It has been over two decades since my last visit to my favorite place in the whole wide world simply because I have not taken a real vacation in that length of time due to the rigors and economics of running my own businesses. Those of you that are self-employed should understand this phenomenon. You should also understand that creatively is the key to being able to sneak in some rest and relaxation however and whenever you can or need to unwind. In my case, I decided that enough is enough and since I was on my way to South Florida for the winter, why not head west off Interstate 95 into Central Florida to my favorite vacation spot.
Believe it or not, I and my grade-school classmates were part of the first wave of guests to visit this now mega-vacation area back in the early 1970's and shortly after their grand opening on Friday October 1, 1971. I had no idea of how important this place would be to the millions of guests that have visited since from all corners of our world. It is no wonder that the It's a Small World ride is still a favorite of mines and many other guests that visit each day.
Back in the early days you would need to purchase and redeem a separate ticket (or booklet) for each ride or attraction that was not included with the general admission price of $3.75. Those tickets were labelled A through E; with the latter being the most expensive for the more popular rides/attractions such as the Jungle Cruise or 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (closed September 5, 1994; replaced by Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). Space Mountain did not exist at that time; it opened on Wednesday January 15, 1975.
Those type tickets were done away with (in favor of all-day passes) in 1982 when EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) opened. Read about my trip there in the January 2016 edition. Today the park is known as the Magic Kingdom, back then it was simply known as Walt Disney World/Orlando.
The ideal strategy for seeing and doing the most at the Magic
Kingdom is to allow for a multiple-day visit. I suggest a two to three day
visit depending on the age and mobility of yourself and guests. Disney offers
many ticket options for one or multiple day visits via their website. If you
have only one day -- like myself -- to visit, you will need to plan a strategy
in order to get the most out of your day. I went solo so my strategy was not as
complicated as those of you that visit as part of a group that may include
seniors and small children.