It’s good to have Disney friends! A couple we know gave us the first ticket in this post. Two, in fact. They were Annual Passholders back in the day and were invited to attend the Grand Opening of EPCOT Center. They went. Duh!

So the ticket below is used, as it has the entrance stub removed, but what remains is still awesome:

October 1st, 1982, was the date to circle on the calendar. Then you’d take this Special Edition Commemorative Ticket to the gate and enjoy the future, today! No wait, that’s Muppet Labs. Oh well, it was true of EPCOT Center, too.

Or you could redeem this ticket at the Magic Kingdom. But why would you when a whole new Park was waiting just for you, and a select few? Were you there on opening day?

Another exclusive opportunity opened to brave explorers with the cost of just $45.00 US and presumably, regular Park admission:

Disney-MGM Studios was the place. The time: Summer 1994. The event? The opening of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! After construction ended, the ride was initially set to open on July 4, 1994, however Tower of Terror opened on July 22, 1994, along with the Sunset Boulevard section of Disney – MGM Studios.

I have two sequential tickets for this event that I purchased from eBay long after the actual event had come and gone. What can I say? I’m a sucker for ephemera! If you want one, a Seller has it listed for just under $40.00 US as of the date of this post.

This is a fun pop-up folder. When you open it, the top of the hotel extends upward to make an extended card.

For a more detailed evaluation of the opening events and the differences between the versions found at Parks from around the world, check out The Disney Wiki. What won’t you find there? Cool pics of the Commemorative Ticket. You saw that here, folks!