Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World Resort

Industry	Amusement parks and resorts
Founded	October 1, 1971 (1971-10-01)
Founder	Roy Disney Walt Disney
Headquarters	Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S.
Key people	George Kalogridis (President)
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Website	disneyworld.disney.go.com

The Walt Disney World Resort, informally known as Walt Disney World or simply Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake, Florida (mailing address is Lake Buena Vista, Florida), near Orlando, Florida and is the flagship of Disney's worldwide theme park empire. The resort opened on October 7, 1971 and, according to Forbes, is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an attendance of 52.5 million annually. It is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi), in which it houses 27 themed resort hotels, 9 non–Disney hotels, four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, one camping resort, one residential area and additional recreational and entertainment venues. Magic Kingdom was the first and original theme park to open in the complex followed by Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom, which opened later throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s, though he died in 1966 before construction on "The Florida Project" began. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave The Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Original plans called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", a planned community that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living.

History

Cinderella Castle, the icon of Magic Kingdom

Spaceship Earth, the icon of Epcot

Sorcerer's Hat, the icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios

File:WDWAK Tree of Life.jpg

The Tree of Life, the icon of Disney's Animal Kingdom

In 1959, Walt Disney Productions began looking for land for a second park to supplement Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Market surveys revealed that only 5% 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 flew over the Orlando-area site (one of many) in November 1963. Seeing the well-developed network of roads, including the planned Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, Disney selected a centrally located site near Bay Lake.

To avoid a burst of land speculation, Walt Disney World Company used various dummy corporations to acquire 27,443 acres (11,106 ha) of land. In May 1965, some of these major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest of Orlando in Osceola County. Also, 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"; some of these names are now memorialized on a window above Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. In addition to three huge parcels of land were many smaller parcels, called "outs".

Much of the land acquired had been platted into 5-acre (2 ha) lots in 1912 by the Munger Land Company and sold to investors. Most owners were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly swamp. Another issue was the mineral rights to the land, which were owned by Tufts University. Without the transfer of these rights, Tufts could come in at any time and demand the removal of buildings to obtain minerals. Eventually, Disney's team negotiated a deal with Tufts to buy the mineral rights for $15,000.

Working under a strict cloak of secrecy, real estate agents who didn't know the identity of their client began making offers to landowners in southwest Orange and northwest Osceola counties in April 1964, shortly after Walt Disney chose the site for his new theme park.

Careful not to let property owners know the extent of their land-buying appetites, the agents quietly negotiated one deal after another, sometimes lining up contracts to buy huge tracts for little more than $100 an acre.

Because they knew that recording the first deeds would trigger an intense wave of public questioning about what was going on, Disney's representatives waited until they had a large number of parcels locked up through options before filing their paperwork.

Meanwhile, a rumor had popped up in California that Disney had his eye on Orlando. On May 20, an Orlando Sentinel article acknowledged the persistent rumor that "the land is being purchased for a second East Coast Disneyland attraction", but the paper discounted the gossip, because Walt Disney had specifically denied it when interviewed during a visit to Cape Kennedy. Disney baldly lied in telling the newspaper he was spending $50 million to expand Disneyland in California and was not interested in another such venture at that time.

According to author Ormund Powers' account in his book Martin Andersen: Editor, Publisher, Galley Boy, Walt Disney Productions attorney Paul Helliwell paid a visit to Orlando banker Billy Dial, who was involved in the negotiations, and said, "There's been a leak. If that leak gets publicized, it's going to kill Orlando's chances."

"Let's go see [Orlando Sentinel publisher] Martin Andersen," Dial replied.

"That's the last man we want to see," Helliwell said.

"That's the first man we want to see," Dial told him.

Powers wrote that Dial and Helliwell visited Andersen at the newspaper. The newspaper publisher "called in his top people and said, 'There is a big deal going on and while we don't know what it is, we have assurances it will be good for the community, and we don't want a line printed in this paper about it.'"

Former Sentinel editor Danny Hinson told Powers for his book, Martin Andersen: Editor, Publisher, Galley Boy, that Andersen knew practically everything that went on in the Orlando area, and he thought Andersen was "more or less" in on the Disney secret.

The late Sentinel columnist Charlie Wadsworth said much later that "Andersen was such a good newsman that it would have been inconceivable [that] Disney could buy that quantity of real estate and Andersen not know about it," wrote Powers, who died in May.

Longtime Disney publicity director Charles Ridgway told Powers he had heard from Disney executive Cardon Walker that Andersen knew "well ahead" that Disney was the buyer, "but he kept it a secret. He did not disclose it."

Still, years later, Andersen insisted that he did not learn the identity of the mystery purchaser until late October 1965.

The first purchases, recorded on May 3, 1965, included one for 8,380 acres of swamp and brush from state Senator Irlo Bronson. The deal had been made seven months earlier. The first newspaper account of the large-scale interest in Orange and Osceola county property ran the next day. The May 4 Orlando Sentinel story said the transactions "will undoubtedly increase rumors already afloat for the past year to the effect that a new and large industrial complex is about to locate in this area." Indeed, it did.

Because of the proximity to Cape Kennedy, much early speculation centered on space or aircraft technology, according to anthropologist Stephen M. Fjellman in his 1992 book Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America. Carmakers' names, especially Ford, also were mentioned. Speculation during the summer about the identity of the buyer included the Rockefellers, Howard Hughes and NASA's Manned Orbiting Laboratory Project.

One day while Hinson was putting out the Evening Star, Andersen's afternoon paper, he got a phone call from a friend who said he had been in the office of a New York public relations firm and had been told the firm was helping Disney plan a big development near Orlando.

"Hinson thought the 'mystery industry' had been nailed down and rushed into the office of editorial director Red McGee," Powers wrote.

"You are not to touch that story," McGee told him. The story died right there.

Within three weeks of recording the Bronson transaction, Florida Ranch Lands had wrapped up deals with 47 owners. Eventually, the firm negotiated agreements with 51 owners to buy some 27,400 acres for more than $5 million, an average price of $182 per acre.

Disney wanted to announce his ownership of the land and his plans for Walt Disney World on November 15, 1965, but the secret wouldn't keep that long.

In October 1965, Emily Bavar, editor of the Sentinel's Florida magazine, was in Anaheim for Disneyland's 10th anniversary celebration. During an interview with Walt Disney, Bavar asked whether he was buying up vast acreage in Central Florida.

"He looked like I had thrown a bucket of water in his face," Bavar later told Powers for his book. "I have never seen anyone look so stunned. He was too surprised, but then he recovered and said no."

Disney's evasiveness, combined with other tidbits she picked up in Anaheim, convinced Bavar.

On October 21, 1965, a story by Bavar, written in the first person and acknowledging that she was sticking her neck out, predicted Disney would build a new theme park on the huge tract. After piecing together more information from various sources, the paper led its Sunday edition three days later with a story headlined, "We Say: `Mystery Industry' Is Disney".

With the mouse out of the bag, Disney allowed Governor Haydon Burns to confirm the next day, October 25, that he intended to build "the greatest attraction in the history of Florida" in Central Florida. Disney came in person to Orlando for the formal announcement with Burns on November 15.

Walt Disney explained the plans for the site, including Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, (EPCOT), also known as Progress City, was to be a futuristic planned city. He envisioned a working city with commercial and residential areas that also continued to showcase and test new ideas and concepts for urban living.

Walt Disney died from lung cancer on December 15, 1966, before his vision was realized. His brother and business partner, Roy O. Disney, postponed his retirement to oversee construction of the resort's first phase.

On February 2, 1967, Roy O. Disney held a press conference at the Park Theatres 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 Disney World, including EPCOT, to succeed, a special district would have to be formed: the Reedy Creek Improvement District with two cities inside it, Bay Lake and Reedy Creek, now Lake Buena Vista. In addition to the standard powers of an incorporated city, which include the issuance of tax-free bonds, the district would have 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 legislation forming the district and the two cities was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967. The Supreme Court of Florida then ruled in 1968 that the district was allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds for public projects within the district, despite the sole beneficiary being Walt Disney Productions.

The district soon began construction of drainage canals, and Disney built the first roads and Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary Resort Hotel, the Polynesian Village, and Fort Wilderness were also completed in time for the park's opening on October 1, 1971. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses near Magic Kingdom had opened a few weeks before. At the park's opening, Roy O. Disney dedicated the property and declared that it would be known as "Walt Disney World" in his brother's honor. In his own words: "Everyone has heard of 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." After the dedication, Roy Disney asked Walt's widow, Lillian, what she thought of Walt Disney World. According to biographer Bob Thomas, she responded, "I think Walt would have approved." Roy O. Disney died on December 20, 1971, less than three months after the property opened.

Much of Walt Disney's plans for his Progress City were abandoned after his death, after the company board decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city. The concept evolved into the resort's second theme park, EPCOT Center (renamed Epcot in 1996), which opened in 1982. While still emulating Walt Disney's original idea of showcasing new technology, it is closer to a world's fair than a "community of tomorrow". Some of the urban planning concepts from the original idea of EPCOT would instead be integrated into the community of Celebration much later. The resort's third theme park, Disney-MGM Studios (renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008), opened in 1989, and is inspired by show business. The resort's fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998.

George Kalogridis was named president of the resort in December 2012, replacing Meg Crofton, who had overseen the site since 2006.

Timeline

Walt Disney (left) with his brother Roy O. Disney (right) and then-governor of Florida W. Haydon Burns (center) on November 15, 1965, publicly announcing the creation of Disney World.

1965	Walt Disney announces Florida Project
1966	Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65
1967	Construction of Walt Disney World Resort begins
1971	Magic Kingdom Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses Disney's Contemporary Resort Disney's Polynesian Resort Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground Roy O. Disney dies at age 78
1972	Disney's Village Resort
1973	The Golf Resort
1974	Discovery Island
1975	Walt Disney Village Marketplace
1976	Disney's River Country
1980	Walt Disney World Conference Center
1982	Epcot
1986	The Disney Inn
1988	Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
1989	Disney-MGM Studios Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Pleasure Island
1990	Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort Walt Disney World Swan Walt Disney World Dolphin
1991	Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter Disney Vacation Club Disney's Old Key West Resort
1992	Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside (Dixie Landings) Bonnet Creek Golf Club
1994	Disney's All-Star Sports Resort Disney's Wilderness Lodge Shades of Green
1995	Disney's All-Star Music Resort Disney's Blizzard Beach Disney's Wedding Pavilion Walt Disney World Speedway
1996	Disney Institute Disney's BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas
1997	Disney's Coronado Springs Resort Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Downtown Disney West Side
1998	Disney's Animal Kingdom DisneyQuest
1999	Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
2000	The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
2001	Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
2002	Disney's Beach Club Villas
2003	Disney's Pop Century Resort
2004	Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
2007	Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
2008	Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios
2009	Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort Treehouse Villas
2011	Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort
2012	Disney's Art of Animation Resort Phase 1 of New Fantasyland
2013	The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
2014	Phase 2 of New Fantasyland

Location

Map showing the Magic Kingdom portion of the park.

One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort.

Despite marketing claims and popular misconceptions, the Florida resort is not within Orlando city limits, but is actually about 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Orlando, much of it in southwestern Orange County, with the remainder in adjacent Osceola County. The property includes the cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake which are governed by the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi) site is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North), and Exit 8 on SR 429, the Western Expressway. At its founding the park occupied approximately 30,500 acres (12,343 ha; 48 sq mi). Portions of the property have since been sold or de-annexed, including land now occupied by the Disney-built community of Celebration. Now the park occupies 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi), about the size of San Francisco, or twice the size of Manhattan.

Attractions

Germany pavilion at Epcot's World Showcase (one of 11 country pavilions)

Typhoon Lagoon, one of two waterparks at the resort

View of Downtown Disney and Characters in Flight

Further information: List of Walt Disney World Resort attractions

Theme parks

• Magic Kingdom
• Epcot
• Disney's Hollywood Studios
• Disney's Animal Kingdom

Water parks

• Disney's Typhoon Lagoon
• Disney's Blizzard Beach

There are also many beaches around the area

Other attractions

• Downtown Disney, opened March 22, 1975
• Disney's BoardWalk, opened July 1, 1996
• Disney's Wedding Pavilion, opened July 15, 1995
• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, opened March 28, 1997
• Walt Disney World Speedway and Richard Petty Driving Experience, opened November 28, 1995

Golf and recreation

Disney's property includes five golf courses. The four 18-hole golf courses are the Palm (4.5 Stars), the Magnolia (4 Stars), Lake Buena Vista (4 Stars) and Osprey Ridge (4.5 Stars). There is also a nine-hole walking course (no electric carts allowed) called Oak Trail, designed for young golfers. The Magnolia and Palm courses played home to the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. Arnold Palmer Golf Management manages the Disney golf courses. Additionally, there are two themed miniature golf complexes, each with two courses, Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland.

Catch-and-release fishing excursions are offered daily on the resort's lakes. A Florida fishing license is not required, because it occurs on private property. Cane-pole fishing is offered from the docks at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground and Disney's Port Orleans Resort.

Additional recreational activities include watercraft rentals, surrey pedal car rentals, and firework cruises that launch from several resort marinas.

Former attractions

• Disney's River Country — the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on June 20, 1976 and closed on November 1, 2001.
• Discovery Island — an island in Bay Lake that was home to many species of animals and birds. It opened on April 8, 1974 and closed on April 8, 1999.

Resorts

Of the thirty-four resorts and hotels on the Walt Disney World property, twenty-eight are owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. These are classified into four categories — Deluxe, Moderate, Value, and Disney Vacation Club Villas — and are located in one of five resort areas: the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Wide World of Sports, Animal Kingdom, or Downtown Disney resort areas.

While all of the Deluxe resort hotels have achieved a AAA Four Diamond rating, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is considered the highest tier flagship luxury resort on the Walt Disney World Resort complex.

On-site Disney resorts

Name	Opening Date	Theme	Number of Rooms	Area
Deluxe resorts
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge	April 16, 2001	African Wildlife preserve	1,307	Animal Kingdom
Disney's Beach Club Resort	November 19, 1990	Newport Beach cottage	576	Epcot
Disney's BoardWalk Inn	July 1, 1996	Early 20th Century Atlantic and Ocean City	378
Disney's Contemporary Resort	October 1, 1971	Modern	655	Magic Kingdom
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa	July 1, 1988	Victorian seaside resort	867
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort	October 1, 1971	South Seas	847
Disney's Wilderness Lodge	May 28, 1994	Pacific Northwest, National Park Service rustic	729
Disney's Yacht Club Resort	November 5, 1990	Martha's Vineyard Resort	621	Epcot
Moderate resorts
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort	October 1, 1988	Tropical Islands	2,112	Epcot
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort	August 1, 1997	Mexico, American Southwest	1,915	Animal Kingdom
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter	May 17, 1991	New Orleans French Quarter	1,008	Downtown Disney
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside	February 2, 1992	Antebellum South	2,048
Value resorts
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort	January 15, 1999	Disney films	1,920	Animal Kingdom
Disney's All-Star Music Resort	November 22, 1994	Music	1,604
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort	April 24, 1994	Sports	1,920
Disney's Art of Animation Resort	May 31, 2012	Disney and Pixar animated films	1,984	Wide World of Sports
Disney's Pop Century Resort	December 14, 2003	20th century American pop culture	2,880
Disney Vacation Club
Disney's Old Key West Resort	December 20, 1991	Early 20th Century Key West	761	Downtown Disney
Disney's BoardWalk Villas	July 1, 1996	Early 20th Century Atlantic City	530	Epcot
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge	November 15, 2000	Pacific Northwest	181	Magic Kingdom
Disney's Beach Club Villas	July 1, 2002	Newport resort	282	Epcot
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa	May 17, 2004	1880s Upstate New York resort	1,320	Downtown Disney
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas	August 15, 2007	African safari lodge	708	Animal Kingdom
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort	August 4, 2009	Modern	428	Magic Kingdom
The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa	October 23, 2013	Victorian Seaside Resort	147
Cabins and campgrounds
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground	November 19, 1971	Rustic Woods Camping	800 campsites 409 cabins	Magic Kingdom
Residential areas
Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort	Fall 2011	Varies	450 homes	Magic Kingdom

• 
  The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Walt Disney World's flagship resort
• 
  Disney's Polynesian Resort, a deluxe level resort
• 
  Caribbean Beach Resort, the first moderate resort at Walt Disney World
• 
  Fort Wilderness, Disney's campground and cabin resort
• 
  Disney's All Star Movies Resort, one of five value resorts

On-site non-Disney hotels

Hotel Name	Opening Date	Theme	Number of Rooms	Owner	Area
Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel	November 21, 1972	None	325	Best Western	Downtown Disney
Doubletree Guest Suite Resort	March 15, 1987		229	Hilton Hotels Corporation
Wyndham Lake Buena Vista	October 15, 1972		626	Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Hilton Walt Disney World	November 23, 1983		787	Hilton Hotels Corporation
Holiday Inn in the Walt Disney World Resort	February 8, 1973		323	InterContinental Hotels Group
Royal Plaza	October 1, 1972		394	N/A
Buena Vista Palace Resort & Spa	March 10, 1983		1,014	Blackstone Group
Bonnet Creek Resort	Various		Various, 3,000 total	Hilton Worldwide, Wyndham Worldwide	Epcot
Shades of Green a Walt Disney World Resort	February 1, 1994	Upscale Country Club	586	United States Department of Defense		Magic Kingdom
Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort	August 3, 2014	450	Four Seasons	rowspan="3"		Downtown Disney
Walt Disney World Swan	January 13, 1990	Seaside Floridian Resort & Under the Sea	756	Westin	rowspan="3"	Epcot
Walt Disney World Dolphin	January 1, 1990	Seaside Floridian Resort & Under the Sea	1509	Sheraton	rowspan="3"	Epcot

• 
  Shades of Green Resort, owned and operated by the United States Military
• 
  The Walt Disney World Dolphin
• 
  The Walt Disney World Swan
• Double Tree Guest Suites, located at Hotel Plaza Boulevard
  Double Tree Guest Suites, located at Hotel Plaza Boulevard
• 
  The Hilton at Walt Disney World, located at Hotel Plaza Boulevard

Former resorts

• The Golf Resort — Became The Disney Inn, and later became Shades of Green.
• Disney's Village Resort — Became the Villas at Disney Institute and then Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. The "Tree House" Villas were decommissioned for a time because they were not accessible to disabled guests. Until early 2008, they were used for International Program Cast Member housing. In February 2008, Disney submitted plans to the South Florida Water Management District to replace the 60 existing villas with 60 new villas. The Treehouse Villas opened during the summer of 2009.
• Celebration (A town designed and built by Disney, now managed by a resident-run association.)
• Lake Buena Vista (Disney originally intended this area to become a complete community with multiple residences, shopping, and offices, but transformed the original homes into hotel lodging in the 1970s, which were demolished in the early 2000s to build Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa)

Proposed resorts

• Disney's Asian Resort
• Disney's Persian Resort
• Disney's Venetian Resort
• Disney's Mediterranean Resort
• Fort Wilderness Junction

Disney's Magical Express

Guests with a Disney Resort reservation (excluding the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin) arriving at Orlando International Airport can be transported to their resort from the airport using the complimentary Disney Magical Express service, which is operated by Mears Destination Services as Walt Disney World is not allowed to transport guests off resort property. Guests can also have their bags picked up and transported for them through a contract with BAGS Incorporated. Mears operates custom motor coaches and luggage is delivered to the guests' rooms by BAGS. Disney Cruise Line buses are also operated by Mears.

Executive management

• President, Walt Disney World Resort — George Kalogridis
  • Senior Vice President of Operations and Next Generation Experiences, Walt Disney World Resort — Jim MacPhee
  • Senior Vice President of Operations, Sales, and Alliance Development, Walt Disney World Resort — George Aguel
    • Vice President, Magic Kingdom — Phil Holmes
    • Vice President, Epcot — Samuel Lau
    • Vice President, Disney's Hollywood Studios — Dan Cockerell
    • Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom — Josh D'Amaro
    • Vice President, Downtown Disney — Keith Bradford
    • Vice President, Resort Hotel Operations — Kevin Myers
    • Vice President, Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and Disney Water Parks — Maribeth Bisienere
    • Vice President, Transportation, Sports, and Golf — Jim Vendur
    • Vice President, Global Relationship Marketing, Disney Destinations LLC — Greg Albrecht
    • Vice President Engineering, Walt Disney World Resort — John Watkins
    • Vice President, Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives — Dr. Jackie Ogden
  • Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Walt Disney World Resort — Brian Besanceney
    • Vice President, Community Relations and Minority Business Development, Walt Disney World Resort — Eugene Campbell
    • Vice President Government Relations, Walt Disney World Resort — Bill Warren

Former executive management

• Former President, Walt Disney World Resort 1994–2006 — Al Weiss
• Former President, Walt Disney World Resort 2006-2013 — Meg Crofton
• Former Executive Vice President of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort 1994–2006 — Lee Cockerell
• Former Senior Vice President of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort 2006–2009 — Erin Wallace
• Former Senior Vice President of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort — Karl Holz
• Former EVP Marketing 1973–1996 — Tom Elrod
• Former EVP Marketing 1996–2006 — Linda Warren
  • Former Vice President, Magic Kingdom 2000–2001 — Erin Wallace
  • Former Vice President, Magic Kingdom 1987–1994 — Bill Sullivan
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 2011 — Rilous Carter
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 2009–2011 — Dan Cockerell
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 2007–2009 — Jim MacPhee
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 2001–2007 — Brad Rex
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 1994–1996 — Linda Warren
  • Former Vice President, Epcot 1987–1990 — Norm Doerges
  • Former Vice President, Disney's Hollywood Studios — Michael O'Grattan
  • Former Vice President, Disney-MGM-Studios — Bruce Laval
  • Former Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Animal Programs — Dr. Beth Stevens
  • Former Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom — Val Bunting
  • Former Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom — Kevin Lansberry
  • Former Vice President, Downtown Disney — Kevin Lansberry
  • Former Vice President, Downtown Disney — Djuan Rivers
  • Former Vice President, Downtown Disney — Karl Holz

Attendance

Magic Kingdom, the world's most visited theme park

Year	Magic Kingdom	Epcot	Disney's Hollywood Studios	Disney's Animal Kingdom
2008	17,063,000	10,935,000	9,608,000	9,540,000
2009	17,233,000	10,990,000	9,700,000	9,590,000
2010	16,972,000	10,825,000	9,603,000	9,686,000
2011	17,142,000	10,826,000	9,699,000	9,783,000
2012	17,536,000	11,063,000	9,912,000	9,998,000
2013	18,588,000	11,229,000	10,110,000	10,198,000

Employment

When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about 5,500 "cast members". Today Walt Disney World employs more than 66,000 cast members, spending more than $1.2 billion on payroll and $474 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World has more than 3,700 job classifications. The resort also sponsors and operates the Walt Disney World College Program, an internship program that offers American college students (CP's) the opportunity to live about 15 miles (24 km) off-site in four Disney-owned apartment complexes and work at the resort, and thereby provides much of the theme park and resort "front line" cast members. There is also the Walt Disney World International College Program, an internship program that offers international college students (ICP's) from all over the world the same opportunity.

Corporate culture

Walt Disney World's corporate culture is based in some respects on that of its older sibling Disneyland, of which the most interesting is the use of a unique jargon based on theatrical terminology. This phenomenon is so well known that travel guidebooks have to include lists of common terms and abbreviations. For example, park visitors are always "guests", employees are "cast members," rides are "attractions" or "adventures", cast members costumed as famous Disney characters in a way that does not cover their faces are known as "face characters", jobs are "roles", and public and nonpublic areas are respectively labeled "onstage" and "backstage".

Maintenance

In a March 30, 2004 article in the Orlando Sentinel, then-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 750 horticulturists and 600 painters.
• Disney spends more than $100 million every year on maintenance at the Magic Kingdom. In 2003, $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.

Transportation

A Disney bus, one of the transportation modes within Walt Disney World

A fleet of Disney-operated buses on property, branded Disney Transport, is complimentary for guests. In 2007, Disney Transport started a guest services upgrade to the buses. SatellGPS systems controlling new public address systems on the buses give safety information, park tips and other general announcements, with music. They are not to be confused with the Disney Cruise Line and Disney's Magical Express buses, which are operated by Mears Transportation. The Walt Disney World Monorail System also provides transportation at Walt Disney World. They operate on three routes that interconnect at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), adjacent to the Magic Kingdom's parking lot. One line provides an express non-stop link from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom, while a second line provides a link from the TTC to Epcot. The third line links the TTC and the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian resorts. Disney Transport also operates a fleet of watercraft, ranging in size from water taxis up to the ferries that connect the Magic Kingdom to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Additionally, it is also responsible for maintaining the fleet of parking lot trams used for shuttling visitors between the various theme park parking lots and their respective main entrances.

The major roads within the resort (World Drive, Osceola Parkway and Epcot Center Drive) have segments that are built as freeways with full grade-separated interchanges. World Drive enters Walt Disney World from U.S. Route 192 and heads north to the Magic Kingdom Resort Area. Osceola Parkway heads east from the Animal Kingdom Resort Area to Interstate 4. Epcot Center Drive is a freeway for most of its route, running east from World Drive, past the Epcot parking lot to Interstate 4. Buena Vista Drive is a major surface street, running east from the Animal Kingdom Resort Area to Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Epcot Resort Area, and Downtown Disney.

Name and logo

During the resort's early planning stages, Walt Disney referred to the project as Project X, The Florida Project, Disney World, and The Disney World. Early visual references used the same medieval font as Disneyland. Walt Disney was very involved in the site selection and project planning in the years before his death. The secretive names were chosen because of the high confidentiality of the project during the initial planning. After Walt Disney's death, Roy O. Disney added the name Walt to Disney World as a permanent tribute to his brother.

The original Walt Disney World logo featured an over-sized "D" with a Mickey Mouse-shaped globe containing latitude and longitude lines, with the property's name presented in a blocky, modern, sans-serif font. The original logo was retired during the resort's 25th anniversary celebration in 1996 and was replaced with the current logo, which features the "Walt Disney" portion of the logo in the typical Disney corporate signature font and "World" in Times New Roman font. Remnants of the original logo can still be found in many places throughout the resort, including the SpectroMagic title float, on the front car of each monorail, manhole covers, survey markers, and flags flown at several sites across the property. During the resort's 40th anniversary celebration in 2011, the original logo began to reappear on merchandise sold at the resort and can still be found on select items sold at various gift shops and stores at Walt Disney World.

Twin town

As part of a competition run by Disney for 2010, Walt Disney World has an unofficial twinning (sister city) with Swindon, England, since 2009. Rebecca Warren's submission to the competition granted Swindon to be the twin town of Walt Disney World, which is famous for its intersection with six roundabouts. Warren and the mayor of Swindon were invited to a "twinning" ceremony, where a plaque revealing the connection will be placed.

See also

• Disney College Program
• Incidents at Walt Disney World
• Rail transport in Disney Parks
• Walt Disney Travel Company
• Walt Disney World Casting Center
• Walt Disney World Company
• Walt Disney World Explorer
• Walt Disney World Hospitality and Recreation Corporation
• Walt Disney World International Program

References

• Kellehe, Michael. "Images of the past: Historical Authenticity and Inauthenticity From Disney to Time Square". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)

External links

• Official website