"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!

 

Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary

Today is Walt Disney World's 45th anniversary! To celebrate, we will be going back 35 years to when the Magic Kingdom was only 10 years old. Even though the park already had it's anniversary in October of 1981, CBS aired the television special, "Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary" three months later, in January of 1982.

Let's take a look at the TV Guide listing for that anniversary special. Here's the cover of the January 16, 1982 issue of TV Guide.

Actually, before we look at that listing, here is what was playing that week on the Walt Disney television series (formerly Disneyland, Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Wonderful World of Disney, and Disney's Wonderful World).

Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang was a made for TV movie and a follow-up to the theatrical releases, The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979).

The TV movie led to a TV series about a year later, starring Barry Van Dyke (Dick's son) in the title role of Russell Donovan (played in the original film by Bill Bixby and in this TV movie by John Bennett Perry). For some reason, the series was titled Gun Shy. It only lasted for six episodes before being canceled. I vaguely remember watching that series....or at least some of it.

Now let's look at that 10th anniversary special. Dean Jones and Michelle Lee (from Knots Landing) were reunited for this special. They had previously starred together in the 1968 Disney film, The Love Bug. Dana Plato (from Different Strokes) and Ricky Schroder (from Silver Spoons) play their children, while Eileen Brennan (from Private Benjamin) plays an aunt.

Michael Keaton plays a cast member with multiple jobs in this special, including a bellboy, a waiter, a valet, and a clerk in a souvenir shop at the Contemporary Hotel. He even sings (sort of) with Michelle Lee and Dana Plato.

At the very end of the special, the announcer reminds viewers that "All of tonight's recipes (which were shown during the commercials) can be found in tonight's listing section of TV Guide Magazine, and at many stores." Matterhorn Chicken? But Walt Disney World doesn't have a Matterhorn!

Also on TV that week: People of the Year: The 25 Most Intriguing People of 1981. That would be a hoot to watch today!

Bert Convy was back with an all new version of Tattletales. Incidentally, the original Tattletales from the 1970's currently plays on the "Buzzr" channel. I'm addicted to that channel and Match Game '78!

And Meryl Streep was appearing in a new musical special, Alice at the Palace.

If you want to watch the Walt Disney World special (minus the Kraft commercials), I've included a link to it below.

The show is just as corny as most of the Disney TV specials were back in the day. From the Tour Guides and Small World Hostesses drooling over John Schneider while he serenades them, to Dean Jones singing (sort of) to Ricky Schroeder about "Fathers and Sons", it's definitely a cheesefest....and even a bit uncomfortable at times. But if you're a fan of vintage Walt Disney World, or a fan of any of these celebrities, it's definitely worth watching.

Oh, and José the parrot, makes a cameo appearance in a souvenir shop at the Contemporary Hotel at the 24:00 minute mark. I wonder if that was a real souvenir that used to be sold, or if it was one of the actual animatronics from the Tropical Serenade/Tiki Room attraction?




A similar special sponsored by Kraft, had aired in 1980 for Disneyland's 25th anniversary. I have that issue of TV Guide as well (with more themed recipes!), so I will try to get that one posted soon. (Post Update: That issue of TV Guide can now be seen here, Disneyland's 25th Anniversary.

Happy 45th anniversary, to Walt Disney World!

**Post Update (10-12-16):

I'm adding these pages from the same issue of TV Guide, because of the Mr. Merlin comment (below) by Major Pepperidge. I'm sure it was a wonderful show! With Elaine Joyce in it, it couldn't have been all that bad, could it? Barnard Hughes was also starring in the original version of Disney's Tron, which had a theatrical release in July of that same year.

Also....after writing this post, I came across this promotional pic of Ricky Schroder in the 1981 Walt Disney Productions Annual Report:

Walt Disney World Board Game - 1972

Today is the 44th anniversary of the grand opening of Walt Disney World. In honor of the anniversary, I'm posting pics of the Walt Disney World board game from Milton Bradley.

It was December of 1972 and my mom and I were in the toy department of Sears. She told me to pick something out to give to my brother for his birthday, and this is what I chose. My brother and I both loved everything "Disney", so even though it was something that I would have also chosen for myself, my brother liked it just as much!

Hey, the Haunted Mansion is located in the wrong "land" on the game board! It also seems to resemble Disneyland's Haunted Mansion more than Walt Disney World's!

Whenever a playing piece landed on a "haunted" red spot on the board, the player would have to drop a little wooden disk through the roof of the Haunted Mansion. The disk would then roll down a ramp and out the front or back door and roll across the game board. Wherever it stopped, that is where the player was to move their playing piece.

If you landed on one of the four spots marked "Monorail Spin", you would discard a Monorail "ticket" and then you could slide the Monorail car along the track to advance your playing piece to the other end of the board.

Each of the "lands" and attractions that need to be visited during game play, are designated with an orange. Interesting. They should have just done a cross promotion with the Florida Citrus Commission and included the Orange Bird!

I love the graphics used on the game board!

For the "Tea Cup Ride", the instructions state, "A player arriving at the Tea Cup Ride entrance must board this ride. He spins the spinner and moves the Tea Cup Ride the same count. In order for a player to leave the ride, his spin must land him at the Entrance/Exit by exact count".

The turntable was to be rotated a quarter turn for each number spun, however, the instructions never say whether you had to consistently turn the Tea Cups to the right or to the left. I wonder if we ever thought of that as kids?

Could that be Anita Bryant in front of the "orange juice" refreshment stand? Hmmm, I don't see any whip cream on her face, so probably not!

If a player landed on a space that was already occupied by another player, he/she could move that other player to one of three refreshment stands on the board (including the Ice Cream Station) and that player would then have to continue their game play from that spot.

I forgot to mention that in order to ride the Monorail, a player would first have to use the spinner and the arrow would have to land on a Monorail space.

Here are some of the "tickets". Each player had their own color that corresponded with their playing piece's base. I wonder why every ticket has the Monorail on it?

The object of the game is to visit all the park attractions and use up all of your tickets. The first one to do so, wins. For anyone that wants to take the time to read all of the game instructions, here you go!

We even saved the Assembly Instructions insert!

The original price tag is still on the box, showing that it cost a whopping $3.59 back in 1972!

Happy 44th Anniversary to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom!

(To see another children's game from 1972, that was based on a Disneyland and Walt Disney World attraction, click here: Whitman's Mad Tea Party Game.)

Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary!

Today, in honor of Walt Disney World's 40th Anniversary, we have another toy from my childhood. It's a Walt Disney World jigsaw puzzle from the good people over at Whitman. There isn't a date on the box, but we can tell by the "Fifty Happy Years" logo that it is from 1973...just two years after The Magic Kingdom opened in Florida.




Happy 40th Anniversary, Walt Disney World!