Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Walt Disney World – Resort Guide 1977 (Part 1)

NOTE: Well guys, ol' Major Pepperidge screwed up today. Somehow I managed to repost an article that Ken Martinez sent to me months and months ago. Not sure how it all happened, except that I was probably in "WRITE AS MANY POSTS AS POSSIBLE IN ONE DAY" mode. I'm going to be gone for most of the day, or else I would attempt to fix it. So it's just going to have to be a repeat! Sorry about that.

Ken Martinez is going to sharing some Walt Disney World stuff with us over the next few weeks - here he is to explain it:

Walt Disney World – Resort Guide 1977 (Part 1)

Walt Disney World will have its 45th anniversary on October 1st of this year so I wanted to do a little project on the early years of Disney’s Florida property to coincide with the celebration.  In future posts I’ll be sharing guide booklets and other ephemera/memorabilia featuring the Vacation Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center.  The little guide booklets I’ll be sharing were handed out to visitors of the Vacation Kingdom from the period of 1977 to 1983.  It is the Walt Disney World of a much simpler and quieter time when visitors to the Vacation Kingdom could experience their vacation in a more leisurely pace that what visitors experience today.  The first booklet I’m featuring is about the resorts of Walt Disney World in 1977.  I hope you enjoy this series.

Here we have the front and back cover of the “Walt Disney World – Resort Guide” booklet.  This booklet and the others I’ll be sharing are the ephemera I picked up during my trips to Walt Disney World in the late 70’s and early 80’s.


Here you can view a stylized map showing the locations of the wonders of the early  “Vacation Kingdom of the World” including the Magic Kingdom, River Country, Treasure Island and Lake Buena Vista.


Here we have a little transportation map showing how to get around the “World” I love the original 1970’s icons of Walt Disney World.  The resort icons especially are a wonderful example of the style of graphics Disney used in the 1970’s


Here are some facts and Information to help make your stay in the “Vacation Kingdom” a more enjoyable one.


Coming up next:  the two original hotels of Walt Disney World - the Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts.


THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Ken!

5 comments:

Nanook said...

Ken-

Again, wonderful memories of a WDW I knew well, as I visited there many times during that period. (Just remember... if you're using a charge card, only Master Charge is accepted). The newly re-named Visa card, just won't do.

Thanks, Ken.

TokyoMagic! said...

I thought I was going crazy, which is a likely possibility. Hmmmm, it's not April 1st yet. Is this a test to see which GDB readers are paying attention?

I will just say this:

The Golf Resort Hotel? I had never heard of that one! Is it still standing today? Simpler is right....only one theme park, only one "water park," and no Downtown Disney. Oh, how I wish I had been able to visit WDW back in it's earlier and simpler days! I'm looking forward to seeing more or your early WDW memorabilia, Ken!

Now who else is paying attention?

Scott Lane said...

Thanks, Ken! This, too, is MY WDW.

TM: The Golf Resort is/was just down a short road from the Polynesian. IT was renamed The Disney Inn in the 80's and was eventually given over to the military to use as their own exclusive hotel and renamed Shades of Green.

K. Martinez said...

Hey all!

Glad you enjoyed the today's post today even though for some it will feel like deja-vu. Below are links to the rest of the series in case you haven't read it before. Thanks again for for stopping by.

WDW-1977 Resort Guide/Part 2
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/walt-disney-world-1977-resort-guide.html

WDW-1977 Resort Guide/Part 3
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/walt-disney-world-1977-resort-guide_22.html

WDW-1977 Resort Guide/Part 4
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/walt-disney-world-1977-resort-guide_29.html

Chuck said...

Great seeing this again. There's nothing wrong with repeats; if it weren't for reruns, I probably would have spent my childhood outdoors, trying to entertain myself. Imagination...bah!

TM!, I am paying attention, but I'm not sure I want to subject the current paying audience to a rerun of the Chuck thing. Repeated high doses can cause severe adverse affects.