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I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.             ---Walt Disney

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Proudly Welcomes You To:

Live Camera of the Park:

I've always said there will never be another Disneyland, and I think it's going to work out that way. This concept here will have to be something that is unique,so there is a distinction between Disneyland California and whatever Disney does in Florida.             ---Walt Disney

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Magic Kingdom  

The centerpiece of the Phase One development of Walt Disney World was the Magic Kingdom,a themepark of similar design to California's Disneyland. This park provided much of the visual interest for the media covering the resort's opening and continued to be it's primary entity for the next 10 years. A common misconception of those unitiated to Walt Disney World is that it is just another theme park,"another Disneyland"in Florida. It's a twofold misinterpretation: first,Walt Disney World is a complete resort,with hotels,recreation,and other amenities,and second,the Magic Kingdom is not just a knockoff of Disneyland.

   

Certainly the Magic Kingdom intentionally follows the unique design of Disneyland,but far from being a cookie-cutter park, the Magic Kingdom expands upon the operational and aesthetic knowledge gained in more than a decade of Disneyland operation.

 

The basic layout of Disneyland,the hub-and-spoke design,was unique among parks,fairs,and museums.In this many research excursions prior to the building of Disneyland,Walt Disney noted several things that bothered him about such enterprises. The disharmony of architecture,different businesses fighting for visual attention,and plain ugliness or uncleanliness were primary annoyances to Walt. He saw that the meandering layout of many of these enterprises disoriented visitors,causing them to get lost,and led to what Walt called "museum feet"--the ache of having walked too much just to get through the place.

 

Walt solved these problems by laying out Disneyland as an inverted triangle,with guests entering at the lowest point of the triangle and being led to it's center by a corridor,Main Street U.S.A. From the suthern end of Main Street,guests always had a central point of reference,the "hub" and the castle,to help them through their journey. An earthen berm around the whole exterior of the park removed intrusive external views and eliminated the natural horizon line--allowing Disney Imagineers to create their own.

 

These lessons,combined with the basic storytelling elements of Disneyland,were certainly the beginning of the Magic Kingdom,but there is little actual duplication. "The blessing of size",as Walt called it,enabled Disney Imagineers to enlarge the scale and increase the operational efficiency of their new park,and expand the overall grandeur of the design approach. The spires of Cinderella Castle,for instance,soar to a full 189 feet,more than 100 feet taller than the intimate Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. While Sleeping Beauty Castle is seen by guests only once they are inside the park,it is critical that Cinderella Castle be seen from afar. Visitors,who have to make a six-mile drive after leaving the main highway in order to reach the Magic Kingdom,need to be reassured that the theme park is actually there. Additionally,it is important for the castle to be seen from the hotels,the monorail,and the ferry.

 

In the first promotional announcements for the Magic Kingdom,there was a concerned effort to publicize the differences between (and ignore the similarities of) the new park and the already-established Disneyland. Thus,early publicity focused on proyected plans for attractions that would premiere in Florida: Country Bear Jamboree, Liberty Square, The Hall of Presidents, Space Mountain, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Mickey Mouse Revue.

 

Some ideas for the resort seemed to work better on paper than they did in reality. At the Polinesian Resort there was a plan to use a wave-making machine to create artificial waves crashing along the beach. The technology appeared to work well--at one point during testing, the waves were even large enough for surfing. But the faux-surf also caused massive beach erosion,and as a result the wave machine was permanently shut down just a few months after the resort opened (its remains still lie beneath Seven Seas Lagoon). It would be 18 years before the artificial surf would again be up at Walt Disney World,at Typhoon Lagoon.

 

But successes far outnumbered failures in the first five years of Walt Disney World. The planned Phase One had,for the most part,reached completion. Controlled growth and expansion continued. Attendance was more than 10 million in the first year of operation, and by 1975 nearly 50 million guests had come to visit.

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There is a little adult in every child, but ... a lot of child in every adult.             ---Walt Disney Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence.             ---Walt Disney

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Choose from the many lands in the Magic Kingdom:  

Land	Attractions
Main Street U.S.A.	Main Street Cinema Main Street Vehicles Walt Disney World Railroad
Adventureland	Jungle Cruise Pirates of the Caribbean Swiss Family Treehouse The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Manegement
Frontierland	Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Country Bear Jamboree Frontierland Shootin' Arcade Splash Mountain Tom Sawyer Island Walt Disney World Railroad
Liberty Square	The Diamond Horseshoe Saloon Revue The Hall of Presidents The Haunted Mansion Liberty Belle Riverboat Mike Fink Keelboats
Fantasyland	Cinderella's Golden Carrousel Dumbo The Flying Elephant It's A Small World Mad Tea Party Peter Pan's Flight Legend of the Lion King Skyway To Tomorrowland Snow White's Adventures Ariel's Grotto Fantasyland Character Festival The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickey's Toontown Fair	Donald's Boat Mickey's Country House Minnie's Country House Toontown Hall Of Fame The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacres Farm Walt Disney World Railroad
Tomorrowland	Astro Orbiter Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter Tomorrowland Speedway Space Mountain The Timekeeper Walt Disney's Carousel Of Progress Skyway to Fantasyland Tomorrowland Arcade Tomorrowland Transit Authority Galaxy Palace Theater
Parades,Shows and other special info.	Spectromagic! Disney's Magical Moments Parade Castle Forecourt Stage The Magic Kingdom In a Day