Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Walt Created The World Today...



Thirty-seven years ago today, actually...

The very first guest descend on a new plot of land outside Orlando, Florida for the grand opening of Walt Disney World. The new park, the Magic Kingdom, the first since Walt Disney's original Disneyland is built on land that is twice the size of Manhattan, with its own police force, its own fire department and its own working government. The Walt Disney World Resort as it will be called, opens up with two hotels, the Contemporary and the Polynesian and a world of possibilities...

It's still is so today.

It's just a wee bit bigger is all...

Happy Birthday, Disney World! I'm looking forward to that Fortyieth anniversary you've got coming up. I have a feeling it's going to be very memorable.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The story of Disney World is so brilliant. How he bought the land, the deals he negotiated with the Florida state government, the engineering that went into turning a swamp into multiple theme parks and hotels and a lagoon and . . . and . . .

I love me some Disney World. I'll be going again (for the first time in five years) in March, and I can't wait. It truly is one of the happiest places on earth.

Thank God for Walt Disney.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully, Disney World will bring back the classic logo that Honor posted at the top of the story. I love the Mickey Ears Globe inside the D. The current logo (thank you Paul Pressler) is too plain and corporate and doesn't give Walt Disney World that unique branding. Also, I've heard rumor about the Enchanted Tiki Room returning to the Tropical Serenade show. I wonder if they'll bring back the Orange Bird?

Honor Hunter said...

Nope, I don't believe you'll be happy if that's what you expect...

Currently, the plan doesn't include returning it to the original show, but thankfully, does include changing the "Under New Management" redo(Gilbert Gottfried replacing the classic original? Yeah, I wanna listen to that. What was WDI thinking?).

Of course, as always, things could change.

Anonymous said...

Currently, the plan doesn't include returning it to the original show, but thankfully, does include changing the "Under New Management" redo(Gilbert Gottfried replacing the classic original? Yeah, I wanna listen to that. What was WDI thinking?).

Watch what you say, please. Some of us, including yours truly, do like the "Under New Management" version. It saved the WDW Tiki Room from the wrecking ball, for God's sakes! And most of WDW's guests DO prefer that version over the original.

Watch the Extinct Attractions Club's historical DVD about it and maybe you'll gain a newfound respect and appreciation for that version of the show, especially after you find out who created it--then you just might be sorry for at least some of what you just said.

So please don't get me started with these tired and annoying "old vs. new" debates. It's like beating a dead horse!!!

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute. You LIKE Gilbert Gottfried singing? That is better than the original version which is very catchy and touching? I've seen both and I can't imagine anyone liking WDW's version, much less liking it better.

I've also seen Tokyo's and although I don't like it as much as the original in Disneyland, it's much better than the WDW version.

I'll go with Honor on this one Kingcrab.

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute. You LIKE Gilbert Gottfried singing? That is better than the original version which is very catchy and touching? I've seen both and I can't imagine anyone liking WDW's version, much less liking it better.

Please do not put words in my mouth.

Sure, YOU can't imagine others liking UNM better than the original, but it IS a fact there ARE a number of people out there who do prefer UNM over the original, which, IMO, must remain unique to DL (a lot of you don't like clones that much anyway, so why bother).

The original show lost its popularity at WDW, so it had to be changed.

I've also seen Tokyo's and although I don't like it as much as the original in Disneyland, it's much better than the WDW version.

That version is also nice, but I would have to disagree with you on it being "better than WDW's show". For one thing, it ditches the original hosts (Jose, Michael, Pierre and Fritz) as well as the "Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" theme song.

A lot of you folks need to learn to lighten up, develop a sense of humor, stop getting so bent out of shape and give WDI a break!

And go out and buy the Extinct Attractions Club's WDW Tiki Room Story DVD today!

krasniy said...

WDW needs to bring the Disneyland show from California to Florida!!! best version of all of the current incarnations because it is essentially a shorter version of the classic!!!!