Monday, October 25, 2010

Into the Vault: WDW’s Tencennial

Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary is quickly approaching, and there’s been quite a bit of online discussion about what the Company will or won’t do to honor it. However, I was going through an old shoebox full of family photos and souvenirs recently and uncovered some stuff from a much earlier anniversary, WDW’s tenth. Dubbed the “Tencennial”, it was celebrated from 1981 to 1982. Back then, my family would make more-or-less annual visits to the Vacation Kingdom, and our spring 1982 trip fell right in the middle of the Tencennial festivities.

On the way into the Magic Kingdom, guests were greeted by a special Tencennial sign and decorative banners:

Yes, the camera-shy kid on the right is me. There’s so much retro goodness in this picture: the Tencennial sign, the Mickey-themed floral arrangement, and the old-school WDW shopping bag on the ground next to us. Also, check out the blue-and-white banners above the Magic Kingdom sign.

It’s a safe bet that visitors to Disney World next year will see the 40th anniversary logo plastered on everything. As you can see in this next picture, the same was true during the 10th anniversary:

Check out the 10th anniversary logo on the cup! I have no idea where in the park we were when this picture was taken. If anyone out there thinks they know, please leave a comment.

Finally, here’s a special treat: visitors to the Magic Kingdom in early 1982 were given a four-page pamphlet advertising all the 10th anniversary-related festivites in the park. It included a plug for the Walt Disney World Village and the EPCOT preview center, and I was able to make some high-quality scans of it. Click the pictures for larger versions.

 

That’s all for now. Over the next few weeks, I’ll have more pictures of Walt Disney World past. Thanks for reading!

4 comments:

  1. Wow...

    No idea where the photo was taken. Trying to gauge the color of the concrete, but there isn't anything significant.

    Can't wait to see more vintage photos!

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  2. From the looks of the floor and chair, you might be in adventure land or pecos bills. Oh and FYI...don't expect 40th anniversary banner around too much. The focus is on the Disney marketing message of let the memories begin. Thanks for the retro photos....they are great

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  3. Great photos. I also would have guessed Adventureland for the mystery location. Somewhere near the Veranda, maybe?

    We went during the Tencennial at least once. I love that old-school WDW shopping bag. I think I still have one of those stashed away somewhere.

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  4. I still have all that Tencennial stuff. Even at age 11 I was packing this stuff away for what reason I have no idea...but thirty years later...I still have it. Geekily enough I have all this stuff from 15th as well (including pins), including the contest tickets when they ripped off the giveaway idea from Disneyland's prize machine (??) and you were presented with a ticket where once and a while it was good for a prize.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment!