Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World

On July 17th, 1955, "the Happiest Place on Earth" opened to America. Disneyland was Walt Disney’s dream. For years he dreamed and hoped of building a "little family park" where parents could take their children for a day of fun -- for both kids and adults. The amusement parks of the 1920's and 30's were tawdry, dirty, and sleazy places. Disney wanted to build a different kind of park, a "themed" park that had fun attractions and a beautiful atmosphere. He wanted a park that was full of imagination.

After the huge success of Disneyland, Walt Disney began thinking of expanding his imagination and possibly constructing an extension. He soon came up with a bigger; more elaborate, better-than-ever, Walt Disney “World.” He began buying large amounts of land in Florida and began what building what he called “a masterpiece.” Walt Elias Disney died on December 15th, 1966. Walt's brother Roy Disney postponed his planned retirement to take the reins of the company and start construction in Florida. The Magic Kingdom, the main central park, is very similar, but is not an exact duplicate of the park in California. For one thing, many of Walt's personal touches aren't in Florida. On the other hand, the Magic Kingdom is physically larger and therefore better able to handle large crowds than is Disneyland. A major innovation for the Florida complex, compared to Disneyland, was the addition of Disney-owned and operated resort hotels. Three resorts were included in the first phase of construction, the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and Fort Wilderness. Over twenty resorts stand today.

Soon after the opening of WDW, Roy Disney retired and the Disney Company was taken over by Card Walker. Walker ran the company until 1984. Walt Disney's son-in-law, Ron Miller, was made chairman after him and soon after, Michael Eisner. Under Eisner's direction, the company and the theme parks began a strong rise to their high status in the entertainment industry. He had the idea...