Items Tagged with:

Polynesian

LBVHistory Announces 2023 Holiday Ornament: Holly Jolly Poly

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The team at The Lake Buena Vista Historical Society has been hard at work creating a special holiday ornament or decor adornment, whatever your fancy, for 2023! We present The Holly Jolly Poly! Donate to Reserve your Holly Jolly Poly! In the style of the Polynesian Resort Signs, the ornament is cast resin, hand-painted, and features a traditional brown background, Maui’s likeness, and of course, the phrase Mele Kalikimaka right front and center! We’ve also included...Read More...

More vacation home movies from 1987!

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Today we are happy to share 2 more videos from our series of 1987 vacation home movies! First up is this video containing shots from the Contemporary resort, including the room and Bay Lake. Our family then heads over to Fort Wilderness for a performance of the Hoop De Doo Review before heading over to the Magic Kingdom, which is still celebrating its 15th anniversary. Several scenes from Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It’s...Read More...

Restored Resort Videos

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We are back with a few videos from our library to share, this time, from around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. From 1992, here is a tour of the Polynesian Resort, including the grounds, pool, and boat dock in the lagoon. From the same year, here is some additional footage of the Polynesian grounds as well as a tour of the Grand Floridian during Christmas time. And finally, skipping ahead to 1994, this video...Read More...

Restored home video: Polynesian and Contemporary Resort – November 1987

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Featured on our last live movie night, this is our video restoration of a home movie from November 1987. We start off with a great pan around the waterfall that used to be featured in the lobby of the Polynesian. Next up are some great shots from the Polynesian beach with a view of the Grand Floridian under construction. Over at the Contemporary, a beautiful sunrise shot shot from the rooftop observation deck is followed by...Read More...

Rare Glimpses of December 1971 Walt Disney World

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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

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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...

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...

Early days of the Polynesian & Contemporary Resorts – Home Movie

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This incredible film includes ample footage of the grounds of the Polynesian Village Resort in 1974. We open with a panoramic view from area between the Ticket & Transportation Center and the Maui (now Raratonga) longhouse. Note that the area being filmed is the present day location of the Pago Pago, Moorea & Tokelau longhouses (built in 1978 and 1985). Plenty of images of the monorails gliding to and from the resort are featured – following...Read More...

Vintage Walt Disney World 16mm 1975 Press Film – Restored in HD

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It's very rare to find any 16mm films of Disney World, but when you come across one that the Disney Company produced you put your cards on the table and make a move to secure it. We stumbled upon this one on eBay and it was worth the purchase and digital transfer. Think back 40 years ago, these press films would be distributed to newspapers for in-house screening or television studios for use in newsreels and…Read More...

The Good Old Days – 1972 Prices

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One of my most recent acquisitions is this 1972 info brochure. It is just a one pager, but full of neat information from many years ago. I love the tagline "The Vacation Kingdom of The World" - I wish they would bring this back, but I wouldn't cross my fingers on that. The front focuses on the ticket pricing, or Adventure Ticket Books as they called them back then. The high rollers could get an 11-Adventure…Read More...