Walt Disney World

The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is

an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United
States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the
resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division
of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres (39 sq mi;
101 km2), of which half has been used.[5] The resort comprises four theme parks (Magic
Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom), two water
parks (Disney's Blizzard Beach and Disney's Typhoon Lagoon), 31 themed resort
hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other
entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.
Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955,
the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s. "The Florida Project", as it
was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of
attractions. Walt Disney's original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental
Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), a planned community intended to serve
as a testbed for new city-living innovations. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966,
during the initial planning of the complex. After his death, the company wrestled with the
idea of whether to bring the Disney World project to fruition. However, Walt's older
brother, Roy, came out of retirement to make sure Walt's biggest dream was realized.
Construction started in 1967, with the company instead building a resort similar to
Disneyland, abandoning the experimental concepts for a planned community. The
Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex, in 1971, followed by
Epcot (1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (1989), and Disney's Animal Kingdom (1998).
It was Roy who insisted the name of the entire complex be changed from Disney World
to Walt Disney World, ensuring that people would remember that the project was Walt's
dream.
In 2018, Walt Disney World was the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an
average annual attendance of more than 58 million.[6] The resort is the flagship
destination of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise and has become a popular
staple in American culture. In 2020, Walt Disney World was chosen to host the NBA
Bubble for play of the 2019–20 season of the National Basketball Association to resume
at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Walt Disney World (as well as Disneyland)
is also covered by an FAA prohibited airspace zone that restricts all airspace activities
without approval from the Federal government of the United States, including usage
of drones; this level of protection is otherwise only offered to American critical
infrastructure (like the Pantex plant), military bases, the Washington, DC Metropolitan
Area Special Flight Rules Area, official presidential travels, and Camp David.[7]
In 2020, Disney World began laying off 6,500 employees and only operated at 25%
capacity after reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9]