History
Disneyland was a huge success for Walt Disney. Always wanting to improve and innovate, Walt was dissatisfied with the size of Disneyland. It was very difficult to add all of his ideas into such a small space. So, he started looking elsewhere to open up a bigger theme park.
Another problem with the park was that you could easily see and access the outside world. Walt wanted guests to feel transported. He wanted guests to forget about the outside world. This is also reasoning behind buying more land. The more land Disney has, the more difficult it is to see the outside world. This is also why the Magic Kingdom has a parking lot that is separate from the park itself. Then, guests can take one of 2 transportation options - one of the future (monorail), and one of the past (ferry boat) - to arrive to the Magic Kingdom.
At the time, Orlando was not the tourist destination that it is today. Most of the tourists in Florida could be found on the beaches of the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico. Orlando was halfway between each coast. Walt figured that tourists might stop at the theme park before heading to the beaches. Florida is also swamp land, making it very cheap to purchase. Florida was also an ideal location because it had warm weather year-round, similar to southern California.
Walt Disney World was originally called "the Florida Project".
Walt was very sly about his plans for a new park. To celebrate Disneyland's 10th anniversary, Walt made a speech to the Cast Members of the park. In his speech, Walt said "this is only the beginning". No one knew it at the time, but he was referring to the Florida Project. He had already purchased land before the park was even announced.
Unfortunately, Walt died before he could see his final dream. However, his brother, Roy, did not let the dream die. Roy postponed his retirement just so he could finish the Florida Project.
Walt Disney World cost $400 million to build. Mary Poppins had been a huge box office hit. Most of the money made from Marry Poppins went into building Disney World.
Because Orlando was not a tourist town (yet), it did not have very many hotels. The success of Disneyland brought hotels from outside businesses. The Disney Company did not like this because he thought it distracted people from Disney. So, they took advantage of the lack of hotels in Orlando and built resorts on property. The Polynesian and Contemporary were the first two resorts to be built.
The swampland of Florida proved difficult for contraction workers. The Seven Seas Lagoon is manmade. Dirt was scooped out to create the Lagoon, and the dirt was layered on top of the area for the Magic Kingdom. This allowed for the tunnels to be built. The dirt was piled higher for Cinderella's Castle. This makes the Castle more visible from anywhere in the park.
Disneyland's opening day was in the middle of the summer. It was hot, crowded and disastrous. Disney learned from their mistakes, and the Magic Kingdom was opened on October 1st, 1971.
There were about 10,000 guests on opening day.
Roy O. Disney made the dedication speech for Walt Disney World, just like his brother had made the dedication speech for Disneyland. During his speech, Roy impulsively asked Mickey Mouse to stand next to him. When asked by reporters why he did this, Roy said, "I needed my brother by my side".
Roy named the park "Walt Disney World" in dedication to Walt. It is the only Disney theme park to have Walt's name in it.
Walt did not live to see Walt Disney World completed, but Roy did. In fact, Roy barely lived to see it. He passed away only 2 short months after Walt Disney World's opening.
Magic Kingdom is the smallest of the four parks in Walt Disney World.
Today, the Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the entire world.
Main Street
Much of Disney architecture is forced perspective. This means that the buildings look smaller or larger than they actually are. However, the Main Street Train Station building does not utilized forced perspective. It looks as big as it actually is. This is because the imagineers do not want guests to see the inside of theme park before they enter. The Train Station acts as a portal. In addition, it also blocks guests inside the theme park from seeing the outside world.
As you enter the park, you have to walk underneath the Train Station. The walls of the entryway feature posters of attractions found inside Magic Kingdom. Walt wanted Main Street to serve as the "opening credits" for the theme park. Thus, the movie posters advertise the adventures you will encounter in the plot of your visit.
The rest of the opening credits can be found on the windows all along Main Street. Most of them are on the second story of the buildings. Gold letters spell out names of those who have contributed to the making of the theme park, much how the credits will name the animators, writers and actors in a movie. The first one you see faces the Train Station. For a better view, climb the stairs to the second story of the Train Station, face the castle and look to your right. You will find "Roy O. Disney" on the window.
Walt's father has his own window, too. Elias
Disney - Contractor window can be found above Uptown Jewelers. The land for Walt Disney World was purchased under fake company names. Some of these fake names are on a window above Crystal Arts. Some of the names are Tomahawk Properties, Reedy Creek Ranch Lands and Compass East Corporation.
My personal favorite window is on the first story of the Emporium. It is a window dedicated to all of Walt Disney World's Cast Members.
To the right of the Train Station is the Town Square Theater. On the lobby floor, tiles spell out 1901. This is a nod to Walt's birth year.
The Theater used to be a museum dedicated to advancements in movie history. However, character meet and greets became more popular. The Theater is now used as a meet and greet location for two of Disney's icons - Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse.
Everyone recognizes the Partners statue of Walt and Mickey in front of the castle. In this statue, Walt is holding hands with Mickey and pointing with excitement towards something in the distance. This is to show that Walt was the dreamer, the visionary. There is another statue by Town Square Theater. The Sharing the Magic statue features Roy O. Disney sitting on a bench with Minnie Mouse. His hand is underneath Minnie's. This is to show that Roy was the supporter. The Mouseplanet did an amazing article with further information about these iconic statues.
Tomorrowland
If you have ever been in Tomorrowland, you might have noticed metal palm trees outside of Space Mountain. The palm leaves on one of the trees is folded up. There is a story behind these trees. They produce energy, which is stored in the "coconuts". The tree with the folded leaves does not have any coconuts. This is because the energy coconuts have been collected and are being used to power Tomorrowland!
Unfortunately, not all of the outside world is blocked off from the Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary Resort is huge, and very close to the park. It is visible from inside the park. However, imagineers made sure that the Contemporary is only visible in Tomorrowland, where it blends in with the theming.
The Carousel of Progress is the only ride in Walt Disney World that Walt himself rode. This ride also has had three different locations in its lifetime. It was originally created for the New York World Fair. Then, it was moved to Disneyland. In 1975, it was moved to Walt Disney World. Since this show has been open for more than 50 years, it is the longest running stage show in all of American theater history. The Carousel of Progress is not the most popular ride in WDW, but it is never going to be retired. This is because it was Walt's favorite ride, and he said that it should never cease operation.
Space Mountain is one of few rides that was originally built in Walt Disney World before it was added to Disneyland or other Disney Parks.
Liberty Square
After Disneyland opened, Walt wanted to add on more lands to it. Walt loved America, and wanted a land dedicated to colonial America. However, there was not enough room in Disneyland to continue building. So after Walt died, Liberty Square was added to Walt Disney World, as a tribute to Walt's original plans.
The Liberty Tree towards the middle of the land has exactly 13 lanterns hanging from its branches. This is to represent the original 13 colonies.
What's the most guarded thing in all of Walt Disney World. Go, on. Guess. Is it the apartment in Cinderella's castle? The Dole Whip recipe? Is it Walt's frozen head? Nope. The most guarded thing in all of Walt Disney World is found in the lobby of the Hall of Presidents. It is the Presidential Seal, of course! Every American is familiar with this design as it is on the carpet of the White House. The only other place the Seal is allowed to be used is at the Magic Kingdom. It took an act of Congress for the Seal to be used. Even if you do not care for the attraction, it is worth venturing into the lobby to look for this.
Adventureland
If you enter Adventureland from the front of the park, take time to notice the transition from Main Street to Adventureland. The transition is the most prominent on the Crystal Palace. The half of the building that is closest to Main Street is white, white the half closest to Adventureland is green and surrounded by more trees.
One idea for Adventureland that never made it off the drawing board was meet and greets with tiki heads. Imagineers realized that would be terrifying. Instead, there are tiki heads that shoot water at guests as they pass by.
Frontierland
The Country Bear Jamboree is another ride that is exclusive to the Magic Kingdom. It originally opened in the Magic Kingdom. Due to its popularity, the attraction was added to Disneyland. A few years ago, The Country Bears in Disneyland was closed to make room for the Winnie the Pooh ride. Now, it is only located in Walt Disney World.
A crate near The Country Bear Jamboree has the words "Davis Tobacco" on it. This is a reference to Disney animator and imagineer, Marc Davis. Davis animated Cruella De Vil, Cinderella, and Tinkerbell. He worked on attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Fantasyland
There are three sections of Fantasyland. The Castle Walls extend from the Mad Tea Party all the way down to it's a Small World. The attractions in this section are themed after a carnival. Storybook Circus is modeled after Dumbo. The newest area is the Enchanted Forest. This is themed around three classic Disney movies - Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and the Little Mermaid.
If you look on the ground in Storybook Circus, you will find remains of Dumbo's favorite snack!
When planning the design of the Enchanted Forest, imagineers originally wanted the land to include a Pixie Hollow themed area. Dumbo was not to have its own land. Instead, it would be a stand-alone attraction. The center of the Enchanted forest would feature the cottages of Snow White and Aurora, where Princess meet and greets would take place. Disney fans voiced their criticisms. Princesses and meet and greets are great, but they are not for everyone. There was no E ticket attractions. Disney imagineers responded quickly. They replaced Pixie Hollow with Storybook Circus for Dumbo and they replaced the cottages with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. Snow White's Scary Adventure was replaces with Princess Fairy Tale Hall.
Imagineers recycled animatronics from Snow White's Scary Adventures into the cottage scene at the end of Mine Train.
Inside Princess Fairy Tale Hall, there is a Snow White book. This pays homage to Snow White's Scary Adventures, which used to be in the same building.
The area that the Enchanted Forest now resides in used to house 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. However, Disney payed homage to the former ride. When The Little Mermaid ride opened, water from 20,000 Leagues was dumped into the stream near Ariel's castle.
As part of the queue of Enchanted Tales With Belle, guests wait inside Belle's cottage. Inside it you will find what Belle is currently reading. It is Sleeping Beauty! You will also find a portrait of Belle's mother.
If you head to the Figaro room in Pinocchio's Village Haus, you will find a wishing book that was left by the Blue Fairy. Guests can write down their own wishes here! Reading other people's wishes is heartwarming, and leaving your own wish is a memorable moment for any Disney vacation.
Castle Couture is known for outfitting Princesses. Behind the register is Aurora's dress. Look closely - it changes from blue to pink! In the fitting rooms there is Cinderella's pink ball gown that the mice made for her.
On the Prince Charming Carousel, there is a horse with a gold ribbon on its tail. This is rumored to be Cinderella's horse.
Backstage
Most people are aware of the tunnels that run underneath the Magic Kingdom. Cast Members use these tunnels to walk from one land to another without destroying the illusion. Guests can pay a wad of cash to take a tour of the Magic Kingdom, including venturing into the mysterious tunnels. A lot of people are fascinated with the tunnels. However, they are nothing special. They are dirty and smell of trash and sweat.
Without the land markings above ground, the tunnels can be quite confusing. There are maps and arrows posted along the walls to help Cast Members navigate their way.
The Cast Member cafeteria in the Magic Kingdom is called the Mousecateria.
There are also backstage areas in the Magic Kingdom that are not underground. On especially crowded nights, the backstage path by the Plaza Restaurant will open up to make more room for guests who are trying to exit the park.
What's your favorite Magic Kingdom Fact? Share below in the comments!
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