Walt Disney Word Vacationland - Inaugural Edition - Fall 1971

Happy 40th Anniversary Walt Disney World! To help celebrate lets take a close look at the beginning. From the Fall of 1971 its Walt Disneyland Vacationland - The Inaugural Edition. Below are the highlights of this edition, come back tomorrow for the entire issue.















The very FIRST map of Walt Disney World, its sure looks fun doesn't it?





That's one BIG Castle!




Walt Disney World got its very own "Square", was this a substitute for New Orleans Square, both have their own unique charms.








Both of the Hotels have their own unique charms too!







Not into Hotels? Try Camping!

Walt Disney Word - By the Numbers

Walt Disney World and Sesame Street are about the same age, just two year apart in fact. Anyone my age or younger that grew up watching Sesame Street has got to remember the numbers sequences (the “one of these things doesn’t belong” sequences were my favorite) so lets relive those fond memories and do some numbering!










The 11 adventure books are super rare, this one from October 1971 is the cover only. Here's the back showing Walt Disney World's Opening day attractions. (link)

The Elks Magazine - October 1971

Welcome to Magazine Monday: Florida Style. From October 1971 it’s the Elks Magazine. Nothing is more fun than an organization led by a Grand Exalted Ruler, sounds kind of “Freemason-like” to me. Anyway, they made a pretty decent magazine, so put on your Grand Poobah hat and enjoy.






The first two pages need to be presented together so you can get the full effect. Further below you’ll find each page separately scanned and easier to read.






There's a lot of detail in this article, its like all the early press releases rolled into on big article.








Ticket prices just a little higher than Disneyland of 1971 - WDW is bigger but you get less A thru E tickets than Anaheim!




Imagine yourself in these fine Fall Fashions.







I hope you like trains, here’s a very rich and in-depth article which spells out in great detail what happened to the US railway system, fascinating.










Art Linkletter’s note to the public, it's sad that we lost him this year.

Walt Disney World - 1972 Special Ticket

Let’s take a close look at a special Magic Kingdom Club ticket for Walt Disney World. Dated 1972, this ticket offered up all kind of fun options. I want to try the Trapper Canoe.






“Alcoholic beverages are not included unless specified” so there! Notice the Globe paper, it’s a little different than the attraction ticket paper. The water mark "Globe" seal is similar, but on this ticket it states “Globe Ticket Company”, on the attraction tickets it states “Globe Ticket Safety”.






Here’s a 1972 “A” ticket from Walt Disney World, you can see the different seal wording and the pattern of the background it wavy, not checkered like the special ticket above.






Gotta have some color! I love the Mickey Ear balloons.





This post was supposed to accompany the 1972 Walt Disney Word Vacationland I posted last Sunday (link), somehow I got my posts mixed up, like that’s never happened before…

Walt Disney World - 1969 Preview

It’s time for Florida again, this time lets go way back to 1969. A Complete Edition About Walt Disney World “The Vacation Kingdom of the World”. This booklet is an extensive look at how the Disney company thought Walt Disney World would become. While a lot of these details did end up in the final version(s), several of the ideas died somewhere between this booklet and reality.






Fascinating stuff on these pages, the Western River Expedition would have been amazing from what I have read, same for Thunder Mesa.






Wow, these hotels would have been neat, that big dome at the Persian would have been something to see.






This is the last page of the text. Check out where some of the needed cash would come from “regular cash flow accruing to the corporation from its operations during the next three years”. Counting chickens before they hatch can be dangerous…. Was this the cash that would have paid for Western River Expedition & Thunder Mesa or the Hotels that never were?






The front and back covers are actually one big picture. It’s this great late 60’s style artist concept of the entire “phase one” of the new resort. Hey, is the Monorail going THRU Tomorrowland like it’s supposed to?





Come back on Bonus Sunday for the entire 20 pages of this “Edition”, it’s a great Sunday read.

Walt Disney World - 1977

Today’s post is in honor of my upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. It’s one week away and now I am getting excited.

Today’s post will focus on 1977, a year that I wish Walt Disney World looked liked when I get there next week. Here is the 1977 Walt Disney World Guide shown next to the Spring 1977 Disneyland Guide. Looks like one of the parks got a larger and nicer book. I guess everything about the Florida Property is larger….

Ok, since you asked, you can view both of these complete guides on this coming Bonus Sunday. It’s fun to compare the two.







A nice 8 Adventure book from 1977, at $7.25 its 25¢ larger than Disneyland’s 11 Adventure Book. Bigger is better?






Here’s a fairly rare book. From September 1976, it’s a full book of “in-park” tickets. These are different than the more common “courtesy” books that were given out by hotels and for promotions. These were bought in the park from the ticket booths and most were used right away.





Since these are good for any attraction (A thru E) why on earth would you use them for anything but an “E” ticket attraction? I like the original Walt Disney World Logo above.





$3.50 for a $4.50 value, a better deal can’t be had. (Weird Florida sales tax breakdown)





In case you were looking for a Disneyland Flyer Comparison post today (like I promised yesterday) check back in a couple of days, I'm having “issues” with the PC that my large flatbed scanner is hooked up to. (Yes the demo copy of Photoshop expired…)

Tomorrow: It's "Today's Good News" at Disneyland - July 1981

Disney World Opens - Life Magazine October 1971

Disney World Opens from Life Magazine - October 15, 1971. This is the last and best of the three early Walt Disney World magazine articles I have to post prior to my upcoming trip to the Magic Kingdom. Check out the other two here:


Take a LOOK at Disneyworld - April 4, 1971

Boys Life – July 1973







In one month I will be at the “other park” in Florida for the very first time. To be honest, I am ambivalent about the going. The more I read online about the current condition of the “Florida” property the less exciting it seems. Therefore, I am open to any and all suggestions regarding how a “Socal” guy can have fun in Florida. (Email me at: Vintagedisneylandtickets@gmail.com)

Now on to the article. This one is seven pages long; I’ll keep quiet and let you read all the pages uninterrupted. Be sure to check out the two page aerial photo. It’s taken from an odd angle and with a super wide fish-eye type lens. This place is disorienting enough for me, but the aerial photo gives me weird dreams.












Don’t forget to give me some hints for Florida, so far the “Mickey Mouse Revue” looks like the best thing going, but I missed that by a few decades.

Now for some vintage ads, I just love these, I hope you enjoy them as well.

Oh boy, lets buy a Pinto? “It was alleged that the car's design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the event of a rear-end collision which sometimes resulted in deadly fires and explosions.” In reality the number of fire related deaths from those early Pintos (over 2 million built) was 27, about the same as any other car of the period. Actually, it’s kind of cute.






Now this is more my size. I once owned a 73 Lincoln Mark IV (similar underneath to this T-Bird) it had those early anti-lock brakes (Sure-Track) and they worked rather well.






Can’t ignore the GM folks, this is the last year before the ugly bumper laws made the front ends look awful!






Moving away from the ads for a moment and for the sports fans, here is a great vintage article about George Allen joining the Redskins after being with the Rams. The “RamSkins” Interesting that his Redskins would loose to Florida (that seasons' undefeated Miami Dolphins) in Superbowl XII (1973) 14 to 7.







Back for two more ads. How about a couple of vices?

Let’s start with some alcohol. Ah yes Seagram's 7 Crown, what a lively looking bunch of folks, look how neat and organized everything is. When my friends and I hang around all day and drink whisky on the rocks in tall glasses, we aren’t quite as well behaved…






***Disclaimer – Cigarettes are gross and they will kill you, don’t do it!*** That said, “The Lady has Taste” Eve cigarettes will always have and odd and disjointed place in my mind, as a 6 year old, these ads really had an profound impact on my little brain. “Smoke Pretty”, Well “Lady”, you’ll look “pretty” in that open casket!





Preview: A couple of fun days coming up on the blog; Tomorrow come celebrate American’s 200th anniversary with a Vintage America on Parade preview ticket (plus laugh along with me at my attempt to scan some related and faded commercial slides) and for Friday, a different type of “200th” celebration!