Disney World Experiences Kids Today Will Never Understand

42 thoughts on “Disney World Experiences Kids Today Will Never Understand”

• EPCOT used to be a very serious, rather formal place. The concept of education was very high in planner’s minds and almost all the pavilions were very earnest and sober in tone (with a few exceptions: “World of Motion” and “Jouney into Imagination” got pretty zany). But the seriousness of the place was palpable. One felt one had to tuck in one’s shirt and slouch less while visiting the park.

  There was a pretty interesting little attraction at the base of “Spaceship Earth” in which groups would sit and listen to both sides of a topic and then enter their opinions using buttons in their seats. The presenters were able to show the audiences’ data at the end of the show breaking it down by what people from different areas thought, and what people of different ages thought. At the time, this was pretty darned cool stuff! But again–it was very serious in nature. Generally it dealt with questions of global concern.

• EPCOT used to be a very serious, rather formal place. The concept of education was very high in planner’s minds and almost all the pavilions were very earnest and sober in tone (with a few exceptions: “World of Motion” and “Jouney into Imagination” got pretty fun). One felt one had to tuck in one’s shirt and slouch less while visiting the park.

  There was a pretty interesting little attraction at the base of “Spaceship Earth” in which groups would sit and listen to both sides of a topic and then enter their opinions using buttons in their seats. The presenters were able to show the audiences’ data at the end of the show breaking it down by what people from different areas thought, and what people of different ages thought. At the time, this was pretty darned cool stuff! But again–it was very serious in nature. Generally it dealt with questions of global concern.

• I remember visiting in the early 1990s with my Kodak Disc camera, taking pics all day (and only one picture of each thing, since we couldn’t see how it turned out and there was only 15 frames on a disc). When I filled a disc, I could turn it in at the Camera Center at a park, and they would develop the pictures and deliver to my Disney Resort Hotel by the end of the day. Then my family and I could see all the pictures we took THAT SAME DAY!!!! No more waiting for a few days after we get home from our trip to look through our vacation photos. It was like living in the future.

• This article really jogged my memory! We used to love the penny arcade in the back of the Main Street magic shop! The Imagination play area after the ride with the rainbow tunnel and pin table, Horizions and the Wonders of Life pavilion were favorites. I remember eating at the Odyssey restaurant as a kid. Most of all, I remember going during cool weather or other off times and having no crowds at all. That’s when we had the most fun.

• I enjoyed the package delivery that took them to our rooms. When we got back at night it was like a little Christmas!
  We could decide Tuesday morning which park we wanted to be in on Wednesday, pick up a phone and make reservations. I’m sure that’s a crowd issue, but it was nice, anyway.

• Guests can no longer enjoy the equilibrium challenge the original Mission: Space at Epcot offered.
  The combo of that ride and a flight the next day sent me into vertigo making a trip to the ER necessary. Never had vertigo before or since. We didn’t alert WDW, but the G-force was lowered after many bad outcomes. Somehow, i still wax nostalgic ^.^

• There was a magic shop on main street that sold jokes, magic tricks and people demonstrating magic.

• Epcot used to have a teacher resource center where teachers could get lesson plans and project plans based on Future world attractions. The Seas, Energy, Land, Transportation…etc.
  I guess they could create ‘homework’ with those plans for kids visiting Disney.

• I really appreciated and loved this article, as well as everything everyone posted in the follow up.

  However, I have to nitpick. Even in this MagicBand day and age, we’ve had the experience of having to juggle our kids’ ticket media, getting them out of pockets and distributing them before the FP tapstiles and then putting them back after. How can this be so? We stay off site, as do many others.

• All of the memories listed are so vivid in my mind. I miss River Country, a lot of the old shows or experiences from the past. Remember the tickets

• The one experience that I got to do that I wish was still offered was riding in the Front of the Monorail with the conductor. I understand the reason it’s no longer available but to go into the Contemporary in the front is a experience that I can’t describe enough.

  • I remember all of the memories everyone has mentioned. I miss River Country, Discovery Island, riding once in the front if the Monorail. Remember the E-Tickets?? Yes it was crowded, but wish they’d bring back some of the old, wonderful Magical Disney Fun …

• I think that kids today would be shocked and horrified to know that there was a time when the four WDW parks weren’t blanketed with wifi. (Yes, I know that this is still true at DLR.)

• The old test track concept. I know it’s supposed to be taking place in a computer but the fun is gone. I don’t feel like I am going through tests anymore. Thank goodness for the high speed lope.

• Cranium command and Body wars at Epcot with a stop off at The Land for some underwhelming food options…..pretty sure the latter hasn’t changed.

  • LOVED cranium command- and I do wish my sons could see that and I would totally do the video of how a baby was made in there too with them (forget the name??)- then I could check that off my to-do list!

• stitch was still going in 2013,terrified my 6 year old neice

• Probably just nostalgia (as I don’t remember the show being anything great), but I sometimes wish I could go and see the old Kitchen Cabaret in Epcot again.

• Wayyy back I remember going into “Communicore” East with all the TVs to check the afternoon weather. (We didn’t have instant access to radar and forecasts back then, kids.) Oh – and remember the video calls to make dining reservations?

  Completely agree w the Imagination sentiment, Brian. I wish they would refurb and bring back the original.

• I know Cali better than Florida and I do wish that Florida had snow white and Mr toad. They are really fun. Also when did they start the package pick up. I remember having to actually carry all my purchases all day or wait till the end of the day to buy what I wanted.

• I never did Mr. Toad at WDW, so I was excited to do it on my first trip to Disneyland — and then I was like, “um, did we just go to Hell?” Cracked me up…

• Push or his twin is alive and well at EPCOT within the Electric Umbrella Restaurant near the restrooms. I try to visit whenever I am at EPCOT.

• Other noteworthy items that the darned kids of today wouldn’t grasp. Back in the day:
  -There wasn’t any kind of schedule for character meet & greets, you just happened upon characters at random (which, of course, still happens in Anaheim).
  -If you wanted to know how long the line for a ride was, you had to actually walk over to it and see for yourself.
  -There weren’t any single rider lines.
  -The major gift shops sold EVERY size/type of camera film you could imagine (this one requires explaining what camera film is).
  -There were banks of payphones all over the parks.
  -There were zero Cast Members whose sole job was to take your picture.
  -You purchased individual tickets for attractions (duh).
  -There was no Disney-provided means of getting to the World from the airport.
  -You could just buy a simple “do whatever you want for X days” ticket that granted admission to everything.
  -There were no designated areas for stroller parking.

  • Great list and so true! Thanks for sharing!

• I meant honey I shrunk the kids……oops

• The pin table, which I remember being enormous, so big you could put your entire body on it and honey I steering the kids play area!!!!!! Tragic that they’ve all gone :'(

  • I loved the pin table too! That whole area was awesome as a kid in the 80s/early 90s. As for the ride, my husband never experienced the original and therefore can not come close to comprehending my love of Figment. I wish my young girls could experience many of these things on the list! The other thing I miss is being able to get same day dining at popular restaurants! I hate the stress of getting up at 6am and making ADRs (if the website works) 6 months before my vacation!

• The original figment land by far is the saddest thing to go! Mr dreamfinder, the piano keys you could jump on,

• I’m not normally a sentimental person, but the brilliant insanity that was the original Journey into Imagination still tugs at my tiny heart’s strings

• I grew up in so Cal, so my memories are of Disneyland. Before California Adventure was built, that area was a parking lot, and you could get dropped off at the front gate and there was a tram, but most people just walked because it was less than 5 min walk unless it was really crowded or you got there late. Also, Disneyland for $20! (Probably about 20-25 years ago?) And when it rained, you could walk on any ride. The first time I ever went to Disneyland I was 8, we were just moving to southern California, and it was raining. We did every ride like 2-3 times, ate at Blue Bayou with no reservations and the park was deserted. There’s still reduced attendance from local annual pass holders if it rains, but nothing like it used to be!

  • How about walk up phone service for making dining reservations in Epcot

    • Or WorldKey stations for reservations at EPCOT Center?

• We stayed in Ft. Wilderness several times and River Country was great. Also swimming in the lake and, yes, Discovery Island.

• The Backlot Tour, with many old movie props, the house used for exterior shots on The Golden Girls, and the shops being used to make costumes and scenery.

  • I remember that too! There was so much more to see on the Backlot Tour during the park’s early days. Thanks for sharing!

    • We were there when Aladdin was being made.

• I was actually trying to explain PUSH to my seven-year-old daughter the other day. My girls would get a kick out PUSH if it still existed. In terms of the pre-FastPass days, I actually have fond memories of those trips. The lines might be a little longer, but they always moved and were generally consistent. We walked on a lot more rides in the ’80s and ’90s. Of course, attendance has risen, so that’s a lot of it.

  • I would spend much of my time at Tomorrowland trying to catch Push back in the day. Now I just chill out with Sonny Eclipse.
    And yes, pre-Fastpass lines moved much more consistently because there was only 1 line and rides were intended to be high volume and continuous loading if possible. Disney “solved” a capacity problem as crowds grew with expectation management instead of adding capacity. Unfortunately, high volume omnimover attractions don’t cut it with guests anymore, so look for more virtual queues and paid access in the future.

• In Animal Kingdom’s Conservation Station, there is a small room where you put on headphones and listen to the sounds of the jungle. The lights used to go completely out, and so you sat in the dark listening to breathing and bug sounds supposedly right at your ear. FAR more memorable than now, when the lights just dim.

• I remember actually having to show the bus drivers your resort ID in the early 90s in order to ride the buses.

  • I remember when the bus drivers spoke English. They were as much entertainers as anyone on stage.

    • This is easily one of the most glaring differences I see.
      It’s amazing how different the experience is with the current drivers vs what it used to be. Probably indicates a lot of the way Disney does business now vs then…. And the reason for many drops in quality.
      Riding around fort wilderness will never be the same.

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