The opening day of Disneyland was also one of the worst days in the park’s history. Walt Disney had a tremendous excuse, though. He attempted something that no one had ever done before, and a few hiccups were predictable. When Walt Disney World debuted in 1971, the situation was quite different.
The Happiest Place on Earth had operated for 16 years, giving park planners plenty of information about how to keep everything running smoothly. With this data, they hoped to avoid a similar disaster as Magic Kingdom opened its gates for the first time. Today, let’s jump into a time machine and travel back to the opening day of Walt Disney World. It was the week when the magic happened for the first time.
A different Orlando
Image: DisneyWhen you think of Orlando, your mind naturally pictures the city of today. It’s a hotbed of activity, a thriving metropolitan area with 2,387,138 residents and 88 million more tourists during the first nine months of last year. With an average of 2.7 million people in Orlando each day, it’s one of the most populous cities in North America.
Back in 1971, Orlando was still known for its swampland as much as anything else. Don’t take my word for it. Study the images from this classic Theme Park Tourist article to see what Disney faced as they constructed the city of tomorrow.
Image: DisneyWhen Uncle Walt announced his intentions for Central Florida, he prophesied the proverbial city of tomorrow. Disney had no idea just how accurate his projection would become, even if it wasn’t in the manner he intended. And he tragically died before the icon could see the fruits of his investment.
After Walt Disney died, his brother Roy refused to let that dream die, too. He put off retirement in order to helm the Florida Project that we’ve come to know as Walt Disney World. In the wake of his brother’s passing, Disney resources were limited. Investors questioned the future solidity of the company without its visionary founder.
The empty World
Image: DisneyI point out all of this to note that the Walt Disney World that opened on October 1, 1971, looked dramatically different from the one that we know today. It was oddly barren, and many of the landmarks that have stood the test of time are still somehow different in appearance. The plussing that Imagineers have performed over the years has upgraded the aesthetics and structural integrity of these buildings.
A park guest from the early days of Walt Disney World would barely recognize it today. At the time, the monorail still scooted down the path in a futuristic manner, but the landscape below was an odd combination of patchy and ugly. Disney executives directed almost every dollar toward Magic Kingdom, the park that would pay for the rest of the Florida project. Anything outside of that region and monorail results was still, well, swampy.
Disney paid for journalists from across the country to visit in the days up to and including the park’s opening. Many of them commented on the stunning architectural triumph that Imagineers achieved. They literally built something from nothing. They filled in swamps and constructed magnificent structures such as the A-frame tower that was Disney’s Contemporary Resort and the wienie that has anchored Magic Kingdom since the beginning, Cinderella Castle. They politely overlooked the gaps where no grass grew and the smells were unpleasant. Everyone was hopeful about the future of Orlando, and time has justified their optimism.
A small crowd and a hit to the stock price
Image: DisneyDisney learned from their mistakes, the ones from 1955 that remain infamous to this day. They sought to avoid the negative press that smothered the early days of Disneyland. At that park, an unpredictably high volume of (illegal ticket-holding) park guests led to food shortages and mass hysteria. The Mark Twain Riverboat operated well beyond its recommended maximum occupancy and almost tipped over. The undried pavement melted in the hot California sun, forcing women to decide between their high-heeled shoes or walking barefoot on squishy-hot asphalt. Even the plumbing was unreliable on that first day.
To avoid such issues, park planners carefully plotted the opening of Walt Disney World. They chose a fall Friday specifically because they wanted to lessen the number of potential guests. The strategy worked wonders. Despite seven years of hype about the East Coast version of Disneyland, only 10,400 visitors paid the admission price of $3.50 (the equivalent of $21.31 today) to enter Walt Disney World on its first day. That’s barely a third of the traffic that its Anaheim counterpart faced in 1955.
Disney had prepared for the worst, though. The Florida Highway Patrol reported the possibility of 30,000 guests on day one. Cast members planned strategies for how to direct the flow of traffic, including contingencies for the parking lots. The general mood was moderate disappointment that the threat of huge crowds had scared off a lot of would-be early adopters.
Corporate analysts were the ones most troubled by this turn of events. Although the idea seems comical with the benefit of hindsight, stockbrokers of the era suggested that Walt Disney World might not appeal to East Coast vacationers the way that Disneyland had to those on the other side of the country. Disney’s stock price dropped $9.38 in one day as alarmists bailed after a calm first day at the park.
A blessing in disguise at the Magic Kingdom
Image: Disney
With crowds ably controlled, the initial Magic Kingdom park day stood in stark contrast to the nightmarish one at Disneyland. It was an orderly affair that largely catered to curious locals and interested potential corporate partners.
While high-powered executives would never admit it, they were secretly happy about the quiet start. Despite having several years to plan the Most Magical Place on Earth, Disney fell short in some key areas. As their final deadline of October 1st approached, a few known issues worried park planners, and some others revealed themselves during the first month.
Image: DisneyDisney’s Contemporary Resort wasn’t quite ready for prime time. As comedian Bob Hope commemorated the opening of Walt Disney World, his eyes surveyed the resort as he stood right beside the monorail departure gate. His wide-eyed wonder spoke volumes about the beauty of the place, but anyone who watches the clip now will notice something different. It was a hollow 15-story shell in October of 1971. Disney made sacrifices to have it ready for opening day. They also made one last-minute change. U.S. Steel, the builders of this hotel and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, planned to own both properties. In the weeks leading up Walt Disney World’s opening, Roy Disney bought them out so that his company could own everything.
Image: DisneySimilarly, other issues, many of them involving cast member convenience, were as yet unsolved. Anyone who has ever walked through the Utilidors at Magic Kingdom and felt frustration over their various aggravations should know why. This aspect of readying Walt Disney World fell by the wayside. Anything that customers couldn’t see fell lower on the list of priorities. The problem was that much worse on opening day, but Disney used the six weeks that followed to make life easier for its daily park employees.
What was working…and what wasn’t
Image: DisneyDisney hung its metaphorical hat on a few key attractions. They advertised Country Bear Jamboree for its novelty; it was the first Disney attraction ever to debut somewhere other than Disneyland. Magic Kingdom also operated the Magic Kingdom Railroad with its three locomotives: the Walter E. Disney, the Lilly Belle, and Roger E. Broggie.
Main Street U.S.A. also featured several of the throwback automobiles that you know and love such as the Omnibus and the Fire Engine. The view was different, though. You’re used to seeing so much stuff like shops and trees as you look toward Cinderella Castle. Imagery from 1971 reveals that much of the area was bare at the time. While some maintain that Magic Kingdom is overly crowded today, the opening day version of the park was an exercise in minimalism. Disney saved the money that they would otherwise spend on aesthetics and instead poured it into the E Ticket attractions.
Image: DisneyOne of the delayed but unique attractions was a different form of transportation, one that’s about to return to Walt Disney World. The Skyway to Fantasyland and Skyway to Tomorrowland were companion gondolas that delighted guests with a spectacular overhead view of Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t arrive until 1956.
Perhaps due to this delay, guests at Tomorrowland were nonplussed by the park’s perception of the future. Grand Prix Raceway, the precursor to Tomorrowland Speedway, lacked the bells and whistles of its Disneyland counterpart. It was just a glorified go kart ride. This section had no other rides on opening day, which made Tomorrowland seem like it was sardonically named. Perhaps Disney meant that it would have a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow at a later date. And perhaps that date was January 15, 1975, the point when Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress finally debuted at Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.
Image: DisneyLike at the Happiest Place on Earth, Fantasyland was overflowing with quality attractions. Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Prince Charming Regal Caroussel, It’s a Small World, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride were all available on day one. Liberty Square offered the Hall of Presidents and Haunted Mansion, while the only Frontierland ride on day one was the Mike Fink Keel Boats. Finally, the pride of Adventureland was the Jungle Cruise ride, although the Enchanted Tiki Room was also available.
Other than the shows, these were the main attractions on opening day. Another major offering, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, was planned to debut on October 1st. It had to wait a week for a very important reason. The boat leaked. And I don’t mean a little. As cast members performed test runs, they were startled to discover the vessel wasn’t seaworthy yet. Imagineers spent the body of the fall trying to safeguard unknowing guests from a submarine that couldn’t keep its passengers dry. It was the most serious snafu during the first month of Walt Disney World.
Image: DisneySeveral other iconic Magic Kingdom attractions weren’t even in the offing when the park debuted. Disney never planned to build an East Coast version of Pirates of the Caribbean since they didn’t expect southerners to find fascination in something that was already a part of their culture. The technology for Space Mountain was still a work in progress that required another three years to perfect.
Big Thunder Mountain was the first significant addition that Disney planned. Humorously, Disney put that roller coaster on hold in order to build…Pirates of the Caribbean. Complaining guests made their wishes known about the famous Disneyland attraction, forcing park planners to update their expansion timeline. As always, Disney catered to the wishes of its guests.
Walt Disney World after opening day
Image: DisneyDespite the mediocre attendance on opening day, the media lavished praise on Walt Disney World. It helped that cast members had plied these professionals with free drinks and barbecue at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the de facto home base for reporters covering the story. And the attendance followed exactly the trajectory that Disney had projected.
When park planners forecasted the opening day, they expected 10,000 guests. Several of them expressed surprise as news items hinted at thousands more visitors. These reports proved unfounded, and the next six weeks went just like park planners expected. Attendance remained modest until the week of Thanksgiving. It was the holiday itself that became the first true blockbuster day at Walt Disney World, the moment when all involved realized that Uncle Walt’s dream for the Florida Project would come to fruition.
Image: DisneyGuests mobbed the parks and even created nightmarish traffic issues on the corresponding streets. It was the first hint of the impact that the new theme park would have on the city of Orlando. The sleepy burg had a population of less than 100,000 at the time. Yes, Walt Disney World has caused this part of Central Florida to grow by a factor of nearly 25!
As a final treat, you can watch the video below. It shows the televised opening of Walt Disney World. You’ll see that Disney learned from their 1955 mistake. It was NOT a live broadcast.
