Disney Park Guide: Pages 12 & 13

Pages 12 & 13, all the Tomorrowland attractions. I don't know why they closed the Skyway, but it was a great way to see Disney, floating above everybody's heads. If you wanted to ride Space Mountain in 1976, that E-ticket would've cost you 90 cents. The Carousel of Progress, one of my favorites, was apparently free!

Disney Park Guide: Pages 14 & 15

Pages 14 & 15, GAF Photo Tips. GAF stood for General Aniline & Film and manufactured lots of photography related products (including the original View Master). With a camera in every phone or laptop nowadays, it's hard to imagine people being this clueless about taking photos in the 70s. These tips seem so rudimentary, as if written for a child. Still, it's solid advice: check the batteries, hold the camera steady, don't put your thumb in front of the lens -- Can't argue with that stuff. All of my photos from that trip have rounded corners on the prints. Some of them are blurry, some of them feature my giant thumb...maybe I should've read this guide more carefully back then.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 16 & 17

Pages 16 & 17 is a classic Map of the Magic Kingdom, circa 1976! Back then you couldn't take the bus to Epcot, Disney Studios or Animal Kingdom...and you really didn't have to. Everyone seemed pretty satisfied with the delicious concentrated goodness of the Magic Kingdom.

Note some attractions that no longer exist -- The Mickey Mouse Review (a fantastic animatronic orchestra of your favorite Disney characters), The Skyway (stretching from Fantasyland, taking a sharp turn over the Grand Prix Raceway and dropping you off in Tomorrowland), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Mission To Mars. It's a shame they got rid of those attractions.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 18 & 19

Pages 18 & 19 have the rest of the GAF Photo Tips! That's right. If you went to Disney utterly ignorant of how to take pictures or video, this crash course would set you right.

"Action shots better than posed" I couldn't agree more, though in most of my family's photos we're all posed like mannequins.

"Some pictures don't need the family" This is brilliant advice that too many families ignore. Check out that amazing shot of the now long-gone Nautilus Sub from the 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea attraction. Compare it to the similar shot where that family is totally ruining the picture! Disney knows how to stage things, so this advice should be heeded even today.

If you enjoy being nostalgic about photography, note the suggestion that you wind the motor of your video camera after each scene. There's also an important word about flashbulbs...which I recall being fragile, sharp-edged and blazing hot after use. Just the thing you want to carry around the park all day.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 20 & 21

Pages 20 & 21, The Map of Walt Disney World! This is the entire thing, Magic Kingdom and all of its outskirts and surrounding resorts. Not as big then as it is today, but the map still shows some classic landmarks: Treehouse Village (which was scheduled to re-open in 2009!), The Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village (which is now Downtown Disney) and Treasure Island (which is now Discovery Island, a wildlife paradise that showcases animals from all over). When I went as a kid my family stayed mainly in The Magic Kingdom and that was fine by me. Now you need extra vacation days to cover everything you want to see.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 22 & 23

Page 22 is an ad for a few Special Attractions & Events at Walt Disney World.

-River Country (the very first water park at Walt Disney World)

-World Cruise To Treasure Island/Treasure Island Excursion (a boat ride to an island bird sanctuary, snack bar and pirate "treasure hunt." This eventually became Discovery Island)

-The Electrical Water Pageant (a nightly display of light-up animals around the Seven Seas Lagoon. It still runs today)

Page 23 is just the introduction page to the Walt Disney World Resorts, details of which are covered on the next few pages.

Disney Park Guide: Pages 24 & 25

Pages 24 & 25, The Polynesian Village Resort, one of the two original on-park hotels, is located near the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon. Eventually, they dropped the "village" part of the name. Nothing says retro like hula-dancers, tiki culture and luaus by torchlight.