The first time I went to Disney World, like most first time visitors, I constantly had to be correcting myself. I would refer to Disney’s Magic Kingdom as Disneyworld, when in fact Magic Kingdom, is just one of many parks that make up Disney World. Little did I realize just how huge Disney World really is! I wonder if Walt Disney really fathomed everything his dreams would become?
Disney’s Magic Kingdom
This park is of course, Walt Disney’s original theme park in Florida. Based off of his original Disneyland (which opened in 1955) in California, Walt Disney scoured all of Florida to find the perfect spot for Disney World, long before it would open, and unfortunately something Walt never got to see. The oldest of all the Florida attractions, it opened in 1971, and has been the main place people think of when they talk about Disney World. Magic Kingdom features 5 areas, Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Tomorrowland, Mickey’s Toon Town, Frontierland and Main Street USA. Of course right in the middle of it all is the iconic and ever familiar Cinderella’s castle.
Disney’s Epcot
Disney World’s Epcot theme park first opened 27 years ago in 1982, to a bevvy of buzz. EPCOT was something Walt Disney had dreamed of creating long before his death in 1966, but people wonder what does Epcot really mean? Well it stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”. The next question people usually ask is “What is that huge round silver ball at the entrance?”
The attraction that was the centerpiece of Epcot soon became the theme park’s icon. Spaceship Earth is one of the many attractions in the Futureworld section of Epcot that gives visitors a glimpse into what tomorrow might bring us. This section of Epcot is divided into “Innovations East” and “Innovations West”. For those who’d rather keep their feet on the ground, and yet feel like they are traveling a bit, Epcot features World Showcase which surrounds World Showcase Lagoon. The space of this section is 1.2 miles and features food and entertainment, along with attractions featuring such countries as Mexico, France, Italy, Germany, America and a lot more.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Originally opened in 1989 as Disney-MGM Grand Studios, this park invites visitors to step into the world of movie making and entertainment. From Narnia to ToyStory, Indiana Jones to Star Wars, and even fan of those old black and white movies, most visitor’s are likely to find a favorite section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios to make them feel like they can escape and enjoy for a while. At the center of it all is a giant replica of Mickey’s Magical Sorcerer’s Hat, but other sections of this theme park include: Hollywood Boulevard, Streets of America, Pixar Place and Sunset Boulevard.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The newest of the 4 major theme parks that are part of Disney World, opening in 1998, Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park is for those visitors that would love to have the experience of a safari, without the 10+ hour plane ride to get to Africa to do it. In size, Animal Kingdom is 5 times the size of Magic Kingdom. But don’t worry, most of the space in Animal Kingdom is reserved for our animal friends. When entering this theme park visitors are greeted with the Oasis area, but can then move on to Camp Minnie-Mickey, Discovery Island, Africa, Asia and last but not least Dinoland.
With four parks, you need more than a day to get to them all, but wait, those are just the theme parks, there’s even more to Disneyworld! Disney World includes water parks, sports complexes, shopping areas and a lot more. In part 2 of our series of “What Makes Up Disney World” we’ll be covering such other attractions as Typhoon Lagoo, Blizzard Beach, Downtown Disney, Disney’s Wide World of Sports and a bit more!
