Earliest memories of Disney

[PrincessShmoo]

is there was a sandwich type place on a ship? and I got a tuna sandwich.

That would be Captain Hook's (Chicken of the Sea) in Fantasyland

 

[darnheather]

I first went when I was five. I honestly don't remember much about Disney World except that I lost the tickets. I guess you had to give tickets for each ride back then??? I left them on the teacups. What I do remember vividly is that my dad borrowed a cover for the back of the truck and put a mattress back there. He then rigged up a telephone between the cab and the back and we'd take turns riding back there. When we wanted to tell him something we'd tap on the glass and pick up the phone. It was so much fun.

ETA 1979 and I remember the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride and smell really well.

 

[JLTraveling]

I had
I grew up in FL and we visited once a year or more starting in 1972 when I was 2, so like you, those early memories are pretty jumbled together. But I do have so many memories from over the years. Everything from going with just my family, to with another family, to taking my friend along as a teen, to having Grad Nite there when I graduated from high school, to honeymooning there, to taking my kids there every year for the majority of their lives, to finally going on a family vacation to Disneyland this past summer to see where it all began.

Yeah...I think people who don't grow up nearby don't realize just how much of a backdrop it is to local kids' lives. I remember the time I went with a couple of school friends when we were teenagers and somehow one girl managed to get her entire chocolate ice cream cone all over her face. Going with so many dates. Working at the parks in different capacities. I don't have kids, but I took my younger cousins at various points in their lives. I even did a phone interview for a job from a quiet corner of the Norway pavilion. Getting in trouble at PI for ditching my parents and sneaking into the Cage when I was 14 (hey, it used to be Videopolis East, the teen club...not my fault it went over-18 lol). Going to Mickey Mouse Club tapings. Running into several MMC club members who were falling down drunk at PI.

It's sort of what I suspect mall culture was like. I never hung out at the mall much, once we got passes it was just as easy to hang out at Disney (and Universal, once they opened). But that whole sort of "What are we gonna do tonight?" Let's go to Disney and hang out!" It seems very similar.

 

[wabbott]

About 1959, I think. One of my oldest friends and school classmates went out to Disneyland with his mom and dad that year. We were nine that year. It's a long trip there from Louisiana, and to drive that far for a vacation was unheard of. Anyway, he came back with tales of how great it was, and ever since it was a life-long dream of mine to go there.

My friends mom and dad owned/operated a bookstore and record shop in our little town. LP's and 45's, magazines, and comics. It was the place I got my Disney comics. I saved my nickels and dimes and went there every few days to see what was new in the comic rack.

Of course I knew about the TV show on Sunday nights - Walt Disney Presents, et al - but we couldn't pick up the channels that carried the show. And a color TV was completely out of the question. Only when when we visited relatives in South Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, did I ever get to see the show.

 

[John VN]

First Disney memory is the summer of 1970. Driving from NJ to Miami we took a detour and drove for what seemed like forever until finally arriving at The Preview Center.

https://www.wdw-magazine.com/today-in-disney-history-1970-the-disney-world-preview-center-opened/

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Yeah...I think people who don't grow up nearby don't realize just how much of a backdrop it is to local kids' lives. I remember the time I went with a couple of school friends when we were teenagers and somehow one girl managed to get her entire chocolate ice cream cone all over her face. Going with so many dates. Working at the parks in different capacities. I don't have kids, but I took my younger cousins at various points in their lives. I even did a phone interview for a job from a quiet corner of the Norway pavilion. Getting in trouble at PI for ditching my parents and sneaking into the Cage when I was 14 (hey, it used to be Videopolis East, the teen club...not my fault it went over-18 lol). Going to Mickey Mouse Club tapings. Running into several MMC club members who were falling down drunk at PI.

It's sort of what I suspect mall culture was like. I never hung out at the mall much, once we got passes it was just as easy to hang out at Disney (and Universal, once they opened). But that whole sort of "What are we gonna do tonight?" Let's go to Disney and hang out!" It seems very similar.

This is very true. When I lived in Florida, most of my students had either worked at the parks or knew someone who worked there. It was just part of the fabric of the landscape.

 

[Kennywood]

My earliest memories:

• Going to the magic shop and getting an invisible dog leash, a foam brick, and a Chinese puzzle box
• Main Street when they did cutout silhouettes and the gift shop where they did glass blowing in front of you.
• Tickets, especially the E-ticket rides
• MUCH less stressful and a slower pace

 

[BrianL]

My earliest memories:

• Going to the magic shop and getting an invisible dog leash, a foam brick, and a Chinese puzzle box
• Main Street when they did cutout silhouettes and the gift shop where they did glass blowing in front of you.
• Tickets, especially the E-ticket rides
• MUCH less stressful and a slower pace

Ha! The invisible dog leash is a classic!

 

[EACarlson]

Christmas of 1985, I was 4 years old and went to WDW with my grandparents. It was so packed I only went on one ride, Dumbo. And my grandfather lost some hair when I was on his shoulders and he looked over the side of the bridge at the Castle. I thought I was going to fall and had two fistfuls of his hair when he stood back up.

 

[holden]

1979...If You Had Wings was my favorite attraction. I rode it over and over...

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Late 80s when I was 5 or 6. I remember seeing Ear Force One flying over us through the t-tops in our car.

 

[Scouter]

I went either in 1976 or 1977, can't find photos anywhere. But I remember my Gram being thrilled to go to the Hall of Presidents and I specifically remember 20,000 leagues under the sea! Very cool and no longer around but my son saw it in Tokyo Disney (without me).

 

[Moliphino]

1993 was our first WDW trip, I was 5. I remember wearing a romper from Costco and carrying my lemon bag through the airport and going to Port Orleans (before it was French Quarter). We still have a picture of my sisters and me at the fountain in the lobby. I remember eating beignets, loving the waterslide at the pool.
We had been to Disneyland just a year earlier, but I can't think of any specific memories from that.

 

[Scouter]

August of 1977, I was nine years old and our best friends from our neighborhood in NJ moved to Tampa at the beginning of the summer. Our parents and their parents chipped in to buy my older sister and I flights to visit them. We were so excited and a little nervous....it was the first time we'd been on a plane and we had to connect in Atlanta, so a flight attendant helped us get to our connecting flight. While spending a couple of weeks with our friends and their family we visited Bush Gardens that was a relatively new park at that time. We also went to the Weeki Wachee Springs and saw the mermaids. And we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom. We loved it....and had a great time.

Our friend's Dad was a *huge* Elvis Presley fan and that's literally all we listened to as we drove around the state. We were still staying at the home when Elvis died....one of those things you never forget. Our flight home was the next day....good timing as I remember the Dad being really emotional over Presley's death. One of those things you never forget.

OMG, you just made me remember that during my trip around the same time we also went to Weeki Wachee! I remember those girls on water skis, such a cool show! Thanks for helping me remember!

 

[gatorlisa]

Summer 1981, a little shy of 3 years old. The only memory I have, and it's hazy, is of being scared of Elliott in the Main Street Electrical Parade, when he blew smoke. I think because the MSEP is the only hazy memory I have of my first ever Disney trip, I have a strong nostalgia for it as an adult. I was beyond excited when, while riding the tram to the TTC in 2010, I learned it was running in Florida again when they announced the MSEP times for that night. This was in the days before I followed all things Disney news, so I didn't know it had returned to the Magic Kingdom earlier that year.

 

[BrianL]

I went either in 1976 or 1977, can't find photos anywhere. But I remember my Gram being thrilled to go to the Hall of Presidents and I specifically remember 20,000 leagues under the sea! Very cool and no longer around but my son saw it in Tokyo Disney (without me).

The 20,000 Leagues ride in Toky is very different than what WDW had, but still cool. I loved it!

 

[Scouter]

My earliest memories:

• Going to the magic shop and getting an invisible dog leash, a foam brick, and a Chinese puzzle box
• Main Street when they did cutout silhouettes and the gift shop where they did glass blowing in front of you.
• Tickets, especially the E-ticket rides
• MUCH less stressful and a slower pace

I forgot that I got one of those invisible dog leashes there as well in the late 70's!

 

[Scouter]

The 20,000 Leagues ride in Toky is very different than what WDW had, but still cool. I loved it!

I need to go there! My son was supposed to plan a trip with me to Japan but then COVID hit and it got postponed and now he's found another travel buddy.

 

[BrianL]

I need to go there! My son was supposed to plan a trip with me to Japan but then COVID hit and it got postponed and now he's found another travel buddy.

It is SO worth going. Tokyo Disneysea is the greatest theme park in the world! That's where 20K is , but also they have an even better ride, Journey to the Center of the Earth!

 

[JLTraveling]

Oh wow, you guys are bringing up more long-forgotten memories for me!

My earliest memories:

• Going to the magic shop and getting an invisible dog leash, a foam brick, and a Chinese puzzle box

Yes! The magic shop was so cool! I got a set of Chinese linking rings when I was little, and then did magic in the church talent show that fall. I thought I was so special lol

1979...If You Had Wings was my favorite attraction. I rode it over and over...

I still miss that ride so much. The New Orleans scene made me fall in love with the city a decade before I ever visited. Then the first time we actually made it to NOLA, I got out of the car, looked around, and declared, "I'm home." Another decade after that, I made it a reality.

Summer 1981, a little shy of 3 years old. The only memory I have, and it's hazy, is of being scared of Elliott in the Main Street Electrical Parade, when he blew smoke. I think because the MSEP is the only hazy memory I have of my first ever Disney trip, I have a strong nostalgia for it as an adult. I was beyond excited when, while riding the tram to the TTC in 2010, I learned it was running in Florida again when they announced the MSEP times for that night. This was in the days before I followed all things Disney news, so I didn't know it had returned to the Magic Kingdom earlier that year.

Awww, Elliott was my absolute favorite float when I was very little. I distinctly remember on more than one visit, falling asleep in my stroller and then bolting awake to watch that float pass by. Even in my sleep, I had the timing memorized.