The 46th President of the United States

 

Hall of Presidents postcard
01110228

Today, the United States inaugurated the 46th President, Joe Biden.  In 1971, when the Hall of Presidents opened, Richard Nixon was the 37th President but "...all 36 American chief executives appear on stage."  How is that possible?  (Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and so he is listed twice but only appears once in the Hall)

Vintage Villain Postcards

 

Watch Out Pinocchio! postcard
01110246

Disney Villains are very popular in the Parks these days, especially during the Halloween season.  But that was not the case in the '70s, the early days of Walt Disney World.  In going thru all of my memorabilia, these early postcards of Foulfellow (aka Honest John) & Gideon with Pinocchio, Brer Bear and Brer Fox and King Louie are the only depictions of villains that I could find in print.  You don't see any pictured in maps or print publications.

Original Magic Kingdom Icons

Preview Edition: Walt Disney World "The Vacation Kingdom of the World"
1970, pg 4

In the Preview Edition: Walt Disney World "The Vacation Kingdom of the World", each land was represented by their own unique icon.  These icons also appeared at the bottom of the early DP Postcard series.  If you have seen these images appear on other items, please share!  I would love to see these logos make a return to the Magic Kingdom.

The First Postcard

Contemporary Resort
pre-opening postcard
(Fl-024)

It all started with a....postcard.  This pre-opening postcard of the Contemporary Resort is sequentially the first postcard created for the 1971 opening of Walt Disney World.  Why Fl-024 if it is the first card?  Great question.  My research has yet to figure that one out.  You can read more about these early postcards at WDW in Postcards.

Bob, Bob, Bob....

Water Recreation
pre-opening postcard
(FL-026)

Sorry, Al, the girl in the picture does not come with the hotel.  At least that is Bob's joke on this pre-opening WDW postcard.  But there are "...many like her down here asking for you."  The postcard was created prior to the 1971 opening (notice the future tense in the text) but Bob's visit and stay in the Contemporary was in March of 1973.

Riding Thru the Contemporary Resort

Riding Thru the Contemporary Resort
pre-opening postcard
(FL-025)

This pre-opening postcard shows an artist rendering of the Contemporary Resort and the monorail leaving it on the "Highway in the Sky."  

This version has the standard globe head logo.  There are other versions of this card that contain the Florida Flag logo.  

There are also editions of this postcard that refer to the Tempo Bay Resort, the once potential name for the Contemporary.  

You can read more about this pre-opening card on Big Brian's blog.

Models of Main Street - QUIZ

Main Street, USA postcard
0110201 dp 79908-c

Let's play a game!  In the days prior to the Magic Kingdom's opening in 1971, models were used in photo shoots for the marketing, publications and post cards.  Several of the models in this Main Street, USA postcard can be found on another card.  Can you find the people below in the above picture?  To see the full postcard were these models also appeared, check out Riding Down Main Street, USA.

Pre-opening Cruising

Cruising By Excursion Steamer
pre-opening postcard
(Fl-027)

Prior to its opening in October 1971, Walt Disney World released a series of postcards highlighting some of the coming attractions.  This 4th in the series (Fl-027) features an 'old-fashioned excursion steamer' offering cruises over the unnamed lake and lagoon.  
The previous cards in this series are:
Contemporary Resort (Fl-024)
Riding Thru the Contemporary Resort (Fl-025)
Water Recreation (Fl-026)
There is also a second version of this card which features the Florida Flag logo, to separate WDW from its big sister in California.

Postcards With Character

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom postcard
01110236 dp 79905-c

All this month I have been sharing postcards from the early Walt Disney World 0111 series featuring characters 'come to life' in the park.  So I thought we would take a look back at some of the earlier cards that also had 'character.'  You can read more about these cards, at the following links:
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom
Goofy Goes for a Spin
Fun on Bay Lake

Watch Out Pinocchio!

Watch Out Pinocchio! postcard
01110246

The third and final character postcard in this early Walt Disney World series comes from Fantasyland and features Pinocchio and his "friends" Foulfellow (aka Honest John Fox) and Gideon.  I assume that the title of this postcard, "Watch Out Pinocchio!," comes from the evil intentions of the animals on his right and left.  But it could also refer to the brick wall that they are standing on in order to get this shot.

King Louie's Receding Hairline

Look for the Bare Necessities postcard
01110245

Our next postcard with 'character' comes from Adventureland and features another bear.  This time it is Baloo looking for the 'bare necessities' along with King Louie.  It's interesting to see how the characters have changed over the years.  But usually they don't 'age.'  Clearly King Louie has lost that amazing part since 1971.

I'm Gonna Knock Your Head Clean Off! - Brer Bar?

I'm Gonna Knock Your Head Clean Off! postcard
0111-0244

These two are not the sharpest of Disney characters and one of them must have written the first description on the postcard.  They misspelled Brer Bar but it was corrected on later printings.  (I understand the name has been used for a refreshment location)  This card is the first of 3 in the series to only feature "classic characters 'come to life.'"

Postcard #1?

Contemporary Resort
pre-opening postcard
(Fl-024)

It all started with a....postcard.  This pre-opening postcard of the Contemporary Resort is sequentially the first postcard created for the 1971 opening of Walt Disney World.  Why Fl-024 if it is the first card?  Great question.  My research has yet to figure that one out.  You can read more about these early postcards at WDW in Postcards.

Best of 2015

Walt Disney World: a coloring book
Golden, 1983

Based on the popularity of Adult Coloring Books this year, it should be no surprise that the most popular items from my blog in 2015 were from the 1983 Walt Disney World: a coloring book posts.

Coloring Main Street - March 21

Coloring Frontierland - March 27

Coloring Long Lost Attractions - April 3
 

Coming in a close second to the coloring book posts, was the Water Recreation pre-opening postcard that Bob sent his friend Al.  If you missed it, you can revisit it at this link: Sorry, Al - August 7.

This Thing Really Floats

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea postcard
01110243

One of the great things about collecting postcards is some of the messages you find on the back.  The sender of this post in 1973 was very excited about his "fantastic voyage" on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  "Would you beleve that this thing realy floats."  This card, as with many in this early series, was printed with & without the Florida Flag logo.

Highway in the Sky

Monorail to the Magic Kingdom postcard
01110242 dp 87164-c

I had already planned to share this postcard today because of the sequence of cards and because I spent the earlier part of the week riding the Las Vegas monorail.  I was so disappointed each time the doors closed and I did not hear that familiar voice say...."Please stand clear of the closing doors...."  Ironically, today this same color monorail (I can't assume it is the same one from 1971) stalled on the "highway in the sky" leaving passengers stranded for 2 hours.

As you can see from the images, this Dexter Press card was printed with and without the Florida Flag logo.