A small crowd and a hit to the stock price

Image: DisneyDisney learned from their mistakes, the ones from 1955 that remain infamous to this day. They sought to avoid the negative press that smothered the early days of Disneyland. At that park, an unpredictably high volume of (illegal ticket-holding) park guests led to food shortages and mass hysteria. The Mark Twain Riverboat operated well beyond its recommended maximum occupancy and almost tipped over. The undried pavement melted in the hot California sun, forcing women to decide between their high-heeled shoes or walking barefoot on squishy-hot asphalt. Even the plumbing was unreliable on that first day.

To avoid such issues, park planners carefully plotted the opening of Walt Disney World. They chose a fall Friday specifically because they wanted to lessen the number of potential guests. The strategy worked wonders. Despite seven years of hype about the East Coast version of Disneyland, only 10,400 visitors paid the admission price of $3.50 (the equivalent of $21.31 today) to enter Walt Disney World on its first day. That’s barely a third of the traffic that its Anaheim counterpart faced in 1955.

Disney had prepared for the worst, though. The Florida Highway Patrol reported the possibility of 30,000 guests on day one. Cast members planned strategies for how to direct the flow of traffic, including contingencies for the parking lots. The general mood was moderate disappointment that the threat of huge crowds had scared off a lot of would-be early adopters.

Corporate analysts were the ones most troubled by this turn of events. Although the idea seems comical with the benefit of hindsight, stockbrokers of the era suggested that Walt Disney World might not appeal to East Coast vacationers the way that Disneyland had to those on the other side of the country. Disney’s stock price dropped $9.38 in one day as alarmists bailed after a calm first day at the park.

A blessing in disguise at the Magic Kingdom

Image: Disney

With crowds ably controlled, the initial Magic Kingdom park day stood in stark contrast to the nightmarish one at Disneyland. It was an orderly affair that largely catered to curious locals and interested potential corporate partners.

While high-powered executives would never admit it, they were secretly happy about the quiet start. Despite having several years to plan the Most Magical Place on Earth, Disney fell short in some key areas. As their final deadline of October 1st approached, a few known issues worried park planners, and some others revealed themselves during the first month.

Image: DisneyDisney’s Contemporary Resort wasn’t quite ready for prime time. As comedian Bob Hope commemorated the opening of Walt Disney World, his eyes surveyed the resort as he stood right beside the monorail departure gate. His wide-eyed wonder spoke volumes about the beauty of the place, but anyone who watches the clip now will notice something different. It was a hollow 15-story shell in October of 1971. Disney made sacrifices to have it ready for opening day. They also made one last-minute change. U.S. Steel, the builders of this hotel and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, planned to own both properties. In the weeks leading up Walt Disney World’s opening, Roy Disney bought them out so that his company could own everything.

Image: DisneySimilarly, other issues, many of them involving cast member convenience, were as yet unsolved. Anyone who has ever walked through the Utilidors at Magic Kingdom and felt frustration over their various aggravations should know why. This aspect of readying Walt Disney World fell by the wayside. Anything that customers couldn’t see fell lower on the list of priorities. The problem was that much worse on opening day, but Disney used the six weeks that followed to make life easier for its daily park employees.