Monday, August 08, 2011

Trini Lopez at the WDW Contemporary Hotel



The Contemporary Hotel was pretty much the flagship property at the Walt Disney World resort when it was first constructed. Though the design looks far from contemporary today, it is still a popular place to stay. Back in the summer of 1978, my dad took my stepbrother and I to Orlando for one very memorable week at Disney World. I still vividly remember going to the Contemporary Hotel to see Trini Lopez (of "Lemon Tree" and "If I Had a Hammer" fame) perform at the Top of the World.

I'm not sure why it sticks in my mind, but I do remember that the man who arranged our entire week was named Joe Petrovich. I believe he worked in publicity for Disney; whatever he did, he did a top-notch job for us. Here is, sitting between my stepbrother and father.



Two shots of Trini performing that night:





Trini came over to our table:



Hard to believe, but I still have the little program from that evening:





After the show, we were able to visit with Trini in his hotel room. Dig that mod wallpaper! Nope...I don't have that hat anymore.





See more vintage and contemporary WDW Contemporary Hotel photos at my main website.

4 comments:

The Viewliner Limited said...

Very cool indeed Dave. Excellent!

Connie Moreno said...

Wow! Backstory, I want backstory! How did you guys score the hotel room visit?

Daveland said...

Connie - My dad ran a radio station in Philadelphia. I am guessing that somehow there was a connection between that and the publicity guy at WDW. Most likely there was an ad campaign or trade of some kind.

TokyoMagic! said...

Groovy! I want that wallpaper!