The Theme Parks of the Walt Disney Word Resort Complex

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When most people think of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, they actually envision the Magic Kingdom theme park, which is only one of several theme parks that make up Walt Disney World! The Walt Disney World Resort comprises over 27,000 acres of land, covering 40 square miles. The state of Florida granted Disney World it's own governmental powers, and the governing body of Disney World is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. With it's own legislative powers, Disney World essentially operates as it's own "city." In fact, Disney World is so large, it is the equivalent to a city of 125,000 people! At any given time, there are over 74,000 Disney employees (called Cast Members) working in the Orlando area. Walt Disney World is not actually in Orlando, but in unincorporated Orange and Osceola Counties. The following are the theme parks that make up the Disney World complex, along with the year they opened: Magic Kingdom (1971); Epcot (1982); Disney-MGM Studios (1989); Typhoon Lagoon (1989); Blizzard Beach (1995); Disney's Wide World of Sports (1997); Downtown Disney (1997); and Animal Kingdom (1998). Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are water parks, and both consistently rank in the top 5 most visited water parks in the world. In 2008, Disney-MGM Studios was renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios. In 2015, Downtown Disney was renamed Disney Springs. Downtown Disney/Disney Springs is a huge shopping and entertainment district and is almost considered a theme park in and of itself! Currently under construction in Animal Kingdom is a new section of the theme park that will be called Avatar Land. In addition, beginning this year Disney announced plans to reinvent the entire Disney Hollywood Studios theme park into two new distinct theme parks, Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land. There are 27 Disney resorts in Disney World, and 9 non-Disney resorts, as well as one campground. Another interesting fact is that Disney "owns" its own city, called Celebration, that is located adjacent to the theme parks! Celebration has about 11,000 residents living in the town. As you can see, there is more to Disney World than just the Magic Kingdom, although the Magic Kingdom will forever remain the central and main attraction of Walt Disney World!