Hooray, here's another day of Special Guest Photos! These are from the personal collection of Ken Martinez, and are from a trip to Walt Disney World that he took in March, 1982. He was kind enough to provide his own commentary on each photo, which made my job easy.
"Big Thunder Mountain Railroad; While I'm not a big fan of our (Disneyland) Big Thunder Mountain, I love the Magic Kingdom version. As a roller coaster it is a far more exciting ride experience".
"Cinderella Castle; What can I say about this shot. Not much. It was impressive, but I still like ours better".
"Fantasyland East; This is where 20,000 Leagues, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Mad Tea Party were located. Space Mountain is in the background. Notice how the Skyway in Tomorrowland area is in a different direction than the Skyway above Fantasyland. That's because of the turn-around in the middle of Grand Prix Raceway".
"Fantasyland West; This is where It's a Small World, Skyway chalet and Peter Pan's Flight is located. They actually tore down their Skyway chalet sometime last year".
"Grand Prix Raceway; This is so different than our Autopia and actually quite boring on the scenery. I like that you can see the Skyway in this view as well as the Contemporary Resort Hotel tower rising behind in the backdrop".
"Star Jets; This view is looking down the corridor from the bridge off the hub toward central Tomorrowland. Ahead is the WEDway PeopleMover loading platform and the Star Jets attraction on top of that. Notice the PeopleMover tracks go down the sides of the building instead of down the center corridor like they do at Disneyland. The building on the left contained the Mission to Mars attraction and the building on the right contained Monsanto's Circle Vision 360 theater".
"Tomorrowland; Space Mountain, WEDway PeopleMover, the Skyway, and the Grand Prix Raceway are all pictured here".
THANKS as always to Ken for sharing these great pix from Florida! He has more to share in upcoming posts, so stay tuned.
Wow, Ken! Some great memories here.
ReplyDeleteThe colors and framing of that first photo really looks like it could have been taken in the vicinity of Monument Valley. I also like how the overall design of the mountain echoes the general shape of Cinderella Castle. I'd never noticed that before, but it's pretty obvious here.
Every single Fantasyland and Tomorrowland photo shows a landscape that has been significantly altered in the past 32 years. Gone are the Skyway, Mr Toad's Wild Ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mission to Mars, If You Had Wings, and the mid-to-late-60's futuristic architecture of Tomorrowland. The PeopleMover, the Star Jets, and even the Grand Prix Raceway have been significantly re-themed since then.
Many thanks for sharing these, Ken!
Out of curiosity, what did you shoot these with?
ReplyDeleteChuck - I used a Kodak pocket camera. Nothing special. Glad you liked these.
ReplyDeleteKen, thanks for sharing your photos and memories.
ReplyDeleteMajor, thanks for posting these.
JG
Ken, thanks for sharing your photos and memories.
ReplyDeleteMajor, thanks for posting these.
JG
Holy crud, Ken, you were there one month after my first trip in February 1982! That was the Tomorrowland that captured my imagination and lived in my dreams for years to come.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to find any of our family pictures from that trip, so it's like you've given me a little piece of my childhood back.
ReplyDeleteChuck - This is the Disney World of my early adults years. My first trip was in 1978, when I turned 18. I feel so fortunate to have been able to visit WDW in its first decade. So much has changed since then.
ReplyDeleteJG - I'm glad you enjoyed these. I used to have more photos of this trip, but can't find them.
Melissa - I was thinking of you when I prepared these photos for GDB. I sort of remember this was around the time you first visited WDW, from reading your past comments. I'm glad this gives back some of those memories of your first visit. The Magic Kingdom was perfection in those days.
Thanks to all for the nice comments. Thanks again, Major, for allowing me to share.
I just love it when the East Coast makes an appearance on your blog! It will never be as "vintage" as Disneyland, the guests will always be dressed in their "vacation" shorts, T's and jeans. But spotting a Member's Only jacket in a pic is becoming more fun with each passing year!
ReplyDeleteChuck, I noticed the similarity between the Big Thunder photo and the castle… I wonder if it really was intentional. It sounds like WDW's Fantasyland has changed even more than Disneyland's!
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, thanks again!
JG, I am happy to be able to share these great vintage photos.
Melissa, I am hoping that you find your family photos from your first trip to WDW. And that you will share them here on GDB!
K. Martinez, you were definitely lucky to see WDW in its early years. It has grown and changed so much - I find myself fascinated with the 1970's version, much like I am fascinated with the early Disneyland.
LauraJ953, I have a bunch more WDW photos to share… maybe a few hundred? While they tend to be of the same things over and over, I am still going to be posting them, so stay tuned!