After her grandparents passed away, Kelly Wise Valdes found a treasure trove of candid pictures taken by her grandfather, Chester "Chet" Wise, a master craftsman and woodworker who worked on the construction of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Wise and his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Wise, both worked at the park from 1969 until their retirement in the late 1980s. This is the backside of Cinderella Castle, an iconic symbol of the park.
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Aerial view of the construction site — "Walt Disney previously conducted flyovers of this property that was scouted out by his colleagues, eventually selecting a location along I-4 south of Orlando, Florida," Valdes said. "Sadly, Walt Disney passed away prior to construction of the park." The Magic Kingdom opened in 1971.
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Walt Disney's Main Street — "This nostalgic street was Walt Disney's tribute to his small town childhood home of Marceline, Missouri," Valdes said. "If visitors look closely at the detail of the buildings, they can see that all of the woodworking of the windows, doorways and all the details were hand-crafted by master carpenters."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Main Street — Most of the buildings on Main Street were built using "forced perspective," which was used by most multistory buildings in the park, Valdes said. "The first floors are built to regular size, but the additional floor facades are built to 5/8 and 1/2 scale, giving the illusion that the building is taller than it actually is."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Swiss Family Treehouse — "The Swiss Family Treehouse was one of the original attractions at the Magic Kingdom's grand opening," Valdes said. "When I was a child, my grandfather told me that each of the 300,000 leaves was hand-wired on the tree."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room — "The Polynesian-inspired Animatronics show was so popular when it opened at the Disneyland in California that it was also built at the Magic Kingdom," Valdes said.
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
The Crystal Palace — When the Crystal Palace Restaurant debuted on the Magic Kingdom's opening day, "it was a cafeteria-style experience," Valdes said. "This Victorian-inspired building is a prime example of the craftsmanship involved in each detail. The building design was influenced by San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, England's Kew Gardens and the New York Crystal Palace."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Pinocchio Village Haus — Pinocchio Village Haus also debuted on the Magic Kingdom's opening day in 1971. "Each room in the restaurant is dedicated to a different character from the classic 1940 film, 'Pinocchio,' " Valdes said.
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Pinocchio Village Haus — "Other than a few menu changes, there have been very few changes to the original structure, which is full of German-inspired architectural details," Valdes said. "Try to spot the wood carving depicting Pinocchio, Honest John and Gideon."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Liberty Square — Wise's picture of Liberty Square was taken from atop of Cinderella Castle looking over Liberty Square toward Adventureland. "Liberty Square opened as part of the Magic Kingdom grand opening in 1971 as one of the original six themed lands," Valdes said. "There are architectural representations of each of the original 13 colonies in Liberty Square."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Disney's Contemporary Resort — Construction of the Contemporary Resort is seen from the top of the train station at the Magic Kingdom's main entrance. "Each of the windows were handcrafted, then placed individually," Valdes said. "The train station was full-sized and served as the 'curtain' that hid the castle from visitors until they entered the park."
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
CInderella Castle — There are five mosaic murals inside the Cinderella Castle archway that tell the story of Cinderella. "The series was designed by Disney Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and set by a team of six artists led by mosaic artist Hanns-Joachim Scharff," Valdes said. The murals have 14-karat gold and silver and more than one million pieces of glass in 500 different colors.
Courtesy Kelly Wise Valdes
Disney's Magic Kingdom marks its 45th anniversary this year.