Walt Disney Universe

Walt Disney Universe is a theme park/resort located near Dodge City, Kansas. It is the seventh Disney theme park and it opened on June 15th, 2020. Walt Disney Universe serves as the largest Disney theme park out of all of the parks, beating out its predecessor record holder Walt Disney World by over 60,000 square feet. The entire resort, consisting of seven individual parks, rests on approximately 50 square miles of farmland.

Overview and Pre-Development
The idea for a Disney park in the Midwest originated as far back as 1967. Roy O. Disney, then president of the Walt Disney Company (he took over after Walt's death), laid out a plan for yet another park that he deemed "Land of the Key to the West", where travelers alongside Route 66 could enjoy the magic easier rather than commute another 1,500 or so miles to Disneyland in Anaheim. Unfortunately, the Disney Co. was so caught up in the Walt Disney World project that the idea was scrapped. However, after Roy's death in 1971, Imagineers began to rethink the idea and slowly but steadily started buying farmland from Kansas farmers. This continued over the course of 30 years. By 2001, Disney had bought over 30 square miles of farmland.

In 2003, the first concept