0 (Front Cover)

Here it is, the front cover of the Walt Disney World Park Guide. I was cleaning out my attic and found this in a boxload of stuff from decades ago. I couldn't believe my luck! Flipping through it brought back so many happy memories I figured other people might want to flip through it too. And now you can -- all without fingering up my copy. Enjoy.

Disney Park Guide: Contents & Page 01

The GAF Walt Disney World Guide starts out, like all good guides, with a table of contents.

Page 1 contains some helpful information to get you set for your day at Disney. Where to get your film, what do you do if you misplace your child, etc.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 02 & 03

Page 2 is a list of ticket prices for the Magic Kingdom. It looks like a 2-day admission to the park in '76 for an adult who wanted to experience up to 16 attractions was $18.25. And they were very big on the 2-day visit back then. I guess with just the one park it was possible to get it all in over a weekend.

Page 3 gives some helpful Tips On Your Visit. Things like which popular attractions to visit early in the day, when to eat, how to check your purchases into lockers so you can walk around unencumbered. They suggest you start your first visit in Tomorrowland. But my family started our first visit in Adventureland and I've done it the same way ever since. Force of habit, I guess.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 04 & 05

Page 4 is a quick overview of services and attractions geared toward guests in wheelchairs.

Page 5 is all about Main Street, USA. Basically a rundown of some of the attractions Main St. has to offer. To ride any of the Main St. vehicles back then, you'd have had to use a 10-cent A-ticket. More details about Main St. on the following page.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 06 & 07

Page 6 is a rundown of the Main Street Shops. I'm not sure if any of the old shops are still in operation under the same name, but Main Street is still a great way to begin your Disney experience.

Page 7 kicks off the description of the various "lands" of Disney with Adventureland. I was shocked to see that what I've been calling The Tiki Room my whole life was actually called Tropical Serenade.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 08 & 09

Page 8, Frontierland. Just looking at this page I can hear the banjo and fiddle playing in my head. I see Disney was still offering Pepsi products in 1976. Now you can't find a Pepsi within miles of the Coke-exclusive Disney complex. Back then, the C-ticket you would've had to buy to board the ol' Walt Disney Railroad would've cost you 50 cents.

Page 9 tells you all about Liberty Square. I remember riding on Mike Fink's Keelboats (B-tickets were a quarter) but I can't remember what spiel the guide rattled off during the trip. I've also noticed, flipping through this guide, that there were a lot of places in Disney back then where you could buy hats. And in Frontierland they have two (!) hat shops. People must have really loved hats back then.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 10 & 11

Pages 10 & 11, Fantasyland. Just look at that sleek Nautilus Submarine. They never should've shut down 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Yes, I know they're reopening it as a Finding Nemo ride, but it just won't be the same. You can still, however, spin yourself sick on the Mad Tea Party teacups.

The Mickey Mouse Review would've cost you a 75 cent D-ticket in 1976. Now you can walk into the similarly themed Mickey's Philharmagic with the price of admission.