Video: A *Great Video Find Featuring Glen Campbell, Julie Andrews, Bob Hope, etc...

[Joshua_me]

The ENTIRE video of the opening of WDW, dated 10/71.....

For nostalgia lovers like me, (and I'll bet many of YOU as well...)

This is the "good stuff".

It's interesting to note how many of Hope's jokes wouldn't make past the censors today, but no matter...

I dearly LUV this nostalgia.

Enjoy !

The COMPLETE Show...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spz6IeiIKZI

And, a more common edited broadcast....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtX_R0Kzno

 

[WaltD4Me]

Very cool....thanks for posting the link As a fellow nostalgia lover,
I loved it. I can't believe I've never seen that full version before. I always find it funny that Glen Campbell was there, I know it was 1971, but still...Glen Campbell?

One good turn deserves another....

I found this great video of an interview with Lillian and Diane Disney from Epcot in 1982. This is just Part 1, I think there are 3 parts to the whole thing.

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

 

[Joshua_me]

I can't believe I've never seen that full version before. I always find it funny that Glen Campbell was there, I know it was 1971, but still...Glen Campbell?
One good turn deserves another....

I found this great video of an interview with Lillian and Diane Disney from Epcot in 1982. This is just Part 1, I think there are 3 parts to the whole thing.

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

Thank you !!!

As far as Glen Campbell goes, I guess he had just the right amount of popularity and wholesomeness to fill the bill. (They WERE trying to appeal to "middle America", after all...)

I love how in the opening shot they have him walking out in the middle of nowhere for some reason, as if his country road was leading to Disney World, or something.

Even MORE amazing is the lack of trees in the area. There's a brief ariel shot of Fort Wilderness, and it looks SO barren, like many of the "lands" Julie Andrews lip-syncs her way through.

IMO, they spend WAY too much time on THOP, I'm not quite sure what the thinking was behind that, but it adds to the HOUR AND TEN MINUTE running time, so I'm sure a lot of people aren't going to watch it.

Their loss, IMO.

As far as Bob Hope goes, he's just a little creepy if you ask me. Telling the female CM's that he'll meet them in "Adventureland", later, (wink wink)
is just SO "un-Disney" to me, as is the Billy Graham joke, that I'd better not even repeat here.

Still with all this, there is one scene missing. It's an odd one with Jonathan Winters and his seemingly comatose "wife" pulling into FW. It's easy enough to find on Youtube if you're interested

All in all, if you're willing to spend over an hour watching this, it's a great period piece and a glimpse back into a different time.

I'm glad you enjoyed it !

 

[kbelle8995]

I particularly like when Glen Campbell was standing in Frontierland and there is nothing behind him.

I am just so used to seeing the two mountains there. I've forgotten what it used to look like.

 

[Joshua_me]

Yes, I know it's really tacky to bump your own thread, but this video is so special to me that I'd just like as many DISer's as possible to watch it...

It's just such a fascinating,"feel good" slice of a time gone by that it gives me the "Disney willies" all over.

Heh... I dunno, it's hard to describe. But, just seeing the park in it's infancy like that without even many trees around some area's is kind of a rush for me.

Not to mention hearing Julie Andrews voice while she could still sing.

Sigh...

 

[OKW Lover]

Not to mention hearing Julie Andrews voice while she could still sing.

Sigh...

And look how young she was. Of course, so was I.

 

[PryncessChrysty]

Thanks for posting the link! I can't wait to watch it this weekend.
From your descriptions, it sounds like it's the same as what they showed to at D23's WDW 40th Destination D last May. Being a DL native, it was so neat to learn more about WDW's history, and what it was like when it all started.

Isn't there also a part where Glen Campbell is singing TO the Contemporary?? I might have my videos mixed up, but it was hilarious. Like the Contemporary was his girlfriend. Creepy & funny, all at the same time. Then again, I think that could be said for most of what they presented to us at the event that weekend. It was the 70's, afterall.....

 

[tink576]

The small world dolls have escaped

I find it interesting seeing how they presented the whole show, and the toy soldiers from the Christmas parade were even in the first show.

 

[carolinadj]

Oh wow! Thank you so much! What a wonderful trip down memory lane.

 

[limace]

Watching it now and loving it. Man, that Glen Campbell intro was completely random. Thanks so much for this

 

[Joshua_me]

Watching it now and loving it. Man, that Glen Campbell intro was completely random. Thanks so much for this

Glad that you enjoyed it.

It's odd, though... YouTube keeps changing the video....

As of Sat, 3/3, the Glen Campbell opening is gone.

A couple of days ago it started with the Julie Andrews segment, and this morning it starts with Bob Hope saying, "Perhaps Walt's greatest accomplishment is that he made children of us all."

???

I've never seen a video link change so many times on YouTube.

Not sure what is going on....

 

[limace]

Further thoughts:
-Love the replay of Country Bears-totally takes me back.
-The Zippidy Doo Dah scene, with Julie Andrews singing and (apparently) all black back-up dancers, was cringe-worthy.
-What was the Snow White animatronic show? Couldn't find any info about it in this link about the show I found.
-the whole "catch the missus", "dogs have sinus conditions" was also surreal.
-By modern standards, the parade was lame-not much going on, and the music went on and on. HOWEVER-so much better than the modern experience of watching a parade on TV, where you just get brief glimpses of floats in between long inane commentary by the hosts. The last scene, with long shots of the cameras while the choir sang "When You Wish Upon a Star", was beautiful.