Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Park is a theme park located in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, governed by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The park is located within Orange County and closest to the city of Winter Garden. Opened on October 1, 1971, it is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The official park name has changed slightly over the years, from Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017). The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. The park layout and attractions were based on Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.

Magic Kingdom Park
Cinderella Castle, 2021.
Icon of Magic Kingdom.
LocationWalt Disney World Resort, Bay Lake, Florida, United States
Coordinates28°25′07″N 81°34′52″W
StatusOperating
OpenedOctober 1, 1971 (1971-10-01)
OwnerDisney Parks, Experiences and Products
(The Walt Disney Company)
Operated byWalt Disney World
Key People: Sarah Riles (VP)[1]
Perry Crawley (GM-Operations)[2]
SloganThe Most Magical Place On Earth
Operating seasonYear-Round
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

The park icon is Cinderella Castle, inspired by the fairy tale castle featured in the 1950 animated film. In 2022, the park hosted 17.13 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the world for the sixteenth consecutive year and the most visited theme park in North America for at least the past twenty-two years, The park has become a cultural touchstone and symbol of modern American pop culture.

History

Planning

Magic Kingdom entrance

Although Walt Disney had been highly involved in planning the resort complex and park, he died in 1966, before he could see the vision through. Although Walt Disney did not live to see Walt Disney World, he did come to Florida in person to survey the land, meet with local officials, and announce the project to the media. After Walt's death, his brother Roy Disney took over the project. Walt Disney Productions began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967. The park was built as a larger, improved version of Disneyland Park in California.

Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of utility and corridor, allowing employees (called "cast members") or VIP guests to move through the park out of sight.[3]

Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be put underground, so they were built at the existing grade, meaning the park is built on the second story, giving the Magic Kingdom an elevation of 108 feet (33 m). The area around the utilidors was filled in with dirt removed from the Seven Seas Lagoon, which was being constructed at the same time. The utilidors were built in the initial construction and were not extended as the park expanded. The tunnels were intended to be designed into all subsequent Walt Disney World parks but were set aside mostly because of financial constraints.

Opening and operation

Dedication

Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.

Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971[4]

Magic Kingdom Park opened as the first part of the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1971, commencing concurrently with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. It opened with twenty-three attractions, three unique to the park and twenty replicas of attractions at Disneyland, split into six themed lands, five copies of those at Disneyland (Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland) and the Magic Kingdom exclusive of Liberty Square, rather than the Disneyland New Orleans Square. The Walt Disney Company promised to increase this number with a combination of replicas and unique attractions. While there is no individual dedication to Magic Kingdom, the dedication by Roy O. Disney for the entire resort was placed within its gates.

The only land added to the original roster of lands in the park was Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land originally opened in 1988 as Mickey's Birthdayland to celebrate Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday. Later the land was renovated as Mickey's Starland and eventually to Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land was home to attractions such as Mickey's Country House, Minnie's Country House, The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm, and Donald's Boat. It closed on February 12, 2011, to make way for the expansion of Fantasyland. The Walt Disney World Railroad station in Mickey's Toontown Fair, which opened with Mickey's Birthdayland in 1988, was closed for the duration of the construction. In 2012, the space where Mickey's Toontown Fair sat reopened as a part of Fantasyland, in a sub-section called the Storybook Circus, where an updated Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction was relocated. The Barnstormer was retained and was re-themed to The Great Goofini.[5]

Since opening day, Magic Kingdom has been closed temporarily because of eight hurricanes: Floyd, Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Wilma, Matthew, Irma, and Ian.[6] The first non-hurricane related day the park has closed is on September 11, 2001, due to the terrorist attacks that day.[7] Walt Disney World was closed from March 15, 2020 to July 11, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9][10] In addition, there are four "phases" of park closure when Magic Kingdom exceeds capacity, ranging from restricted access for most guests (Phase 1) to full closure for everyone, even cast-members (Phase 4).[11]

"Magic Kingdom" was often used as an unofficial nickname for Disneyland before Walt Disney World was built. The official tagline for Disneyland is "The Happiest Place On Earth", while the tagline for Magic Kingdom is "The Most Magical Place On Earth". Up until the early 1990s, Magic Kingdom was officially known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom', and was never printed without the Walt Disney World prefix. This purpose was to differentiate between the park and Disneyland in California. In 1994, to differentiate it from Disneyland, the park was officially renamed Magic Kingdom Park.

Alcoholic beverages had been prohibited from the park since its opening, but this policy has changed. In 2012, the Be Our Guest restaurant opened selling wine and beer for the first time. This was the only place in the park where alcohol was permitted until December 2014 when four additional restaurants began selling beer and wine including Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen.[12][13] And finally in 2018, the park officially became the second Magic Kingdom-style park to serve alcohol at all table service restaurants, after Disneyland Paris in 1993.[14]

In October 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported the theme park is becoming a popular spot for families to scatter the ashes of loved ones with the Haunted Mansion being the favorite location. The practice is unlawful and prohibited on Disney property and anyone spreading cremated remains will be escorted from the park.[15]

Park layout and attractions

Magic Kingdom is divided into six themed "lands." The center of the park is designed like a wheel, with a central area known as The Hub in front of Cinderella Castle. Pathways spoke out from the hub across the 107 acres (43 ha) of the park and lead to these six lands.[16] The Walt Disney World Railroad circles around the entire 1.5-mile (2.4 km) perimeter of the park and makes stops at three train stations in Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, and Fantasyland. Other named areas of the park include Town Square, located at the entry of the park, and Storybook Circus, a sub-section of Fantasyland. The area that surrounds Tom Sawyer Island is known as the Rivers of America. The street that intersects with Main Street is called Center Street. The east-side of the street remains, while the west-side was demolished in the early 2000s to combine several small stores into one larger Emporium store. An area in Tomorrowland is known as Rocket Tower Plaza near Rocket Tower Stage, and an area in Adventureland is known as Caribbean Plaza. Mini-lands within the park include Beauty and the Beast area of Fantasyland, themed as the small French village from the film.[17][17][18]

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street, U.S.A., with Cinderella Castle in the far distance

Main Street, U.S.A. is themed as an early-20th century American town, inspired by Walt Disney's childhood home of Marceline, Missouri. Symbolically, Main Street represents the park's "opening credits", where guests pass under the train station (the opening curtain) at left or right, then view the names of key personnel along the windows of the buildings' upper floors. Many windows bear the name of a fictional business, such as "Seven Summits Expeditions, Frank G. Wells President", with each representing a tribute to significant people connected to the Disney company and the development of the Walt Disney World Resort. It features stylistic influences from around the country. Taking its inspiration from New England to Missouri, this design is most noticeable in the four corners in the middle of Main Street, where each of the four corner buildings represents a different architectural style. There is no opera house as there is at Disneyland; instead, there is the Town Square Theatre. The second stories of all the buildings along Main Street are shorter than the first stories, and are offices for Walt Disney World management. The musical soundtrack played at the entrance includes musical selections from the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! and the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man. [20]

Adventureland

Adventureland represents the mystery of exploring foreign lands and is themed to resemble the remote landscapes of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the South Pacific, with an extension resembling a Caribbean town square.

Frontierland

Frontierland is a romanticized portrayal of the American Old West, including cowboys and Native Americans, as well as the mysteries of the Rivers of America.

Liberty Square

Liberty Square is inspired by a colonial American town set during the American Revolutionary War. The Liberty Belle Riverboat travels down the park's Rivers of America.

Storybook Circus

Mickey's Toontown Fair closed permanently on February 11, 2011, to make way for Storybook Circus. Some elements of Mickey's Toontown Fair were demolished, and others were re-themed to fit the circus concept. An expanded Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride was built, with an interactive queue, and a second Dumbo ride was built next to it, in order to increase capacity. The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm was re-themed to "The Great Goofini". A big top area was built for meet-and-greets, called Pete's Silly Sideshow. This attraction features Goofy as a stuntman, Daisy as a fortune-teller, Donald as a snake-charmer, Minnie as a Magician, and Pluto as a special performer. Storybook Circus opened with a "streetmosphere" circus act called The Giggle Gang, which had a two-year run from 2012 until 2014.[21]

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is themed in a medieval-faire/carnival style, in the words of Walt Disney: "Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart and to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is themed to an intergalactic city, a concept of the future inspired by the optimism and scientific advancements of the Space Age and Atomic Age. and the optimism of as seen from around the 1950s: rockets, UFOs and robots, etc. In the words of Walt Disney: "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the door of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future." [22][23][24]

Transportation and Ticket Center

The resort's monorail system and ferryboats transport guests to and from the Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom lies more than a mile away from its parking lot, on the opposite side of the human-made Seven Seas Lagoon. Upon arrival, guests are taken by the parking lot trams to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), which sells admission into the parks and provides transportation connections throughout the resort complex.

The Walt Disney World Monorail System, ferryboats and Disney Transport buses can be used by guests. The three hotels closest to Magic Kingdom, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort (which is connected to the Shades of Green resort by a walking path), and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, use either the ferry or monorail system to travel to Magic Kingdom; a walking path also links the Contemporary Resort to the park. Guests staying at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground can also ride a dedicated ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom docks. Guests of other hotels take buses to travel to the park, while guests who are not staying at any of the resort's hotels must use the monorail system or ferryboats to travel to the park from the Transportation and Ticket Center. Guests using ride-hailing services to travel to the park must transfer at the TTC or use the walking path from the Contemporary Resort, as ride-hailing vehicles cannot use the park's bus loops. The three ferries are clad in different trim colors and are named for past Disney executives: the General Joe Potter (blue), the Richard F. Irvine (red) and the Admiral Joe Fowler (green). The main monorail loop has two lanes. The outer lane is a direct nonstop loop between the TTC and Magic Kingdom, while the inner loop has additional stops at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Epcot is accessible by a spur monorail line that was added upon that park's opening in 1982.

Attendance

Attendance Worldwide Rank Year
15,400,000[25]1st2000
14,700,000[26]1st2001
14,000,000[27]1st2002
14,040,000[28]1st2003
15,100,000[29]1st2004
16,100,000[30]1st2005
16,640,000[31]1st2006
17,060,000[32]1st2007
17,063,000[33]1st2008
17,233,000[34]1st2009
16,972,000[35]1st2010
17,142,000[36]1st2011
17,536,000[37]1st2012
18,588,000[38]1st2013
19,332,000[39]1st2014
20,492,000[40]1st2015
20,395,000[41]1st2016
20,450,000[42]1st2017
20,859,000[43]1st2018
20,963,000[44]1st2019
6,941,000[45]1st2020
12,691,000[46]1st2021
17,133,000[47]1st2022

Television adaptation

In 2012, Jon Favreau announced he was planning a film called Magic Kingdom.[48] The film was described as “Night at the Museum at Disneyland,” meaning that the film would tell a story where all the characters at Disney come to life at night.[48] Marc Abraham and Eric Newman of Strike Entertainment were scheduled to produce the film.[49] Writer-producer Ronald D. Moore had previously written an original script for the project, which the studio eventually declined to use, stating that Favreau and a new screenwriter would develop a new script.[49]

In 2021, it was announced that a new project, now developed as a television series for Disney+. Moore was brought back to develop the series which will see that the various lands in the Magic Kingdom are actually gateways to alternate worlds, thus setting up a shared universe. The first in the series will be The Society of Explorers and Adventurers (SEA).[50]

See also

References

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Preceding station Walt Disney World Monorail Following station
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
One-way operation
Resort Line Disney's Contemporary Resort
Next clockwise
Transportation and Ticket Center
Next counter-clockwise
Express Line Transportation and Ticket Center
One-way operation

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