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Photo TR: Theme Parks of the '70s and '80s


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Merry Christmas! While home celebrating the holidays with my parents today, I raided their old photo albums and came up with a handful of pictures I thought a few people might enjoy (and not just because many of them feature me).

 

My apologies in advance for the 1970s Kodak color (look at that green Florida sky!) and occasional glue marks that have seeped through the photos in the past 20-30 years.

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And we end with clams!

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Were the Aristocats really this popular in '76?

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Who cluttered up Fantasyland with all those dang Skyway supports?

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The Walrus is pissed because @#$#% Pluto stole his spot on the float with the White Rabbit.

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...That is, until Mickey Mouse joins in, too!

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Nothing like a jumpin' pop music stage show featuring Chip and Dale with an Aristocat on the drums!

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What do Goofy, Pluto and the White Rabbit all have in common? Seriously, if you know, tell me!

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Don't forget those Donald Duck "squeaker" hats they used to sell. They get a float, too!

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Sure, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee get all the attention. But check out Robin Hood at the bottom left. He was practically still in theaters then!

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You think Disney is too commercial today? At least they don't make Chip sell balloons anymore. However, Goofy still works the churro cart sometimes. Because he wants to, not because he has to.

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OK, so here's a can't-miss idea for the new parade: Take those Mickey Mouse ears that everyone buys, but blow them up by like 1,000 percent. And paint them in mod '60s day-glo colors. Because we only have one other idea, and it's too far ahead of its time. We call it "Light Magic."

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Sorry, kids. Mickey's feeling a little purple today. Try back tomorrow.

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Shamu? Check!

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Sea World in its third year of operation.

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More Marineland. Jump, Flipper!

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The rest are from my parents' honeymoon trip to Florida in 1976. Here's my dad at the entrance to Marineland.

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Gratuitious close-up of Minnie Mouse taken by my grandmother at Walt Disney World circa 1984.

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La-la-la-la-la-la. If you look closely, Gargamel has infected the Smurfs with some kind of disease that causes green spots to cover their faces. Now that's entertainment!

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Hong Kong Phooey--No. 1 super guy!

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My dad and sister aboard the Parrot Troopers. Doubt there was much "snapping" going on.

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Yogi Bear and a Kings staffer wearing one of those groovy mid-'80s park uniforms.

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Quick Draw McGraw and me.

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Space Kid-ettes helicopters and the Scooby Doo (before "Ghoster Coasater" was added to the name) at Kings Dominion.

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My sister on some sort of dinosaur ride at Kings Dominion.

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Moving on to 1986 for the next few, here's my sister and I on the turnpike in Kings Dominion.

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And what early '80s theme park experience would be complete without a dolphin show--like this one at Kings Dominion?

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Good stuff here, too. King Cobra is the coaster at the left, while I believe the one to the right is the Rebel Yell. Still 1983.

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Lots of cool stuff going on here. That's the 1983 version of Kings Dominion's centerpiece Magic Mountain, years before it was converted into the Volcano coaster. If you split the mountain into thirds, the Land of Dooz (soon to become Smurf Mountain) was on the left, Haunted River (where you can see the flume in this photo) was in the center, and the Time Shaft (Rotor plus trippy light show) was on the right.

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The Kings Dominion carousel in '83.

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Me again at Kings Dominion in 1983. The train looks a lot happier than I do.

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My sister and I with Kings Dominion's singing toadstools in 1983, six years after they became famous for their role in "Rollercoaster."

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I had totally forgotten what was in Magic Mountain!

 

Before Volcanoe!

 

Wow. That is a great set of flyers and information, Shane.

 

Is most/all of your collection in folders or envelopes or...? I am just curious. My humble little collection is all over the house, but in a box here and there, lol. And mine is nowhere even close to the size of what I've been seeing, that you have posted.

 

Awesome bunch of stuff. Looking forward to more and more and...

 

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I had totally forgotten what was in Magic Mountain!

 

Before Volcanoe!

 

Wow. That is a great set of flyers and information, Shane.

 

 

Bill this is not my thread. But what a great one it is. I am glad to see other nostalgic stuff pop up on here. It is so fun to see the glory days of these parks.

 

I love the shots from the Eifel Tower showing Lake Charles before they filled it in and built the waterpark.

 

Great pictures. I am so sorry I never got the King Kobra credit, it was closed when I went there, I also missed it at Jolly Rodgers and Alton Towers. It is one Shuttle Loop that I seem to be chasing all over the world to get the credit. Hopefully soon I will make it to South America and finally get it!

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My oops.

 

Sorry, printersdevil78. And sorry also, Shane

 

Too much of these great nostalgia postings are starting to make me whistful about past decades... and forgetful about which thread I am reading, posted by....

 

Thanks for sharing this.

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CHIP!

 

Chip has a black nose, Dale has the reddish brown nose! There are other differences as well, but I won't annoy you with them!

 

Fixed! No worries. Usually I'm the one annoying people by pointing out the "correct" differences between Chip and Dale (not to mention Goofy and Pluto). Guess that goes to show what a little too much eggnog will do!

 

Also, Nrthwnd, don't worry about the confusion. I only wish I had Shane's awesome collection! I searched for my early '80s Kings Dominion souvenir booklet, which I'm sure has lots of good "company-approved" photos to share. Unfortunately, I think it's in a box somewhere in my parents' attic, which I believe was George Lucas' inspiration for the final scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

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^I was just about to!

 

 

CHIP!

 

Chip has a black nose, Dale has the reddish brown nose! There are other differences as well, but I won't annoy you with them!

 

Thanks for the TR! I love the photo with the skyway above Fantasyland.

 

It was never known as "magic mountain",but instead was reffered to & marketed as "Lost world fantasy mountain" as that was the name of that section of the park back then.

 

Great photos,especailly of KD in the early 80's as that's the way the park was when I first visited in 82.

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Ah, Kings Dominion in the late 70's and 80's - it brings back many fond and pleasant memories. King Kobra, the first coaster with inversions that I rode in 1978; Rebel Yell, back when it was a dueling coaster; Lake Charles, when they used to have those water skiing shows. And I would also remember riding the Galaxy, the small red coaster that had thrills between Rebel Yell and Scooby-Doo and the three attractions inside the Lost World (Believe it or Not - Haunted River still had the longest lines right up to its demise).

 

Oh, well: reflection time is over. Great photos of early Kings Dominion and I hope to see more of them in future posts.

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