Walt Disney World Resort is the largest and most
visited recreational resort in the world, containing four
theme parks; two
water
parks; 24 themed
hotels; and numerous
shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation venues.
Owned and operated by
the Walt Disney Parks and
Resorts segment of The Walt
Disney Company, it is located southwest of Orlando
, Florida
. The
property is often abbreviated
Walt Disney World,
Disney World or
WDW.
It opened
on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom
theme park, and has since added Epcot
(on October
1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios
(on May 1, 1989), and Disney's Animal
Kingdom
(on April 22, 1998).
History and development
In 1959,
Walt Disney Productions,
under the leadership of Walt Disney,
began looking for land for a second park to supplement Disneyland
, which had opened in Anaheim, California
in 1955. Market surveys revealed that only
2% of Disneyland's visitors came from east of the
Mississippi River, where 75% of the
population of the United States lived. Additionally, Walt Disney
disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland and
wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new
project.
Walt
Disney flew over the Orlando site (one of
many) on November 22,
1963
, the day of the Kennedy assassination.
He
previously flew over, and appealed to, the Sanford,
Florida
city council to allow him to build Disney World in
Sanford, but his appeal was declined. The citizens of
Sanford did not want the crime that was sure to come with tourism.
He saw the
well-developed network of roads, including the planned Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike
, with McCoy Air Force Base
(later Orlando International Airport
) to the east, and immediately fell in love with the
site. When later asked why he chose it, he said, "the
freeway routes, they bisect here." Walt Disney focused most of his
attention on the "Florida Project" where he purchased land for
Disney World, both before and after his participation at the
1964–1965 New York
World's Fair, but he
died on December 15, 1966, and never saw his vision complete.
To avoid a burst of land speculation, Disney used various
dummy corporations and cooperative
individuals to acquire 27,400 acres (110 km², 43 mi²) of
land. The first five-acre (20,000 m², 217400 ft²) lot was
bought on October 23, 1964, by the
Ayefour Corporation (a pun on
Interstate 4). Others were also used with
second or secret meanings which add to the lore of the Florida
Project, including M.T. Lott Real Estate Investments ("empty
lot").
In May
1965, major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest
of Orlando in Osceola County
. Two large tracts totaling $1.5 million were
sold, and smaller tracts of flatlands and cattle pastures were
purchased by exotic-sounding companies such as the
Latin-American
Development and Management Corporation and the
Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation.
In addition to three huge parcels of land were many smaller
parcels, referred to as "outs."
Much of the land had been
platted into
five-acre (20,000 m², 217400 ft²) lots in 1912 by the
Munger Land Company and sold to investors. In most cases, the
owners were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly
swamp.
Yet another problem was the mineral rights to the land, owned by Tufts
University
.
Without the transfer of these rights, Tufts could come in at any
time and demand the removal of buildings to obtain minerals.
After most of the land had been bought, the truth of the property's
owner was leaked to the
Orlando
Sentinel newspaper on October 20, 1965. A press conference soon
was organized for
November 15.
At the
presentation, Walt Disney explained the plans for the site,
including EPCOT
, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,
which was to be a futuristic city (and which was also known as
Progress City). Plans for EPCOT would drastically change
after Disney's death. EPCOT became EPCOT Center, the resort's
second theme park, which opened in 1982.
Concepts from the
original idea of EPCOT would be integrated into the community of
Celebration
much later.
The
Reedy Creek
Drainage District
was incorporated on May 13, 1966 under Florida
State Statutes Chapter 298, which gives powers including eminent domain to special Drainage
Districts. To create the District, only the support of the
landowners within was required.
Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966,
before his vision was realized. His brother and business partner,
Roy O. Disney , postponed his retirement to oversee
construction of the resort's first phase. The Disney Company worked
with Robert Hart, a New York architect and founder of Hart
Howerton, an architecture firm that specializes in large-scale land
use, to develop the initial master plans for the park. Hart had
previously worked with John Carl Warnecke & Associates, which
designed the John F. Kennedy memorial at Arlington National
Cemetery.
On February 2, 1967, Roy O.
Disney held a press conference at the Park
Theatres in Winter
Park, Florida
. The role of EPCOT was emphasized in the
film that was played, the last one recorded by Walt Disney before
his death.
After the film, it was explained that for
Walt Disney World to succeed, a special district would have to be
formed: the Reedy Creek Improvement
District
with two cities inside it, the City of Bay
Lake
and the City of Reedy Creek
(now the City of Lake Buena Vista
). In addition to the standard powers of an
incorporated city, which include the issuance of tax-free bonds,
the district would have immunity from any current or future county
or state land-use laws. The only areas where the district had to
submit to the county and state would be
property taxes and
elevator inspections.
The legislation forming the district and the two cities was signed
into law on May 12, 1967.
The Florida Supreme Court
ruled in 1968 that the district was allowed to
issue tax-exempt bonds for public projects within the district
despite the sole beneficiary being Walt Disney
Productions.
The district soon began construction of drainage canals, and Disney
built the first roads and the Magic Kingdom.
Disney's Contemporary Resort,
Disney's Polynesian
Resort, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort &
Campground
were also completed in time for the park's opening
on October 1, 1971. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses near
the Magic Kingdom had opened a few weeks before.
Roy O. Disney dedicated the property and declared
that it would be known as "Walt Disney World" in his brother's
honor. In his own words: "Everyone has heard of
Ford cars. But have they all heard of
Henry Ford, who started it all? Walt Disney World
is in memory of the man who started it all, so people will know his
name as long as Walt Disney World is here." After the dedication,
Roy Disney asked Walt's widow,
Lillian, what she thought of Walt Disney
World. According to biographer Bob Thomas, she responded, "I think
Walt would have approved."
Roy O. Disney died on December 20, 1971, barely three months after
the property opened.
Disney
subsequently opened EPCOT
Center in 1982, a theme park adapted from Walt Disney's
vision for a "community of tomorrow". The park permanently
adopted the name Epcot in
1996. In 1989, the resort added Disney-MGM
Studios, a theme park inspired by show business, whose name
was changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. The resort's fourth theme park, Disney's
Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998.
Meg Crofton was named president of the
resort in August 2006, replacing
Al Weiss,
who had overseen the site since 1994.
Location
Despite
marketing claims and popular misconceptions, the Florida resort is
not located within the Orlando city limits,
but is in its own cities: Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, about southwest of Orlando within southwestern
Orange
County
, with the remainder in adjacent Osceola
County. Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista are controlled
by Disney through the Reedy Creek Improvement
District.
The site
is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B
(US 192 West), 65B (Osceola
Parkway
West), 67B (SR
536 West), and 68 (SR 535
North), and Exit 8 on State
Road 429 , the Western Expressway.
At its
peak, the resort occupied approximately or 47 square miles
(120 km²), about the size of San
Francisco
, or twice the size of Manhattan
. Portions of the property since have been
sold or de-annexed, including land now occupied by the Disney-built
community of Celebration.
Attractions
Theme Parks
Walt Disney World Resort features four theme parks. Each park is
represented by an iconic structure:
Water Parks
Other Attractions
Golf and recreation
Disney's property includes five golf courses. The four 18-hole golf
courses are the Magnolia, the Palm, Lake Buena Vista and Osprey
Ridge. There is also a nine-hole walking course called Oak Trail,
designed for young golfers. Additionally, there are two themed
miniature golf complexes, each with two courses,
Fantasia Gardens and
Winter Summerland.
Catch-and-release
fishing excursions are
offered daily on the resort's lakes. A Florida fishing license is
not required because it occurs on private property.
Cane-pole fishing is
offered from the docks at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort &
Campground and Disney's Port Orleans Resort
.
Additional recreational activities inlcude watercraft rentals,
surrey bike rentals, and firework cruises that launch from several
resort marinas.
Resorts
On-site Disney Resorts
There are 32 resorts and hotels located on the Walt Disney World
property. Of those, 23 are owned and operated by the Walt Disney
Company. The Disney resorts are classified into five categories:
Deluxe, Moderate, Value, Disney Vacation Club Villas, and
Campground.
Deluxe Resorts
Moderate Resorts
Value Resorts
Cabins and Campgrounds
Disney Vacation Club Resorts
Disney's Magical Express
Guests
with a Disney Resort reservation arriving at Orlando
International Airport can be transported to their Disney resort from the
airport using the complimentary Disney's Magical Express service,
and have their bags picked up and transported for them through a
contract with BAGS Incorporated. Guests board custom motor
coaches, watch a video about the Walt Disney World Resort, and
their luggage is later delivered directly to their rooms.
On-site non-Disney hotels
Future resorts on Disney property
- Four Seasons: On March 1, 2007 Disney announced plans to
convert its Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge golf courses into a new
luxury resort that will include a Four Seasons hotel, an 18-hole
championship golf course, and single- and multi-family vacation
homes plus fractional ownership vacation homes. Construction delays
have pushed the planned opening from 2010 to 2012.
Never-built Disney resorts
Former Disney resorts
Executive Management
- President, Walt Disney World Resort – Meg Crofton
- Senior Vice President of Operations, Walt Disney World
Resort – Erin Wallace
- Senior Vice President, Walt Disney World Resort — George
Aguel
- Vice President, Magic Kingdom — Phil Holmes
- Vice President, Epcot — Dan Cockerell
- Vice President, Disney's Hollywood Studios – Rilous Carter
- Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom — Kevin
Lansberry
- Vice President, Downtown Disney — Keith Bradford
- Vice President, Resort Operations — Kevin Myers
- Vice President, Disney Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex
and Disney Water Parks — Reggie Williams
- Walt Disney World Transportation, Sports and Golf — Jim
Vendur
- Vice President, Global Promotions, Disney Destinations
LLC. – Greg Albrecht
- Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Walt Disney World
Resort — Shannon McAleavey
- Vice President, Community Relations and Minority Business
Development, Walt Disney World Resort — Eugene Campbell
- Vice President Government Relations, Walt Disney World
Resort — Bill Warren
- Vice President Engineering, Walt Disney World Ressort —
Trevor Larsen
- Vice President, Animal Programs and Environmental
Initiatives — Dr. Jackie Ogden
Miscellaneous Facts
Attendance
The May 2008 issue of trade magazine
Park World reported
the following
attendance estimates for 2007 compiled by
Economic Research Associates in partnership with TEA (formerly the
Themed Entertainment
Association):
- Magic Kingdom, 17 million visits (No. 1 worldwide)
- Epcot, 10.9 million visits (No. 6)
- Disney's Hollywood Studios, 9.51 million visits (No. 7)
- Disney's Animal Kingdom, 9.49 million visits (No. 8)
Employment
When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about
5,500 "cast members". Today it employs more than 66,000, spending
more than $1.2 billion on payroll and $474 million on benefits each
year. The largest single-site employer in the United States , Walt
Disney World Resort has more than 3,700 job classifications.
The resort also sponsors and operates the
Walt Disney World College
Program, an internship program that has American college
students live on site and work for the resort, providing much of
the theme park and resort "front line" cast members. There is also
the
Walt
Disney World International College Program, an internship
program that has college students from all over the world.
Maintenance
In a March 30, 2004, article in
The Orlando Sentinel, then-Walt
Disney World president
Al Weiss gave some
insight into how the parks are maintained:
- More than 5,000 cast members are dedicated to maintenance and
engineering, including 750 horticulturists and 600 painters.
- Disney spends more than $100 million every year on maintenance
at the Magic Kingdom. In 2003, $6 million was spent on renovating
its Crystal Palace restaurant. 90% of guests say that the upkeep
and cleanliness of the Magic Kingdom are excellent or very
good.
- The streets in the parks are steam cleaned every night.
- There are cast members permanently assigned to painting the
antique carousel horses; they use genuine gold leaf.
- There is a tree farm on site so that when a mature tree needs
to be replaced, a thirty-year-old tree will be available to replace
it.
Transportation
A Disney bus, one of several
transportation modes within the Walt Disney World Resort
A fleet of Disney-operated buses on property, branded
Disney Transport, is available for guests
at no charge. In 2007, Disney Transport started a guest services
upgrade to the buses. SatellGPS systems controlling new public
address systems on the buses give safety information, park tips and
other general announcements, with music. They are not to be
confused with the
Disney Cruise
Line and Disney's Magical Express buses which are operated by
Mears Transportation.
Taxi boats link
some locations.
The
Walt Disney World
Monorail System also provides transportation at Walt Disney
World. Previously there were 12 operational monorails although a
crash occurring in July 2009 meant that the Pink and Purple
monorails were taken out of service. Parts of the Pink and Purple
monorails were used to create a new monorail with the colour Teal
which was put into operation in November 2009 taking the total
amount of monorails to 11. They operate on three routes that
interconnect at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) adjacent
to the Magic Kingdom's parking lot. One line provides an express
non-stop link from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom, whilst a second
line provides a link from the TTC to Epcot.
The third line links
the TTC and the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand
Floridian
resorts.
Name and logo
During the resort's early planning stages, Walt Disney referred to
the project as
Project X,
The Florida Project,
Disney World, and
The Disney World. Early visual
references used the same medieval font as Disneyland. Walt Disney
was very involved in the site selection and project planning in the
years before his death. The secretive names were chosen because of
the high confidentiality of the project during the initial
planning.
After Walt Disney's death, Roy O. Disney added the name
Walt to
Disney World as a permanent tribute to
his brother. The resort's original logo was an oversized "D" with a
Mickey Mouse-shaped globe containing latitude and longitude lines,
with the property's name presented in a modern, sans-serif
font.
Walt Disney World Resort retired its original font and symbol
during its 25th anniversary celebration in 1996–97. The old "D"
symbol still can be found in many places, however, including the
front car of each monorail, manhole covers, select merchandise
items and flags flown at several sites across the property.
Development timeline
See also
References
External links
/ Home To The: Richard
Petty Driving Experience
(including the Treehouse Villas)
(owned and operated by the United
States Department of Defense
and used for vacationing active and retired
military personnel, their families, and DOD civilians
only)
(owned and operated by Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide)
(owned and operated by Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide)
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