I have been watching hours of WDW video.....(long)

[PandyPaws]

...over the last couple of days, video that I took during my first two trips (commando style, yikes!) back in 1990 and 1991. Seems I filmed EVERYthing!! And it's wonderful to reminisce.....

The first thing I noticed was the styles of the era....just about everyone had a neon colored piece of clothing on....shirts, hats (lots of hats) jelly-shoes, waist pouches....fluorescent greens, pinks and oranges abounded!! YIKES!! (and yes, of course, I was guilty too )

It didn't take long to notice all the rides and attrractions that are no longer there, as well as take note of the many that had not yet appeared....Sky Ride, 20K leagues, Mr Toad (all in one panoramic sweep of the camera ) Riding the TTA (Peoplemover) while filming, I see a more colorful tomorrowland...the overhead structure holding the track was trimmed in pale blue and peach! The TTA's commentary was all completely different back then too. I filmed the entire Carousel of Progress show....as it was with the "Now is The Best Time..." song. A statue of sorts in front of Space Mountain, of a space-car holding three astronauts. Moving along to the Frontier end of the park....there is NO Splash Mountain!! The current parade exit/entrance route back there was actually the Frontierland Train Station. Hopping aboard the Train, I heard a different narration, complete with a song (rather annoying, LOL) and instead of references to listen for Pocahontas we are warned about hearing savage snarls of wild jungle animals! And, of course, The Main Street Electrical Parade *sniff! sniff! *

In Epcot, I filmed entire attractions, including: Spaceship Earth with Walter Cronkite as narrator, Horizons, World of Motion, Imagination (the original), Kitchen Kabaret, the Living Seas with the ride-portion functioning and the early version of Universe Of Energy. I saw The American Pavilion with no American Gardens Theater....and the shapes of the near-completed Swan and Dolphin in the background.

MGM was brand new at the time...no Sunset Blvd...but an outdoor theater was right there, with a delightful show with dancers and characters depicting all eras of entertainment (goofy as Fred Astaire, Minnie as Carmen Miranda...Pluto as Laurence of Arabia, etc). On the backlot Tram Tour (which was seperate from the walking portion) I saw a construction wall noting the "coming" Muppets 4-D. Sorcery In The Sky, the nighttime fireworks is something I do miss (gotta love narrator Vincent Price ) as much as I like Fantasmic today.

Pleasure Island had their outdoor open-air stage...The Neon Armadillo was in full "swing", we ate at the Fireworks factory and old time vehicles from Dick Tracy were everywhere.

I had attended the dinner show at the Contemporary, called "Broadway at the Top" (currently California Grill) but somehow this seems to be the ONLY thing I didnt film, LOL.

I filmed while driving to "Disney Village"...passing the Typhoon Lagoon sign, there was absolutely nothing else on this road, either side, (except for a sign proclaiming the future site of Dixie Landings) untill the Exxon Gas station and the Sun bank....

Boating over to Discovery Island, I filmed all around in there too.....and inside the Contemporary Grand Concourse was no Chef Mickey's, as it was still in the Market village at that time.

Universal Studios, barely a week old....and VERY empty! No garages, in fact no pavement in the parking lot, LOL , we had driven past the turning Universal Sphere at the front of the park within FEET!! No Men In Black...but a film-location for Swamp Thing!! Oh...and the Studio Tram Tour...does anyone else remember that??? Lots and lots of street performers, lots of singing and entertainment skits throughout....The Hollywood Hi-Tones (or something like that) acapella quartet at Mel's, and all those cars in front of Mel's bright and sparkling.

Oh, and one more thing (and I have my son's strange affection to thank for this observation...) most of the trash cans have changed

Many, many changes in a decade....wonderful things gone....wonderful things that are new....but it is always a good feeling to know I had been fortunate enough to have been there to see what was and what is

What do YOU remember??

 

[JerseyJanice]

What an interesting post, Donna! I love remember-whens.

I'm thinking there was quite a lot of development in WDW during the 1990's.

I didn't make it there until 1999 myself. My last previous visit was in 1976.

 

[toefungus]

I'm sure I'll be looking back on my videos I just got and seeing all of the old things that used to be a wdw. We only have a little video from our past trips.

 

[Doctor P]

What great memories of times gone by!

 

[SeaShelley]

Great post Donna....thanks for the trip down memory lane!

 

[snoopy]

What a great post! I think this one should be saved in the archives, especially for those of us who were strangers to WDW until the late 90's.

I was there in 1981, my senior class trip. What I remember most about that trip was getting caught smoking ( ) and riding Space Mountain about 100 times. You woudn't catch me dead on that thing now, I hate enclosed spaces.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Snoopy, I hope you got snagged for smoking something "legal."

I got nailed for smoking something illegal in Disneyland that exact same year (1981).

I visited a girlfriend who was staying in California that summer. She, her BF, a guy they were trying to fix me up with, and I were on Tom Sawyer's Island. I had the luck of having the contraband in my hand when Ranger Smith found us.

 

[snoopy]

ROFL Janice.

Although I certainly had my share of illegal substances in my heyday, I was never caught, unless you count the time my father found the family bong. Nope, in WDW, it was a cigarette.

Sorry for derailing your nice thread, PP.

 

[ead79]

I'll bet it's really fun watching those videos. We don't have a video camera, and I always wished we had one. I remember riding the TTA back when it was called the WEDway People Mover and riding Horizons on one of my trips. I really loved Horizons, but it was broken on several of my trips, then removed.