October 1, 1971. 45 years ago today. A day that will live in the memories of all #Disney fans everywhere. It was on this day that the Magic Kingdom, the first park in the so called “Florida Project” that we know of as Walt Disney World, opened to the general public. On this day, I was a lad of just 3 years old, and had no idea of the significance of this day at the time. In fact, it wasn’t until eight years later that I would make that first trip to Walt Disney World, when my grandparents took me, my sister, and my Mom in 1979. Looking back over the many years, I realize that the truly incredible memories I have of this incredible place have helped to shape my life moving forward. Memories such as the time that Cinderella sent Sophie an enormous chocolate chip cookie just because. That memory helped fashion the dreams of a wonderfully innocent 6 year old, memories that she remembers to this day.
Other memories of this incredible place include the time that Cindy and I were on the Monorail, the year we ate our way through Disney because Cindy was pregnant with Sophie, and as we passed the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, we saw Cinderella’s Coach going down the road because a wedding had just taken place. Also high on our list of memories was the time we were in Mickey’s Toontown Fair and went to see one of Sophie’s favorite characters at the time, the one and only Donald Duck. Sophie was so excited to see him that this happened:
I could write for hours on the subject of what incredible times we’ve had at the Magic Kingdom, but for today, I’ll close with a look back at an event we were fortunate enough to be a part of five years ago — the 40th birthday of the Magic Kingdom.
The beauty of that day was indescribable. I don’t think I’ve seen as blue a sky as I did that day, and the weather was absolutely incredible. Around 10 AM, they had a special parade from Town Square in Main Street, USA, down the street, and they had special presentations by Cinderella’s Castle. Our plan was simple, to ride as many of the original attractions from October 1st, 1971, as we could, and we did that and then some. The only bits of a hiccup to the day were at lunch time, when we were going to eat at Pinocchio Village Haus, but the line was out the door and around the block, so we went to the Columbia Harbour House and literally walked right in. The only other part that was bothersome was the absolute insanity of all of the people gathered for the fireworks that night. It was crazy, and we knew we just had to wait it out, each of us holding on to one another so we wouldn’t be separated.
For this blogger, #45years of the Magic Kingdom has turned into #45000memories and counting. Let me know what your favorite Magic Kingdom memories are, and thanks for stopping by! If you are there, let me know what it’s like!
