30 January 2009

Growing up alongside the riverbanks

My aunt recently found these photographs among my grandmother's belongings and immediately sent them on to me. I estimate these pictures are from 1972 or early 1973 because, as you can see in the pictures, the construction of Tom Sawyer Island is not complete. The island itself would not open to the public until 20 May 1973. Another factor in my attempted estimation is the process of trying to approximate the age of my cousins who were captured in a couple of the photographs. Since I was not alive in the early 1970s, I inquired family members about the possible ages of the cousins pictured with little in the way of solid information.Though the photographs themselves can be grainy, blurry, or, in a couple of cases, damaged, they tell me quite a bit about my grandmother. One, Walt Disney World, and the traditions and feelings it invokes, is definitely a family trait. Two, like her grandson would years later, my grandmother was fascinated by the Liberty Square/Frontierland corner of the Magic Kingdom. Specifically, my grandmother seemed to love the sights surrounding the Liberty Square Riverboat.









I hope to examine my family's Walt Disney World's history more in future articles, and this set of the Magic Kingdom's beginnings seemed like a wonderful launching point. I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Great shots! It is amazing how obvious the construction was back then.

Doc Terminus said...

awesome pics Ryan... The gazette has really become the place to go for exciting information, past and present.

Gator Chris said...

Wonderful images. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

These are fantastic, Ryan! It definitely brings back some memories, as I went when I was a young child in the 70s. Really enjoyed seeing these, and thanks so much for sharing them with us!

Zanna DiMarzio said...

Really cool pictures! I just scanned in a bunch of old 80's pics of our vacations as well. Found some fun ones of the Lake Buena Vista Vacation Villas. Remember those? :)