Imageworks

Restored Home Movie: Magic Kingdom Visit – 1970s

by

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

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...

Home Movie: Touring the Magic Kingdom – 1976

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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...

Slides of the Magic Kingdom from November 1979

by

This slide set from November 1979 features the Magic Kingdom in all its autumn splendor. As always we’re treated to lots of pictures of the afternoon parade. Back then each year ushered in a new parade and “Dumbo’s Circus Parade” was the 1979 theme. It features scary clowns in a miniature fire engine, Donald Duck in his fortune telling getup, Dumbo in a burning firehouse and plenty of other interesting and unique parade floats not seen...Read More...

Einsel Theater: The Age of Information – Complete Video, Song and Lyrics

by

The Display Closed in the early 1990s, one area of Communicore West can easily be crowned as the definitive definition of a prophecy that came true. Nestled along a huge wall in Futurecom, this 40 foot kinetic sculpture included fifty-five automaton figures and countless animated devices, props and displays; all timed to react and move in perfect synchronyy with the song that shared its name with the display: The Age of Information. Walter Einsel, an American...Read More...

Project Florida – Like you’ve never seen it before! – Restored 16mm Film

by

This is one of the rare films we've all been waiting for...Project Florida. Produced in 1970 the film was presented on NBC's The Wonderful World of Disney, following the conclusion of The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin Part 3 on January 31, 1971. Its primary goal was to educate and excite the public about the construction and soon-to-open Walt Disney World. Since then, aside from a portion of the film released the DVD Magic Kingdom: Imagineering the Magic, the…Read More...