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By Michael - June 14th, 2011 The original Hoop-Dee-Doo cast at rehearsal, June 1974
On this day in 1974, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue held its first public performance in the timbered hallows of Pioneer Hall at Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness campground. The show got its start when Disney managers felt the need to better utilize the large performance space [...]
By Michael - October 22nd, 2010 It’s October, which means that it’s Walt Disney World’s birthday month. This year, of course, the resort turned thirty-nine, an anniversary mostly overlooked as Disney musters its resources to prepare to overlook the fortieth anniversary next year (“I gave her Indiana Jones Adventure, she gave me a pen.”) But maybe we can fit in a [...]
By Michael - February 14th, 2010 With all the stress of the modern world, why not instead take a trip to our happy place?
Now this is what I call a Vacation Kingdom:
Wow. Just try getting that song out of your head. I guarantee that for the rest of your life when you heard someone mention River Country you’ll [...]
By Michael - October 21st, 2009 Oh, this is a good one:
For some time now, I’ve looked for a map that would illustrate the path of the now-legendary Fort Wilderness Railroad with any degree of detail. It’s a route that is poorly known today, having been abandoned long before the days of ubiquitous home videos, Flickr and YouTube. Thanks [...]
By Michael - September 2nd, 2009 Brochure for Pioneer Hall, 1974
Since we’ve been hanging out at Fort Wilderness so much lately, it’s only right that I post this flier from 1974. Pioneer Hall had just opened as a dining venue for campground guests; as the flier mentions, it had breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets as well as a snack bar. [...]
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Four Decades of Magic

Essays about the first forty years of Walt Disney World, including two pieces by yours truly. Available in print and for Kindle.
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