View source for Walt Disney World Resort

{{Infobox company
| name = Walt Disney World Resort
| logo = Walt Disney World Logo 2018.svg
| image = Walt Disney World.png
| image_caption = [[Cinderella Castle]] in [[Magic Kingdom]]
| industry = Amusement parks and resorts
| founders = {{unbulleted list|[[Walt Disney]]|[[Roy O. Disney|Roy Disney]]}}
| key_people = Jeff Vahle (President)<ref name="key leadership">{{cite press release|title=New Leadership Team Announced At Disney Parks, Experiences And Products |url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/new-leadership-team-announced-at-disney-parks-experiences-and-products/ |publisher=[[The Walt Disney Company]] |date=May 18, 2020 |accessdate=May 18, 2020}}</ref>
| num_employees = 77,000+<ref name="factsheet220">{{cite web |title=Fact Sheet |url=https://dcpi.disney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/fact_sheet_walt_disney_world_resort_2020_Q1.pdf |publisher=[[Disney Parks, Experiences and Products]] |accessdate=February 20, 2020 |date=February 2020}}</ref>
| parent = [[Disney Parks, Experiences and Products]]<br>([[The Walt Disney Company]])
| foundation = 
| location = [[Lake Buena Vista]] and Bay Lake, [[Florida]], U.S.
| homepage = {{Official website}}
|founded = [[October 1]], [[1971]]|headquarters = [[Lake Buena Vista]] and Bay Lake, [[Florida]], U.S.|founder = [[Walt Disney]]<br>[[Roy O. Disney]]|keypeople = Jeff Vahle (President)}}The '''Walt Disney World Resort''', commonly referred to as simply '''Walt Disney World''' or '''Disney World''', is a Disney theme park resort located in [[Lake Buena Vista]], [[Florida]], comprised of four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-three hotels, and many more recreational venues. The resort opened on [[October 1]], [[1971]], with the [[Magic Kingdom]] theme park, and two hotels: [[Disney's Contemporary Resort]] and [[Disney's Polynesian Village Resort|Disney's Polynesian Resort]].

As in other Disney Parks, visitors to Walt Disney World are referred to as Guests and employees called [[Cast Member]]s.

Three other theme parks were added over the years: [[Epcot|EPCOT Center]] opened in [[1982]], [[Disney's Hollywood Studios|Disney-MGM Studios]] in [[1989]], and [[Disney's Animal Kingdom]] in [[1998]], and two water parks: [[Disney's Typhoon Lagoon|Typhoon Lagoon]] in [[1989]], and [[Disney's Blizzard Beach|Blizzard Beach]] in [[1995]].

In March 2020, Disney announced the temporary closure of both Disney World and [[Disneyland]] due to the coronavirus pandemic.<ref name="2020 Clousre">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/disney-theme-park-closed-coronavirus-1203531795/|title=Disney, Universal Studios Close All Theme Parks Amid Coronavirus Pandemic|author=Rebecca Rubin and Elaine Low|date=March 12, 2020|accessdate=March 12, 2020|publisher=Variety}}</ref> Disney parks around the world, such as [[Disneyland Paris]], [[Hong Kong Disneyland]], [[Tokyo Disney Resort]], and [[Shanghai Disneyland]], have also closed due to the threat of the coronavirus to both guests and Cast Members.

On [[May 27]], [[2020]], Disney announced that Walt Disney World would reopen on [[July 11]] with the [[Magic Kingdom]] and [[Disney's Animal Kingdom]] reopening the same day. However, [[Epcot]] and [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] will reopen 4 days later on [[July 15]].

==Concept==
[[Walt Disney]]'s concept for Disney World was of a larger, more expansive version of [[Disneyland]] so that it could constantly expand and not be as constrained by the need for land that Disneyland suffered from. Walt Disney World also was to be a sort of "Disneyland of the future" where breakthroughs in science and technology could coexist with the original Disney vision of themed entertainment. The resort's original park, the Magic Kingdom, is the most-visited theme park in the world.

Walt Disney also envisioned this project as incorporating a working community where his ideas about urban planning could be tested. He called this concept the "Experimental Prototype Community (or City) of Tomorrow," or EPCOT. The theme park that eventually opened under the [[Epcot]] name bore little resemblance to this vision, though the neighboring planned community of Celebration, which was founded by the Walt Disney Company, incorporates a few of the ideas.

Although he participated in much of the planning for the project, Walt Disney himself died on [[December 15]], [[1966]] and never got to see the realization of his vision. The resort was originally to be named "Disney World," but before its opening Walt's brother, Roy renamed it to "Walt Disney World" in his honor, and to remind everyone that it was Walt's dream.

The land within Walt Disney World is part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District which allows the Disney Corporation to exercise quasi-governmental powers over the area.

==Properties==
[[File:Disney-Contemporary-Resort-738915.jpg|thumb|250px|Disney's Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom.]]
Walt Disney World has four major theme parks, each with a main landmark that serves as its symbol (except for Disney's Hollywood Studios):
*The [[Magic Kingdom]] - [[Cinderella Castle]]
*[[Epcot]] - [[Spaceship Earth]], an 18-story geodesic sphere
*[[Disney's Hollywood Studios]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom]] - The [[Tree of Life]]

There are also two water parks, [[Disney's Typhoon Lagoon|Typhoon Lagoon]] and [[Disney's Blizzard Beach|Blizzard Beach]]. (A third, [[Disney's River Country|River Country]], closed permanently in [[2001]].)

The [[Disney Springs]] (formerly known as Downtown Disney) area contains many shopping, dining, and entertainment venues, including [[DisneyQuest]] (a "virtual theme park" inside a building), and a permanent Cirque du Soleil show (''La Nouba'').

Another notable aspect is the large number of hotel resort complexes on the Walt Disney World property. The non-themed hotels are owned by private, non-Disney hospitality companies such as Marriott and Hilton. The themed resorts include:

*[[Disney's All-Star Movies Resort]]
*[[Disney's All-Star Music Resort]]
*[[Disney's All-Star Sports Resort]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas]]
*[[Disney's Art of Animation Resort]]
*[[Disney's Beach Club Resort]]
*[[Disney's Beach Club Villas]]
*[[Disney's BoardWalk Inn]]
*[[Disney's BoardWalk Villas]]
*[[Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort]]
*[[Disney's Contemporary Resort]]
*[[Disney's Coronado Springs Resort]]
*[[Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground]]
*[[Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa]]
*[[Disney's Old Key West Resort]]
*[[Disney's Polynesian Village Resort]]
*[[Disney's Pop Century Resort]]
*[[Disney's Port Orleans Resort]]: Riverside (formerly named Dixie Landings)
*[[Disney's Port Orleans Resort]]: French Quarter
*[[Disney's Riviera Resort]]
*[[Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa]] (formerly the Disney Institute)
*[[Disney's Wilderness Lodge]]
*[[Disney's Yacht Club Resort]]
*[[Shades of Green]] (formerly named Disney's Golf Resort and The Disney Inn, named because of its location between two golf courses; it's currently leased by the United States Department of Defense and used for vacationing active and retired military personnel and their families)
*[[The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge]]
*[[Walt Disney World Dolphin]] (operated by Starwood)
*[[Walt Disney World Swan]] (operated by Starwood)

The Walt Disney World resort also includes five world-class golf courses. The five 18-hole golf courses are the Magnolia, the Palm, Lake Buena Vista, Eagle Pines, and Osprey Ridge (the last two are part of the Bonnet Creek Golf Club). There are two miniature golf courses: [[Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf|Fantasia Gardens]] and [[Winter Summerland Miniature Golf|Winter Summerland]].

Walt Disney World paved the way for many other theme parks and attractions in the area, including SeaWorld and [[Universal Studios]], and helped make Orlando a popular tourist destination for people from all over the world.

When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort employed about 5,500 cast members. Today it employs more than 65,000 cast members, spending more than $1.1 billion on payroll and $478 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort has more than three thousand job classifications.

In a March 30, 2004 article in the ''Orlando Sentinel'', 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 650 horticulturists and 600 painters.
*Disney spends more than US$100 million every year on maintenance at the Magic Kingdom. In 2003, US$6 million was spent on renovating its Crystal Palace restaurant. 90 percent 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.

There is a fleet of Disney-operated buses on property, branded Disney Transport, free for use by resort and park guests, though drivers rarely check. Two [[Walt Disney World Monorail System|monorail]] lines also operate at Walt Disney World Resort: one links the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary and Polynesian and Grand Floridian resorts, and the [[Transportation and Ticket Center]] (with an express track in the other direction, only stopping at the TTC and the Magic Kingdom); the other links Epcot and the Transportation and Ticket Center. A ferry line also operates on the Seven Seas Lagoon going from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom as an alternate route versus the monorail lines.

==Popular attractions==
[[File:Splash Mountain 800.jpg|thumb|250px|Splash Mountain.]]
*[[Magic Kingdom]]
**[[It's a Small World|"It's a Small World"]]
**[[The Haunted Mansion]]
**[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]
**[[Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)|Space Mountain]]
**[[Big Thunder Mountain Railroad]]
**[[Splash Mountain]]
**[[Seven Dwarfs Mine Train]]
*[[Epcot]]
**[[Spaceship Earth (Disney)|Spaceship Earth]]
**[[Test Track]]
**[[Mission: SPACE]]
**[[Soarin'|Soarin' Around the World]]
*[[Disney's Hollywood Studios]]
**[[The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror]]
**[[Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith|Rock 'n' Roller Coaster]]
**[[Fantasmic!]]
**[[Toy Story Mania|Toy Story Midway Mania]]
**[[Star Tours: The Adventures Continue]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom]]
**[[Kilimanjaro Safaris]]
**[[Dinosaur (attraction)|Dinosaur]] (formerly named Countdown to Extinction)
**[[Expedition Everest]]
**[[Avatar: Flight of Passage]]
**[[Na'vi River Journey]]

==Development==
[[File:Cindyrella's Castle @ Magic Kingdom.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Cinderella Castle.]]
In 1959, [[Walt Disney Imagineering|WED Enterprises]], under the leadership of [[Walt Disney]], began looking for land for a second resort to supplement [[Disneyland]], which had opened 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 first flew over the Orlando, Florida site, one of many, on November 22, [[1963]]. He saw the good road network, including [[Interstate 4]] and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base, soon to become 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."

However, the decision had not been made yet; no land had been purchased. If the news of Disney's new resort was leaked, land prices would soar. Thus everything was to be done in complete secrecy. To avoid a burst of land speculation, Disney used various dummy corporations and cooperative individuals to acquire 27,400 acres (111 square kilometers) of land. The first five-acre (20,000 square meters) lot was bought on October 23, [[1964]], by the Ayefour Corporation (a pun on Interstate 4). In May 1965, major land transactions were being 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 square meters) 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, being mostly swampland. Yet another problem was the mineral rights to the land, owned by Tufts College. 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 story was leaked to the Orlando Sentinel on October 20, [[1965]]. A press conference was soon organized for November 15. At the conference, [[Walt Disney]] explained the plans for the site, including [[EPCOT]], the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, which was to be a futuristic city.

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]]. From then on, his brother [[Roy O. Disney|Roy Disney]] headed the project. For the past few years that the project had been in pre-production, it had been known simply as Disney World, but Roy Disney added "Walt" to the name to make it Walt Disney World. In his own words: "Everyone has heard of the 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."

On February 2, [[1967]], Roy Disney held a press conference 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 [[Lake Buena Vista|City of Lake Buena Vista]]). In addition to the standard powers of an incorporated city, which include tax-free bonds, the Improvement District would have total 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 laws 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 The Walt Disney Company.

Construction of drainage canals was soon begun by the Improvement District, and Disney built the first roads and the Magic Kingdom. [[Disney's Contemporary Resort]], [[Disney's Polynesian Village Resort|Disney's Polynesian Resort]], and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground were also completed in time for the park's opening on October 1, 1971.

On opening day, Roy Disney gave an opening dedication, after which he asked Walt's widow Lillian what she thought of Walt Disney World. She replied, "I think Walt would have approved."

===Development timeline===
{| border="1"
!Year
!Attractions produced within era
|-
|[[1971]]
|'''[[Magic Kingdom]]'''<br />[[Disney's Contemporary Resort]]<br />[[Disney's Polynesian Village Resort|Disney's Polynesian Resort]]<br />[[Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground]]
|-
|[[1972]]
|Disney's Village Resort (Treehouse and Vacation Villas)
|-
|[[1973]]
|Disney's Golf Resort (later Disney Inn, now Shades of Green)
|-
|[[1974]]
|[[Discovery Island (Bay Lake)|Discovery Island]]
|-
|[[1975]]
|Disney's Village Resort (Fairway Villas)
|-
|[[1975]]
|Walt Disney Village Marketplace (now Downtown Disney Marketplace)
|-
|[[1976]]
|Disney's River Country Water Park
|-
|[[1980]]
|Walt Disney World Conference Center<br />Disney's Village Resort (Club Lake Villas)
|-
|[[1982]]
|'''[[Epcot]]'''
|-
|[[1988]]
|[[Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa|Disney's Grand Floridian Resort]]<br />[[Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort]]
|-
|[[1989]]
|'''[[Disney-MGM Studios]]'''
|-
|[[1989]]
|[[Disney's Typhoon Lagoon|Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park]]<br />[[Pleasure Island]]
|-
|[[1990]]
|Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts<br />[[Walt Disney World Swan]]<br />[[Walt Disney World Dolphin]]
|-
|[[1991]]
|Disney's Port Orleans Resort<br />[[Disney's Old Key West Resort]]
|-
|[[1992]]
|Disney's Dixie Landings Resort (now Port Orleans Riverside)<br />Disney Vacation Club at Walt Disney World<br />Bonnet Creek Golf Club
|-
|[[1994]]
|[[Disney's All-Star Sports Resort]]<br />[[Disney's Wilderness Lodge]]
|-
|[[1995]]
|[[Disney's All-Star Music Resort]]
|-
|[[1995]]
|[[Disney's Blizzard Beach|Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park]]
|-
|[[1995]]
|Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding Pavilion
|-
|[[1996]]
|Disney Institute<br />Disney's Boardwalk Resort
|-
|[[1997]]
|[[Disney's Coronado Springs Resort]]
|-
|[[1997]]
|[[ESPN Wide World of Sports|Disney's Wide World of Sports]]
|-
|[[1997]]
|Downtown Disney West Side
|-
|[[1998]]
|'''[[Disney's Animal Kingdom]]'''
|-
|[[1998]]
|[[DisneyQuest]]
|-
|[[1999]]
|[[Disney's All-Star Movies Resort]]
|-
|[[2001]]
|[[Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge]]
|-
|[[2003]]
|[[Disney's Pop Century Resort]]
|-
|[[2012]]
|[[Disney's Art of Animation Resort]]
|-
|[[2019]]
|[[Disney's Riviera Resort]]
|}

==Tickets==
Disney's "Magic Your Way" park ticket pricing, introduced in January [[2005]], is intended to make guests choose to spend more days on Disney property instead of visiting competing theme parks in the area; additional days at Disney can be much less expensive than a day at another park.

{| border="1"
!Length
!Adult ticket price (in US dollars)
!The price increase to add this day
|-
|1-Day
|$59.75
|
|-
|2-Day
|$119
|$59.25
|-
|3-Day
|$171
|$52
|-
|4-Day
|$185
|$14
|-
|5-Day
|$193
|$8
|-
|6-Day
|$196
|$3
|-
|7-Day
|$199
|$3
|}

"Magic Your Way" also offers options such as Park Hopper ($35 per ticket, allowing a guest to visit more than one park per day), Magic Plus Pack ($45 per ticket, giving a guest between 2 and 5 visits to water parks, Pleasure Island, DisneyQuest, or Disney's Wide World of Sports), and No Expiration (between $10 and $55 per ticket, without which the ticket will expire 14 days after its first use).

Disney is also planning a service named "Disney's Magical Express" whereby guests will be brought in Disney buses from the Orlando airport directly to their Disney resort, and their luggage will be picked up and brought to their room. The plan is to make a Disney vacation simple and convenient while making a visit to another local park such as Universal Orlando Resort or SeaWorld inconvenient.

==''Kingdom Keepers''==
This book series is written by Ridley Pearson. There are seven books in the series that take place in locations all around The Walt Disney World Resort. The following parks, resorts and other facilities inside Walt Disney World Resort appear in the books:
*[[Magic Kingdom]]
*[[Epcot]]
*[[Disney's Hollywood Studios]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom]]
*[[Disney's Blizzard Beach]] (Mentioned)
*[[Disney's Typhoon Lagoon]]
*[[Disney Springs|Downtown Disney]]
*[[ESPN Wide World of Sports|Disney's Wide World of Sports]]
*[[Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge]]
*Lake Buena Vista Cogeneration Facility
*[[Transportation and Ticket Center]]

==Trivia==
*WDW's opening day in 1971 went off fairly smoothly, however, there was one arrest. A woman insisted she get in free to the park because she was [[Cinderella (character)|Cinderella]]. WDW police cleverly and humorously convinced the lady to get into the police car, by telling her it was a pumpkin.
*Disney's housekeeping staff washes more than 285,000 pounds of laundry and dry-cleans at least 30,000 garments (including characters' outfits) each and every day. The equivalence of washing and drying two loads of laundry every day for 26 years.
*There is a hidden airstrip behind Epcot's area that was reserved for Walt Disney's private jet. It is known as Epcot Center Ultralight Flightpark.

==Gallery==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small" widths="150">
Disneyworld-logo.jpg
1971 Walt Disney World Commercial-0
David Brinkley Talks about Disney World
Commercial 1980's Walt Disney World - Together at Disney
Walt Disney World - Commerical
Walt Disney World Commercial (1986)
KLAS Ch. 8 - (1991) Walt Disney World Commercial
Walt Disney World Commercial (1999)
Walt Disney World - Catch It (1999) Promo (VHS Capture)
MyMagic You'll Want to Use It Everywhere Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels TV Commercial, 'Magic'
Walt Disney World Resort Disney in Florida Commercial
Old-Disney-World-advertisement-1971.jpg
Walt Disney World Map.JPG
Walt Disney World Resort entrance.jpg
DWMonorailCopilot.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 01.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 02.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 03.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 04.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 05.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 06.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 07.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 08.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 09.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 10.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 11.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 12.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 13.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 14.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 15.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 16.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 17.jpg
2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration 18.jpg
wdwd029348029842039fi.jpg|2020 Concept Art for the new look at the 50th Golden Anniversary Celebration of Walt Disney World Resort.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Lake Buena Vista|Lake Buena Vista, Florida]]

==External links==
*[http://www.disneyworld.com Walt Disney World Official Web Site]
*{{WP}}
*{{Facebook|WaltDisneyWorld}}
*[http://www.mouseplanet.com/mark/mg040128.htm A detailed history of Walt Disney World]
*[http://www.disneylandreport.com The latest Walt Disney World and Disney news]
*[http://www.laughingplace.com Laughingplace.com - Even more of the latest Walt Disney World and Disneyland news]
*[http://www.wdwmagic.com WDWMagic.com - Focuses mainly on rehab, new attractions and other news at Walt Disney World]
*[http://www.allearsnet.com/ All Ears Net - Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide]
*[http://cousinorville.com CousinOrville.com - Disney World and College Program Blog]

==References==
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