Thursday, April 17, 2014

Walt Disney World Guidemaps, 1994

By:Nick

Guidemaps are like a snapshot of a moment in time. A time machine if you will. These Walt Disney World Guidemaps show a wide range of attractions that I dearly miss. I truly believe the Epcot of today doesn't hold a candle to 1994's version.

And don't even get me started on Disney's Hollywood Studios', (then Disney-MGM Studios) current incarnations of the Backstage Studio Tour and the Magic of Disney Animation.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Walt Disney World, but believe many of the best attractions were around in the early to mid 90's.

The Magic Kingdom is better than the 1994 version due to the New Fantasyland expansion.






Epcot '94.
My favorite ride, perhaps of all time, was Horizons. Test Track was a great ride, but I dislike the new version, and it makes me miss World of Motion. Then there was Journey Into Imagination, with Dreamfinder and Figment. I like today's version, but only because of Figment, and nostalgia. It is a shadow of it's former self.







Speaking of shadows, if you were fortunate to have gone to Walt Disney World during the new Golden Age of Disney Animation, you may have actually been able to see actual animated movies being produced at The  Magic of Disney Animation at Disney-MGM Studios.





Of course, one major thing Walt Disney World didn't have in 1994, was Disney's Animal Kingdom, which is an amazing park. Sometimes nostalgia gets the best of us. What was your favorite period of Walt Disney World's history?

8 comments:

  1. Great look back, we saved many of our old maps too! I agree with all the things you miss Backstage Studio Tour is really disappointing in it's current version and Horizons and Dreamfinder will always be missed. Thanks for the memories!

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  2. Hi, Nick - I know I have old maps, but I haven't looked back at them. I agree with you about all of it, but Epcot's current Futureworld probably breaks my heart the most. And the backstage tour used to be GREAT! It was a must-do for me...now I'm so sad about it. The new Fantasyland is doing a lot to help my hurt feelings over the decline of other attractions.

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    1. We don't really even have a reason to go to Future World East anymore, except to stop at the Food and Wine Festival Center. Very sad.

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  3. I have a few of those old maps as well. I loved how big they were, the park maps now seem to be smaller all the time.
    I can't say which period was my favourite at WDW. I love my first trip to the Magic Kingdom in 1978, me and some teen friends going wild for a day. But the food was so awful.
    Going in 1985 when the Skyway was still open. (was that the name of the gondola's over MK?)
    The trip where I got to go to Epcot or MGM or that first trip when I went to River Country . . . too many things to choose from!

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  4. I love seeing these old park maps! Makes me miss those attractions that are no longer there. And I loved seeing the animators work on new movies at MGM. That was by far my favorite part of the tour. Thanks for linking up!

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