In February 2009, I published a photo essay about reminders of defunct attractions at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park—places that used to be attractions, were still visible to guests, but were no longer attractions of any kind. I included descriptions and small drawings from Walt Disney World Information Guide booklets of the mid-1970s.

In October 2013, I went back to the same spots to see what had changed. I went back again this month (December 2015).

Many of the reminders are now gone!

Curator of Yesterland, December 18, 2015

The Plaza Swan Boats operated seasonally between May 1973 and August 1983. The leisurely ride circled around the Hub and entered Adventureland, where it passed behind the Swiss Family Treehouse. Because each boat required a cast member, it was costly to operate.

After the ride closed, the dock and canals continued to grace the Hub at Magic Kingdom Park for another three decades. It seemed that if Disney ever wanted to add more ride capacity to the park, new Plaza Swan Boats could offer a pleasant scenic ride for all ages—much like the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

That possibility disappeared in 2015—along with the dock and part of the canal. A major rebuild of the Hub added more viewing area for fireworks. Some of that capacity increase came from covering the canal.

In the tradition of Disneyland’s old Golden Horseshoe Revue, the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 with the Diamond Horseshoe Revue, a Western saloon show with cancan dancers, singers, a live band, and even comedian Wally Boag—who relocated from Disneyland for the Magic Kingdom’s first three years—playing Pecos Bill and a traveling salesman. Old-timers can’t help but remember how much more fun it used to be.

In the 2009 photo, the saloon was just a sandwich shop, without entertainment.

These days, the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon is a seasonal quick service restaurant. In the 2013 and 2015 photos, the saloon’s doors are closed and locked. Signs on the exterior direct guests elsewhere.

It’s a shame that the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon no longer offers Western music hall entertainment. If only the entertainment budget would benefit from Magic Kingdom Park’s ever-increasing admission cost!

As “Limited Time Magic” for Halloween week 2013, the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon hosted The Happy Haunted Horseshoe, with the Cadaver Dans, Dearly Departed Stan the piano player, and morbid magician Abner Cadaver. It seems someone understands that the Diamond Horseshoe is a prominent entertainment venue, not just an overflow lunch room.

The Rivers of America waterway at the Magic Kingdom suffers from a lack of river traffic. The Liberty Belle makes its loop every half hour, and Tom Sawyer Island Rafts shuttle across the river. But, for the most part, it’s more like a placid lake than a lively river.

The Mike Fink Keelboats were not only a different way to travel on the water, they also made the view from the shores of Frontierland and Liberty Square more enjoyable.

The 2015 photo is from a somewhat different camera angle, but the former dock still looks essentially the same as in 2013.

The Walt Disney Story attraction (1973-1992) was on Town Square in a building designed to look like a hotel—complete with guestroom balconies. The location later became Exposition Hall. It’s now the Town Square Theatre.

As the 2009 photo shows, a sign on Exposition Hall promised “Milestones in Animation.” That made it appear to be an attraction. In fact, Exposition Hall was listed as an attraction in Magic Kingdom Guidemap pamphlets, but the description was, “Houses Disney’s PhotoPass Center. Presented by Kodak®.” There was also retail merchandise, some photo backdrops, and a small theater in the back showing cartoons. Exposition Hall was not an attraction in any real sense.

These days, Magic Kingdom guests meet magician Mickey Mouse in his dressing room at the Town Square Theatre, as shown in the 2013 photo. Mickey talks, moves his mouth, and blinks.

In the 2013 photo, there was only a meet-and-greet for Mickey. In the 2015 photo, Tinker Bell has moved in. Also, the sponsor changed from Kodak to Nikon.

The marquee on the Main Street Cinema proclaims, “Now Showing: The Art of Disney.” But it’s not announcing the name of a film; it’s announcing that this is another Art of Disney store, just like at Epcot and Downtown Disney, or like the former Animation Gallery at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The Main Street Cinema was originally an attraction—and at Disneyland Park in California, it still is. At Magic Kingdom Park, the interior became retail space in 1998. A single video screen in the back of the store showed classic Disney animation, but it doesn’t come across as a movie theater. In the 2015 photo, the movie screen is not being used.

Main Street, U.S.A., has always been a balancing act between giving guests a place to spend money and an early twentieth century experience. Over the years, the balance has tipped more and more toward the shopping mall end of the spectrum.

The Penny Arcade at Disneyland Park has been reduced to a small fraction of its old size, but the Penny Arcade at Magic Kingdom Park was eliminated entirely in 1995.

Signs and distinct façades along the west side of Main Street promise small shops, but the Main Street Emporium has grown to fill almost all the space behind those façades. Main Street is largely a Disney character merchandise store.

However, there are still some opportunities to experience “attractions” by watching skilled cast members producing handmade goods. The candymakers at Main Street Confectionery make tasty treats as guests watch. The glassblowers at Crystal Arts have been making glass souvenirs since the park opened, while an amazing glass artist in the back of the same store was a new addition in early 2008.

Main Street at the Magic Kingdom has one business that Main Street at Disneyland never had—a traditional barber shop, providing traditional men’s haircuts and many first haircuts for toddlers.

The Magic Kindom’s Skyway has been gone since November 1999. The cables, towers, and mechanical systems were removed quickly, but the stations at both ends stuck around for many years afterwards. They were reminders of how guests used to float gently across the sky above the Magic Kingdom.

For almost ten years after the Skyway closed, the Tomorrowland station provided a highly useful function at ground level—restrooms—while the upper level, a sad remnant of the past, served only as the top of a waterfall fountain.

Work began in summer 2009 to transform the Tomorrowland station into a single-story restroom building. It reopened in November 2009.

It was surprising that Walt Disney World made no effort to disguise the original function of the former Skyway stations for so long. They both had large openings for the “buckets,” which could have been disguised.

The Fantasyland station stayed around until 2011. Then it was demolished to make way for a charming new entrance into Fantasyland from Liberty Square—complete with Rapunzel’s tower, a delightful courtyard, and large restrooms—completed in 2013.

The area is still essentially as it was in 2013—but with more trash receptacles and parked strollers.

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© 2009-2015 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks

Updated December 18, 2015.

Scan of Walt Disney World Information Guide cover © Disney.
Scan of attraction art © Disney.
All photos by Werner Weiss.