Relive 1971 with Magic Kingdom’s still-running rides
Several Magic Kingdom attractions that were open at the theme park in 1971 are still operating. That’s kind of remarkable. I dare say there aren’t as many businesses on downtown Orlando’s Orange Avenue that have been around for 50 years. For this week’s Disney World at 50 story, here are a dozen stops that visitors can make for to create their own Magic Kingdom circa 1971 tour. Squint and pretend. Most attractions and rides have been tweaked and enhanced, but these are pretty close to their original essence. And there’s a bonus one tossed in for future consideration.
Let’s start in Tomorrowland and go counterclockwise, curving around Cinderella Castle, another Magic Kingdom original.
Tomorrowland Speedway
What it was and still is: Kids get behind the wheel for low-speed chases in sputtering minicars and are asked not to bump the car in front of them. They do.
What has changed: The cars for the attraction, originally called Grand Prix Raceway, have had updates and the course has been shortened a few times due to the construction of other attractions, including Space Mountain.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
What it was and still is: Dozens of elephants go up and down and around and around. Repeat.
What has changed: During the Fantasyland expansion of a decade ago, the ride was moved and basically cloned in the Storybook Circus area, where two units now spin, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. (The bottoms of the elephants’ feet were turned pink, too.)
Mad Tea Party
What it was and still is: The oft-imitated Fantasyland ride, commonly referred to as “the teacups,” keeps on spinning. The very idea continues to make some folks queasy.
What has changed: There was no roof over the Disney World ride at first, which sounds hot and wet to Florida folks. It got its lid in 1973.
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
What it was and still is: The ride, made in 1917, is among the oldest mechanical things going at Magic Kingdom. Originally, it was called Cinderella’s Golden Carousel.
What has changed: In 2010, the attraction was renamed and given a fresh back story involving Cinderella’s beau and jousting.
Peter Pan’s Flight
What it was and still is: Riders peer down onto London and scenes from the 1953 movie, including Wendy on the end of the pirate ship’s plank.
What has changed: Disney updated the queue in 2014 with interactive scenes and more air-conditioned comfort.
‘It’s a small world’
What it was and still is: The voyage through countries of the world has maintained its Mary Blair look, message of peace and everlasting earworm over the decades.
What has changed: The queue and entrance have been rearranged, and the last scene amped a little to recognize individual visitors. The Disneyland version had more obvious additions in 2008 when stylized versions of Disney characters such as Simba, Nemo, Mulan, Aladdin and Tinker Bell were incorporated.
Haunted Mansion
What it was and still is: Grim, grinning ghosts greet guests on multiple levels of a spooky home.
What has changed: An update in 2007 managed to wedge an extra room with endless staircases into the house. There also have been interactive updates to the exterior queue (plus a shade structure) and holographic effects for its departing doom buggies.
Hall of Presidents
What it was and still is: Animatronic leaders of the free world, past and present, stand and be counted.
What has changed: There’s a periodic, election-driven rearrangement of figures, and the current president usually has a speech.
Country Bear Jamboree
What it was and still is: Animatronic animal acts in a musical revenue were so popular they were added to Disneyland too.
What has changed: During a rehab about a decade ago, the Magic Kingdom show was tightened, in part by dropping “Pretty Little Devilish Mary” (by Zeke
and the Five Bear Rugs) and “Fractured Folk Song.”
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
What it was and still is: More animatronic animals in action, serenading a human audience.
What has changed: The Magic Kingdom attraction, originally named Tropical Serenade, veered into movie character territory for a while featuring Iago from “Aladdin” and Zazu from “The Lion King.”
Jungle Cruise What it was and still is:
Skippers crack wise on a boat ride featuring even more animatronic animals on one quick trip through world-famous rivers.
What has changed: Earlier this year, scenes along the shore (and, thus, some onboard jokes) were updated.
Swiss Family Treehouse
What it was and still is: Visitors walk through an elaborate treehouse in an impressively fake tree
and imagine being shipwrecked.
What has changed: The updates haven’t been drastic, as opposed to at Disneyland, which converted its attraction to a Tarzan theme more than 20 years ago.
Bonus: Walt Disney World Railroad
What it was and still is: On opening day, locomotives looped the Magic Kingdom.
What has changed: The attraction has been on hiatus for three years during the construction of the Tron Lightcycle Run ride in Tomorrowland; however, recent testing of new track segments and refurbished engines gives new choo-choo hope.
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