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 Raceway 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 and information 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.

"Disney World Is A New Disneyland" - My Weekly Reader (1971)

Today is the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World's grand opening.  I remember the very first time that I heard about the existence of a "second Disneyland."  It was when I was in the second grade and our teacher was passing out copies of My Weekly Reader to the class.  The cover story headline was, "Disney World Is A New Disneyland."  I was already a huge Disneyland fan, even at that age, so this was very exciting news.

For years, I thought the characters in the cover photo (below), were standing above the entrance to Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents attraction.  Only recently, did I realize that they were standing on the second level of the Liberty Square Boat Dock.

That was it for the story about WDW's opening....short and sweet!  Well, we were only second graders, so all of the stories were short.  Here is the rest of the issue.

It would be 12 more years before the children of Japan (and the adults, too!) would get their own Disneyland.

Astrofood!  This was a time when everyone was still fascinated with space travel/exploration, and it was reflected in the naming of certain places and products, such as AstroTurf, Astroburger restaurants, the Astrodome in Houston, Astro the dog (on The Jetsons), etc.

A test?  Nobody said there was going to be a test, later!  I'm breaking out in a cold sweat!

I believe that a "Peanut and Jocko" comic strip appeared in most, if not every issue of My Weekly Reader.  This one isn't all that funny.  Maybe as second graders, we thought it was hilarious?

If I'm remembering correctly, My Weekly Reader was usually only 4 pages long.  However, this issue had a special insert in the middle of it, with four pages of poetry.

While looking at the the artwork below, I realized I still have one childhood Halloween costume that I need to photograph and share.  That would be my Mickey Mouse costume.  It was the last "Ben Cooper-style" costume that I ever wore.  Last October, I posted photos of my brother and me, wearing a few of our childhood Halloween costumes.  For anyone who's interested, those pics can be seen here:  A Vintage Halloween Potpourri.

Happy 50th birthday, Walt Disney World!

 

Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents

With the inauguration of our 46th U.S. president just five days away, I thought this would be a good time to publish this "Hall of Presidents" post.

(Note:  This is not intended to be a complete history of the attraction.  I'm just featuring some magazine articles and souvenirs from my personal collection, as well as some other items, which I came across on ebay.)

We will start with the original attraction poster for "The Hall of Presidents," which was an opening day attraction at the Magic Kingdom.

 

This article about the attraction, appeared in the Winter 1972-1973 issue of Disney News Magazine.  The Hall of Presidents, and the park, were only one year old at this point.

 

The magazine's previous issue (Fall 1972), had included the photo below, in an article about WED and the Disney "staff shops" of sculptors, model makers, painters, etc.  Disney artist, Blaine Gibson, is shown sculpting a bust of Richard Nixon, prior to the creation of Nixon's audio-animatronic figure for the Hall of Presidents.  Nixon was the current president, at the time of the attraction's opening.

Gerald Ford was added to the Hall of Presidents, after Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States, in 1974.  This article appeared in the Spring 1975 issue of Disney News Magazine.

Blaine Gibson is shown below, sculpting the bust of Ford.

I was pretty sure that Disney News Magazine had featured an article about the addition of President Jimmy Carter to the attraction in 1977, but I could not find one in any of the issues. Here is a fairly close-up photo of his Audio-animatronic figure, inside the attraction.

And just for kicks, here is a shot of the real President Carter, going for an early morning run through Disneyland.

Ronald Reagan was added to the HOP, in 1981.  This article appeared in the Spring 1982 issue of Disney News Magazine.  Once again, Blaine Gibson is pictured.

(Note:  This 1982 article mentions that Mr. Gibson had sculpted "more than half" of the presidents within the attraction, up to this point.  That was incorrect, because he is actually credited with sculpting all of the presidents up to 2001, with Barack Obama being the first president that he did not sculpt.)

Again, I somehow thought that Disney News Magazine had featured articles over the years, about the creation of some of the other presidents, at least up until the time when the magazine stopped being published, which was in 2005.  However, the "Ford" and "Reagan" articles appear to be the only ones written on new presidential additions to the attraction.

Blaine Gibson retired from Disney's WED Enterprises (now called Walt Disney Imagineering), in 1983.  However, he returned to sculpt the likenesses of Presidents George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, and George Bush Jr.

Bush Jr. was added to the attraction, in 2001.

When I visited Walt Disney World for the very first time, this "welcome" banner was still hanging over the entrance to the attraction, even though he had been added the previous year.

Barack Obama was added to The Hall of Presidents, in 2009.  The Disney artist credited with sculpting his likeness, is Valerie Edwards. The photo below (from Disney), shows the Obama figure being programmed.

This is pretty cool.  It's footage of President Barack Obama actually recording the audio track for his animatronic figure, in the Map Room of the White House:




 

Now, let's take a look at some "Hall of Presidents" souvenirs, from the last forty-nine years:

This souvenir record of the attraction's soundtrack was available for purchase, beginning in 1972.

 

Back cover of the record album:

In the seventies and eighties, there were a couple different sets of Hall of Presidents souvenir slides available.

The captions on the slides are as follows:

"Exterior"

"Presidents on Stage"

 "Lincoln Speaks"

  "Washington to J.Q. Adams"

 "Lincoln and his Predecessors"

 "Jefferson, the Adamses, Madison"

 "Grant and Three Predecessors"

 "Hayes (Right) to McKinley (Left)"

 "Van Buren and Recent Presidents"

Over the years, there have been various HOP postcards.  Note in this first postcard, the entrance portico had not yet been added to the building's facade.

 

This postcard shows the original "cast," with Nixon being the newest/current president.

In this postcard, Reagan was the newest addition.

A set of "trading" or "collector's" cards was released in 1996, to commemorate the Magic Kingdom's 25th anniversary.  The Hall of Presidents was represented on card #15.

Back of card:

Pewter figures of all the presidents were available at one time.  Rutherford B. Hayes is pictured below.

 

 

I'm not sure of the exact time period that these figures were sold.  They all have "Walt Disney Productions" stamped on their bases.  That would date them to sometime in the seventies or early eighties, because after the mid-eighties, all Disney merchandise was labeled, "The Walt Disney Company" or "Disney."  Having said that, the most recent president I could find while searching online, was Gerald Ford.

 Vinylmation figure of Abraham Lincoln, released in 2011:

Pressed Penny from 2014:

 

Over the years, there have been multiple "Hall of Presidents" trading pins.

This pin (with the image of the HOP's attraction poster), was part of a special "Liberty Square" set of pins.  The set was released in 2011.

 Trading pin from 2005:

Trading pin from 2009, celebrating the attraction's "re-opening" and welcoming President Barack Obama to the Hall of Presidents:

 

"Tiny Kingdom" mystery mini pin, Walt Disney World Series 1, released in 2019:

From the "Twenty Eight & Main" mystery pin series, released in 2017:

And here is a Walt Disney World "20th Anniversary" pin, from 1991.  (This pin is actually from before the days of the official Disney "Pin Trading" program.)

We will end today with this fun publicity photo from ebay, of the Martin Van Buren figure having his hair styled: