Enjoy these rare construction photos of Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, taken in 1974.
Although the concept of Space Mountain was originally envisioned for Disneyland, the first Space Mountain to open was at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. After the Matterhorn Bobsleds opened at Disneyland in 1959 and were hugely popular, Disneyland management asked for a second thrill ride. Walt was on board but the plans for this second coaster were delayed for another decade. Disneyland didn't get their Space Mountain until 1977, more than two years after Magic Kingdom got theirs in 1975.
Let's explore an amazing set of very rare construction photos of Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square. These photos were taken at different stages of construction.
In the photo above we see Haunted Mansion construction in the distance. That building on the right is The Hall of Presidents before the bell tower steeple was added. Next we see a higher view of Liberty Square with some Cinderella Castle construction in the foreground.
The Hall of Presidents building is taking shape. The Liberty Tree Tavern exterior has been almost complete for some time now. Gift shop construction begins.
Upper levels of the gift shops begin. Wait... No Liberty Square bridge yet? Very odd.
Beautiful curvy brick wall (still there today) is coming along nicely. There's that wonderful backside of Liberty Tree Tavern. It's meant to look like the frontside of "other" buildings.
The large white building seen here is The Hall of Presidents show building. Connected to it to the north is the show building for Peter Pan's Flight. Also, we have a bridge now.
Riverboat dock, dry Rivers of America, and Haunted Mansion in the background. Notice there's no canopy over the outside Haunted Mansion queue?
Construction continues on the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat (but not in in Liberty Square yet). Remember the story of this first boat? It began carrying passengers through Rivers of America on October 2, 1971 (the day after Opening Day). It was damaged at dry dock in 1980 and never returned to the Rivers. A second riverboat called Richard F. Irvine (with only one smoke stack) was added in May of 1973. It continues to run today under the name Liberty Belle Riverboat. In this photo I noticed the back windows are a bit different than the windows in the final product. They must have changed them at some point.
Here we can compare aerial views of Magic Kingdom construction in December of 1969 to the year-old park in December of 1972. Look at the evolution of Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake!
Happy 30th Anniversary, EPCOT Center! Right now fans at the park are celebrating the occasion with lots of anniversary-related activities. 30 years ago this month guest participated in a number of ceremonies and dedications. Even Walt Disney's widow, Lillian Disney, attended some of the festivities. We present some extremely rare (possibly never-before-shared) event photos and more never-before-posted guest photos from our Photo Hunt.
Opening Day Ceremonies, October 1, 1982
Card Walker conducted the ceremony. EPCOT Center's "First Family" was recognized. The Winter Park, FL residents got up that morning at 4 a.m. and dodged park security until the parking lot was finally open at 7 a.m. As soon as they drove in Dick and Paula Cason told their kids to run to the gate so they'd be the first family to enter. Card Walker presented lifetime Walt Disney World passes to the family.
Watch it here.
Later that month on October 24 Card Walker welcomed Lillian Disney to a stage on the other side of Spaceship Earth in front of the fountain.
Did any of you out there happen to be in either of these crowds??
The day before a ceremony took place that officially dedicated World Showcase. The large "People of the World" dolls paraded around. Disney characters weren't a part of EPCOT Center until later on. These costumed people met with guests in World Showcase instead.
The "People of the World" or "EPCOT Pageant Dolls" were eventually retired. Here we see a rare group shot on their very last day of appearance.
Michael Eisner and others made way for more recognizable characters to appear.
Remember to old World Showcase omnibus?? It was later painted blue. Then this happened.
And finally, a real treat for you seekers of the super rare, super obscure, and perhaps super mundane. There are only five or so photos of this known to exist online. "The Lost Potties of Denmark"! I borrow this term from our friend Michael Crawford of Progress City, U.S.A. who has extensively researched to topic. The full Denmark Pavilion never happened but restrooms with Danish architecture were built. Here we see them behind the construction wall as the Norway Pavilion is being built. You can see construction of the Stave Church.
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 10:02AM Posted by ;)
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