The Mad Tea Party ride at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 without a roof. The covering was eventually added in 1973 (along with the central teapot) due to Florida’s extreme weather conditions.
Pictures: Magic Kingdom’s original rides and attractions
On Oct. 1, 1971, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom opened to a crowd of 10,000 guests and 23 rides and attractions. Over the next few months, several more attractions were added. Check out this gallery of the original rides and attractions.
The Mad Tea Party ride at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 without a roof. The covering was eventually added in 1973 (along with the central teapot) due to Florida’s extreme weather conditions.
Grand Prix Raceway, a Tomorrowland attraction in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World, opened Oct.1, 1971. It was later renamed Tomorrowland Indy Speedway and eventually Tomorrowland Speedway, the name the attraction goes by today.
When the Magic Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World on Oct. 1, 1971, the Swiss Family Treehouse was one of the original attractions of Adventureland. The tree, while intended to look real, is actually made of steel, concrete and stucco, stretching 60 feet tall and 90 feet wide.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was one of the Magic Kingdom’s opening day attractions on Oct.1, 1971. It was modeled after the Disneyland attraction and reused the soundtrack and various sound effects. On Aug. 27, 1998, Walt Disney World announced that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride would close on Labor Day to make room for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which opened on June 4, 1999. Minor tributes to the Toad ride can be found in Disney World, including paintings of Mr. Toad and Moley within The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction and a statue of Toad in a pet cemetery outside of The Haunted Mansion. There was much controversy over the attraction’s closure, which sparked in-park protests.
George McGill, a student at Florida Technological University, helps riders onto a Jungle Cruise boat June 29, 1979. The Jungle Cruise is a riverboat attraction located in Adventureland at Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The ride, an original attraction, simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Disney recently announced the attraction will be updated.
The Mike Fink Keel Boats, an original Disney World attraction, were based on two episodes of the Davy Crockett miniseries. The Magic Kingdom’s keel boats ran continuously until they closed in April 2001.
Water-based boat ride “it’s a small world” opened in 1971 in Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland within Magic Kingdom. Boats carry voyagers as they visit the regions of the world and see animatronic dolls in traditional local costumes singing “it’s a small world” together, each in their native language.
Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade is an original attraction in Frontierland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom that simulates a shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, over Boot Hill in 1850. The gallery includes a jail, hotel, bank and cemetery with targets that are animated when shot.
Tailors prepare the clothing for the Hall of Presidents attraction at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 1971. The Hall of Presidents is located in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom and is a multimedia presentation and stage show featuring Audio-Animatronic figures of all individuals who have served as United States presidents.
The Haunted Mansion, under construction in this photo, was an opening-day attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, where it is part of Liberty Square. It features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called “Doom Buggies.” Riddle games, interactive components and a walk-through show entertain riders waiting in the queue.
Mickey Mouse Revue was an indoor audio-animatronic stage show in the Fantasyland area of the Magic Kingdom. It was one of the three original opening day attractions in Fantasyland in 1971, and after closing in 1980, it was moved to Tokyo Disneyland for that park’s opening in 1983.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant is an aerial carousel-style ride located in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom’s original 1971 version of this attraction soft-opened without Timothy and his disco ball, and the elephants wore no hats. The test vehicles were eventually updated with hats on the elephants, like the Disneyland version, while Timothy and his ball were eventually added around 1972. The original ride featured only 10 Dumbo vehicles, while the current attraction has two carousels with 16 Dumbo vehicles each.
Diamond Horseshoe Revue was an opening day attraction in Magic Kingdom on Oct. 1, 1971. The original show was an Old West musical saloon set in the 1870s with singing, dancing and comedy. It ran until it was changed on Oct. 1, 1986, after which time it became the Diamond Horseshoe Jamboree. That ended Feb. 1, 2003, and Goofy’s Country Dancin’ Jamboree began July 1, 2003.
Tropical Serenade was a pseudo-Polynesian musical animatronic show drawing from American tiki culture. It operated from opening day in 1971 until 1998, when it was replaced with an updated version of the attraction called The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management), featuring Iago from “Aladdin” and Zazu from “The Lion King.” That version operated until 2011, when it was damaged by a fire, which led Disney to reintroduce an edited version of the original attraction to replace it. The attraction is now called Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
Country Bear Jamboree, featuring big ol’ singing animatronics, has operated at Magic Kingdom since its opening day in 1971. The attraction is a stage show with audio-animatronic figures, most of which are redneck bears who perform country music.
Magic Kingdom’s original version of Snow White’s Adventures ran from 1971 to 1994 and put the guests in the role of the story’s main character (Snow White). Snow White was not seen at all, and the dwarfs showed up only briefly in one scene. There were also seven witch figures in this version, whereas there were only six in the 1994 version, which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures.
The Walt Disney World Railroad opened to the public for the first time on Oct. 1, 1971, the same day that the Magic Kingdom park opened. Its route is 1.5 miles in length and encircles most of the park, with train stations in three different park areas. The attraction’s locomotives were acquired from a narrow-gauge railroad system in Mexico. After being shipped to the United States, they were altered to resemble locomotives built in the 1880s and restored to operating condition.
An original Magic Kingdom ride, the Skyway traveled between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. It was removed in 1999. A new transportation system, called Skyliner, opened in 2019 and links several Disney resort hotels as well as the EPCOT and Hollywood Studios theme parks.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage was an attraction in the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland at Walt Disney World from 1971-1994. The ride involved a 20-minute submarine ride through a lagoon filled with sea life and mermaids.
