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Entries in Construction (15)

Monday
Mar182013

WDW Construction: Liberty Square

 

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! 

 

Related posts:

THEN AND NOW: Liberty Square [Part 1]
Magic Kingdom at Night
WDW Before Opening Day 1971
WDW Construction: Magic Kingdom
WDW Construction: Polynesian Village Resort
EPCOT Construction from the Air

 

Monday
Oct012012

EPCOT 30TH: A Photo Tour of the Past [Part 3]

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.


 

Related posts:

EPCOT 30TH: A Photo Tour of the Past [Part 1]
EPCOT 30TH: A Photo Tour of the Past [Part 2]
Rhine River Cruise Mysteries
EPCOT Construction from the Air
THEN AND NOW: Epcot World Showcase [Part 1]
THEN AND NOW: Epcot World Showcase [Part 2]
World Showcase Lagoon- 1983 

 

 

Thursday
Sep272012

Walt Disney World in 1971 [Part 2]

Walt Disney World and Magic Kingdom opened almost exactly 41 years ago. Let's look at some more of the park as finishing touches are added. Then let's enjoy the new park with some photos taken right after opening. Another big thanks to Nomeus of www.flurbex.com and his grandfather who took these photos while working on the construction of Walt Disney World. These photos are exclusive to ImagineeringDisney.com.

Early early Jungle Cruise photos are so rare! Look how clean and beautiful it was.

Haunted Mansion.

Walt Disney World Railroad.

Cinderella Castle.

Empty moat. Wait, was this taken before the sea serpent topiary was installed as seen in Part 1? I think so.

Central Hub.

A look at Walt Disney World just after opening. Mickey leads the way.


Snow White and five, maybe six Dwarfs. Dopey might be hiding in there somewhere. The great original Market House in the background. 

A 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea queue full of people. But there's a construction crane in the background. Could this have been a pre-opening test group? Maybe the crane was still used after opening.

Huge thanks to Nomeus and his family for these amazing and rare photos. Oh to have a time machine!

 

Related posts:

Walt Disney World in 1971 [Part 1]
WDW Before Opening Day 1971
MK Jungle Cruise
Sounds of the Jungle Cruise
The Haunted Mansion Like You've Never Seen It
THEN AND NOW: Liberty Square [Part 1]