Walt Disney had opened Disneyland in California on July 17, 1955.
After Disneyland's success, Walt had visions of yet another
amusement park, but one on a much larger scale. Walt had not
purchased enough land to do all that he'd wanted to do with
Disneyland. The real world was too close to his land of
make-believe. He would not make that mistake again.
In 1958, Walt had decided that he wanted his new Disneyland to be to
the East. He and his brother, Roy O. Disney decided on Orlando,
Florida. After all, Florida had good year-round weather, and it
would be the perfect place. So, between 1964-1965, Walt purchased
27,000 acres of swampland in Florida. When it was discovered who was
buying the land, the remaining land prices jumped from $183 an acre
to $1,000 an acre.
Walt wanted people to feel they were in a special place when they
visited his amusement parks. He stated, "I don't want the public to
see the world they live in while they're in the Park. I want them to
feel they're in another world." He wanted his parks to be a place
where parents and children could have fun together. Like Disneyland,
his new park would include the Magic Kingdom. Walt decided his new
park would be called Disneyworld.
Walt's plans also included a city of tomorrow, what he called an
experimental prototype community of tomorrow. In short, Walt called
it EPCOT. He wanted EPCOT to include all possible scientific
advances.
Unfortunately, Walt's health began to fail in 1966, but he
relentlessly worked on his dream. However, on December 15, 1966, the
world suffered a great loss when Mr. Walter Elias Disney passed
away.
Walt would never see his beloved Disneyworld or EPCOT, but his
brother, Roy, would make sure that Walt's dream was completed. Roy
renamed Disneyworld to Walt Disney World. He said it would include
Walt's name so that everyone would always remember that it was
Walt's dream.
And so it was that Walt Disney World opened to the public on October
1, 1971.
Today, Walt Disney World is one of the most beloved theme parks in
Florida. It is divided into four main theme parks: the Magic
Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's MGM Studios, & Disney's Animal Kingdom. It
also has two water parks - Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.
You can also find tons of entertainment, shopping, and dining at
either Downtown Disney or Disney's Boardwalk. And...there are at
least twenty-one Disney resorts to choose from when you vacation at
Walt Disney World.
Through more land purchases, Walt Disney World now covers 30,500
acres or about 47 square miles. It is definitely a city within
itself.
What would Walt think about his "world" now? Did he ever dream it
would be so huge?
Walt Disney had a dream, and his dream really did come true!
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