girl that was overweight in my high school. Every body was thin on the beaches too without dieting.
I visited in 1974 with college friends and we were blown away by the hotels and the park. I will never forget being in such awe!! We had to drive through the swamp land which seemed like forever....now it is all hotels!
I worked driving a tram at Disney back in the summer of '72, making $2.15 an hour during summer break. Gas at the Gulf Car Care Center was 36.9 a gallon. We got 6 cents off as employees. Not exactly a living wage, but it was a few bucks back then before going to a local university.
What's crazy is even at 2.15 an hour you could still afford a couple nights at the Polynesian with your weekly paycheck. It was $40-50 a night back then. Now you'd have to work 2 weeks at minimum wage to afford 1 night!
Think about this-you could buy 6 gallons of gas for your pay. Now you’d have to make $27 and hour as a tram driver to do that. Got a feeling they aren’t making that.
I remember spending hours in the magic shop on Main Street! It's still a magical place for our family. I'm trying to prepare myself this trip for the new version of fast passes. You have to pay for them now on your phone, and even so they're hard to get. But we'll always love Disney World and DisneyLand.
I remember the spring of 76’ coming home from church, my mom packing my sister and me a suit case. I was 8yrs old and since I never watched much tv or movies had no idea what this Disney World place was. I was completely confused as to why the family was so excited about what we were about to embark on. After loading the car and driving all night and the following day we arrived. Remember seeing the entrance and the Contemporary, couldn’t conceive what my dad was saying about a train actually going through the hotel. Completely awe struck when we saw it. Don’t remember much except the bright colors everywhere I looked and that glorious tram.
WONDERFUL story - and I love how you put it all. This was when families and people were REAL!!! Back then, life was REAL!! My first time as a child at 7 was 74! I will never forget the first time. The 70s were really the true glory days of DW. The 80s were nice too. But my very last time was 98 and i never went back. so happy I went during the best time of DW.
My parents took me and my little brother in 1973. Or maybe it was 1972 because Disney World had only been open for one week. Not sure. But there were very few rides. I remember the “it’s a small small world.” ride, and the haunted house. I don’t remember if anything else was open yet. But I was seven years old and it was a genuinely magical place. Oh, yes! They did have the 20,000 Leagues under the sea ride!
Thank you for sharing this clip. This was the first year I went, going yearly in the following decade. I was both smiling. and longing for the past, in this video.
Well, when Disney World opened at the very least all rooms and views at both the Polynesian and Contemporary were $25 a night! That shocks so many people when I tell them! I’ve got a few very old planning guides from that period, back then they had a form in the back you could fill out to make a reservation and that was the price listed! So back then you could easily do a Disney vacation without it breaking your arms and kegs financially. You could spend 5 nights there and the TOTAL price for the entire hotel stay would be only $125!!
I was 8 in ‘73 and had been to WDW at least 3 times by then. In addition to the rides, my favorite stop was a shop on main street that sold magic tricks and masks.
I wish they'd stop focusing on money, and go back to allowing everyone to have a good time without the year long planning event, which continues into your "vacation" at 7 am. Or tiny chips in the over-priced souvenir cups so you don't refill your drink too soon (Universal does this too), park hopping costing a fortune. Enough already.
So absolutely wonderful! I was there as a kid and it was even more spectacular in person back then! Thank you. I wish it resembled more of the place back then. It’s lost some of that wonderful charm and welcoming it once had. It still can be fun through some effort. Just because things get older, doesn’t mean they’re out of date. Just takes love and some upkeep. That’s part of what made the foundation of the Disney idea.
Remember when Disney was fun to go to and not a full time job in itself? I didn't go to WDW in the 70's (I thinking was the age of most go the kids featured in this film, but in the UK, so a trip to the US was the stuff of dreams anyway, much less WDW) The first time I went, the 20,000 leagues ride was still in operation. I loved the feeling of going "underwater:.
Yeah, I was there in '73. Before Space Mountain. Drove from Long Island to see grandma & grandpa in FL. Did we stay on property. Ah, no. Fast forward, have stayed on property in 2017, and visited several times in last 12 years with my family. ❤.
It feels so strange looking at this footage because I was brought there in the early 2000s and I don't remember any of it. So when I did the Disney College Program and got the opportunity to walk around the entire property it always made me wonder what the place was like decades past. Great video to see what used to be.
In the summer of 1976, my family and I visited Disney World. The park was abuzz with bicentennial celebrations, and I was just 14 years old. The experience left an indelible positive mark on me-I’ll never forget the enchantment and magic of that time. However, it saddens me to witness how Disney, once a beacon of wonder and imagination, has transformed into a company with a different ethos.
My family went to Disney World the year after it opened which I think would have been 1972. 5 kids & 2 parents in a station wagon driving from Pennsylvania. Were my parents crazy or what?! LOL!!! A lot of this looks so familiar. Especially, taking the monorail into The Contemporary. I remember thinking it would be so cool to stay there. I’m now 60 & I still haven’t stayed there. LOL!!! Great memories.
Saw this in the movie theater with "Snowball Express." Finally went in 1981 on my first 'grown-up" vacation. The park was beautiful and there was hardly anyone there in early November.
That luau dinner show was wonderful !!! We literally stuffed ourselves on, what I think, was like a 7 or 8 course meal !!! And the show was as close to Hawai as you could get on the mainland !!!
I can confirm as someone with a time machine that it will be coming back and all traces of Crooked Bob will be removed. The DVC will be reduced to almost nothing.
![Spaceship Earth [Its Creation and Design]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iGdYf9eOwbE/mqdefault.jpg)
Sadly, Disney lost its way a long time ago. It’s all corporate and politics. The fun and affordability are gone forever.
You can't honestly be stupid enough to think Disney wasn't corporate back in 1973. Two theme parks, movie studios, toy lines...every character they had was marketed to squeeze every possible dime out of the public.
They monetized it to death.
Well after my takeover, this Disney will return.
This is the Disney World that I remember... innocent and natural! Our family went there in 73-75. It was so much good fun for a 11 year old like me. The President's Hall was so patriotic!
My family went on vacation there in the summer of 1972. As you said, this is the Walt Disney World I remember.
It's still like that bro!
@@colors6692 No it's not; it's disgustingly woke, and should be boycotted by all Americans.
The Disney I remember. Parents used to take us once a year. Nice, great vid. Unwoke Disney love it. God forbid you fake shoot a Hippo these days...
Now they have a figure of that traitor Trump in the president's hall. It should be removed asap.
My Dad was so cool he took me out of school in the early 70s so we could go on vacations to Disney World. One year we stayed at the Polynesian and the other year at the Contemporary. It was a magical time. I've reflected fondly on those trips for the rest of my life. My Dad is gone now but I'm so thankful for those times.
Make new memories with your kids and do the same fun things
You're so lucky. I'll never forgot my mom announcing "we are staying on property this year", and 7 year old me me expecting the Contemporary. Surprise it was the Holiday Inn, one of the good neighbor hotels near what was The Marketplace. lol
@@susanb374 Exactly, only the rich kids stayed at those hotels. But hey, to kids, the Holiday Inn is fun too - its next to Disney World!! YAAAAA
@@susanb374awful
As a father, that's why I took my kids! I want them to remember us on our best days, no matter how tough life gets!
Back when life was a lot simpler!!!!!
less people, less problems... look at the US population in the 70s vs today. Immigration is a real problem.. the proof is in the pudding so to speak.
....and cleaner, and nicer, and happier, and American.
@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bitsthat’s when wow was truly magic
Glad I got to see it when I was like this. They in 1973. It was so much fun and truly magical.
@@bobscott5022 And when people had the souls to be wowed. Today, no one can be wowed.
Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end........
Midnight in Moscow( midnight in Disney World)❤😊
I cannot thank you enough for this video! My parents took us there in 1973 and this brought back so many memories. I started crying when the nightly water parade was shown. I thought I would never hear that music or see it again. The first night we were there (stayed at the Contemporary) my parents had just gotten us down for the night when the water parade music started playing. I remember my mother saying "Now what?" Once we saw what it was, my father whipped out his recording camera. Unfortunately those home movies were lost to time. I wish Disney World was still like that.
"Baroque Hoedown" by Jean Jacques Perrey is the music. Enjoy! :)
Wow. Life seemed much more simple/better without cell phones glued to our hands. People actually talked to each other…even complete strangers!
I went as a kid in the 80s and it was still just like this.
Yeah, it was amazing! I went in 1983. Space Mountain was packed!
I first went to DW in October, 1976. I was in Navy boot camp and my class was bused there. Wonderful times!
Saw this on tv at 12 years old. Wanted to go so bad. Finally went 22 years later. Cried.
💜😭
Good on ya.
Me too. WDW is a very expensive trip. My parents couldn't afford it. I finally did it with my son.
Were you able to meet any of the Princesses?
We marched in the Main Street parade with our HS band back in 1978. What a thrill !!
Love this and the memories it brings back. A truly different, and better time for Walt Disney World.
And for our society. Brings tears to see where we were and how far down we are today. My first time as a kid was 74. A beautiful place. And beautiful people back then all around.
I first visited Disney World in 1974 (I was 4 years old) not too long after this film was made! I still have my home movies
I love these style video they used to make back then, we need them back
It's typically done with one narrator which you rarely see on screen. Nowadays they have to show a diverse group of people who may or may not actually know what they're talking about, inter-cut with actual scenes.
Visited for the first time on my honeymoon in 1980. Cried when I left to fly there, and cried when I exited the gates to go home. We were lucky enough to return four more times over the years, (2015 was our last). Honestly, the changes in navigating the park are intimidating to us now, but hopefully we'll make it back for our 50th anniversary!
If you download the app and get familiar with it before your trip it will be much easier for you. There are still paper maps too
My grandparents both worked at WDW from 2000-2018. During that time I visited them quite often and every summer we’d visit the parks together. A blessing I’ll always be grateful for.
As someone that visited quite often, the magic seen in this video was still present in the early 2000s. But sadly as the years went on, after about 2010 or so, I can’t put my finger on it but the magic started to disappear. And it wasn’t just because I was getting older.
Something genuinely changed about the energy and vibe in the place. But at least I’ll always have the memories of how it used to be before smartphones and corporate IP integration into the parks.
That’s when Disney was still magic 🪄 not today
I BET YOUR LIFE IS MISERABLE! THE LIFE YOU LIVE IS A REFLECTION OF YOU AND YOUR ACTIONS & THOUGHTS
I envy all you folks who got to visit Disney world in the '70s. I always wanted to go as a child, but we were too poor so I didn't make my first trip to Disney world until 2010 when I was 40 years old. Better late than never I guess. I was like a kid at 40 years old having finally made it 😀
We didn't start coming until the 1990's - but even now can't believe the changes since the Pandemic! Disney doesn't pick your family up at the airport anymore! The other guests are pushy and entitled & the cast member act like they don't care!
Thank you. The 70s were really the true glory days for Disney. But I am so happy you got to go when you did and be a real kid with it! That is what makes it fun. My last time was 98. I went many times in the 70s, 80s, and some in th 90s. But your first time is always the best. so dont feel bad you went at 40 in 2010 - it was a glory day for you!!!!! Blessings. I am 3 years older than you and there are many places I have never been that everyone and their brother have been. But my day is coming. Blessings
I would have never imagined that I'd be able to go one day. We didnt have much money as a child but when I did go, I was truly saddened by how few American children were in the parks! Very few people spoke english, guests and cast members alike. This amazing place exists and it's so far out of reach for most!
I visited in 1971. Been going to the Magic Kingdom for 50 years.
This is what I remember as a kid born in the 50s. I love Disney anything so much.😊
It took me until 1980 to get there. Fortunately by then, not much had changed except that things like Space Mountain had been added. I spent 7 years trying to figure out how to get there as a kid. Then someone against all odds, my high school senior class voted for WDW over a Caribbean cruise, as our senior class trip, and OMG, my dream would come true.
I came back with over $100 of merch, consisting of most of my savings as a 17 year old, LOL, and lots of tales about how it was as wonderful as I thought it would be.
Apparently cue the parental guilt, because the next thing I knew I was given an ultimatum: I could choose whether my high school graduation present was the graduation party I'd wanted since I missed out on a party for my 8th grade graduation (I'd also never had a birthday party; mom was an agoraphobic, and back then having a kids' party meant having people over and the idea freaked mom out), or a family trip to WDW so that I could go again and my siblings could see it for the first time. I of course chose the latter. So after YEARS of wanting to go to WDW and not getting there, I got to go twice in 6 months.
To save money, we stayed off property for a week, but I insisted on a couple days before that on a higher floor at the Contemporary Tower, Bay Lake view because I wanted to show them WDW as it was designed to be experienced. We got there and the bellman opened the drapes to reveal the view and my mother looked at me with an expression that said, "OMG. This is breath-taking. And you knew this all along and tried to tell us. I should have listened years ago." I offered to take my siblings to the park for a while if they wanted some time to relax without us around after travel, and said we could stay at the park until after the fireworks if they'd provide money for us to eat some burgers for dinner at the park and get a snack later. LOL, that was some of the easiest money I'd ever gotten out of them.
This the disney I remember and loved. Thank you for posting this
❤ lot has changed since then love it
Disney was ahead of there time!! This is amazing to watch
Their
I also worked on the Crystal Palace, actually, I worked on every resort and ride there up until 2002
Wife and I honeymooned there in the summer of 1974! Yep, fifty years later next year, we're still together, retired, the kids have left home and......we can't afford to come back!
Damn shame! I wish you the best!
Welp, if you voted democrat you are partially to blame for that...
@@adamwest3266😂
@@adamwest3266 And so are you. :)
When I was 9 yo my Grandparents took me to Walt Disney World in 1973 and we stayed at the Polynesian Resort for 3 days. The next year they moved to Florida and so did my immediate family. I went to Disney World several times a year for most of my Life. Had my Annual Pass for many years, but in 2010 I decided that the Walt Disney World I knew and loved was no longer in existence, so I just stopped going. I do have MANY Great Memories though. Thank You for posting this Video.
Agreed, the Florida I knew and loved no longer exists either. 😢
Me too, we went so many times during the 70s I lost count after 100. We kept going thru to the 90s, and by the 2000s i no longer felt nor saw the same magic, stopped renewing our APs, havnt been back since.
@@gc4644 Yes, it's sad to see what has happened to the Parks in the last Decade or so. I keep searching TH-cam for 1972 to 1990 for Videos to go along with "my" Home Videos of the parks. :~)
@@slimlouis6441 grew up going there in the late 70's thru the late 80's, just went back 3 weeks ago and you ain't kidding! Where did all the orange groves go among other things? Seems like every highway is a toll road now too.
What simpler (and better) times. People seemed more elegant and refined and civilized in those times. Look at the way they dressed to go out to the parks. And NOPBOBDY staring into a phone. Everyone there was enjoying the moment, and there wasn't the constant need to check on ride times, or dinner reservations, or fast passes or lightning lanes or whatever. And the crowds seemed so much more manageable. And there was so much more to do than just be in the park. I went there in 1976 and in 2015. The 1976 time was much more enjoyable.
I hear you!! I was there in 1976 too!!
Well, those rotary phones were quite uninteresting to stare at...
What a wonderful world it was back then!
Its the same world just more people.
AMEN
@@DRTerabyteCulture has changed, for the worse.
@@dr.winstonsmith THANKS TO TRUMP AND HIS MAGA MINONS IN THE GOP! VOTE FOR DEMOCRACY IN NOVEMBER
@@xavierminchello8431Bring your new-age politics into 1973 here. REAL nice
Our congress should take a field trip to the hall of presidents. Remember why we are the United States of America.
Unfortunately I refuse to go into the Hall of Presidents until they remove the traitor and criminal who has and still does try to destroy our democracy!
Lincoln's words are still so relevant today.
Knowing that the orange turds likeness was allowed to desecrate that hallowed place of liberty is truly a travesty..
@@julesgamingnstuff… It’s a pity so few listen 😔
Excellent idea Lori! The democratic ones already know but def the Republican ones need to be taught.
I was there in 1976. It was a great place then!! All the children are in their fifties and sixties, and the elderly are gone now!! Would the children today even know some of the tunes played like “Oh Susannah”?
me too in 1975
Here here 1977…….i will never forget…
Probably not. We had a music teacher in grade school that would come once a week. We had a new music book each year and looked forward to learn some of the long time favorites.
I was impressed when some people in their 20s at Disney World were singing along to the instrumental versions of "Wells Fargo Wagon" and "Bicycle Built for Two" when it was being played over the background music sound system.
This is the Disney that I miss and the one I wish I could take my family to experience.
It's not our fault you're dirt poor.
What great memories. Made me smile. I have visited WDW, in 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, 2010’s. I still love WDW to this day.
Had dozens and dozens of trips to WDW throughout the 70s, and can honestly say most about the property back then WAS much better. The water in the 7 seas lagoon was crystal clear and we swam in it all the time! The Poly had a MUCH better lobby, and the game room in the Contemporary resort was the biggest & best in the whole country! The Fort Wilderness campground had a working train, and a great restaurant!
Progress does not always mean things get better..
That game room in the Contemporary brings such fond memories❤️the click-clack of everyone playing air hockey, the snack bar, shooting range, and skee-ball. I spent many many hours there.
Omg! The Contemporary Arcade!!! I forgot how much we loved that place as kids!
Contemporary arcade aka the Fiesta Fun Center! That horse racing game on the big screen where you pushed a button to get your horse to jump over an oncoming barrier, racing against others doing the same, and the classic Atari Breakout game were my idea of great fun.
River Country!
I remember playing the old atari table top football game. The one with the x and Os really a gr8 memory
This was exactly the time our family first went to Disneworld on vacation!! We went every year for about 10 years thereafter n it has always he'd a special place in all of our hearts, and we have visited several times in the 1980's n 1990's and experienced wonderful family reunions there. It truly is "the Magic Kingdom!!!" Thank ever so for posting this excellent walk down memory lane!!!!
Same here..First time was in '72, just graduated from high school. Never dreamed that I would be bringing my children some day. And behold, bringing my grandchildren also. Wish I could turn the clocks back 50 years and do it again!
My family too-May 1973.
Me and my family had just moved to Tampa when Disneyworld opened.
This was a time the cast members were fun & guests behaved! Everyone enjoyed themselves.
@@wilber53 You said it. I would love to turn back the clock 50 years too.
I so miss those early trips. No fast passes or alcohol sales so mom and dad actually had fun and did not need to get tanked. It was clean, good inexpensive food, and great customer service. You needed tickets for each ride. The E tickets were for the best attractions.
AND, the guests (customers) were polite, dressed nicely, obeyed the rules, spoke politely and at normal decible levles, smiled, laughed, and were REAL people. Oh the days our nation was clean.
No alcohol there now either.
Look how nice and not crowded the park is! God I miss old disney
I went to Disney World for the first time in 1976, and my family was there several times a year through the 70s. It's so nice to see it again.
My Grandmother took us every two years to Disney in the 70s and 80s. It was all about family back then and it was affordable for almost everyone. Now it's not affordable even for most middle class families.
When things were normal
Define normal
@@ratcloneShut Up Cat
@@ratclonebefore they hated America and believed that if a child identified as a butt plug you had to celebrate it.. Democrats anyway.
And when Things Didn't have to be Politically Correct. 😅😅😅@@ratclone
@@ratclonewithout normalized perversion, violence, rampant hatred of men and of nation, etc…
Dad and Mom took us to DisneyWorld when it open in 1971. I was only 9 years old and I can tell you it was amazing, unbelievable really. I continued to go for years and then with my own family until about 8 years ago when it became so crowded, so woke, and so money grubby that I may never go back again...Ah wish the old days were back!
What did you see that was woke? I’m fine with their policies but at the same time I don’t think they have any woke themed attractions…
@@Sashazur Nah, not al all, yeah right...like CHANGING many of the rides and characters to make them people of color or politically correct...Like a BALANCE would be good not to swing the pendulum completely around...Like heck Snow White is no longer white but black now...makes no sense...
@@SashazurThey went on the "It's a small world ride"😂!
I stopped going by the late 90s. I never would go back after I heard how bad it started getting by the early 2000s. The 70s were the true glory days of Disney World. I am so happy my first time as a kid was 74. And I went wiht my family the first summer River Country opened. I remember like yesterday.
@@Sashazur YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you go in the 70s or 80s?????
purely a great time capsule. I Miss you Walt Disney World!
I think, based on the comments, some are blinded by nostalgia about how simple life was back then and how much happier the country was. In 1973? Watergate, long lines at gas stations due the oil embargo, NYC constantly on the verge of bankruptcy, rampant air polution choking Southern California, on-going turmoil with Vietnam, race riots in all major cities, inflation doubled up to 9% in 12 months and the average Federal income tax rate was 50% for average income of about $150k in today's dollars. it's about 39% today.
that's why people went to WDW for the escapism and also why carter was voted out in a landslide..
Sounds like there a democrat in the WH back then too.
@@katlindstrom8667 yeah, except Nixon was President in 73, not Carter. But you're right, Carter inherited a mess from Nixon/Ford and couldn't lead the country out of it.
@@Horizons1 The funny part is that it was a Republican in the White House back then.
@@katlindstrom8667 1973 was Richard Nixon's administration. Jimmy Carter was actually elected in 1976 because of the issues mentioned in the OP.
Disney tickets in 1973 were $4.50 for Adult, JUNIOR (12 thru 17) $3.50, CHILD (3 thru 11) $1.50.
This was the Walt Disney World my wife and I fell in love with on our first trip in 1978. When we moved to Florida in 1997, we began buying annual passes and visited about once a month as work allowed. Sadly by 2016, the magic was gone and we let our annual passes expire. We have never returned.
That’s interesting, as someone who has a long history with WDW, in what way has the magic been lost? I went as a child but haven’t been back so I’m interested in your perspective.
@@thegteam4349 The simplest answer is Automation. Everybody is in too much of a hurry now. We much preferred the days before Fast Pass. Everyone was in one queue, there was time to look at the imagineering that went into the creation of the queues. Fast Pass eliminated the leisurely entry to attractions. In the Magic Kingdom, the changes to the hub, the elimination of the Swan Boats, elimination of the Sky Ride are just a few examples of changes that in my opinion were not improvements. The total destruction of EPCOT That has taken place irks me. Movie based attractions do not belong there. What is educational about Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratatouille. I believe there were ways they could have updated that portion of the park with out resorting to I.P. , but it seems if they can’t get a corporate sponsorship to pay, resort to using movies. I miss Horizons, Body Wars, other original attractions that made you think. Going back to the automation aspect, once upon a time, when you arrived at a deluxe resort, you were greeted at the portico by name, your luggage was unloaded, you were escorted to the check in desk by a cast member, a personal touch. Now days, the expect you to check in on your phone, order your meals on your phone, pay on your phone, basically eliminate interactions of the human kind. I won’t even go in to the change of the Studios into Star Wars land. And the proposed changes to Animal Kingdom are too insane to discuss. There is more but I’ll end my rant here.
As a local, I totally agree! I miss the old Disney when it was magical, and before they involved themselves in everyone’s personal issues and politics
I agree. My first time as a child in 74 and so happy I experienced it then. The 70s were really the true glory days of DW. The 80s were nice too. My last time was 98 because believe it or not, even then, because of the belligerent attitude of the new society of the 90s then changed the magic of DW. I never went back after 98 - and when I heard how bad it started to get by 2002......I am so glad my last memories of DW were the glory days. I remember the People Mover, River Country (I went the summer it opened), If You Had Wings, The Ski Lift, Plastic House, Presidents Carosel, the cute ticket booths, and on and on and on. Looking at videos like this brings many tears.
@@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits we are locals and my children in their teens just went for the first time in years w/their niece and nephew bc it’s become so bad and we as a family disagree w/them getting involved in such personal issues and politics. And the prices are ridiculous, unfortunately Universal and Sea World are winning the theme park wars here and Disney isn’t doing a very good job respecting the people that created their empire!
Born and raised in St. Petersburg since 74. This is the Disney I remember as a kid. After Covid I cancelled my passes. It’s such a far cry from this it’s depressing.
I worked on the glass walls in the Contemporary, it’s truly amazing. They haven’t accomplished anything close since then.
Wow this brings back lots of memories. Actually my first visit to the Magic Kingdom was at Disney Land I was 11 years old (1964). I live in South Florida, so I visited Disney World in early 1972. It open in Oct. 1971. You had to buy a ticket book to get on the rides (A thru E). An A ticket was used for the best rides at the time. Just turn 70 in May of this year and have been going to Disney World for pass 51 years, with my daughters and now with my Grandkids. We are DVC members, so we now go every year. But I have to admit the early days of going to Disney World were the best, it was a place to bring you kids with lots wholesome fun. Things have changed at Disney World in past several years, so it's not true family values I experience when I was kid and raising my daughters. Really loved the old Disney World!!!!!
I remember the A thru E tickets. Went in the summer of 1972. My parents started saving for that vacation as soon Walt Disney announced the construction on the Sunday night tv show.
Your memory is a little fuzzy, grandpa. The A tickets were for lower tiered things (like the train on Main Street). It was the E tickets that were for the top tiered rides and were highly coveted (Pirates of Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion etc). Google it if you don't believe me.
Actually the E tickets were for the best rides. (Pirates and Space Mountain)
The E tickets were for the best rides. Some people still refer to the newest and most desired rides at WDW as "E-ticket rides".
74 first time and remember the ticket booths. Last time for me was 98. It already started to chage - or people started ruining it. Bad behavior and many other crap atrocities. I never went back. The very best glory days of DW in Fl were the 70s. am so greatful I was able to be a part of that time.
My first trip was in 1975 and I thought the Poly was the most magical thing ever. I cried when we left. I’ll always be grateful to have gone to Disney as a kid, a young adult and our kids have kind of grown up there tool. So many fun trips! We haven’t been in a few years - I think we’re afraid the magic is gone but we have a college graduate next year and a big anniversary so maybe we’ll give it a return visit. Love this video so much!
I've been going to wdw for 53 years now. This video was a joy because I was too young only 2 years old to remember this. Thank you so much for having this video available
Anyone else get freaked out seeing old footage of people.
These people walking about 50 years ago and now most people over 30 years old in this video are now dead.
It’s so weird how we can instantly look back on time.
Life’s too short.
Life is the longest thing you’ll ever do.
Not freaked out but I thought how these are people’s family. and wouldn’t it be great to see a relative that has passed away and you didn’t know there was this memory of them.
I think about this too.
Yeah...I try to imagine how I'd feel if I watched this and saw a young version of my mom enjoying herself here, especially if she was one of the bikini girls on the pedal boat. And then a new generation identifying the same girl as grandma another 20 years later. Would blow my mind.
Yes! At 17:09 I see a tour guide leading her tour from Frontierland into Adventureland. I wonder if I know her? I was a tour guide in the MK from 1977 to 1980. We didn't take tours on this route. Plus, what is going on with her hair? Looks like she took her hair down from a ponytail and the elastic made such a deep crease in her hair that it now looks weird. Plus, we were never allowed to wear our hair down in that costume. I'm almost 65 years old and many of my TG sisters from that time are even a few years older! Thanks to Facebook, many of us have reconnected and stayed in touch for the past several years. Fun memories!
Disney's studio orchestra with its customized background music scores were so uniquely customized to each film scene. Much better than copying & pasting today's generic stock music.
Yes! Buddy Baker scored a lot of them including this one. He also scored a lot of Disney shorts, features and theme park music back then too.
I think I came here searching for some sample in a tv girl song 😭
The good old days, when families could afford multiple days and truly enjoyed themselves. I remember sword fighting Captain Hook and eating breakfast with Mickey, Minnie and Goofey. I've been to Disney the past three years and it's just not the same. I'm an 1989 kid, but it's just not the same atmosphere. This is the prime of Disney, through the 90s and early 2000s before it went downhill....
Everybody was so much thinner.
😬
That was before fast food and processed food was popular. Everyone ate healthy fresh food without all those chemicals in it.
There was only 1 girl that was overweight in my high school. Every body was thin on the beaches too without dieting.
I was there the year they made that short movie!
I was 9 y.o., it was around Christmas, it was all wonders!
I visited in 1974 with college friends and we were blown away by the hotels and the park. I will never forget being in such awe!! We had to drive through the swamp land which seemed like forever....now it is all hotels!
I remember that. It was like driving across the county to get to the MK. O. They had a AM radio station you could tune in to get the latest news..
74 was my first time too!! I was 7 and it iwas truly magical. Never forget it. The 70s were really the true glory days of DW.
Sad to see that buildings, complete parks, entertainment, philosophy and people from this movie are gone😢 Gone but never forgotten ❤️
What?
@@susanb374 ehhh what?
@@brietje2621I agree with you. Things are different for sure.
The only thing constant is change! Wake up!
No they're not gone, just hibernating. I was at WDW's 75th in 2046 and can confirm all this is back thanks to the Make Disney Great Again movement.
Thanks for bringing back GREAT MEMORIES when we visted and stayed in the 70's 🥰😍❤
Disney World of my youth. I used to go there every year from 1973 until 1982.
I worked driving a tram at Disney back in the summer of '72, making $2.15 an hour during summer break. Gas at the Gulf Car Care Center was 36.9 a gallon. We got 6 cents off as employees. Not exactly a living wage, but it was a few bucks back then before going to a local university.
What's crazy is even at 2.15 an hour you could still afford a couple nights at the Polynesian with your weekly paycheck. It was $40-50 a night back then. Now you'd have to work 2 weeks at minimum wage to afford 1 night!
Think about this-you could buy 6 gallons of gas for your pay. Now you’d have to make $27 and hour as a tram driver to do that. Got a feeling they aren’t making that.
I still remember a show we saw back then but the only part I remember is that it was brought to us by Monsanto. 😊
It may have been at the 3D theater in the round. I believe it had a lot of outdoor and agricultural footage, but I can barely remember it myself.
I remember spending hours in the magic shop on Main Street! It's still a magical place for our family. I'm trying to prepare myself this trip for the new version of fast passes. You have to pay for them now on your phone, and even so they're hard to get. But we'll always love Disney World and DisneyLand.
We were there, I believe, in December of 1973, and it actually SNOWED! We have movies of it snowing at the castle during a live show. It was magical!
I remember the spring of 76’ coming home from church, my mom packing my sister and me a suit case. I was 8yrs old and since I never watched much tv or movies had no idea what this Disney World place was. I was completely confused as to why the family was so excited about what we were about to embark on. After loading the car and driving all night and the following day we arrived. Remember seeing the entrance and the Contemporary, couldn’t conceive what my dad was saying about a train actually going through the hotel. Completely awe struck when we saw it. Don’t remember much except the bright colors everywhere I looked and that glorious tram.
WONDERFUL story - and I love how you put it all. This was when families and people were REAL!!! Back then, life was REAL!! My first time as a child at 7 was 74! I will never forget the first time. The 70s were really the true glory days of DW. The 80s were nice too. But my very last time was 98 and i never went back. so happy I went during the best time of DW.
My parents took me and my little brother in 1973. Or maybe it was 1972 because Disney World had only been open for one week. Not sure. But there were very few rides. I remember the “it’s a small small world.” ride, and the haunted house. I don’t remember if anything else was open yet. But I was seven years old and it was a genuinely magical place. Oh, yes! They did have the 20,000 Leagues under the sea ride!
Guests playing in the water of Bay Lake was fascinating. No Cosmic Ray but a hippie band. 😀
Those weren’t hippies. By 1974 that was main stream brady bunch dick cavit show leisure suit side burned watergate 70s
Thank you for sharing this clip. This was the first year I went, going yearly in the following decade. I was both smiling. and longing for the past, in this video.
If Disney was as classy as this today, I might visit. But those days are long gone.
"Guests may stay as long as they like"--Till the money runs out.
😂😂😂😂
This was definitely before they started charging $700 a night room stays
Well, when Disney World opened at the very least all rooms and views at both the Polynesian and Contemporary were $25 a night! That shocks so many people when I tell them! I’ve got a few very old planning guides from that period, back then they had a form in the back you could fill out to make a reservation and that was the price listed! So back then you could easily do a Disney vacation without it breaking your arms and kegs financially. You could spend 5 nights there and the TOTAL price for the entire hotel stay would be only $125!!
$125 in 1973 is equal to $854 today. the average salary was also a LOT less back then than it is nowadays. it was always expensive
@@merrymermaidShut UP.
This Was a fun watch!
The simpler times were better, now disney has turned complicated
@@mrnailman1 The whole world has turned more complicated, unfortunately. :(
I was 8 in ‘73 and had been to WDW at least 3 times by then. In addition to the rides, my favorite stop was a shop on main street that sold magic tricks and masks.
I was almost nine in 1973 and I got to go with my cousins and aunt. It’s forever etched in my child mind. Was a blast and magical to me at the time.
My grandmother took me to Disney World in 1972...I was 11 yrs old. I remember Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, It's a Small World.
I didn't realize Cinderella's Castle clock actually tolled. This whole advertisement is pretty amazing.
Love this! Still my favorite place to visit. I just wish the crowds were more like days than they are now. 🙂
Now it’s $2000 a night to stay at the Star Wars themed hotel. 😂
Can’t wait til this company finally takes full a tumble face-first.
Disney closed the hotel. No one was booking rooms for the reason you mention.
@@ovalhunter488 I’ll be honest, it happened WAY faster than I was expecting. 😂
I wish they'd stop focusing on money, and go back to allowing everyone to have a good time without the year long planning event, which continues into your "vacation" at 7 am. Or tiny chips in the over-priced souvenir cups so you don't refill your drink too soon (Universal does this too), park hopping costing a fortune. Enough already.
Disney is going to be broken up and lose Lucasfilm entirely under antitrust.
My grandmother took me there in 1973 we stayed in the wilderness camp ground for a week. A time i have never forgotten. Times much more sinple.
I miss my white Go Go boots❤😊
Ooh those were the days. 💙
So absolutely wonderful! I was there as a kid and it was even more spectacular in person back then! Thank you.
I wish it resembled more of the place back then. It’s lost some of that wonderful charm and welcoming it once had. It still can be fun through some effort.
Just because things get older, doesn’t mean they’re out of date. Just takes love and some upkeep. That’s part of what made the foundation of the Disney idea.
Basically, the 1972 film The Magic of Walt Disney World.
I think if Disney would just go back to this it would be perfect :/
Remember when Disney was fun to go to and not a full time job in itself? I didn't go to WDW in the 70's (I thinking was the age of most go the kids featured in this film, but in the UK, so a trip to the US was the stuff of dreams anyway, much less WDW) The first time I went, the 20,000 leagues ride was still in operation. I loved the feeling of going "underwater:.
the golden age of Disney
The Good Old Days! I have hope that something will give…
Not a phone in sight... Just people living in the moment...
You'd have to have a real long extension cord to have a phone in the park in those days.
@@katazack And some powerful fingers to keep dialing that rotary all day. :)
I remember as late as the 80’s, Main Street was more about entertainment than merchandise. Less than a decade later it was gift shop galore.
Not it wasn't. I went in 1976 and it was EXACTLY the same.
So much changed yet so much the same! I went first in 1975 and now live in Florida with annual pass.
Yeah, I was there in '73. Before Space Mountain. Drove from Long Island to see grandma & grandpa in FL. Did we stay on property. Ah, no. Fast forward, have stayed on property in 2017, and visited several times in last 12 years with my family. ❤.
It feels so strange looking at this footage because I was brought there in the early 2000s and I don't remember any of it. So when I did the Disney College Program and got the opportunity to walk around the entire property it always made me wonder what the place was like decades past. Great video to see what used to be.
The 70s were really the true glory days of DW. The 80s were really nice too.
In the summer of 1976, my family and I visited Disney World. The park was abuzz with bicentennial celebrations, and I was just 14 years old. The experience left an indelible positive mark on me-I’ll never forget the enchantment and magic of that time.
However, it saddens me to witness how Disney, once a beacon of wonder and imagination, has transformed into a company with a different ethos.
People were sure a lot thinner 50 years ago!
No drive-thru's and lots of people smoked.
And not one single disability scooter with an obese rider
Not any handheld devices or other “modern “stuff, people got to do things together outside and moved around. Now we are all couch potatoes.
This is the year I first went there. It's the first memory I have in my life.
We went in 1976. Still had to pay with tickets for each ride. I was 8 and still remember a lot about it.
Love the animatronic hippy band at Tomorrowland. Seemed very life-like. Disney always ahead of the times.
Weird that they focused so much on the Bear Jamboree and completely skipped over Haunted Mansion aside from a brief mention.
My family went to Disney World the year after it opened which I think would have been 1972. 5 kids & 2 parents in a station wagon driving from Pennsylvania. Were my parents crazy or what?! LOL!!! A lot of this looks so familiar. Especially, taking the monorail into The Contemporary. I remember thinking it would be so cool to stay there. I’m now 60 & I still haven’t stayed there. LOL!!! Great memories.
Delaware, same. Every year from 1972 to early/mid-eighties.
Saw this in the movie theater with "Snowball Express." Finally went in 1981 on my first 'grown-up" vacation. The park was beautiful and there was hardly anyone there in early November.
How did they show this? Was it also in 35mm?
My first time was 1981 also 🥰🥰🥰
Can’t step foot in that lagoon now from any of the resorts
I was thinking the same thing there's no boats you can just jump in and swim around
@@merdith6 Tells me they had some alligator experiences that changed that.
@@trebillis7399 hahaha
RIP to the luau dinner show. It was sacrificed to build the Bob's atrocity that is the modern hotel at the Polynesian.
That luau dinner show was wonderful !!! We literally stuffed ourselves on, what I think, was like a 7 or 8 course meal !!! And the show was as close to Hawai as you could get on the mainland !!!
@@drawntomountains😂
I can confirm as someone with a time machine that it will be coming back and all traces of Crooked Bob will be removed. The DVC will be reduced to almost nothing.
Those ladies on the paddle boat mean business they’re like “out of our way! Come on!”