The Preview Center [Walt Disney World Resort - 1970]

Citation :

The Art of Preview Magic

With the recent opening of Walt Disney Imagineering Presents the Epcot Experience, an impressive preview of the exciting new attractions coming to Epcot in the near future, I was reminded of just how innovative and effective the concept of a “Preview Center” has been in the development and public awareness of Disney projects through the years. And it all started in earnest nearly fifty years ago right in the heart of Central Florida.

I wonder how many visitors to Walt Disney World Resort have any idea of the historical significance of the very distinct 1970s-style low-slung building with the manicured lawns and wrap-around windows, located along Hotel Plaza Boulevard in Lake Buena Vista? Now home to the Amateur Athletic Union, this unassuming building was the birthplace of the Disney “preview center” concept that has become ubiquitous with the opening and expansions of Disney Parks around the world.

Although preview centers have been utilized to introduce, showcase, and promote such diverse endeavors as Disneyland Paris, Disney California Adventure, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland, it was the Walt Disney World Preview Center that had the biggest burden in terms of introducing an entirely new concept in family leisure. In typical Walt Disney fashion, the “Disney World” concept was something entirely different that needed to be explained and conveyed.

Thanks in large part to the popular “Disneyland” TV series of the 1950s and the subsequent global renown of Disneyland park, people were familiar with the idea of a stand-alone Disney park destination (groundbreaking in its own right at the time). However, by all measure, Walt Disney World Resort was simply not another Disneyland park.

At a November 15, 1965, press conference announcing the “Disney World” project (featuring then Florida Governor Haydon Burns and Roy O. Disney), Walt Disney had this to say:

I’ve always said there will never be another Disneyland, Governor, and I think it’s going to work out that way, but it will be the equivalent of Disneyland . . . This concept here will have to be something that is unique so that there is a distinction between Disneyland in California and whatever Disney does…notice I didn’t say “Disneyland”…Disney does in Florida.

I’m very excited about it because I’ve been storing these things up for years. Certain attractions at Disneyland that have a basic appeal I might move here. Then again, I’d like to create new things. You hate to repeat yourself. I don’t like to make sequels to my pictures. I like to take a new thing and develop something, a new concept.

When the Walt Disney World Preview Center opened on January 10, 1970, its goal was to communicate to guests and visiting media that this project was an all-new approach to family vacationing that encompassed not only a Disney park but all kinds of entertainment, dining, sports, and recreational activities on a scale never before imagined. At 47 square miles and 27,500 acres it was, indeed, a “Vacation Kingdom” undo itself.



Featuring charming and informative hostesses, an impressive 12-minute film, intricate models, impressive artist renderings, souvenir merchandise, along with food and beverage offerings, the preview center might be considered the resort’s very first popular attraction. As a matter of fact, in its first nine months of operation, the preview center welcomed over a half million guests!



One of my prized Disney possessions is the “Preview Edition” souvenir guide that was offered for sale at the preview center. It was also available by mail and occasionally at Disneyland Park in California. The impressive booklet, now almost a half-century old, is brimming fantastic early Walt Disney World concept art, plus exciting photos and illustrations.



I can’t imagine that visitors to the preview center couldn’t help being impressed by what they saw. Considering the fact that Walt Disney World Resort is soon to celebrate its 50th anniversary and remains the number one family vacation destination in the world I would say that the modest, and very first, preview center for a Disney park did an admirable job of “previewing” for the public a destination that would soon be affectionately dubbed the place “Where Dreams Come True.”  

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/01/the-art-of-preview-magic/

Citation :

Walt Disney World Memories : The Preview Center

Long before Walt Disney World Resort welcomed guests on Oct. 1, 1971, more than a million people visited one of the first Disney attractions in Florida – The Preview Center. Now home to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the largest youth sports organizations in the world, this contemporary-style building once offered a first look at an exciting new world under construction only a few miles away. While I didn’t visit the center in the 1970s, I have felt drawn to the building ever since serving as a Disney Ambassador 20 years ago.

Located on Hotel Plaza Boulevard (originally known as Motor Inn Plaza), the center was already under construction when it was announced in early October 1969. Sneak previews for dignitaries, officials and the press started on Jan. 10, 1970, while public tours began six days later on Jan. 16. It operated daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 30, 1971, the day before Magic Kingdom Park opened.

Fourteen cast members were selected from hundreds of applicants to serve as tour guides. One guide was Debby Dane Browne, who was later selected as the first Walt Disney World Ambassador in October 1970. I recently spoke with Debby about her experience.



“During our interviews, we did not know what to expect, as none of us had visited Disneyland,” Debby reminisced. “We knew, however, Walt Disney World was going to be the most incredible and best thing to happen to Florida.”

Under guidance from Disneyland cast members who relocated to Florida, the newly selected team spent two months of intense training. They learned everything they could about The Walt Disney Company and the new resort in development.

“We were surprised at how many people came to see us,” continued Debby who is pictured above wearing her Disney Ambassador costume. “Families along the East Coast were longing for a place to have magical vacations. The center gave them a first taste of Disney. More than 5,000 people visited us opening weekend, and it was wonderful sharing pixie dust with them.”



During the tour, guests spent 12 minutes viewing a short film in a room that housed a 625-square-foot model of phase one (about 2,500 acres). Debby said parts of the model lit up during the show. The vintage postcard image above is the closest I got to the model.

Guides then escorted groups down a hallway lined with concept artwork. No photography existed since everything was still being built.

Following the presentation, guests could shop for souvenirs or enjoy beverages at a refreshment station with soft drinks and freshly squeezed orange juice. Outside, animal topiaries flanked the modern building while a path stretched down to a wooden gazebo by a small lake.



The Preview Center is rarely featured on merchandise, yet a prized possession is a tour guide Minnie Mouse pin from a Disney trading event in 2011.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/walt-disney-world-memories-the-preview-center/