The Swanson Family Visits Walt Disney World - 1975

About 15 years ago, I purchased a batch of vintage Florida vacation slides on ebay.  All of the images were from the "Swanson Family" of Long Beach, CA, and were taken during their visits to Walt Disney World, Cypress Gardens (Winter Haven), Busch Gardens (Tampa), Lion Country Safari (near West Palm Beach), Marineland (near St. Augustine), and Miami Beach.  I previously posted their Lion Country Safari slides, back in May of 2017.

Here are all of the Swanson Family's Walt Disney World slides, taken in March of 1975....fifty years ago this month!  I'm posting these slides in the order they were taken.  By the way, these were developed at Tuttle's Camera Shop, in Long Beach, CA.  The shop opened in 1946, and is still in business today (in a different location).

This first slide shows the mom (far right), with her son and daughter, traveling across the Seven Seas Lagoon aboard either the Magic Kingdom I, or the Magic Kingdom II ferry boat.  Note the Walt Disney World Guidebook in the daughter's hand.  We'll be seeing it again, a little bit later.

This is the first photo they took inside the park, which shows the early morning sunlight shining on the west side of Main Street.  Notice the ladder and the two sets of scaffolding.  Bad show!  ;-)

There was more scaffolding visible in the Flower Market on Center Street.  Unfortunately, Disney has since "filled in" this end of Center Street, with a newer structure that connects the shops on either side of the street.

Here's a pretty nice shot of Cinderella's Castle, even though the spires on top were cut off.  I want to know what that little blue and white striped tent was used for!

This is the only photo from the family's WDW visit, showing the dad (Dale), so I assume he was the one taking most, if not all of the other photos.  I wonder what goodies mom had already purchased that early in the day?

Notice the "tournament tent" facade of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, in the background of this Grand Prix Speedway shot.  And now I want to know if the son's hair was naturally curly, or if he permed it (as some men did, back in the 1970s).

Here's mom, watching a Nautilus submarine glide by:

Next, we have the backside of the Admiral Joe Fowler steamboat.  Unfortunately, Walt Disney World's current riverboat is about to be permanently removed from the Magic Kingdom, along with their Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.  Sad!

Because of the elevation, I'm guessing that this shot of the Frontierland totem poles was taken from the treehouse on Tom Sawyer Island.

I love this aerial shot of Tomorrowland, which would have been taken from the Skyway.  Notice how there are no visible PeopleMover vehicles on the track.  That attraction would not be opening for another four months (July of 1975).

Space Mountain would have been open for only two months at this point (January of 1975).  That structure in the foreground was a Tomorrowland ticket booth.  It's still standing, but it is now used to sell Disney Vacation Club memberships.

Here's a character that we don't see walking around the U.S. Disney parks anymore; the Sheriff of Nottingham, from the 1973 Walt Disney Productions' film, Robin Hood.

Well, this is kind of an odd shot.  We can see just the edge of Cinderella's Golden Carousel, a mostly obstructed Dumbo Flying Elephants attraction, and a single Skyway gondola, "floating" above.

The Walrus from Alice In Wonderland is another character that we don't see in the Disney parks anymore.  In the background, we can see a sign for the "Fantasy Faire," which was a covered venue for live shows.  It was similar to Carnation Gardens at Disneyland.  By the way, the little girl is in this pic (on the right) doesn't appear in any of the other Swanson Family vacation slides.  I'm guessing that they didn't know her!

These topiaries could be found just off of the Plaza.  I believe there are a few topiaries still present in this area, including one of a "sea serpent."

I wonder if the man dressed in all-white and hitching a ride on the Horse-Drawn Streetcar, was a WDW employee.....a sweeper, perhaps?

Seeing guests seated along the curb like this, is a sure sign that a parade is about to start.

Or maybe everyone was just waiting for the Walt Disney World band to pass by?

As the family was leaving for the day, they took this photo of the Main Street Train Station and the floral Mickey Mouse, but they cropped both during the composing of the shot.

And the son got majorly cropped in this last photo, as the family arrived back at the Walt Disney World Transportation and Ticket Center.  (Note the Contemporary Resort Hotel in the distance.)  I hope the Swanson Family had fun that day.  And I hope that at least the Swanson children are still around today.  But if they are, that does make me wonder why they didn't want to keep these slides, documenting their family's Florida vacation.

Stay tuned....we will be seeing more of the Swanson Family in future posts, as they visit Cypress Gardens, Busch Gardens, Marineland, and Miami Beach!

 ****BONUS****

I decided that the perfect addition to this post, would be a Walt Disney World Guidebook from the same time as the Swanson Family's visit.  I found this on ebay, and I've scanned every page.  Enjoy!

Just look at those prices!  It was only $7.50 for an adult admission to the Magic Kingdom.  Entering that dollar amount into an inflation calculator, I see that amount equals $44.92, in today's dollars.  However, if you visit the Magic Kingdom today, it will actually cost you between $144 and $199, depending on the day you visit.  For shame, Disney......for shame!

I didn't realize that the Plaza Swan Boats only operated in the Summer.  I wonder if they were a year-round attraction in the park's first few years of operation?

Apparently the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes were also a Summer-only attraction.  I believe they have always operated year-round, at Disneyland.....with the exception of when they closed "permanently" in October of 1998, but reopened in June of 1999.

It's hard to believe that Walt Disney World's riverboat (the Admiral Joe Fowler) was SO popular, that they built a second sternwheeler (the Richard F. Irvine/Liberty Belle) just two years after the park opened.  It's also hard to believe that now, over 50 years later, they are getting rid of their last remaining riverboat, Tom Sawyer Island AND the river, itself!

I've been on Walt Disney World's Peter Pan's Flight, but I sure don't remember the vehicles having the ability to hold four adults in one seat!  By the time I got around to visiting WDW, the Mickey Mouse Revue had already been removed.  Fortunately, I was able to see it multiple times at Tokyo Disneyland, before it was removed from that park, too.

As mentioned previously, Space Mountain had opened just two months earlier, along with the Carousel of Progress.  The Carousel of Progress had closed in 1973 after a six year run at Disneyland, and was moved to Walt Disney World at the request of the attraction's sponsor, General Electric.  Note how the WEDway PeopleMover is listed as a "Future Attraction," and hasn't been given a little spot illustration yet.

America On Parade "is becoming the talk of the entire country."  Hmmm, it didn't even start it's run until the summer of that year.  Maybe they had been doing some early sneak preview/soft opening performances?

The WEDway PeopleMover was also listed as a "future attraction" on the map.

GAF Photo Tips:

The guide also covered the various Walt Disney World hotels.

It's nice to know that the Polynesian Village and Contemporary Resort hotels both had salons, where guests could get their wigs "set."

Unfortunately, neither the Golf Resort hotel, or the Fort Wilderness campgrounds offered wig setting services.

The Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village is what later became known as Downtown Disney, and has once again been renamed, "Disney Springs."  I wonder if the "Miss Merrily's Madness" sportswear shop is where Lisa Welchel and Allison Fonte fought over an outfit....AND a man, in "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World" (1977).

I'm also wondering how many vacationers purchased a dog, cat, fish, bird, or exotic animal, at the "Posh Pets" shop?  And did they really sell that many "classic European antique room settings," or "cane, rattan, and wicker furniture groupings" in those other shops?

This map shows Treasure/Discovery Island at "Ⓕ", which had opened the previous year (in April of 1974).  River Country isn't showing up on the map yet, because it would not be opening until the following year (June of 1976).

Back in the day, I bought a lot of GAF's souvenir slides of Disneyland.  Unfortunately, most of them have turned to a not-so-lovely shade of magenta.