Disney in the 1990s

[dsneygirl]

Parks were open LATE!! Normal hours were midnight, 1 am, 2 am, etc. There were no separate times for FW and WS at Epcot. It was all open the same.

I was a CM at the Canada Pavillon in 97-98 and we opened at 11:00 every day. (except maybe Xmas week I can't remember).

The dining was more unique everywhere. Each restaurant had many signature dishes whereas now everything seems the same.

There were "Dining Plans" but I was a server at Le Cellier and maybe had 1 table a week on some kind of "plan" (like Food and Fun).

Also back then we CMs could not "walk the promenade" in costume. I hate seeing a UK CM pass through Canada. I spent months riding the CM bus backstage why can't they do it now?

 

[Networth]

I grew up in the 90's. Every year from 92-97' the first week in December my entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) would books 5-6 rooms at the Contemporary Tower facing Magic Kingdom(this was before they charged extra for the view). I remember be in complete and utter amazement that the monorail came IN the hotel. I remember my aunt making reservations to eat at Teppan Edo(whatever it was called than) on the monitors at the front of Epcot. I remember getting autograph books and seeing all the characters without waiting an hour in line. No stupid dining plan. Those December trips for 5-6 years are some of the most vivid memories I have of growing up. I think the reason to this day I still love Disney is because of those trips. I would wake up early before the rest of my family and head down to the Contemporary arcade and play air table hockey. Also I really really wish they would bring back Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Body Wars, Pleasure Island, and the horse trolly on main street. Sigh...

 

[pouncingpluto]

I remember whenever we went to Epcot, the first thing we did was go over to this place in Epcot where they essentially had video phones to call an operator and make your same-day reservation for lunch or dinner at a WS restaurant. It seemed very high tech!

 

[sharadoc]

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island! That place was great! A mix of safari adventurer, cognac-drinking, & British empirialism atmosphere. Interactions with wacky characters... It was great fun!

+1

+2 LOL

We started going in 1986. By 1990 we were going twice a year and our DS was not born until 1995 so all those trips were without kids.

I agree that the internet took away so much, because everyone shared their "special" experiences. The parks were generally calmer, people didn't feel that they had to rush from one thing to another, or make sure they got their "money's worth." A ticket didn't cost a ridiculous amount of money and the majority of people still stayed offsite.

Our first onsite stay was 1992 and we were hooked. We stayed at Yacht Club and loved the tram that went to IG. Boardwalk wasn't built then.

The guest entitlement and demands didn't start yet, so the cast members were always sweet, relaxed and fun to deal with. We never dealt with an annoying guest. We were all in a good mood and enjoyed ourselves.

With no fastpass, we never waited longer than 30 minutes or so for a ride, but we never went in the busiest times. We usually went last week of January/first week of February and over Labor Day weekend. The buses ran great and we never stood. The food courts were calm and there were always clean tables. We could take our vacation at a nice pace.

We loved Pleasure Island and spent many hours at the Adventurers Club. We also loved the restaurants, one of our faves was The Fireworks Factory. We loved raw oysters at Cap'n Jacks (I think that's what it was) overlooking the water at DTD. We could shop at Chef Mickey's store and buy cool kitchen items, and my fave cookbook that I still use.

All the food was great. Even the Town Square restaurant (brought to you by Hormel!) had great ribs, pork chops and beans. And Mr. Toad was open!

Future World was new and virbrant still. Nothing was old or closed and you could spend an entire day going through all the pavilions.

We still enjoy our trips, and hope we will enjoy the next one, but the perfection of the 90's will never come back, I know. It was a more innocent and pure time at Disney. And I mean the guests, because in my experience, it's the guests and their behavior that have caused all the negative changes. I know I'll get flamed, but this year is our 30th year of visiting, and with every trip it's more and more obvious.

 

[agavegirl1]

I miss:

Discovery Island

A full Futureworld with special exhibits (replica of the Mars Rover with techs answering questions for example)

Deciding the day before where and what to eat.

Cold fried chicken box lunch on Tom Sawyer Island for a quiet afternoon picnic break.

Riding attractions over and over due to low crowds (we'd go at the end of Feb)

MGM being a real working studio creating Mulan.

Lots of stuff really

 

[ethanwa]

The 1990's were named the Disney decade by Michael Eisner because there was serious expansion in the decade.Animal Kingdom was built,almost half (10)of the current resorts went up in the 90's,along with Blizzard Beach,Wide World of Sports,three Disney vacation club properties,two golf courses and both mini golf courses,the Disney Institute,the city of Celebration,the Disney Cruise line,major rides like Tower of Terror,Rock n Roller coaster,Test Track,Star Tours,Splash Mountain.DHS and Pleasure Island opened in May of 89 so they were also right there in the talk of new additions in the 90's.DTD in the 90's also expanded the West side adding Cirque du Soleil in 98.So there's a reason someone would call the 90's a golden age at WDW,the expansions since then have slowed down quite considerably.

Please learn how to use a spacebar between your punctuation.

Like this, this, and this. And this.

Not like this,this,and this.And this.

I'm not trying to be mean or have it come across that way, it's just very hard to read posts like that.

 

[Eoywin]

I went once in the 90's when I was 16. My parents decided on a whim to go to Disney over Christmas. I remember having a great time - especially getting to go to MGM for the first time. This trip really cemented my love of WDW.

But my two trips as an adult have been far and away better than my two trips as a kid. Mostly because I always wanted to eat TS as a kid and would have loved to stay on site. As an adult, I get to vacation the way I want (since DH only had limited caring about what we do for Disney) and I get to see the magic through my daughter's eyes.

 

[Soccer and Swim Mom]

I remember going in the 90s as a little girl. We drove there from the midwest where I spent 20 hours seated in a station wagon to make the drive to Florida. We would stay at a Days Inn or Holiday in and have to drive to the park and ride the tram to monorail. I remember passing by the Grand Floridian and Contemporary ooing and awing at their splendor. My mother would tell us that's where the rich important people stay. I remember peeking into the table service restaurants and have my mom say that was where special people ate. We had packed our lunch and our special treat was sharing a ice cream sundae from main street.

I have now taken my little girl and we fly to Florida. We stay where the important people stay. Our monorail takes us right to the park. We eat all of our meals where the special important people eat.

So much different than the Disney I experienced in the 90s.

 

[asmit4]

My family used to just buy tickets and 'show up'....we'd wait in lines for 2 hours for attractions...no plan, no ADRs, nothing. I honestly didn't like Disney as a kid. It was a big PIA most of the time. Expensive, hot and 2 hour lines for 'kiddy rides' as I declared them at the ripe old age of 8 years old.

I grew up 1 hour from Cedar Point so at 8 years old I was riding the Magnum- first coaster to top 200 feet at the time. I got to disney and cried when I got off space- THAT"S IT? WHY do people spend $$ to come here for all these dinky rides?!

I had the opportunity to go back in the mid 2000s as an adult in my mid 20s and I CRIED...more than once I just LOVED the place. I realized that as a kid i didn't have the keen awareness to realize the magic...the attention to detail. For that reason- I love DW more now than ever before. Going as a kid was just 'lame' for me. Now I can really look around at the details, feel the magic and 'get into character' so to speak.

My best trip was with my mom and I when I was maybe 26? I felt like a 'kid' at Disney for the first time. Nothing was 'lame' or 'too kiddy'. It was all pure magic.

 

[Eoywin]

I remember the looong lines when I was a kid too - I never liked roller coasters when I was younger so Disney World was just my speed.

 

[ShayBells]

I just want to say. I really miss Mickeys Toon Town Fair. Those houses were my favorite!!!!!!

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