Brian’s Corner

Musings and recollections by Podcast contributor, Brian Miles (@BrianPMiles).

The World Is Not Enough: Sesame Place 1985 Brochure

by

Occasionally we come across something that is not directly related to Walt Disney World but piques our interest.  That is what happened when I came across this 1985 Sesame Place brochure at a flea market this past weekend.  As a Philadelphia-area resident where the first and for a long time only Sesame Place is located I’ve always had a mild interest in the place. This stems largely from the fact that, until a few years ago,...Read More...

Thought You’d Never Ask – Volume 2! Recipes From WDW Circa 1983

by

Earlier this summer we shared the first publication of a book of Walt Disney World recipes from 1979. That year Dorothy Chapman, the food critic for the Orlando Sentinel, compiled some of the most requested recipes from Central Florida restaurants In “Thought You’d Never Ask”.She published weekly columns in the Sentinel and many of the recipes also appeared there. We've acquired her followup edition published in 1983 shortly after the opening of EPCOT Center.  There are…Read More...

Rare Glimpses of December 1971 Walt Disney World

by

Sometimes one or two images will pique my interest in a set of slides.  This particular dual set of 35mm slides were from different film brands, were individually numbered and included some hand-assembled slides (literally film glued into a slide holder) that were photographs of images from the 1971 book The Story of Walt Disney World.  The slide set and its order indicate it was part of a presentation given by a professor or enthusiast to...Read More...

WDW Restaurants Photo Gallery – April 1975

by

A remarkable set of slides dated April 1975 capture a necessary and notable part of any theme park: The dining establishments. When we get a set of slides like this with no context as to their origin we are left to speculate or create our own backstory. At RetroWDW we choose to believe this set of slides was taken by a person doing research on how Disney does counter service and buffeteria-style dining. You’ll notice photos...Read More...

Over 130 unique Magic Kingdom Slides from 1979

by

Recently Brian has been scanning hundreds of slides to add to our pictorial souvenir. This latest set comes from January 1979 and has a few interesting things to see: Interior of the Town Square Barber Shop Interior of the Main Street Clock Shop Interior of Crystal Palace Interior of the Main Street Ceramics Shop Interior of King Stefan’s Banquet Hall (now Cinderella’s Royal Table) On-ride photos of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride On-ride photos of Snow White’s...Read More...

Amazing slides that show a brand new Walt Disney World – October 1971

by

Another fantastic addition to Brian’s Slide Carousel This set of slides labeled Walt Disney World and dated October 1971 came to us by way of an estate sale in Michigan. Because of the date stamp from Kodak we knew the slides were from Walt Disney World’s first days of operation. Thanks to @Gulopine , we think we’ve narrowed the date down, as he wrote the following to us: “The extreme cloudiness got me wondering. Looking back through...Read More...