1972 video of the Fort and more

[I'mDownWithDisney]

Skip to 5:15 for the Fort footage, but the whole thing is worth watching. I like the paragliding skiers at Poly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmUmR7ajIM

 

[PrincessNP]

That is the coolest thing ever! Love the outfits "way back then".

The bald guy who skies on his bare feet from the shore is awesome! When did those folks get cancelled???

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Fantastic!! Thanks so much for posting -- the entire thing was well-worth watching.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

Awesome!

 

[scruff]

Skip to 5:15 for the Fort footage, but the whole thing is worth watching. I like the paragliding skiers at Poly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmUmR7ajIM

Thanks for a great video! This was wonderful.

 

[tazdeb]

Did anybody else notice there was no Hoop-dee-do review yet?

 

[thecplusplusguy]

I don't think it started until around 75. FW itself didn't open until 72. Am I right experts? I was only 2 the first time we went.

 

[stacktester]

Thanks for a great video! This was wonderful.

Yes that was a very, very, very beautiful wonderful video.

 

[scruff]

Skip to 5:15 for the Fort footage, but the whole thing is worth watching. I like the paragliding skiers at Poly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmUmR7ajIM

Do you know why they quit the water ski show? That would have been a fun job.

 

[SC DAD of 2]

Really great! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ORLCampers]

Here's some details on the short lived Ski Show (72-73).

http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/ski.htm

 

[clkelley]

A couple of things I noticed..... Everybody complains about how "open" the campsites are now. They looked pretty "open" back then too.

Also noticed the Contemporary monorail platform, no rails, no turnstyles, no gates. Folks stood on the platform and patiently waited and nobody jumped where they weren't supposed to be, etc., etc.....

 

[DaveInTN]

And the monorail doors were individually, manually opened.

i also noticed how open the Fort looked. Especially the area around TCD farm. And if you look through the blacksmith shop, you can see the old windmill tower before it got covered up with vines.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Skip to 5:15 for the Fort footage, but the whole thing is worth watching. I like the paragliding skiers at Poly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmUmR7ajIM

Thank you so much for this link!

I have never seen this video before.

The Fort Wilderness shots are mind boggling!

Did anybody else notice there was no Hoop-dee-do review yet?

I don't think it started until around 75. FW itself didn't open until 72. Am I right experts? I was only 2 the first time we went.

Yes, Pioneer Hall did not open until a few years after WDW and Fort Wilderness opened.

A couple of things I noticed..... Everybody complains about how "open" the campsites are now. They looked pretty "open" back then too.

You ain't kidding.

This view simply blew my mind.

I have studied it.

At first I was thinking that there is no way this is Fort Wilderness.

But, then as I studied this, I am pretty sure that this is the 600 loop:

It is really hard for me to believe!

I also noticed how open the Fort looked. Especially the area around TCD farm. And if you look through the blacksmith shop, you can see the old windmill tower before it got covered up with vines.

Dave-

I noticed this too.

Here's a shot of the Blacksmith shop and the tower from above and back:

And, then this shot is closer and from ground level:

You can see that the fireplace is still where it is today, and the tower is still there, too.

Amazing.

And, the barn still looks the same:

When you watch the video, it looks like a dirt road extends from the Barn out toward Bay Lake. From what I have heard, the TCD Ranch used to occupy all of this space, including what ultimately became River Country. River Country did not open until 1976. When the got around to building River Country, part of the TCD ranch was moved up to the Outpost area, where the trail rides are today. But, originally, all of the equine operations were in the Settlement area.

Now, here's something that I saw in the video that really surprised me.

As you watch the video, after the golf course scenes, there is an aerial view of Discovery Island (which would have been Treasure Island back then), and then there is an aerial shot of a small pond and a clearing in the forest.

This is the shot I'm talking about:

Right after this, we see the words "Fort Wilderness Campground," and we see what I believe is the 600 loop.

At first, I thought this pond was a shot of a golf course.

But, they had already moved away from the golf courses at this point in the film.

Here's what I think:

This pond is the pond that the Meadow Trading Post and Bike Barn currently border.

The shape and size look right.

Look in the distant back of the photo, that looks like Bay Lake, right?

I have heard that the Meadow Trading Post was built sometime after the Fort first opened.

I know that the pool was not there when the Fort opened. Or the Bike Barn.

So, I really think that last photo above is of what we now know as the Meadow Area of Fort Wilderness.

Awesome.

TCD

 

[3gr8kids]

GREAT movie! Thanks for sharing

 

[storyteller]

super awesome

 

[ftwildernessrick]

Great post. Brought back old memories.

Definately a little thin on the bushes & trees, but most every plant was new.

I don't remember when the pool was put in, but if I recall the deep end was 10 foot deep & it had 2 diving boards. Some years later the boards were removed and the deep end raised to something like 6 1/2 feet.

In the later 70's, another barn and fenced fields were built over in the area where the new golf course is now located. That was where Disney put the retired horses & other barn type animals to go & enjoy their 'golden years'. The original trail ride used to pass this area. Sometime in the late 80's early 90's, they did away with the retirement area as a cost cut. I know one of the trail ride guides was pretty miffed about it.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great post. Brought back old memories.

Definately a little thin on the bushes & trees, but most every plant was new.

I don't remember when the pool was put in, but if I recall the deep end was 10 foot deep & it had 2 diving boards. Some years later the boards were removed and the deep end raised to something like 6 1/2 feet.

In the later 70's, another barn and fenced fields were built over in the area where the new golf course is now located. That was where Disney put the retired horses & other barn type animals to go & enjoy their 'golden years'. The original trail ride used to pass this area. Sometime in the late 80's early 90's, they did away with the retirement area as a cost cut. I know one of the trail ride guides was pretty miffed about it.

That's some interesting info there.

I never heard of there being diving boards at the pool, or of the depth changing.

One thing I forgot to mention about the video. . .

At the end, they show the Electric Water Pageant.

I have often heard it described as the longest continuously running attraction at WDW.

It looks almost exactly the same.

But, I saw a scene with what I think were flying fish.

That scene isn't in the show now.

Also, at some point the music must have changed.

The song, Under The Sea had not been written when the EWP began.

TCD

 

[ftwildernessrick]

That's some interesting info there.

I never heard of there being diving boards at the pool, or of the depth changing.

TCD

I definately remember the pool being a lot deeper and I am almost positive about the two diving boards. Because after they removed them, they just patched the holes where the anchors were until later.

I could be wrong (suffering from old folk's disease ).

My problem is I only have a few photos from the 70's, when I was in my mid- teens. Did not think about things like that back then because taking & developing pictures was not exactly cheap for a teenager. It was not until after 1983, when my daughter was born that I began taking a lot more pictures and had bought my first camcorder.

One of these days I am going to go back through all my stuff and post some old photos & video clips.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I definately remember the pool being a lot deeper and I am almost positive about the two diving boards. Because after they removed them, they just patched the holes where the anchors were until later.

I could be wrong (suffering from old folk's disease ).

My problem is I only have a few photos from the 70's, when I was in my mid- teens. Did not think about things like that back then because taking & developing pictures was not exactly cheap for a teenager. It was not until after 1983, when my daughter was born that I began taking a lot more pictures and had bought my first camcorder.

One of these days I am going to go back through all my stuff and post some old photos & video clips.

No worries.

I did not visit the Fort for the first time until the 90's, so I don't have any personal knowledge of the history of the pool.

But, what I understand from others is that the Fort originally had no pools. If you wanted to swim, you could swim in the lake, or you were allowed to pool hop back then over to the Poly or Contemporary. I thought the Meadow pool didn't come along until the 80's. Until the modifications of 2009, it had a deep end, so maybe it did have diving boards at one point.

I would love to see any of your old photos or videos!

TCD