Magic Kingdom

“*The Most Magical Place On Earth*”
―Magic Kingdom tagline
The **Magic Kingdom** is the flagship theme park of Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Based on the original Disneyland in California, it opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of Walt Disney World's four theme parks.

The layout of the park is that of the central hub (Cinderella Castle) surrounded by six "lands" that are based around different themes--Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Liberty Square. Each land is home to different characters who do their best to show guests a good time.

## 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 Oliver Disney, October 25, 1971

## Construction

Although Walt Disney himself had been highly involved in planning *The Florida Project*, The Walt Disney Company began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967 following Walt's death in 1966. The Magic Kingdom park was built similarly to the existing Disneyland in California. The Florida park, however, was built in a much larger area and greatly improved upon Disneyland's design.

There are several anecdotes relating to reasons for some of the features of Walt Disney World, and the Magic Kingdom specifically. According to one story, Walt Disney once saw a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland at Disneyland. He disliked how the cowboy intruded on the futuristic setting of Tomorrowland and wanted to avoid situations like this in the new park. Therefore, Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a contraction of the words "utility" and "corridor". These tunnels allow cast members to move through the park out of sight from guests, maintaining the illusion of the show.

Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be constructed underground, so they were built at the existing grade. This means that the park itself is actually built on the second story, giving Magic Kingdom an elevation of 107 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 only used in Magic Kingdom because of financial constraints, but they were meant to be employed in all subsequent Walt Disney World parks. Epcot's Future World and Pleasure Island each have a smaller network of utilidors.

### Opening

The Magic Kingdom opened as the first part of Walt Disney's planned Florida Project on October 1, 1971. It was the only theme park on the resort at the time and opened concurrently with two hotels on the property: Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. The park opened with 23 attractions, three unique to the park and 20, often somewhat different, copies of attractions at Disneyland. The Walt Disney Company promised to increase this number with more attractions like those in Disneyland as well as more unique ones. The attractions were split into six themed lands. Five of these lands were counterparts to those at Disneyland and the sixth is Liberty Square, unique in name, but sharing the same attractions as Disneyland's New Orleans Square.

While there is no individual dedication to Magic Kingdom Park, the dedication by Roy O. Disney for the entire Walt Disney World Resort was placed within its gates.

*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. Dedicated this 25th day of October 1971. Roy Oliver Disney.*

## Special Events

### Current

* Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
* Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
* Disney After Hours
	+ Villains After Hours

## Dining Events

* Disney Early Morning Magic
* Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise

## Transportation

* Walt Disney World Monorail System
* Minnie Van Service
* Bus
* Boat
* Ferry
* Parking Lot
	+ Woody Parking Lot
	+ Aladdin Parking Lot
	+ Jafar Parking Lot
	+ Zurg Parking Lot
	+ Simba Parking Lot
	+ Peter Pan Parking Lot
	+ Hook Parking Lot
	+ Scar Parking Lot
	+ Mulan Parking Lot
	+ Rapunzel Parking Lot
	+ Ursula Parking Lot
	+ Cruella Parking Lot