Disney fans and theme park historians (like me!) always love seeing photos of their favorite theme parks in the early days of construction. I recently came across a collection of rare photos of the building process of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Last week, I compiled a bunch of them into a video, but there was just too much to put into one post! So, I rounded up more photos and created another video with additional behind-the-scenes construction shots of the Magic Kingdom. Let’s take a look at some of the pictures and their backstories!
Rare Magic Kingdom Construction Photos!
Construction began on the Magic Kingdom —Disney’s second theme park and the jewel of the Vacation Kingdom of the World— in April of 1969. Construction took almost 18 months with over 9,000 construction workers involved. The estimated cost for the building the Magic Kingdom is said to be $400 million. That’s a ton of money compared to the $17 million it cost to build Disneyland barely 15 years earlier!
In the video featuring photos taken during the building of the Magic Kingdom, you see images of Seven Seas Lagoon, Main Street, Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion.
Can you imagine a construction project of this magnitude? Well, you don’t have to, I’ve got video for you . . .
You also get to see the monorail being lifted onto the beam, a Walt Disney World train in the shop, the Jungle Cruise boats being built, and work progressing on a submarine for 20,000 Leagues.
At the end of the video, there are some images from the Walt Disney World Preview Center, which was open from January 16, 1970 until September 30, 1971. During that time (a year and nine months), over 1.3 million people visited the Preview Center. Were you one of them?
It’s Disney Vacation Time!
We’ve got some great news for you. Our partners at Get Away Today are helping you save money on Disney theme park tickets and travel packages. AND, through Christmas, they’ve got some great ways for you to gift Disney trips for a reduced deposit:
- For Discounted theme park tickets and travel packages, always start HERE: Get Away Today (When calling, always mention MiceChat so you get your special rates and deals!)
- For a limited time, MiceChat readers can book a trip for just $99 down with an interest-free Layaway Plan!
- Layaway Plans must be booked by December 25, 2019 to get the $99 reduced deposit.
- Book for travel for dates through December 31, 2020.
- Payments can be made at any time and in any amount, with final payment due just five days before travel.
- Layaway Plans can be used for any of our Southern California vacations and can be combined with any of our specials – like Extra Day Free Tickets and Extra Night Free Hotel Specials.
Just imagine giving the gift of a Disneyland vacation to someone special in your life:
And if giving a Disney vacation sounds like the perfect Christmas gift, here are some GREAT ideas on how to it (we even have things you can download to make gifting easy) – HERE
Let’s Hear From You!
It’s hard to believe that it only took 18 months to bring the park to fruition. What are your thoughts on seeing rare photos of Disney World construction? Do you enjoy seeing Disney Parks history content? Let us know in the comments.
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