Sunday, April 13, 2014

Walt Dizzy World, November 1980

Whew, I am still trying to get through the boring slides from a lot of 1980 Disney World views. SO… I am sharing eight of them today, in order to get inside the Magic Kingdom for the next post.

First up… the Monorail and the Contemporary Resort. Somehow in my mind I  think of the A-frame structure as being taller and narrower and more A-shaped. Still, there is something about it that I love.


There's the Contemporary again, across Bay Lake. Space Mountain is the only other notable structure visible. A lone sailboat glides across the lake, just like the ones you saw in all of those old ads!


Now we're atop the Contemporary, looking toward the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. The Monorail track and a topiary menagerie are in front of the train station (complete with train). Not much else is visible except for a sea of trees.


The Monorail again; the whole area looks so relatively undeveloped. Any idea what that waterway/canal is in the lower part of the photo? It looks like a boat just cruised by.


Don't want to take the Monorail? Then take a ferry, whydon'tcha. This one is headed straight for land, or it is turning around for some reason.


This one is nicer than the rest; good lighting, yet another Monorail, and a glimpse into the park beyond. There are the Star Jets, Fantasyland, the Skyway, the Peoplemover, and (of course) Cinderella Castle.


Florida's Space Mountain opened in 1975, and all these years later it is still an impressive structure. Apparently John Hench lobbied fiercely for the structural steel to be seen on the outside so that the wall inside would be smooth, allowing for better viewing of the star projections. Way to go, Mr. Hench!


And lastly (for today), another look toward the castle. The Star Jets are up and spinning! You can just see where the Hall of Presidents is.


Hopefully the next batch will be more interesting! No promises though.

11 comments:

K. Martinez said...

There's nothing boring about these slides to me. One of the things I like about these images is that they show the vast expanse that is the Walt Disney World property.

The second image is looking across the "Seven Seas Lagoon", not Bay Lake. Bay Lake is on the other side of the Contemporary Resort.

I love the Space Mountain image. Does anyone remember the Space Mountain commercial that ran on TV when the attraction first opened in 1975? I remember watching it on TV when I was a teenager.

It went something like this:

America has a new mountain.
You don't climb it.
You don't ski it.
You experience Space Mountain!

Perched on the edge of another galaxy in the all new Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Bearride - Raymond said...

I'm looking at the Carousel of Progress....hehe

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, I have no idea why I wrote "Bay Lake", even as I was typing it I knew there was something "not right" about it. BUT… my excuse is that this was yet another last-minute post.

Bearride, you mean you are looking at it in a photo, or that you are *actually* looking at it today?

Pegleg Pete said...

Even from outside the berm, the old Tomorrowland looked so clean and futuristic and inviting!

Anonymous said...

The mystery waterway is the water connector between Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. I always liked the fact that the waterway was literally a bridge over the roadway access to the Contemporary.

steve2wdw said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
steve2wdw said...

In the fifth shot, the boat headed towards land is actually just starting to make the turn into the canal that leads to Bay Lake.
The sixth shot features an original brown, orange and white Disney bus. WDW featured lots of orange back then.

Nancy said...

Love Walt Disney World, anytime, any way I can get it! These are great photos of the early days :)

Loved the Star Jets. Also loved the original entrance to Tomorrowland. Another thing that is gone :( Looking forward to seeing the rest.

Chuck said...

Yes! Looking forward to seeing the rest...rest...rest....rest.

Echo...echo...echo...echo.

Melissa said...

That's the most beautiful picture of the Florida Space Mountain I've ever seen. Space... shiny and new... come aboard... we're expecting you...

Not only did the external supports make for a better projection effect inside, they were gorgeous on the outside, too. The give the mountain the appearance of a crown, which befits the status it still has as the headliner of land, and arguably the park. They increase the airy negative space (like the flying buttresses on a Gothic cathedral (which were also practical, but beautiful) which was the signature look of WDW's "City in the Sky" Tomorrowland in its prime.

bigbrian-nc.com said...

One more thing about the turning ship, it's not a ferry, but a side-wheeler, the two side wheelers were retired before i ever started visiting WDW, but I LOVE seeing photos of them all the more for that fact.