In case you haven’t heard, Walt Disney World is officially fifty. Okay, chances are that you’d need to live under a rock to miss news of “The Most Magical Celebration on Earth,” and if you’re even slightly tuned into Disney Parks news, you probably know that it’s not quite living up to its name. From cancelled perks and new upcharges to “copy-paste” nighttime same-taculars; a focus on animation over attractions to seemingly forgetting to celebrate Walt Disney World history during their celebration of Walt Disney World history, Disney hasn’t done a great job reminding us what makes Walt Disney World so special.
But we’re here to help! Here at Theme Park Tourist, we took at look at how many rides in Disney World are Opening Day Originals, dating back to Magic Kingdom’s debut on October 1, 1971. We also have a full collection of in-depth histories of Disney Parks classics like Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Alien Encounter, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the Skyway, and other beloved, lost attractions from Magic Kingdom’s past…
But Magic Kingdom isn’t all that opened at Walt Disney World in 1971! Today, we’ll look outside the theme park’s gates to see where you can find other 50-year-old icons of Walt Disney World history worth celebrating! While our seven icons of ’71 is far from an exhaustive list, take a minute to be grateful for these other Opening Year classics next time you visit the “Most Magical Place on Earth.”
1. The Seven Seas Lagoon
Even in 1971, Walt Disney World quickly differentiated itself from its older, Californian sister with one heck of an opening act. The Seven Seas Lagoon is 167 acres – large enough to fit both Disneyland and its parking lot (now California Adventure) with room to spare. Narratively, it serves as a dramatic entry experience for guests, separating Magic Kingdom from its parking lot. The approach to the park and its towering Cinderella Castle are made all the more romantic by the waterway.
But the Seven Seas Lagoon has a few important operational functions, too. The 14-foot deep body of water serves as a necessary water management resource for the resort, serving as a counterbalance to water displaced during the construction of the park, its parking lot, and the rest of the original Disney World property.
Of course, the land excavated for the Seven Seas Lagoon didn’t go to waste; it was used to bury the “Utilidors” that famously serve as the true ground-level structure that Magic Kingdom is built on top of.
The Seven Seas Lagoon was also an attraction in its own right, especially in the early days of the “Vacation Kingdom of the World.” You have to remember that back in the ’70s, Disney’s single theme park in Florida was certainly the anchor of Disney World, but not the complete experience. Back then, sailing, boating, water-skiing, swimming, hiking, and relaxing were as much a part of the “Vacation Kingdom” experience as Magic Kingdom. That leisure resort atmosphere can still be spotted in bits and pieces, centered on the Lagoon, including…
2. The Contemporary Resort
Famously meant to be the companion hotel to the park’s Tomorrowland, the Contemporary Resort Hotel opened on October 1, 1971 – the same day at Magic Kingdom and the rest of Walt Disney World. The iconic A-frame structure of the sleek, white, stylish hotel designed by Welton Becket and the United States Steel Corporation was indeed contemporary at the time, though today, it looks like a monumental, modernist ode to the futurism of the ’70s (luckily for Disney, a style that’s returning to favor and futurism, as evidenced by Tomorrowland’s gradual walk back towards it).
Given its iconic architecture and its powerful association with Disney World, it’s fair to say that the Contemporary is probably among the most famous hotels in the country, and maybe the planet. It’s also the subject of countless urban legends, rumors, and Disney lore. One famous story holds that the hotel’s modular rooms were manufactured and assembled off-site, trucked to the property, and slid into the A-frame structure like drawers in a dresser. Of course, that story is famous because it’s true. The second half of the story, though – that the rooms can just be just as easily removed for refurbishment – is decidedly less true.
(Another wild-but-true story: The Contemporary Hotel is where then-U.S. President Richard Nixon delivered his “I am not a crook” speech while attending an Associated Press convention held there, just a short walk from his Hall of Presidents doppelgänger. He resigned less than a year later.)
In 2021 – just in time for the resort’s 50th Anniversary – the Contemporary Hotel underwent a facelift. As with all adjustments to historic Disney Parks features, the hotel’s reimagining wasn’t without its critics. For the most part, though, its half-century makeover did two things very well: first, it leaned into mid-century modern furniture, colors, textures, patterns, and styles, leaning into the hotel’s retro-cool ’70s aesthetic (even if that did happen in guest rooms by way of Disney-Pixar’s The Incredibles).
Second, it did precisely what we wish the rest of Disney World’s 50th did: it used Disney World and the Contemporary Hotel itself as an intellectual property worth celebrating! From the Steakhouse 71 eatery, to walls decorated with Mary Blair’s Grand Canyon mural patterns, to framed concept art of the hotel in the lobby, it all comes together to feel like a celebration of the resort itself, with plenty of allusions to its most iconic element…
3. The Walt Disney World Monorail
The Walt Disney World Monorail sails effortlessly through the Contemporary Hotel’s Grand Canyon Concourse. And of course, that single-railed “Highway in the Sky” is an icon in its own right, and one celebrating 50 years as well.
Disneyland’s Monorail opened in 1959 as the first daily operating Monorail in the Western hemisphere. However, it opened as one of three “E-Ticket” rides that debuted in the park’s Tomorrowland on the same day (alongside the Submarine Voyage and the Matterhorn Bobsleds). In other words, Disneyland’s Monorail was “just” a ride… a living, functioning prototype for what Walt imagined as a revolutionary mass transit system of the future. (The Monorail is still primarily a ride at Disneyland, though it was expanded to connect with the Disneyland Hotel – today, Downtown Disney – in 1961, making it a true transportation system.)
A Monorail was meant to serve as the backbone of “The Florida Project” from the start, when Walt envisioned an aerial highway of sleek, modern trains traveling from the airport to his E.P.C.O.T. city, then on to Orlando’s “Disneyland East.” The Walt Disney World that opened in 1971 was very different from the one Walt had envisioned, but a Monorail still served as its backbone. Concentric Express and Resort lines circumnavigate the Seven Seas Lagoon and connect the Transportation and Ticket Center, the Contemporary, Magic Kingdom, and the Polynesian Village.
The Monorail System gained a third line in 1982 when a new route was constructed to EPCOT Center – built far from the Seven Seas Lagoon had once served as the resort’s core. Since then, no additional lines have been built. Instead, Disney relied for decades on busses to shuffle guests around the San Francisco-sized property. The newer Skyliner offers modular construction that undoubtedly costs a fraction of what new Monorail lines would.
Still, it’s sad to see Disney’s iconic system slowly age, with pretty continuous coverage of system stops, degrading infrastructure, and embarrassing malfunctions. The current Mark VI trains were built in 1989 – closer to 1971 than 2021. (Disneyland, meanwhile, got new trains in 2009.) Ironically, Monorails became so closely associated with Disney’s theme parks and “attractions,” they arguably haven’t been taken very seriously as standalone, urban transit solutions. But even if Walt Disney World’s is in need of investment, it’s still an icon of the resort 50 years later.
It’ll also take us to another 1971 original that’s not celebrated nearly enough…
4. The Polynesian Village Resort
The Polynesian Village was the other of Walt Disney World’s opening day hotels alongside the Contemporary. In much the same way that the Contemporary echoed Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland, the Polynesian Village was envisioned as a complement to Adventureland (and particularly, the “Tiki Craze” that had swept the nation and jump-started the Modern Marvel: The Enchanted Tiki Room).
That’s not all it has in common with its modern sister. Despite its South Seas styling that makes it appear far less modern, the Polynesian was also constructed with modular, pre-constructed rooms that were shipped on-site! The only difference is that rather than being slid into place like the Contemporary’s A-frame structure, the rooms of the Polynesian Village’s original longhouses were lowered into pre-built USS steel frames and stacked vertically. (The construction process left gaps between rooms, which allegedly led to musty smells. As a result, post-’71 longhouses were constructed the old-fashioned way.)
The Polynesian has undergone a number of expansions over the course of its lifetime, including 1978 and again in 1985 (when it was renamed Disney’s Polynesian Resort). In 2014 and 2015, the property underwent a pretty radical redesign centered on the Great Ceremonial House that serves as the resort’s lobby, clearing out its elaborate waterfall and botanical gardens – allegedly, a space-saving redesign meant to prepare the resort for the added guests that a never-built Disney Vacation Club tower would’ve brought.
As part of the resort’s reimagining in 2014, the Polynesian Village Resort name returned (complete with a retro, ’70s logo, above) in a nod to nostalgia. 2021 has seen the fifty-year-old hotel undergo its most massive refurbishment yet, including the construction of a new Monorail stop… and of course, the controversial inclusion of Disney’s Moana in guest rooms.
Like with The Incredibles in the Contemporary, the character inclusion is definitely divisive. Ironically, despite the character integration, some fans hold it up as the next in an unending list of hotels that have abandoned their “Disney-ness.” It’s true that the refreshed rooms at the Polynesian look like hotel rooms you’d find at any Hyatt or Marriott, maybe with a handful of “South Seas” decorations.
On one hand, for $700+ per night, many guests would rather stay in a very nice, lightly-decorated, modern hotel than a ’70s, tropical-themed escape room. Of course, on the other hand, for $700+ a night, don’t you want to stay in a kind of hotel room you can’t find anywhere else? Ah well. Hopefully, the latest reimagining of the Polynesian sets it up for another 50 years of success.
5. The Electrical Water Pageant
The Electrical Water Pageant is one of those “Hidden Gem” experiences at Walt Disney World that’s charmingly retro, beautifully simple, and – a rarity! – pretty much untouched since late October of 1971. Originally envisioned by the resort’s entertainment leaders as a way to use the inky black canvas of the Seven Seas Lagoon, the simple show used Christmas lights strung through chicken wire to create the shapes of animals gliding along the water’s surface to the tune of electro-syntho-magnetic musical sounds.
Floats have been swapped in and out over the decades, including the addition of a number of units themed to The Little Mermaid in the ’90s. Most recently, a 50th Anniversary float depicting Cinderella Castle joined the lineup, as well as the resort’s anniversary anthem, “The Magic is Calling.” It’s a delightful way to highlight a ’71 original that’s kept a tradition alive for decades under cover of darkness.
6. Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Not to be confused with Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (which opened in 1994), the Fort Wilderness Resort is home to Walt Disney World’s campground. The property spreads across 750 acres – larger even than Disney’s Animal Kingdom – and contains over 800 campsites and 400 cabins.
Perhaps more than just about anywhere else on Walt Disney World property, Fort Wilderness recalls the great heyday of the resort as a true “Vacation Kingdom.” This is the Walt Disney World that was as much about hiking, boating, and barbecuing as it was about roller coasters.
From 1973 to 1980, the resort was home to the legendary Fort Wilderness Railroad – a 3.5-mile narrow gauge railway with real steam engines that served as an intra-resort transportation system. Today, transportation within the resort is mostly handled by buses, bikes, and golf carts. One of Fort Wilderness’ most famous attractions is the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue (which opened in 1973). To this day, the show feels like a blissful throwback to an un- (or at least, less-)scripted time in Disney World history.
7. Palm & Magnolia Golf Courses
If you don’t consider yourself an avid golfer, you might not even register that Orlando is one of the hottest golf destinations in the world… not to mention that, just like Magic Kingdom, two of Disney World’s golf courses are celebrating 50 year anniversaries this year. Both the Palm and Magnolia golf courses opened alongside the resort – again, as components of the “Vacation Kingdom” – and today are just two of Disney’s four courses (alongside the Lake Buena Vista and Oak Trail courses) operated by Arnold Palmer Golf Management.
In 1973, Disney opened the Golf Resort right between the two courses, serving as a “Country Club” stylized hotel – a third on-site resort after the Contemporary and Polynesian Village! Allegedly, occupancy was consistently lower at the Golf Resort, which led Disney to broaden its appeal in 1986 by renaming it The Disney Inn. In 1996, the hotel was purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense and renamed Shades of Green, which still features the Magnolia Wing and the Palm Wing, each overlooking its respective course.
As an Armed Forces Recreation Center Resort, only members of the Armed Forces, Uniformed Services, Veterans, Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilian employees, and their respective families are eligible to stay at the resort… but anyone can book a tee time at the Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses, visiting a pair of 1971 originals that’s often forgotten!
