The Best First Day
You are probably accustomed to the gargantuan prices associated now with all things Disney. But in 1973, General Adult Admission was only $4.50! Or, if you wanted to go wild and purchase general admission plus 8 or 12 Adventure tickets, the cost would be $5.75 or $6.75.
So northward I ventured, with money in my pocket (thank you mom!), a 235 mile ride straight to the Magic Kingdom itself. If you want to see what Disney World was like that summer, check it out here:
http://www.yesterland.com/disney-world-tickets-1973.html
Some of the highlights were - the Enchanted Tiki Room:
Abe Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randar/10315274376/
... and It's A Small World.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyscan/4228333796/
Disney World had opened less than 2 years before (October 1, 1971), so everything was spanking new and utterly fascinating. And so much space! Far bigger than Disneyland. And speaking of bigger, everything was so much bigger here. I had been a year in New Zealand, where things were done on rather a smaller scale all the way around. Grocery stores, cars, trucks (lorries), and even most roads. In Florida I was awakened to the growing acquisition mode in the United States.
But what better place to begin experiencing acquisition! I threw caution to the wind and bought the 12 Adventure ticket option, literally running from ride to ride. Who cares about looming bus travel and intimidating prospects of odd strangers when one can ride on Dumbo, the Flying Elephant!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randar/10543088304/
I could find another Motel 6 that night, or decide to ride the bus all night instead. But, I wouldn't think about that now. I would be like Scarlett O'Hara and think about all of that tomorrow. For now, I would think of hamburgers and milkshakes while watching the electrical parade on Main Street. I would thrill to Abraham Lincoln's voice (I'm sure his voice sounded just like that) and his expressive hopes for our future. I would feel only a little bit sick in the spinning Mad Tea Party cups.
And I would bask, for that one splendid day, in the warmth of an adventure created by the awesome, the brave, the courageous Walt Disney himself, whose World was not at all Small.
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestartrader/4257943902/">the star trader</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyght55/3352943772/">Evan Wohrman</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyscan/4228333796/">Wyscan</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/randar/10543088304/">Tom Simpson</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>
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