Imageworks

Home Movie: A Patriotic Day at the Magic Kingdom – March 1976

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This film captures a family’s visit to the Magic Kingdom March 1976, during the festive United States Bicentennial. A sampling of Walt Disney World’s patriotic decorations can be seen throughout the park. In the first couple of minutes we see the vacationing family posing in a variety of park scenes. Views of vehicles, flowers and shops along Main Street give way to a close-up of the castle main entrance. Attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and...Read More...

Home Movie: A Fun Filled Day At The Magic Kingdom March 1973

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Our film opens traveling up World Drive towards the Magic Kingdom tolls and into the parking lot. Hopping aboard the tram we make our way to the Ticket and Transportation Center with monorails rolling by overhead. Aboard the Highway in the Sky we can see the topiaries lining World Drive en route to the Contemporary Resort. After passing a pristine and serene Bay Lake we find ourselves past the Contemporary and finally arriving at the Magic...Read More...

Home Movie: The Magic Kingdom as seen in 1974

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This film, shot in 1974, opens on what appears to be a sunny and quiet day in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. Our family in this film have brought their grandson to explore the park and start with a ride on Cinderella’s Golden Carousel followed by a meeting with Prince John from Robin Hood – though the grandson is clearly frightened. Next we hop aboard the WDW Railroad and make our way around the park with...Read More...

Restored Home Movie: Magic Kingdom Visit – 1970s

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It’s a sunny start to this family’s day as they enter the Vacation Kingdom via the Ticket and Transportation Center and prepare to queue for the monorail. En route to the Magic Kingdom we get a nice aerial shot of the topiaries between the Contemporary Resort and the park. We then open to a generous 360 degree pan of Main Street before the parade makes its way through the crowd. There’s some great footage of Mickey...Read More...

WDW Restaurants Photo Gallery – April 1975

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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...

Home Movie: Touring the Magic Kingdom – 1976

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An early morning rise and we see the gardeners trimming topiaries and then a quick view over bay lake and the Contemporary lends to the spires of Space Mountain and Cinderellas Castle. After the obligatory castle and flower shop shots we find ourselves in Fantasyland and we are soon transported 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Fantasyland, the Rivers of America give way to some quality time on Tom Sawyer Island and the Swiss Family Treehouse. Our...Read More...

The Shiny New Polynesian & Magic Kingdom – 1978

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This film was shot on a silent roll of 16mm. We get an early shot of the Polynesian beach, adorned with sailboats and white sand. This feeling of go anywhere and boat all over is long gone. The day this was shot, it looks overcast and breezy; but the color correction is amazing. For me, I always seem to expect the look of an old VHS, no matter what the footage is or when it was...Read More...

Oldman Slide Collection Returns! – 1980 slides of WDW

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Today we return to the Oldman Collection – A set of slides chronicling 5 visits to Walt Disney World of a couple in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1985. You can see the previously released 1978 visit here: https://www.retrowdw.com/pictorial-souvenir/brians-slide-carousel/wdw-september-1978-gallery-brian/ Some things you’ll see in this December 1980 visit: Lake Buena Vista & the Empress Lily decked out for the Holidays Brer Fox violating OSHA regulations A series of photos of Big Thunder Mountain because it had...Read More...

Magic Kingdom Fun – Home Movie from 1979

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This film, shot in 1979 on silent Super8 is all Magic Kingdom. We start off on Main Street, like almost every film we seem to find. You will be stunned by how empty the street actually is – you could easily drive two cars side by side. We see some great shots in Adventureland, which is more barren than Main Street. Most people you see are in pants and coats, showing a somewhat cooler day. Our...Read More...

Home Movie of the Magic Kingdom in 1981

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A 1981 visit to the Magic Kingdom and the Polynesian Resort show off the Vacation Kingdom looking swell at 10 years old. The film opens in Town Square and the entrance plaza before cutting to an omnibus rolling down Main Street USA.  Cinderella Castle and the hub have held up well in their first decade and Tomorrowland sports a very different look than it did in 1971 (chiefly half of it didn’t exist!). We see the...Read More...