Celebrating 55 Years of Walt Disney World: From One Theme Park to a World-Famous Resort

On October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World opened it gates to the Magic Kingdom near Orlando, Florida. The resort opened with one theme park, two luxury hotels, golf courses, lakes, lagoons and a campground. Today, 55 years later, the Walt Disney Word Resort includes 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 31 resort hotels, golf courses, a shopping district and a campground.

When Walt Disney and his brother Roy were buying land in the Central Florida area, the plans for the property was known as the Florida Project. And while Walt Disney had dreams of what he wanted the Florida Project to become, he unfortunately died on December 1966 before the resort was built. In his honor, Walt’s brother Roy, who was ready to retire, stayed on with the company to see the project through to the opening of Walt Disney World. In addition, Roy renamed the resort in Central Florida from Disney World to Walt Disney World by adding Walt’s name to the beginning in honor of his brother. Unfortunately, Roy Disney died less than three months after the opening of Walt Disney World in December 1971.

How the resort grew beyond Magic Kingdom

Eleven years after the opening of the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World opened EPCOT Center on October 1, 1982. The theme park was built based on Walt Disney’s original idea of an experimental prototype community of tomorrow offering two lands, Future World and World Showcase. In 1994, the word “center” was dropped from the park’s name becoming just EPCOT.

On May 1, 1989, Disney-MGM Studios opened as the third park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The park focused on movies and entertainment offering a backstage tour, stunt show and much more. In January 2008, the park was renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios, dropping the original licensing agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

And on Earth Day in April 1998, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park opened as the fourth park at the resort. The theme park centers its focuses on animals and nature with The Tree of Life as it’s center piece and icon.

In addition to opening four theme parks over the last 55 years, Walt Disney World has expanded with two water parks: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon in 1989 and Disney’s Blizzard Beach in 1995, and has expanded with 31 resort hotels available for guests to enjoy.

Even today, the Walt Disney World Resort continues to grow with new lands and rides in it’s theme parks, new resort hotels and even more experiences for guests to enjoy for years to come. Existing rides and attractions are always evolving with new themes and modern technology. Even a classic attraction that Walt Disney himself oversaw for the 1964 World’s Fair and later had a home at Disneyland Park in California before moving to Walt Disney World will see changes over the next year. The Carousel of Progress which opened at Walt Disney World in 1975 is currently evolving to a more modern version that is relatable to a younger audiences today. And that is only one of the many things happening at the Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida.