Earliest Trip to WDW

[Fortywinks]

Might be interesting to gather a perspective of how things have changed over the years. When was your earliest trip to Disney and what are some of the biggest changes you have seen?

 

[spiceycat]

june, 1972 - changes - how about just about everything. I think Peter Pan, Dumbo are the same.

 

[DisneyDVCdad]

My wife and I never made it to WDW till our late 20's! I think 98 was our first time! We are making up for it now though! In last 9 years their have been many new rides open and one water park closed that I never got too!

 

[Inkmahm]

December, 1975. I was a college freshman taking a Christmas break trip!

Biggest change is that only MK existed back then! No other park and a whole lot less in the way of hotels, too. No DVC for sure.

 

[WebmasterDoc]

...When was your earliest trip to Disney and what are some of the biggest changes you have seen?

My first Disney trip was in July, 1958 and there have been many, many changes since then. Walt was very active in the park. There was no HM, no Matterhorn, no monorail and many other things were still on the drawing board. There was a Monsanto House of the Future and a number of other attractions long since retired.

Our first WDW experience was December, 1972. All that was available at that time was MK, CR, Poly and the Disney Inn. It was a real thrill to ride the monorail around the Seven Seas Lagoon and the park was wonderful - although we had to pay a general admission and then have A,B,C,D,and E tickets to ride any of the attractions. I have posted photos from that trip on several occasions. Tom Sawyer Island was still under construction at the time and Splash Mtn and BTM were not on the map yet. As a matter of fact, on the map at the time were a couple of other monorail resorts that were never developed - and I still have the map.

Our first DVC experience was June, 1993 when we made our first purchase. We visited the Commodore House (which was the sales office located at OKW at the time), took the tour and bought on the spot. Our first trip was October, 1993 staying at OKW in Building 16 (where the models were located). At that time, only Buildings 11-29 were open. The Commodore House was later raised and Building 62 now sits on that site. Miller Road was re-routed to allow space for Buildings 63 and 64 to be added along with 62 - which extended the sellout date for OKW by a couple of years. At that time, DVC was selling OKW, VB, HH abd BWV. OKW and BWV sold out just before sales began at VWL.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I went to DL in 1963, going on a train trip across Canada (Beautiful Rockies) then down the west coast. I remember there were boats to ride at DL the way you ride the cars in tomorrowland, sort of in a track in the water.

We took DS in 1977 to WDW and he was 2 1/2 at the time. I remember a train going around FW...or somewhere in FW, maybe not all the way around. We stayed at the Poly..and loved it. The lawnmower tree at FW had a lot more of the lawnmower showing than it does now!

We loved River Country and Discovery Island, I don't really know when they opened, but that area including 7 Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake, FW, and later WL, VWL, has always been my favorite part of WDW.

Bobbi

 

[pouncingpluto]

1978 as a baby. Don't remember what's different. I start remembering WDW trips around the time Epcot opened, as my family and I LOVED those early Future World rides, like Horizons, World of Transportation, etc.

 

[dsneygirl]

1978 as a baby. Don't remember what's different. I start remembering WDW trips around the time Epcot opened, as my family and I LOVED those early Future World rides, like Horizons, World of Transportation, etc.

I loved those too! My first trip was '80 I was 3, don't remember much. I do have some memories of our early 80s trip, like character dining on the Empress Lily and at The Disney Inn (now SOG)

 

[Wendy1953]

June 1976 - our honeymoon! Only one park which was called Walt Disney World, now called The Magic Kingdom or MK....ticket "coupon" books...a sky ride...character/animal topiaries in the parking lots!

 

[TR Denise]

June 1977 our honeymoon. Arriving on friday to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
So much has changed still have some A tickets left. 1st DVC visit August 1994 when OKW was the vacation club resort. really miss the free park passes

 

[Patricia721]

Our first trip to WDW was in the spring of 1973 - we stayed off site. I remember driving down I4 & seeing grove after grove of orange trees. Of course, only MK was open & we had ticket books (those A - E tickets!) . The lines to everything were so long that it seemed like we waited hours to get into any attraction - it took at least 2 days (probably more) to see the whole park. Anybody remember the Eastern Airlines attraction in Tomorrowland? I think it was called something like "On the wings of man"?

 

[WebmasterDoc]

...Anybody remember the Eastern Airlines attraction in Tomorrowland? I think it was called something like "On the wings of man"?

That was "If You Had Wings". It was located where Buzz Lightyear is now located.

It was open from 1972 - 1987 under that name (Eastern's corporate slogan at that time was "The WIngs of Man"). When Eastern dropped the sponsorship in 1987, it was renamed "If You Could Fly" - although the memorable Theme song also disappeared. The ride closed in 1989, looking for another sponsor.

Shortly after, it reopened as Delta's Dreamflight until Delta stopped sponsorship in 1996 - and the ride was stripped of all reference to Delta and was renamed "Disney's Take Flight" until it closed in early 1998.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger SPin opened in November, 1998.

 

[ddhoeg]

Our first trip to WDW was in the spring of 1973 - we stayed off site. I remember driving down I4 & seeing grove after grove of orange trees. Of course, only MK was open & we had ticket books (those A - E tickets!) . The lines to everything were so long that it seemed like we waited hours to get into any attraction - it took at least 2 days (probably more) to see the whole park. Anybody remember the Eastern Airlines attraction in Tomorrowland? I think it was called something like "On the wings of man"?

I remember that ride - I really enjoyed it and was disappointed when it closed. I thought it was Delta airlines though (not sure) and called "if you had wings". I can still hear parts of the song in my head.

 

[Shadeaux]

Our first trip to WDW was in the spring of 1973 - we stayed off site. I remember driving down I4 & seeing grove after grove of orange trees. Of course, only MK was open & we had ticket books (those A - E tickets!) .

Your trip in 1973 is similar to what I remember about our first trip in the fall of 1976. We got married in 1975, but never went on a honeymoon; that trip was our delayed honeymoon. We stayed at a Howard Johnson's on 192....back then there were mostly orange groves in that area. As Wendy1953 said, The Magic Kingdom WAS Walt Disney World. Somewhere around here I have pictures from that trip. If I can find them, I'll scan and post a few.

 

[Patricia721]

Doc - Thanks for posting the name of the Eastern attraction - I could almost hear the song in my head but couldn't quite get the name.

Not quite WDW but part of the experience - anyone remember the "old" Orlando airports? Our first trip (also my 1st flight!), the airport was similar to a large Quonset hut - after a year or two, the 2nd airport was built. I think that's still in use (maybe as an executive airport?). Depending on the route we take from the new, much improved MCO, we pass that airport on the left hand side of the interstate.

 

[Olaf]

Easter 1972--they had a special for military families, $18 dollars a night to stay at the Contemporary in the tower. It was very cool. I remember charging a hamburger to my room key (a big brass one) at the snack bar by the pool. It was a huge olympic-sized pool.

 

[Inkmahm]

No fair, you said first WDW visit.

My first DL visit was June, 1973. That was with an education group right after my sophomore year in high school.

My mom still talks about how they were in the area of DL when it opened in 1955. My parents were on their honeymoon and actually were visiting relatives in the area. They didn't have time for DL in their itinerary so they skipped it and were sorry ever after that they didn't make the time to get there. Who knew in 1955 how big DL would actually become in popularity? I made up for that miss by taking my parents to WDW in 2001 and 2002, their first trips to Disney.

 

[puggymom]

My first WDW trip was summer 1972, but I didn't make it back until December 1990, but am making up for lost time ever since.

 

[snappy]

DL in 1962 at age 9. What great memories!!! My sister still has her Matterhorn hat with the feather in it!!!


WDW in 1978. I thought it would be a let down compared to DL as a child. Was I every wrong!!! Even though there was only MK, I was still in awe.
I just wish we had stayed on site, now we do!!!

 

[snyderla]

First trip in 1975 with parents, brother and sister, and 2 cousins. We camped at Ft. Wilderness. We rode the train around Ft. Wilderness. We took the boat to MK. We rode rides (used ticket books), saw a 360 degree film about America. We watched a really cool Bicentennial parade and fireworks. We swam in Seven Seas Lagoon! We rode 20,000 Leagues. Most of those things you can't do anymore. But WDW is more wonderful than it's ever been! My next trip was exactly 20 years later, in 1995, when I took my own kids and we stayed at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins. And there's even a new park since then! Now planning trips 16(July 2007), 17 (December 2007), and 18 (October 2008). So many changes, but I will always remember that first trip!

Lori