July 11, 2008: The Magic Kingdom in 1973

Wow, the first and only time I ever visited Walt Disney World was in 1973, and this article brings back a lot of memories of our family road trip from Chesapeake, Virginia down to Florida. We had moved to Virginia in early 1969 after living in San Diego for nearly eight years, from where we'd make yearly forays north to Disneyland.
We were looking forward to our trip to Disney World, and I remember we were all impressed by the scope of the place, and the hotels (both of them) all connected to the park (yes, only one) by the monorail. We stayed at the Contemporary, in one of the suites outside the main A frame, and had a great time playing in the water as well as visiting the Magic Kingdom.
I do remember being very disappointed by the lack of detail in the magic Kingdom itself -- sure it was much much larger than Disneyland, but it felt almost vacant, with much of the space under utilized, and the attractions less themed than what we were used to at Disneyland (Pirates especially disappointed me). Apparently the rest of my family felt the same, and we never returned, despite living in the general area until 1986.
But then the rest of our "trip of '73" was almost a replay of National Lampoon's Vacation, except that our Wally World was actually open, and so nobody punched a moose.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Werner Weiss

According to Wikipedia, "In October 1, 1971, the Mickey Mouse Revue show opened as an 'E' ticket attraction in Fantasyland, in the Magic Kingdom, Florida."

WaltDatedWorld and Widen Your World also say that it originally required an "E" ticket.

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:ot: I'm way off-topic here cuz I'm about to ask about Disneyland history, but I was curious about the legacy of the jungle cruise attractions and was looking up the wikipedia entry for "Jungle Cruise":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Cruise

I know that information on wikipedia is sometimes inaccurate and I was surprised to read that the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland was only a "C" ticket attraction in the first year of the park's operation (look for "Required Ticket" in the right-hand column). Is this true? I thought it was one of Disneyland's most popular attractions when the park opened!

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Originally Posted by RenMan

I know that information on wikipedia is sometimes inaccurate and I was surprised to read that the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland was only a "C" ticket attraction in the first year of the park's operation (look for "Required Ticket" in the right-hand column). Is this true?

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When Disneyland opened in 1955, the highest ticket was the "C" ticket.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Werner Weiss

According to Wikipedia, "In October 1, 1971, the Mickey Mouse Revue show opened as an 'E' ticket attraction in Fantasyland, in the Magic Kingdom, Florida."

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Thank you!

Werner, another fab article. I own many old WDW Maps and this was fascinating. Thanks for sharing. :))

This is a nice look back at WDW just before it hit its true peak, which was in 1975 with the opening of Space Mountain, the Wedway Peoplemover and the arrival of the Carousel of Progress. But I'd still go back to this WDW from 73 over what's sadly there today anytime!