Favorite 70's Memory

[EPCOT84]

Being a west coast kid, it was Disneyland for us. We went every year, sometimes multiple times a year. This was before annual passports were introduced. We were Disney fanatics true and true.

When WDW opened, Mom bought the issues of Time and Life magazine covering the opening of WDW. I'd read it over and over. I now see the same issue in the museum at MGM and it makes me recall those years from afar....

Over the years, we'd watch anything on TV to see what the new park was like. It looked soooo cool but it wasn't til EPCOT opened in '82 that finally prompted my folks to make the trip to Florida. We were hooked !

[#1donaldfan]

Ummmm.....???? that's a long time ago.....I suppose....ummmm...an attraction that still exists???? I would say POTC....and maybe the HM.....actually back in the 70's I got a pirate flag and lost it on HM...I was maybe 8 or 9....then years and years later my mother sent me one while I was on active duty in the Phillippines.....how cool is that???? She remembered after all those years.....NOW, we are making memories year after year with our kids.....once I'm in the parks, I revert back to a kid...just ask mine...I'll bet my teenager will tell you I embarrass her....oh well, I have fun...

[diz_girl]

Also, mainstreet USA seemed to be a mile long when I was little and we leaving the park at the end of the night.

To me it still seems a mile long at the end of the day.

Now, about those powdered soap dispensers - I'm just remembering them. Of course, little did we know then that 30 years later the toilets and sinks would be automatic. And the doors would be automatic too - and you would get so used to them during your stay that when you returned home that you would stand in front of non-automated doors waiting for them to open and look like an idiot.

My mother just gave me the WDW map (there was only one) from our first trip in 1976 that show now-defunct attractions such as the Skyway, 20K, Mr. Toad, Davy Crockett's? Canoes, the Swan Boats, Mission to Mars, Eastern Airlines''s If you Had Wings, the Arcade, plus other rides that only had name changes (WED Way, etc.). Anyway, that map is going in the safe and I'll take it out on occasion and wax nostalgic about WDW.

I'm just amazed that jclightchasr went back through a year's worth of threads to find this dormant post.

[Tygger7]

Some of these were already mentioned, but here goes:

River Country - I still miss that place!
Mr. Toad - one of my favorite rides.
The Skyway - Ditto
Drinking juice from a plastic orange.
My first time on Space Mountain - I was six and I could have sworn that it went upside down.
Discovery Island - the one in the middle of Bay Lake.
Paper tickets that you redeemed for each ride.
The old monorails - for the same reason as someone else mentioned. I actually drove it one time!
The old arcade on Main Street.
The Main Street Electrical Parade - I loved the music.
POTC and HM - 'nuff said.
My first time in the concourse of the Contemporary.
The old arcade in the Contemporary - the one where they had a Shooting Gallery like the one in Frontierland.
My first Mickey Bar!

Boy, am I getting nostalgic! I have to stop now, or I never will.

Oh my gosh!! I'd forgotten about some of these! Like above, I miss River Country. I also miss drinking out of the fruits..those were so cool! And Discovery Island, I so clearly remember spending the day over there, and of course, I miss the original Main St. Electrical Light parade!

Thanks so much for stirring up these wonderful memories!!

[Daisy'sMom]

I miss the cleanliness of the bathrooms, the way the tiniest speck of liter was scooped up in a second by an attendent dressed in white, the clip clop of the horses on Main Street, the stationary store, the magic shop. That little side section off Main Street with the flower carts. Thank you for posting all of your memories, it brought back so many of my own.

[LibertyTreeGal]

Oh my goodness, powdered soap -- I just had a ton of unpleasant grade school memories flood into my head. ROFL -- I had forgotten that it had even existed!

[mainemajor]

My first love at Magic Kingdom, that's all there was my first several trips, was walking down, not up, Main St. USA at night. Night at MK then and now is the most magical spot in the world. If I could do just one thing at WDW it would be take a lesurly stroll at night along Maine St. Doing that just makes me sooooo happy!

Isn't that what it's all about?

[wdwfansince75]

I get an occasional fix by visiting Mouseketeer Alison's Walt Dated World! Our first Disney trip was to DL in 71. I had just submitted my thesis for my MS at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA. We knew I would be going back to an operational assignment as a Naval Flight Officer, so DW felt that we (myself, DW, DS5, DD3, and DD1) needed some R&R. DL was our choice, and it was a wonderful choice! We did everything we could. POTC was a hit for all. And DD3 insisted on the donkey ride. (Yes, they had live donkeys in the park). DW rode with her. DW didn't realize how close to the edge some of the mule could walk!

For the next four years, between many deployments to the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia, we talked about our next trip to Disney. When we were transfered to MD, we discovered that WDW was now open. We went in 75; DW, DS10, DD8, DD5, FIL, & MIL. Stayed at CR.

First memory was approaching CR. As we passed some topirary figures, we spotted the huge A-Frame, and saw (to MIL's great delight) a boat sail across the road!

Special memories:
POTC & HM.....and they still are favorites of all of us!
COP
MIL and DD3 riding If You Had Wings again and again.....DD3 loved it, and didn't want to ride anything else....We all rode it several times, since it was one of only a few rides that didn't take tickets.
The People Mover
Skyway
Swan Boats....boring, but there wasn't much else to do with that ticket.
10,000 (or so) Leagues
Leaving Tikiroom as the finale simulated a thunderstorm, only to discover that there was a real thunderstorm outside!.....

and the greatest magic of all, discovering that we were expecting our fourth!

Lots of trips since those days, but those two trips were special. Thank you for the chance to refresh the memories!

[disneyjo-91]

I remember a few things going to disney as a child

the plastic juice cups
i loved delta dream flight.. that was one of my fav rides.(the song if you had wings .. and at the end didnt the guys pants fall down and you saw his boxers? LOL!)
when space mountain 1st opened. we all went on it. well we did not know that the ride was that fast and in the dark!! I remember my mom going this is not that bad as we were going up the 1st hill.. LOL! my brother was so scared and he gripped the rubber on the car so hard his little fingers got stuck underneath the rubber and they had to stop the whole ride to pry his hands out

Gritty soap!!

we never stayed on property when i was little so the day at the magic kingdom was a mad rush to do everything in one day! we loved it though.... I still have booklets of E tickets ..

ahhhhh!

[ryca1dreams]

I was 10, but I remember:
-Mission to Mars
-If you had Wings
-90 minute wait for Space Mountain. The Star Tunnel music stuck in my head for a decade.
-The old Luau
-The old music from the Electrical Water Pageant.
-Being terrifed to death on Snow White's Adventure becuause they didn't say it was "scary" but that stupid witch kept popping out at you.
-The original Tiki room.

Some of the details I have forgotten. I have some pictures of the Main Street Parade and me sitting at the The Plaza (?) wearing some ugly read and yellow shoes.

[Victor Kelly]

Keeping in mind I was only 5 by 1980.

1. God yes the paper straws, how they would get so soggy in 5 minutes.
2. Thunder Mountain being built.
3. Wed Way People mover
4. If You Had Wings.
5. The topiaries that lined the monorail route to MK.
6. The square swath of land where the Grand Floridian now stands.
7. The old Adventureland Trainstation where the parade route exit now is. Wow the green lawn!!
8. And from a child's eyes the most perfect place to be.


Almost forgot.....................Open at 8am and closed at 1am.

[Jerry2]

First trip was in April 1976 when I was 9. I remember the Bicentennial Celebration and the parade.

These are the most vivid memories:

I remember sitting either next to my mother or on her lap in Space Mountain (the cars were different back then) and screaming my head off.

I remember looking up at the hairy-legged pirate in POTC (have no idea why I remember that?).

I remember my father always giving us "the look: whenever my two brothers and I were having "too much" fun.

I'm not sure who screamed more on SM you or dad.

I think Mom first spotted “hairy leg” pointed it out to us all. I know I didn’t notice it until she pointed it out.

We did get “The Look” a LOT! That was one of the funniest parts of the trip. But I have to admit, for every one “look” Ed and I got you got 5. You were always in trouble. And every time you got in trouble the rest of us laughed like crazy.

I also remember Alpro2 ordering a hamburger at every meal. One day mom said he wasn’t allowed to have a hamburger, so he ordered something with the word Steak in the title. When the waitress brings out his order it’s this ground steak, it was basically a bun-less hamburger on a plate with gravy. When we saw what it was we all cracked up. .

We laughed so much on that trip. I was 17 years old but WDW made me feel like a little kid, as it still does now.

[pwdebbie]

I went to MK for the first time the year it opened. I remember specifically standing on a platform of the Swiss Family Treehouse and realizing that this was the best family vacation we had ever taken. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go back again until just this past October. My husband says it was the best vacation we've taken. I wanted to do the treehouse this time, but dh has problems with heights, so I kept my feet on terra firma and didn't do any climbing.

When my family went in the 70s that first time, we took the AutoTrain. It was such a bad experience that mom cashed in the tickets and we flew home. I hope AutoTrain has gotten better!

Deb

[martinfamily5]

I have posted this before, but on a different thread. It was the late 70's. I grew up in Florida with divorced parents. Dad rarely showed up to get us (my brother and I). Every time that he did he would say, "What do you want to do?" Our response was ALWAYS go to Disney. But it didn't happen. Then one time he showed up, asked the same question and got the same response. This time he said "Yes, we will go in the morning" So the next day my dad, stepmom, brother and I got up and drove to Disney. It rained on us all day. Daddy bought us all the Mickey Mouse yellow ponchos. We doned our ponchos and went on with the rest of our day. There were no lines for anything. That was the best childhood trip. Nine months later Daddy died of cancer. We don't have very many fond memories of Daddy and so my Disney trip with him is a very cherished memory.

I am so thankful that my husband and I are able to create such wonderful Disney memories with our 3 children. Soon the oldest will go off to college and things and our life will completely change.

Thanks so much for letting me recall and share this wonderful time spent with my Daddy.

[kmo84]

I really loved reading everyone's posts here.
My grandparents took me and my mother in Nov. 1971. I was 5. We stayed at the Contemporary. I think that is why it is still one of my favorite resorts.
My worst memory of the trip? Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer was on and my grandfather wouldn't let me watch it!

I loved so many of the things everyone else already mentioned. I think the Country Bears really stuck with me from that trip. I remember how much I loved Big Al.

But I hated the paper straws! They were only good for about one or two sips and then they would go flat and no more liquid would pass through them!!

Thanks for the great memories!

[kathymk616]

These posts are awesome! I remember all the things mentioned so far, and thanks for bringing back great memories.

A couple of additions:

-You needed a handstamp if you left the park and returned later in the day? I remember being on Peter Pan's flight and (under the UV light) seeing the handstamp. I thought it was the most magical thing I had ever seen. (I was a dumb kid.)

-Loved, and was also scared of, the Skyway. (Again, I was dumb.)

-Our family would always be excited to hear about EPCOT, which didn't yet exist, but was being built!

-Main Street was more than just shops. Circlevision 360, the Walt Disney Story, and the shooting gallery/Penny Arcade were family favorites.

-River Country. (Already mentioned, but it deserves to be mentioned again.)

-Did anyone else play on "The Wee Links" and the Golf Resort? I think that was late '70's, but it might have been early '80's.

-I also loved the RCA mascot dog at the entrance to Space Mountain. I could be wrong about this, but I think that figure/animatronic is used in one of the displays for the futuristic scenes on the exit from Space Mountain. Can anyone confirm this?

[pook@wdw]

Ahhhhhhhh!!! Let's take a ride down memory lane. 1974...13yrs old...the 2 things I remember best...Space Mountain and Main St Electrical Parade!

[Disneyfun]

My favorite memory from the late 70's was the photo shop at the beginning of Main Street where they dressed you up in the turn of the century costumes with the velcro on the back! I detest the green screen photos they do now, so fake and impersonal.

The frozen orange swirled treats at the Sunshine Tree Terrace when they still had the tables infront of it and no Dumbo-clone ride with spitting camels! We kids would get ice cream all over ourselves!

The "wooden" indian statue on Main Street was also a must photo opp for the entire family!

I miss the sky way most (even though the memory was from the 90's)! This is where my DW and I have our 1st photo together after we were married - I did the whole stick-out-your-arm-with-the camera-held-back-towards-yourself! It is one of our favorite pictures!

[Mickey 101]

I was 14 on our first trip and unlike many people here, I only got to go once growing up. That made me even more determined to go back some day. Some of my memories......

First and foremost......gliding right through a hotel on the monorail!!!
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse
Jungle Cruise
Tea Cups
Country Bear Jamboree (have never gone on it again)
Small World (getting song firmly stuck in our heads)
POTC and the hairy leg
A booklet of all E tickets
My first Mickey t-shirt
Getting hooked on the magic!!!!!!!!!

[RBrooksC]

I am not sure if it is a favorite memory because I was only six and I have a hard time remembering details of the trip in 1977. However, I do remember staying at the Golf Resort and having to drive to the Poly to use the pool/slide and to swim in the Seven Seas Lagoon. I remember racing my dad out to this green anchored wooden raft out a few yards from the beach.

I also remember my parents discussing what extra tickets they should purchase for our visit to the MK.

I also remember Peter Pan's Flight and how amazed I was to fly over London and then past the moon. I was very much into the moon and astronomy when I was around six so being able to fly so close to it was something that always stuck with me. Shoot, I still get amazed when I ride Peter Pan.

I also remember being scared when going into the Haunted Mansion and my parents having to pull me into the door because the costumed workers.

Although I was tall enough for Space Mountain, my mom didn't think the ride was right for me so we ended up leaving via the chicken exit. Then again, my mom is scared of coasters however, she did ride this back in 1983 and then again in 1989 so I really don't remember why she wouldn't let me on it and she doesn't either when I asked her recently.