Magic Kingdom at Night
Will you be pulling an all-nighter at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom as part of Disney's "One More Disney Day"? I will be at home and in bed by ten. After watching "Disneyland After Dark" on dvd of course. Here we present some old nighttime photos of Magic Kingdom.
Where was this photo taken? The top of the train station tower? We get a nice view of backstage parking and even Tinker Bell's landing spot atop one of the Tomorrowland buildings (in green lights).
Many of the following photos were sent to us by Ryan Rewasiewicz as part of our Photo Hunt. They were taken in either 1975 or 1976.
Tomorrowland. STUNNING. What great nighttime views old Tomorrowland offered.
Liberty Square.
Frontierland. And the still-in-operation Diamond Horseshoe.
Adventureland. So nice at night. Look at those old signs. "Tropical Serenade" and "The Enchanted Tiki Birds". The Sunshine Pavilion, unique to Florida, was such a delight. This photo is from an old souvenir picture book.
Ahh the soothing water fountain. Excellent photo, Ryan.
Back to Main Street.
For those of you who make it through the night, this may be your view as you turn around on your way back to your car (minus the Skyway poles, of course). Also from a souvenir book.
Why will I not be there for the Leap Year all-night thing? It does sound fun but I'm going to stick with the memories of the many many all-night adventures I had over the years. Grad Nites, Y2K preparation, Hurricane ride-out crews, other work assignments, sneaking around after hours, sleeping on some old couch in the break room under Main Street.
Related posts:
THEN AND NOW: MK Tomorrowland [Part 1]
If This Doesn't Scare You.....
Magic Kingdom Map Found in a Main Street Wall
THEN AND NOW: MK Fantasyland [Part 1]
Atop Cinderella Castle
EYE CANDY: National Geographic Aug '63
EYE CANDY: Not Having Fun at Disneyland
Reader Comments (8)
You are right. Those Tomorrowland photos are STUNNING. Great pictures.
I really really love the one inside the Tiki Room. It is so comforting. I love Magic Kingdom at night. For the longest time I said Disneyland is much better at night than MK at night. But I've had some wonderful evenings in recent years sitting by the mote at or near Tomorrowland Terrace. Or standing on the bridge between the Adventureland and Liberty Square entrances.
It's hard to decide which is better at night. I think live music could be the determining factor. But there is little of that at night in either park these days. The "Disneyland After Dark" footage is incredible. I know it was a big production and not exactly an average night at the park but even on the slowest of nights at Disneyland there used to be a lot more evening entertainment. I'm not talking overcrowded Fantasmic type stuff. I'm talking about sitting at a table and watching people dance, sing, or play instruments.
Well, since you put it that way...24 hours in the Magic Kingdom with a few thousand people versus late nights in the park after hours. After hours wins!
That last photo gives me so many feelings of nostalgia. I remember showing up to the park around sunrise to start my shifts and it looked a lot like this. I loved having only a few people around- all workers. Night shifts had their charm too. But that depended on where you were. The crowds would migrate toward the front of the park in almost unmanageable numbers. I loved working at night on the west side were the nights got progressively calmer.
What a beautiful feeling these photos bring.
Brool photos!
Magic Kingdom is incredible, especially at night, these are really great shots. The only trouble with staying until late in the park is trying to get out of Disney!
I have been able to potter here and there, to carry out some of ray ban aviator he little tasks I had had to abandon such as repotting a plant.