The Walt Disney World Village 1987

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Time for another “Step Back in Time” blog. I’ve got a number of brochures from the WDW Village area, now known as Downtown Disney.

I also have some memories of my very first visit here in the early 70’s. Wish I had photos from that time to share, but film costing what it did and me a poor student, just didn’t have the means back then.

My fondest memory was the Candle Shop – perhaps it a section of a shop, perhaps it’s own store, I don’t know. But I do know that I was fascinated with the candle making process, something brand new to me at that time. I also remember thinking it was far away from the Magic Kingdom. So far that I only visited it once in my several trips during the 70’s. Aw…. it was a much simpler time, was it not?

Ok…. fast forward to the late 1980’s. Once again, the brochure cover had wonderful artwork.

The Walt Disney World Village 1987

This overview page tells lots about the village atmosphere. Again, the artwork is great, I especially love the Cast Member name tag worn by the server in the lower right.

And while there was bus service, nothing to/from the theme parks that I can tell from this pamplet.

The Walt Disney World Village 1987

The Walt Disney World Village 1987

The back cover had a map so you could see where the location of the Village, mainly in relationship to the area hotels. Epcot and the Magic Kingdom are simply an arrow on the bottom left.

The Treehouse and Fairway Villas have gone through various changes over the years. From the Disney Institute to the Saratoga Springs Resort. Just about all the Downtown Disney hotels have changed names as well. No more Grosvenor Resort, Howard Johnson Resort, Pickett Suite Resort or the Viscount Hotel!

The Walt Disney World Village 1987

Here’s a link to my other recent Step Back in Time blogs!

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10 Replies to “The Walt Disney World Village 1987”

  1. We stayed in a Treehouse Villa in 1979. We received a box of food for our kitchen and some coupons when we got there. One of the coupons was to make candles in the candle shop you mentioned! My mom and I thought it was so cool. My dad and brother participated, but they were less interested in the process than we were.

  2. Just saw an episode of Classic Concentration on my grandma’s TV where they mentioned Walt Disney World Village Hotel and i had never heard that term in my life! Thanks for the post!

  3. Thanks so much for reminding me of this! What was magical about Walt Disney World Village back then was how it was like a relaxing oasis from the madness of the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Even the illustrations in your guide, which I remember fondly, convey that. Now, sadly, Disney Springs is almost more hectic and stressful than any of the four parks!

  4. I have such fond memories of going to “Disney Village” with my grandmother in the 80’s. She lived close by so we would load up and visit often. My brothers and I loved to play on the play structure in the middle and loved getting ice cream at the ice cream shop.

  5. I remember staying at the Howard Johnson Resort Hotel back in the early 80’s. That was the 1st time we stayed on property, even though technically we weren’t. They had a shuttle bus that took you to both the Magic Kingdom & Epcot. What hotel is in that spot now? I haven’t been over that way in decades.

  6. I still have this same lovely brochure, too. It was our first trip to WDW, and we went to the the village to eat on the Empress Lily. Being poor newly-weds at the time, we felt like it was a very, very special occasion.

  7. I, too, remember enjoying being there, too. I still call it the shopping village! LOL! My favorites were 24KT and the Village Potter. My purchases from both of those make me happy every day!

  8. Thank you, thank you, for sharing images of the brochure! I was delighted to see a sketch of Denny Zavett with his guitar – my best friend, her husband, and I spent many nights sitting at the bar in the Baton Rouge Lounge on the Empress Lilly listening to Denny and the Riverboat Rascals while being served by Ken and Larry, our favorite bartenders. I miss those pre-Pleasure Island days!

  9. I also have very fond memories of Walt Disney World Village. They had this big blue jungle gym/climbing thingy in the middle of it…when I need to have my kids let off some steam, I sat there and watched them slide and climb and generally go wild! It was a tiny bit of relaxation for me in the middle of guerrilla park touring that were my younger Disney days. I have some great old pics of my kids and my husband there, and I think I may also have a copy of this brochure! Thanks for letting me remember this, Deb!

  10. I also remember the candle shop where the artisan would slice and fold the candle into these intricate designs although my memories are from 1976 and the village was known as Lake Buena Vista Village. My sister and I would just sit mesmerized; we even got to keep the “leftovers” from when the bottom of the candle was cut straight across so it could sit flat. Thanks always for bringing back these fond memories.