What was Unique about the Magic Kingdom when it opened compared to Disneyland?

[DL_CRAZE]

I know Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, Mickey Mouse Revvue and in a way, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were all orignals but of the attractions that came from Disneyland to the Magic Kingdom in 1971, how did they differ in uniqueness?

[Mr. Bungle]

Bigger castle.

[wweecwdude]

yupyup bigger castle, different location, lots of more land

[Mr. Bungle]

Am I correct that there was also no Pirates of the Caribbean on opening day? Or was it added late before opening?

[Disney Romantic]

Originally Posted by Mr. Bungle

Am I correct that there was also no Pirates of the Caribbean on opening day? Or was it added late before opening?

As the oft repeated story goes, there were no Pirates in Florida on opening day because it was believed Pirates weren't interesting enough for Florida. Which is why they were supposed to get the Western River Expedition instead. Pirates came along when guests kept constantly asking for the ride.

[Mr. Bungle]

Thanks, I remembered the "not interesting enough" thing, but I couldn't remember when it was added. Too bad they had to cut the ride down.

[aimster]

According to the stories I've heard, it wasn't pirates "weren't interesting enough", it was Imagineers felt Florida was too close to the actual Caribbean and guests might not feel comfortable being so close to where the "real pirate action" once took place. But they found out they were dead wrong when people kept asking "Where's the prate ride?" So they scrambled to shoehorn it into the park and scrapped most of Thunder Mesa & Western River Expedition.

[Mr. Bungle]

See, I thought it was a combination of the two: "Not interesting to Florida because the Caribbean is nearby" or something like that.

[aimster]

Yeah that's kind of it.

[DL_CRAZE]

Im talking about Snow White, Peter Pan, Jungle, didnt alot of those types of attractions have different scenes then the one in Disneyland

[MickeyMania]

That's a really odd argument, I suspect that's just the official cover for "we ran out of money."

Otherwise, the differences are pretty meh:

Full-sized trains
Matterhorn-sized castle
Longer monorail
Smaller TL (go figure! Almost no DL has had a full TL at opening. HK might be the sole exception)
Nicer hotels

Also, your list of originals forgets If You Could Fly/If You Had Wings (had wings, had wings.)

[DL_CRAZE]

Originally Posted by MickeyMania

That's a really odd argument, I suspect that's just the official cover for "we ran out of money."

Otherwise, the differences are pretty meh:

Full-sized trains
Matterhorn-sized castle
Longer monorail
Smaller TL (go figure! Almost no DL has had a full TL at opening. HK might be the sole exception)
Nicer hotels

Also, your list of originals forgets If You Could Fly/If You Had Wings (had wings, had wings.)

well If You Could Fly was added in 1972, about eight months after the park opened.

[lazyboy97O]

Originally Posted by MickeyMania

Full-sized trains

Only the C.K. Holliday and E.P. Ripley were built specifically for Disneyland. The other three locomotives were all built before Disneyland ever opened and full scale for their intended purposes. The four Magic Kingdom locomotives are larger, but the Walt Disney World Railroad operates on the same three foot narrow gauge as the the Disneyland Railroad.

[Casey Jr]

didn't it open with haunted mansion? if so, it had a different version of HM with different facade... diff. Tiki Room--- Tropical Serenade. Longer Jungle Cruise. Bigger main street, dueling Mr. Toads.

[MarkTwain]

Originally Posted by DL_CRAZE

Im talking about Snow White, Peter Pan, Jungle, didnt alot of those types of attractions have different scenes then the one in Disneyland

Yes, most of the similar attractions (all of the ones you named) were built with differences for the two parks. Sometimes, because they learned from experience, and sometimes because they wanted to do something different. A lot of these attractions have become even more different with refurbishments at one park and not the other. And until very recently, even since-added attractions are built with differences (Splash Mountain, BTMRR).