1964

No one can mention the 1964 New York World's Fair without mentioning the fact that Walt Disney arguably had designed the best pavilions at the Fair. Walt and his team of imagineers were not the only attraction designers at the 1964 World's Fair, but no one seems to mention any of the others.

Some of these attractions are now at Disneyland and Walt Disney World where customers are still enjoying them today. One ironic note is that the UNICEF Pavilion, It's a Small World, was sponsored by Pepsi at the 1964 World's Fair and today the only thing served on the Disney parks are Coca-Cola products, go figure! Can you imagine in 1964 going to see Mr. Lincoln speaks where an animatronic figure of Mr. Lincoln is actually speaking to you. To put this in perspective, not only were there no home computers, iPods, iPads and not even a Sony Walkman in those days. It was the era of transistor radios and only 2 to 3 television stations available, that is if you were in a bigger city. Now you see a robot that seems to be speaking directly to you. How could anyone have imagined in those days the marvels that are the Disney parks of today! The parks have improved from those early days of Disneyland to what they are today. Just try to imagine in 1964, riding in one of the brand-new 1964 Ford cars through the marvels of Spaceship Earth, Energy, Horizons and Motion. That's what the patrons at the 1964 World's Fair found themselves doing in the Ford Pavilion.
Instead of getting into a gondola, dune buggy or Peter Pan's pirate ship, you got into a car that was towed around the exhibits of the Ford Pavilion as if on an assembly line. Imagine this, the first scene you see in the ride when you're in Energy at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center is of large dinosaurs eating as your cars align themselves for the trip through Energy. That is one of the scenes you would have seen in the Ford Pavilion designed by the Walt Disney engineers.

I can’t help but talk a little about The Carousel of Progress. To me, the design of a theatre that the stage stays still, and the audience rotates around the various stages, was purely genius! The talents of Richard and Robert Sherman songs for both the Carousel of Progress and It’s a Small World,

made them more enjoyable. The Carousel of Progress takes you on a trip with a family from the turn of the 20th century to the early Sixties. Now, however, at Walt Disney World, the Carousel of Progress ends its show with the turn of the 21st century.

Mary Blair’s artistic flair inspired the UNICEF Pavilion, It's a Small World, with dolls representing the children of the world uniting in song and welcoming the travelers at the 64 World's Fair to their specific countries of the world. The brilliance and the genius of Walt Disney and his Imagineers is more appreciated by those of us who lived through the “computerless” age of the 1960s. We don't take what we see at Walt Disney World for granted because at the time most of this technology had to be invented by Walt Disney and his staff of talented artists and engineers.

What reminded me of Walt and the 1964 World’s Fair

was that I found a small two picture hologram that would have been made for a ring or necklace that shows the emblem of the 1964 World’s Fair and, if you turn it slightly to one side or the other, then it will show the words 1964 World’s Fair. This made me nostalgic and want to share just a touch of the memories of my childhood and Walt.