In the decades since the Magic Kingdom theme park opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World, plenty of things have change. Do you remember some of these adjustments that have happened over the years?
1971 – After the park opened an adult could get into the park for the grand total of $3.50. Of course, back then entrance was just part of the equation. Then you had to have a ticket to go on each attraction. You could purchase a book of seven attraction tickets for $4.75. Today where you can ride as many attractions as you like after paying the entrance fee. https://familymediationchoice.co.uk/what-is-a-miams/
1972 – The official airlines of Disney World, Eastern Airlines, sponsored an attraction called If You Had Wings where slow moving vehicles glided past movies that showed great vacation experiences. Today the Buzz Lightyear Space Range Spin occupies this space.
1973 – Many things happened in the Adventureland area of the park. A new Riverboat entered operation, Tom Sawyer Island opened, and The Pirates of the Caribbean opened and became a fan classic that decades later spawned the successful movies with Johnny Depp. Today you can still visit these terrific attractions.
1975 – This was a big year for Tomorrowland. Since traveling to the moon was no longer as exotic as it once was, the attraction called Flight To the Moon was replaced with Mission To Mars. Space Mountain, the indoor roller coaster that sent guests hurling through the dark opened to rave reviews. And the timeless classic show Carousel Of Progress was transplanted from Disneyland to Walt Disney World. Today you can still ride Space Mountain and the Carousel Of Progress, but the Mission To Mars is long gone and was first replaced by ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, which itself was later replaced by Stitch’s Great Escape.
1977 – The Main Street Electrical Parade starting making appearances down Main Street and was a huge hit with guest. It has played to guests on and off for years at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and later became the inspiration for SpectroMagic.
The late 1970s became a quiet time at the Magic Kingdom as the Disney Company focused on their next project, Epcot Center. The company’s focus and funds went into building the new park, so things understandably slowed down at the existing park. That makes sense. At the time Epcot was the largest construction project on earth and cost approximately $1 billion dollars.