Although my family never visited the Worlds fair in 1964, I do remember reading about it and it was on the daily news, it was a big event!
The 1964 New York World’s Fair was held in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. It ran in two seasons: April to October 1964, and again April to October 1965.
The theme was “Peace Through Understanding,” and the fair focused heavily on the future—technology, science, space travel, and modern living.
About 51 million people attended over both years, making it one of the largest fairs ever.
The symbol of the fair was the Unisphere, a giant stainless steel globe that still stands in the park today.
The fair was led by Robert Moses, a powerful New York City planner.
It was not officially recognized by the international world’s fair governing body, which caused some countries to stay away or participate unofficially.
Major corporations played a big role, creating popular exhibits:
- General Motors had the “Futurama” ride, showing futuristic cities
- Ford featured an early version of “It’s a Small World”
- IBM presented a major computer exhibit
- Bell System showcased new communication technology
Many attractions and ideas from the fair later influenced or moved to Disneyland.
Overall, the fair captured the optimism of the 1960s—especially the belief that technology and innovation would shape a better future.
Now this is the fun part—the 1964–65 World’s Fair really leaned into rides and moving attractions. A lot of them weren’t “thrill rides” like today, more like sit-down experiences showing off the future.
Here are the big ones people remember:
Futurama (General Motors)
This was probably the most famous ride. You sat in moving chairs that carried you over a massive model of the future—cities, highways, even undersea living. It showed what America might look like in 50 years. People loved it.
It’s a Small World (Ford)
A gentle boat ride with singing dolls from around the world. Catchy song—stuck in your head all day. This ride was so popular it was moved to Disneyland afterward.
Magic Skyway (Ford)
You rode in a real Ford car that moved along a track. It took you through scenes from prehistoric times (dinosaurs and all) into the future. Pretty wild for the time.
Carousel of Progress (General Electric)
Not a ride in the usual sense—you sat while the theater rotated around different scenes showing how American homes changed over time with electricity. Very clever.
IBM Pavilion Ride
This one had you lifted into a giant theater by moving platforms. It introduced people to computers—most folks had never even seen one before.
Sky Ride
This was more like what we’d call a gondola today. You rode in buckets high above the fairgrounds and got a bird’s-eye view of everything.
Monorail (Disney-designed)
A sleek train gliding above the ground—very futuristic. For a lot of visitors, it was their first look at what mass transit of the future might be.
New York State Pavilion Observation Towers
Not exactly a ride, but you could go up high and look out over the whole fair. Great view.
Most of these weren’t about thrills—they were about imagination. You sat back and thought, “This is what the future’s going to be like.
Photo by :Anthony Conti; scanned and published by PLCjr from Richmond, VA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
