LBVHS

LBVHistory Announces 2021 Holiday Ornament: The Season Greetings Studio Tower

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The team at The Lake Buena Vista Historical Society has been hard at work creating a special holiday ornament for 2021! We present the Season Greetings Studio Tower! Donate to Reserve your Tower!     The tower is cast resin and plastic and features a metallic green base and a metallic red hat. The tower stands a proud 4.8 inches (12.2cm) tall! Can easily be displayed on a desk, shelf, or hung from your favorite tree or...Read More...

Podcast

Podcast Episode 71: Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Special

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Welcome to Episode 71 of the RetroWDW Podcast: The WDW 50th Anniversary Special – We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows from over the years. We have visited multiple parks, resorts, and just about everything else in between. We hope you stick with us through 2021 as we bring you some great content that will take you back to...Read More...

Videos

Restored home movie: EPCOT Center (November 1985)

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Enjoy this wonderfully shot 9 minute tour of EPCOT Center from 1985. After taking a ride on the highway in the sky (note the Living Seas still under construction!), you’ll see some great shots of Future World, including unique footage of the leaping fountains outside the Imagination Pavilion. After a quick lunch in France, this film includes some fun views of performances from around World Showcase. There are also a number of scenes filmed from the...Read More...

Brian's Corner, LBVHS, Retro Disney World

Flagler’s Breakfast Menu – Grand Floridian Resort 1988

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When the Grand Floridian resort opened and replaced the Contemporary as Walt Disney World’s flagship resort it had all the luxuries and decadence you would expect.  Fine dining venues abounded and Flagler’s was an upscale sit-down restaurant that specialized in Italian cuisine in the evening (because in the 1980’s fine-dining Italian was at its peak in popularity).  In the morning’s it was the place to have a nice breakfast away from the hustle and bustle of...Read More...

Videos

Restored videos: Dark Rides!

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Tonight we are pleased to share videos of three classic Walt Disney World dark rides! First up, from 1994, is Snow White’s Scary Adventures, the second iteration of the attraction at the Magic Kingdom   Next, take a ride to nowhere in particular in Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. This fan favorite attraction had two separate tracks with different experiences on each. Our video features both sides   And finally, we go to Tomorrowland to take to...Read More...

Blog, Brian's Corner

Fly With “Airship Shamu” Blimp In 1992

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A while back we acquired this set of slides taken by a crew member or passenger aboard Sea World’s promotional blimp the Airship Shamu. Included with the set was a December 30, 1993 article from the Orlando Sentinel about the omnipresence of blimps in the Orlando area. The slides are from a specific flight in March 1992. Airship Shamu soared over EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios, Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee, and other local sites including Interstate 4 looking...Read More...

Videos

A video visit to CommuniCore

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No visit to EPCOT Center was complete without a visit to the exhibits in CommuniCore! Among the other futuristic technologies, computers with touch screens were used in exhibits in CommuniCore – these were not at all common place at the time. To make computers seem more approachable and friendly, there were a number of simple, touch based games throughout. The Manufactory was one such game to illustrate how computers could be used to control the manufacture...Read More...

Podcast

Podcast Episode 70: Monster Sound Show

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This month, we take you back to the early days of the Disney-MGM Studios. When the park first opened, it was mostly shows and attraction-based with less emphasis on rides. You may have noticed before we got to the main topic here, but this episode sounds a little bit different. We are recording in and this adds an amazingly fun layer to this episode, which is all about sound. Todd starts us off with our old…Read More...

Videos

Films from the Living Seas

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Many people remember the Living Seas for the hydrolators and the preshow film “The Seas”. However, the pavilion featured a few other films throughout Seabase Alpha. An Animated Atlas of the World educated guests on the effect of weather on the ocean, as well as the geology of Earth’s oceans. Jason of the Deep was a series of video clips about the Jason ROV, which was under development at the time to allow exploration of the...Read More...

Videos

Restored Videos: The Walt Disney World Monorail System

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The “highway in the sky”, Walt Disney World’s monorail system, spans 3 separate lines and nearly 15 miles of track. Until the late 2000’s, guests could sit with the pilot in the front cab for a unique view around the resort. First up is a ride around the express beam, starting at the Magic Kingdom, passing by the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resorts before arriving at Transportation & Ticket Center.   Next, a longer ride, again...Read More...