Walt Disney World Ski Show: 300 Feet Above the Contemporary Resort
The Disney World Water Ski Show took center stage in the Summer 1973 issue of Disney News: Official Magazine for Magic Kingdom Club Families, complete with a jaw-dropping cover photo captured from a kite soaring roughly 300 feet above Bay Lake and the Contemporary Resort. It’s the kind of image that makes you stop and stare, because it proves Walt Disney World was never just about the theme park. They were staging spectacles on the water and in the sky. In this issue, Disney spotlights the skiers and the then-new flex-wing kites that turned the Seven Seas Lagoon into a full-on aerial show.
COVER STORY: The excitement of soaring some 300 feet above Walt Disney World with the daring kite fliers in the Water Ski Show was captured by a camera with a special lens mounted on a flier’s kite. The kite height view of the Contemporary Resort is unique and, the kite fliers tell us, so is the sensation of sailing through the skies on skis.
The Wonderful World of Water was a ski show that debuted on the Seven Seas Lagoon for the summer of 1973. It was based on the previous summer’s show: Walt Disney World Water Ski Spectacular. The show borrowed heavily from the Cypress Gardens show barely an hour away. Of course, Disney built upon the idea and added characters and other items to make it uniquely Disney.
The Disney News article focuses on the show and has an interesting segment on the flex wing kites that were used in the show. These were relatively new to American audiences.
About the Flex Wing Kites
Although all members of the water ski show exercise extreme caution at all times, the skiers who slip into the harnesses of the giant, flare-equipped flex-wing kites and soar 300 feet over the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon never overlook one before, during, or after their flight.
Introduced into this country from Australia several years ago, the flex wing or delta-wing kites rapidly have become the most spectacular event in every water ski show-where there are experts who can fly them. And where there are drivers with the skill to tow them.
“Naturally, there is an element of what I like to call ‘controlled danger’ in every flight,” said one kite flier. “But that is true of everything – even driving a car on a highway. Flying the kites takes experience, maturity, and good judgment.
“For example, in our show we are an integral part of the ‘circus’ number – I mean, the other flier and my self are the ‘daring young men on the flying trapeze.’ Of course, we are soaring over the ‘Vacation Kingdom’ with wings and not trapezes, but our performance requires the same degree of skill, caution, and expertise demanded of any specialty act. As performers, we try to entertain the audience without taking unnecessary chances.
“If I had any advice to give the novice flier, it would be: take every possible precaution, be prepared for every emergency, and,” he smiled, “relax and enjoy the trip – it’s the only way to fly a kite.”
Did you ever experience the Disney World Water Ski Show?
The best part about the Disney World Water Ski Show is how perfectly it captures early Walt Disney World energy: “Sure, we have a theme park… but what if we also launched people into the sky on skis?” In 1972–1973, the Seven Seas Lagoon hosted this short-lived aquatic spectacle (often billed as the Walt Disney World Water Ski Spectacular and later The Wonderful World of Water), complete with Disney flair and the headline-grabbing flex-wing kite act that could soar roughly 300 feet above the water. That Summer 1973 Disney News cover isn’t just a cool photo, it’s proof that the Vacation Kingdom experimented hard and went big early.
Now I want to hear from you: did you ever see a lagoon ski show in person, or do you remember hearing about it? Drop a comment with your memory, your best guess of where you watched from, or the wildest “they used to do WHAT at Disney World?” story you’ve got.
WDW Bits & Pieces is a series that focuses on the stranger and less documented side of Walt Disney World history.
Looking for a great book on the early years of Walt Disney World?
Check out The Story of Walt Disney World book review.
FTC Disclosure: In some cases, a copy might have been provided by the company for the purpose of this review (but not on this post). This post contains affiliate links, which means that ImagiNERDing receives a percentage of sales purchased through links on this site. Thank you for your support!
One thought on “300 Feet Above the Contemporary Resort”