We know that many presidents and former presidents come to Central Florida to campaign, but some follow in the footsteps of millions of others who visit for a vacation.
That was the case in December 2008 when former President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalyn, daughter Amy and grandson Hugo Wentzel visited Universal Orlando and had their picture taken with characters from “The Simpsons.”
But the 2008 appearance wasn’t the first time he had visited an Orlando theme park.
The former president and his wife got a sneak peak at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park on Dec. 30, 1998.
During another trip, on Oct. 1, 1978, while spending seven hours of his 54th birthday in Orlando, Carter made history.
Part of Orlando’s Sentinel Star front page from Oct. 2, 1978 showing President Carter speaking in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. (Orlando Sentinel File)
After he toured Kennedy Space Center, he became the first sitting president to visit a Disney theme park when he gave a speech in front of Cinderella Castle to 2,500 international chamber of commerce delegates from 60 nations.
Birthday-boy Carter told the Disney World audience that when he asked then-10-year-old Amy if she knew the name of “one of the world’s greatest and most admired leaders” whose birthday would be celebrated in Florida, she answered, “Yes… this is Mickey Mouse’s 50th birthday.”
Before his Magic Kingdom speech, Carter had made one other visit to Orlando while president, though he probably didn’t see much.
In May 1977, Carter and his wife joined Adm. Hyman Rickover at Port Canaveral for a nine-hour cruise and dive on the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Los Angeles.
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