Tomorrow, October 1, 2011 is Walt Disney World’s 4oth birthday. To celebrate I am going to share some facts about the opening of Walt Disney World. Pay attention, this could become Goofy Trivia in the future. The information came from a great book called The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom by The Imagineers. All the books in this series are a must read for any Disney fan.
Walt Disney opened Disneyland on July 17, 1955, but he was never done refining it. Because of all the infrastructure around Disneyland he could never expand or do all that he wanted, so he started looking for a place with more room. In 1965 the company started buying up land outside of Orlando, Florida. It was kept a secret and bought under the names of several different companies. In total, 27, 258 acres were purchased for just over $5 million. That is an area about twice the size of Manhattan, or about as big as San Francisco.
Walt Disney died in December 1966 and it looked like the project could not continue without his vision. However, his brother, Roy Disney, who had been the money wizard of the company, stepped in and brought Walt’s dreams to life. He changed the name of the park from Disney World to Walt Disney World so everyone would know who’s idea it was.
The Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971. It is similiar to Disneyland, but not the same. Disneyland is only 80 acres and the Magic Kingdom is 120 acres. Some of the lands are the same and some are different. Even the rides that share the same name are not the same experience. At the Magic Kingdom the Imagineers have more room to create new looks and attractions, like the adding of a second castle in Fantasyland.
So Happy Birthday, Walt Disney World. I wish you hundreds more.
Goofy Tip: The Disney Parks Blog has been doing great posts about the 40th anniversary. Today’s post has a cool timeline featuring the last 40 years of Walt Disney World. It is amazing how much as changed.