What do you miss from early Magic Kingdom

[villavic]

Magic Kingdom has change a bit through the years. I was 7 when I went for my very first time in 1973, when each attraction needed a coupon (I remember my parents kept some coupons as souvenirs, don't know what happened with them).

Short queues is something I also miss from those days, but what I most miss is the MICKEY MOUSE REVIEW. I never knew why they closed it from WDW, I remember some MK maps where the theater that used to be MMR got its pic empty.

I found this youtube link, titled "extint attraction" it says is Disneyworld but since it's very clear, maybe it's from Tokyo Disneyland where it was supposedly moved. Some people comment they didn't even know it existed at WDW. Anyway I make me remember my childhood, frankly I almost cried when I watched this. :cry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aiK-DTfkQk&feature=related

Ok, the question is, what do you miss from old Magic Kingdom?

ps.. (wasn't there a telepheric over Magic Kingdom that doesn't exist anymore?)

[PetefromRI]

I remember an attraction called-If you had Wings.I think that it was sponsored by TWA but I'm not sure.And then of course the Captain Nemo submarines.

[villavic]

I remember an attraction called-If you had Wings..

OF COURSE!!! My mother loved the song and used to sing it!!! Yes it was sponsored by some airline

[GrmGrninGost]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Sky Way!

[EditReject]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Sky Way!

:ditto:

[Laughin' place]

the Main St cinema that showed the old Mickey cartoons; the Mickey-head-in the clear balloon balloons; the Orange Bird; the rocket to the moon/mars ( I LOVED that ride); If you had wings/delta dreamflight; country bear alternate shows;the flower cart off main st (where we took a family picture each time) and "chinese hot dogs"... oh, and River Country, and the peacocks at Ft W and..... just to name a few. Great post, thanks for stirring up good memories
oh, and one more thing-holding Pop's hand, looking up at him waiting to buy our ticket books, and thinking he was the BEST dad in the world:cloud9:

[Polynesian Dweller]

I remember an attraction called-If you had Wings.I think that it was sponsored by TWA but I'm not sure.
Eastern Airlines actually, their corporate slogan at the time was The Wings of Man.

It was a cute ride but I miss the Skyway and 20,000 Leagues as well.

[villavic]

There was an attraction at Tomorrowland sponsored by MONSANTO, and that's how we at home called it, but the real name I don't remember. It was a 360' cinema.

Yes, good memories when you mention the skyway, If you had wings, MR Toad, the Mickey shaped balloon, Main st. cinema, the Flight to the moon (I went before it was MARS, now is the Alien attraction, isn't it?)

The only hotel was Contemporary in 1973, but I had a Disenyworld book that showed Polynesian as a project (and also a persian hotel that never was made)

[SpecJoe Magic]

There was an attraction at Tomorrowland sponsored by MONSANTO, and that's how we at home called it, but the real name I don't remember. It was a 360' cinema.

Yes, good memories when you mention the skyway, If you had wings, MR Toad, the Mickey shaped balloon, Main st. cinema, the Flight to the moon (I went before it was MARS, now is the Alien attraction, isn't it?)

The only hotel was Contemporary in 1973, but I had a Disenyworld book that showed Polynesian as a project (and also a persian hotel that never was made)

The 360 degrees film was called both American Journeys and America the Beautiful, if memory serves me correctly. I'm not sure if they were two different attractions or the same attraction with a name change, and I don't recall for certain which one came first, though I think it was American Journeys.

The attraction that was originally Flight to the Moon is now Stitch's Great Escape. Alien Encounter was there prior to Stitch's Great Escape.

The Polynesian opened the same day as the Contemporary on October 1, 1971, along with the Magic Kingdom and a few other things, which was the official opening day of Walt Disney World. There were three other resorts that were in the planning stages to be opened within a few years after WDW's official opening. These three resorts were the Asian (was to be built where the Grand Floridian is now located), Venetian (was to be built between the Contemporary and the Transportation and Ticket Center), and Persian (was to be built north of the Contemporary and to the east of Tomorrowland). As an aside, the Contemporary's proposed name was Tempo Bay Resort, which was changed prior to opening, and the Polynesian used to be known as Polynesian Village Resort, but the "Village" was dropped from the name some years later.

[celebrationasheley]

quoted if you had wings/dreamflight.
I also miss the nook between the main street stores. I miss the original Mickey balloons. The magic store on Main Street.... I am sure something else will pop in my head later.

[LauraleeH]

I miss the old Snow White ride...back when it was "scary"

I remember Mr Toad's Wild Ride and miss that as well.

That's all I can remember. Well, the Magic Kingdom did have an awesome cow once! It was white with 3 black circles on it's side...so it looked just like a Mickey cow! :mickey:

[DigitalDaredevil]

20,000 Leagues, the Skyway, the Penny Arcade

[VWL Mom]

Definitely Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Still watch the youtube videos of it.

[ibrowse17]

20K Under the Sea, the Skyway and the different shops that used to be along Main Street. As a kid, I thought the old magic shop was so cool. I would buy fake soap and try to trick my dad and brother:thumbsup:

[SBETigg]

I miss the excitement of having it all with the MK alone. You remember the days before there were any other parks? I wouldn't go back, certainly-- I love having the other parks. But there was something so uniquely magical about the MK alone back in those days.

With so many options and other parks to rush off to, maybe we don't always appreciate the MK as much as we used to get swept away by it. And it was such a treat to ride the monorail to the Polynesian for lunch, and come back to the MK. Dinner in the Castle was *the* prime reservation, and no one complained that the food wasn't great or the princesses weren't around. It was THE Castle. They could have fed me anything. I remember eating there and wishing, just wishing, I could get a glimpse of Cinderella. Just one little glimpse. I didn't need a whole character meal. :thumbsup:

[joonyer]

1. 20K Under the Sea. I though this was a really cool ride when I was 15. Although if it was still there, I probably wouldn't think it was as cool now as I did back when I was a teenager. But you know how nostalgia is; better than reality, sometimes.

2. The Skyway. I loved being able to see all of the MK from way up high.

3. Mr. Toads Wild Ride. I wish Disney would rebuild this attraction where Pooh's Playful Spot is now (former site of 20K).

[RobWreck]

What I miss is the free-range characters roaming the park... none of these appointed 'meet and greet', instead the characters were freely available.
Sure, it's more orderly and organized this way, but there was the whole surprise element of seeing 'X' character...
Rob

[Auroring Good Time]

I miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. That was great.
I had forgotten about the Magic Shop. I believe there also used to be a hat/wig shop too. I miss that there used to be these individual shops with their own special purpose.

[biodtl]

I miss most of the extinct rides (Mr. Toad, Skyway, etc), but the one that sticks with me the most is If You Could Fly/If You Had Wings. As a child, I loved that ride from beginning to end, and the "speed room" absolutely thrilled me.

[TheWizofDiz]

-Mr. Toad's
-Skyway
-20K
-The Carribean Arcade in the POC area
-The Magic Shop on Mainstreet

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

The ORIGINAL Enchanted Tiki Room.

[villavic]

The Polynesian opened the same day as the Contemporary on October 1, 1971, along with the Magic Kingdom and a few other things, which was the official opening day of Walt Disney World. There were three other resorts that were in the planning stages to be opened within a few years after WDW's official opening. These three resorts were the Asian (was to be built where the Grand Floridian is now located), Venetian (was to be built between the Contemporary and the Transportation and Ticket Center), and Persian (was to be built north of the Contemporary and to the east of Tomorrowland). As an aside, the Contemporary's proposed name was Tempo Bay Resort, which was changed prior to opening, and the Polynesian used to be known as Polynesian Village Resort, but the "Village" was dropped from the name some years later.

Wow! you are actually a guru about WDW.-. Thanks for the info!

I read also that the monorail system was changed few years ago. It was a real monorail, now it has hidden wheels. It's cheaper, or so I read.

[villavic]

The ORIGINAL Enchanted Tiki Room.

I saw the original in 1973 and the 2nd time was in 2003, so I really don't remember how it was the first time. What is different now?

[Simba's Mom]

What I miss is the free-range characters roaming the park... none of these appointed 'meet and greet', instead the characters were freely available.
Sure, it's more orderly and organized this way, but there was the whole surprise element of seeing 'X' character...
Rob
Oh, that I really agree with! I remember on our first visit, seeing Goofy in Town Square and just then, another Goofy started coming around the corner. Fortunately he caught sight of the first Goofy and hustled on backstage (I didn't know Goofy could move so fast!). I remember thinking that it was a good thing no children saw two Goofys at the same time-how traumatic!
I really miss a couple character breakfasts we did back then-Melvin the Moose at Fort Wilderness especially and Empress Lily. And I miss a buffet dinner we did with Goofy in the Contemporary (Contmporary Cafe?). And I miss when the buses had colored flags instead of the destination posted.

[Urbss]

What I miss is the free-range characters roaming the park... none of these appointed 'meet and greet', instead the characters were freely available.
Sure, it's more orderly and organized this way, but there was the whole surprise element of seeing 'X' character...
Rob

I have to 2nd this - that was great - you never knew who you might see. It was fantastic!! And it was so much more "magical"!!!

I wouldn't mind the boring scheduled meet and greet for autographs and pictures, but I think they could still do the "surprise" characters just popping out throughout the park at different times and places and make these ones "AUTOGRAPH FREE" sightings - pictures only.

[Wickster1970]

20,000 :number1:
Skyway :number1:

[gresh00]

I'd have to say Dreamflight/If you had wings. I also miss the old non-corporate Main street

In regards to original Tiki birds, 20,000 leagues, Mr. Toads, and even the Mickey mouse review, at least these attractions still exist in one form or another at another park - they are not truly extinct.

Overall, there is so much to do at MK, and really, its never lost one of its main attractions - the mountains, haunted mansion, pirates, etc. . , so the effects of an attraction leaving are far less dramatic. Plus, even if it does go, it's sister attraction usually remains at the other park, or the attraction is just shipped off to another park, i.e. Mickey Mouse Review, so they are not totally extinct.

The park that irks me the most when it comes to extinct attractions is Epcot - Horizons, Wonders of Life, World of Motion, Communicore, original Imagination. These were top attractions in their day and now they don't exist anywhere - in any form.

Magic Kingdom might lose an attraction or two but the gist of the park has remained the same since it opened. Epcot, for better or worse, is not even close to the same park it was when it opened.

[mouseketeer mom]

Somebody mentioned Chinese Hot Dogs. What the heck??
I loved 20,000 leagues, and the 360 degree cinema thing that you watched standing up. I remember it made me dizzy!

[joonyer]

Somebody mentioned Chinese Hot Dogs. What the heck??


It's a hot dog wrapped in an egg roll wrapper instead of a bun.

[wdwfansince75]

What I miss most.....If You Had Wings, Mr. Toad, and the Skyway.....and the Teriyaki Burgers at the Adventureland Terrace. Also miss 20,000 Leagues and the original Toll House cookies at Sleepy Hollow and the Tomorrowland Terrace, before the noodles. From early trips to the CR, we enjoyed breakfast at Top of the World, and lunch or dinner at the Concourse Buffeteria. Also miss the relaxing trips to Discovery Island.....

[kemps@wdw]

I miss...:(
10. Teryiaki Burgers
9. Discovery Island
8. Original Tiki Room
7. Flower Carts nook on Main St
6. Top of the World (better food)
5. River Country
4. Skyway
3. 20,000 Leagues
2. Shorter wait times
And I REALLY miss...
1. The Main St Electrical Parade

[JoDisney]

20,000 Leagues, Skyway, Wild Toad Ride

[EmISeeKayEeWhy]

"Food Rocks" hehe i miss the talking kitchen....

[BluewaterBrad]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Sky Way!

Exactly!:mickey:

[TheRustyScupper]

Mike Fink River Boats & Davy Crockett Canoes

[jonahbear2006]

I miss the old Snow White ride...back when it was "scary"

I remember Mr Toad's Wild Ride and miss that as well.

That's all I can remember. Well, the Magic Kingdom did have an awesome cow once! It was white with 3 black circles on it's side...so it looked just like a Mickey cow! :mickey:

MINNIE THE MOO!!!!! I remember her! I have a pic of her somewhere. I miss all of that stuff too, even though I only went once as a child and I was already 12

[jonahbear2006]

I miss the old figment imagination attraction, 20,000 leagues under the sea, the old Tiki room, and what was the michael jackson attraction at epcot? I dont miss that last one but was suprised that it was gone when I went back for the first time. When I took my kids, It never occured to me that they changed anything until we started riding things and I looked for 20,000 leagues. Rude awakening! I promised my husband a good ride, too!! Figment!! Not nearly as fun now. Everyone looked at me crazy when I said it was a great attraction.

[BigRedDad]

I would be ditto'ing a lot of people with 20,000 Leagues, Mr Toad's, SkyWay, If You Had Wings. Some of the others are the hand crank movies on Main St, Shooting Gallery arcade in Adventure/Frontier Land (not the big one that is there), Hercules pinball machine in the Contemporary (the giant one that took 3 people to play). Another would be Michael Iceberg in Tomorrowland Terrace.

[Daisy'sMom]

The Swan Boats. For some reason, I loved them. :mickey:

[Sharon1026]

I miss the Magic Kingdom park maps from back then. They were huge - 24 x 28 inches and were pretty awesome. You can still get them on ebay. I got one and am having it framed.

[villavic]

I miss the Magic Kingdom park maps from back then. They were huge - 24 x 28 inches and were pretty awesome. You can still get them on ebay. I got one and am having it framed.

YES! You know I keep mine from 1973. There is no Space Mountain yet!! :funny:




The park that irks me the most when it comes to extinct attractions is Epcot - Horizons, Wonders of Life, World of Motion, Communicore, original Imagination. These were top attractions in their day and now they don't exist anywhere - in any form.


Current Epcot is not the concept Walt thought anymore


I wouldn't mind the boring scheduled meet and greet for autographs and pictures, but I think they could still do the "surprise" characters just popping out throughout the park

I agree. They did the scheduled appeareances after they realize many children went home crying because they were not lucky to meet thier favorite character, specially Mickey. So the announced appereances is a good idea, but it didn't mean they have to eliminate the surprise characters.

[Auroring Good Time]

What I miss most.....If You Had Wings, Mr. Toad, and the Skyway.....and the Teriyaki Burgers at the Adventureland Terrace. Also miss 20,000 Leagues and the original Toll House cookies at Sleepy Hollow and the Tomorrowland Terrace, before the noodles. From early trips to the CR, we enjoyed breakfast at Top of the World, and lunch or dinner at the Concourse Buffeteria. Also miss the relaxing trips to Discovery Island.....

Totally miss Discovery Island. I have some fantastic bird pictures from there.

[Sylvia]

Things I miss most:

Flower carts - The benches in front of the flower carts made this "street" a great photo spot.

Original Tiki Room
(NOTE: The show hasn't been changed at DL - I was in DL in April, and saw the show 4 times. I also purchased the CD and was happy to find out that the entire Tiki soundtrack, including the dialog, is on the CD.)

If You Had Wings - corny, but I still miss it.

Dinner at the Castle - as someone has already mentioned, the food wasn't the best, but it was where I tasted ratatouille for the first time and discovered that liked it.

Skyride - best way to get a great view of the MK.

Original Main St Cinema - Even though you can still see the original Mickey Mouse cartoon in another location on Main Street, I miss standing on the raised platform in the center of the Cinema and watching films on several screens around the room.

Penny Arcade.

20,000 Leagues (This one is still at DL and now has a Nemo theme. I miss the original script, though.)

Steel Drum Band (I think they were called "JC and the All Stars") that used to play in Caribbean Plaza.

Adventureland Terrace - even in the days before more menu choices became available, this location had some interesting food.

Discovery Island - we always visited the island for some quiet time and, as I recall, lunch or a snack on the beach.

Crystal Palace Buffeteria (before it became a character meal spot) - this was always our traditional breakfast and dinner spot in the MK, for many reasons. The food was good (I still remember the delicious Beef Bourgignon (sp?) in puff pasty at dinner.) and it was just about the only counter service spot with real china, cloth napkins, and metal flatware. I remember one evening we were having a late dinner at a table by one of the windows and could watch the parade as it passed by - great way to end a great day in the magic.

I know there are many more, but these are the ones that come to mind right not.

As for Minnie Moo the cow, I remember seeing her at the MK and also at the petting zoo at FT Wilderness. When I adopted my little furbaby 11-1/2 years ago I knew I would give her a Disney name. Since she's black and white, you guessed it, I named her after Minnie Moo the cow. She is known everywhere, even at the Vet's, as Minnie Moo.

[Mad About Mickey]

So many of the old nostalgic WDW touches that I really miss :(

the nickelodeons at the Penny Arcade
The Magic Shop
If You Had Wings
Mr. Toads Wild Ride
20,000 Leauges Under the Sea
Mike Fink Keel Boats
Original Tiki Room
Mission to the Moon/ Mars
Main Street Electrical Parade
River Country
Discovery Island

But as many of us recall WDW was one park and you could do it all in 1 or 2 days. While we may lament the passing of sentimental favorites we now can spend 7-10 days at WDW and still not fit in everything we'd like to do :mickey:

[Meerkat]

I read also that the monorail system was changed few years ago. It was a real monorail, now it has hidden wheels. It's cheaper, or so I read.

Huh? Where in the world did you hear that? Aside from an upgrade years ago to newer Bombardier trains, the monorail is still the same monorail it always was. There are no wheels.

[Imagineer1981]

Huh? Where in the world did you hear that? Aside from an upgrade years ago to newer Bombardier trains, the monorail is still the same monorail it always was. There are no wheels.

The monorail does have wheels on the underside of it, but this is to help guide it along the track and keep a smooth ride.

[WDWdriver]

The monorail does have wheels on the underside of it, but this is to help guide it along the track and keep a smooth ride.

True, but those guidance "wheels" have always been there. I think the post was referring to some sort of added hidden wheels that the monorail trains now ride on, and that is not correct.

[ariel326]

I was also gonna add, Minnie Moo, also have pics of her somewhere.

[Cookie123]

I miss the penny arcade very much and also The Skyway.

[waymickey]

1. skyway
2. duckburg
3.minnie moo
4.discovery island
5.mr toads ride
6 and I think it was called the time keeper.

[SmallWorldBobby]

It may sound minor, but I miss the old Mickey ice cream bars. Currently, they are in the traditional 3-circle configuration, with vanilla ice cream covered in a chocolate shell. I remember them having a face of vanilla ice cream, with chocolate ice cream where the eyes and mouth would be. Only the ears were covered in a chocolate shell.

It's the simple things in life, you know?

[MNNHFLTX]

At Magic Kingdom I definitely miss Mr. Toad's and the Main Street Arcade. I loved playing all those old games! As far as all the parks, I miss Horizons the most. I wish I could go back in time and ride that just one more time. :(

[Mackflava99]

The sky way was terrific- the view was awesome,

I also miss the time when Main street wasnt all about shops, it was a place to spend some quiet time seeing some short movies etc-

Mickey Mouse review was great, though Philharmonic does make up for losing it.

20,000 leagues under the see

The Eastern Airlines ride was great too-

Tom sawyer island was more fun ans accessible too-

[Laughin' place]

Somebody mentioned Chinese Hot Dogs. What the heck??
I loved 20,000 leagues, and the 360 degree cinema thing that you watched standing up. I remember it made me dizzy!

Chinese hotdogs were a favorite treat, served from a cart in Adventureland. They were a hot dog, with cheese, served in an eggroll skin. I make them at home from time to time, but its just not the same. Try it, you wont have the same memories, but you may enjoy:D

[AdventurerKim]

I miss Mr. Toad's Wide Ride more than any other ride that has been taken away. I also miss the Skyway in MK. I wish 20,000 Leagues had been changed to a themed ride and not a playground.

[valjane]

Original, unique merchandise!!!

[BWayGrl]

Gosh I miss all the extinct stuff.

Skyway, Dreamflight, 20 000 Leagues, Mr. Toad...and more recently Alien Encounter. The old Tiki Room, original Snow White....good times. I should link some pictures because there are so many pictures of me when I was little in places that I don't recognize today. Maybe some experts could help me! I have to get them from my mom and scan them though.

[mainemajor]

The Magic Shop - Loved it and miss it a lot
Skyway - what a relaxing view of MK
While it was not part of MK, I miss the old Discovery Island. It was a fun little boat ride and so very relaxing once you got there. You could even walk the beach and see the wreck of the old ship there from when it was Treasure Island (or something like that)

[Rhetoric2000]

- Main Street as it was is undoubtedly top of the list. Individual shops with stuff you couldn't get anywhere else themed to perfection, and the old Penny Arcade. It was perfect, I know memory lies sometimes, particularly old attractions, but this WAS perfect.

- Only last week I found some pictures of a 6 year old me in Duckburg that I think I'd never seen before. Wow! What memories! Not that it should still be there, Toontown is great, but naturally I miss it as it was my time there as a young'un that made the first WDW impression.

- In terms of attractions, there's less really - stuff that I miss but have really got over - Mr Toad, 20,000 and the Skyway. I don't have a problem with those not being there anymore. Probably the closest is Alien Encounter, purely because it was so much better than what replaced it.

[Norwellian]

Mr Toad's Wild Ride, the subs (remember the smell?), the skyway

but most of all If You Had Wings !!!

The speed room was great. I went on it over and over just for the rush of it.

[Faver]

20,000 Leagues....

And the old prices!!! :number1: