The time and hard work put into building this fantastical must be recognized. In this speech I will take you on a magical journey through the history making and development of this ravishing park. “In 1964 Walt Disney began secretly buying millions Of dollars worth Of Central Florida farmland” (“History”). The amount of land purchased ranges from five thousand acres to twenty thousand acres at a time. They were sold a remarkably high prices. Many thought the person buying this land was Howard Hughes while others thought it was the space program (“History’).
For this large piece of land, Mr.. Disney had a vision, he wanted it to be the place where everyone would come and never grow up. He wanted an “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” He wanted to “Plus It! ” , or make it better than Disneyland in California (“Theme park History: A Short History of Walt”). When other entrepreneurs found out (owners of hotel chains and restaurants) they started buying spots near and around the site for the soon to be Disney World. They all wanted in on the great riches that would be earned from the anxious visitors to this Fantasy Land.
Walt Disney died on December 15th 1966, 5 years before the opening of his park. But, his brother, Roy O. Disney continued his vision of Disney World. The building of the park was a two year construction effort that employed nine thousand people. “The total cost of this project by its October 1 971 opening was 400 million dollars”. By the end of the first two years after the opening of the Magic Kingdom, thirteen thousand people were employed and over twenty million visited the park. (“History’) Other parks and attractions started moving near the park too.
Swearword, an aquatic based park, came around in about the year 1973. As the things around it continued to grow, so did Disney World. The production and building rates were faster than ever. PEPCO, also known as the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, was added in 1987 and Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney Hollow. Todd Studios) was also added as a “plus it! ” in 1989 (“History’). The jungle based park, Animal Kingdom, was then added. This park had animal themed attractions that drew in many young children and teens.
In 1990, Universal Studios opened its doors. This park expanded Disney even more, bringing in more visitors, which led to more money for more attractions. The new money earned built “Islands of Adventure, a second theme park including attractions dedicated to Dry. Issues, Marvel comics, and Jurassic Park” (“History’). These two parks were focused on different movies, shows, or characters, either under the Disney Company or other big name companies linked to Disney. Fast forward to September 1 1, 2001.
This is the day the planes crashed Into the twin towers, or 9/1 1 as most call it. This devastating attack impacted Disney and other tourism places greatly. The attack brought down the ours economy drastically, money was very short and building slowed. Many were afraid to travel so that meant less visitors to the attractions. This major disinflation in the economy lasted for two years. Right after these two years three hurricanes hit Central Florida. This continued the disinflation in the tourist economy.
This also closed Cypress Creek but it was soon after rebuilt as LEGEND, which was preparing for its debut on March 20th (“History”). Nevertheless, the building continued, more attractions were being added to the different parks, from Fear Factor at Swearword, to Soaring’ Over California at PEPCO. Animal Kingdom also added a ride in 2006 called Expedition Everest, a ride based on Mount Everest, showing you what it’s like to go down the great mountain. A year after this, the famous Castle from Cinderella was unveiled.
This attracted many small children, some were even lucky enough to be able to stay a night in the famous Castle. The Castle is located in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, where you are very likely to meet Cinderella and the Prince. While building the park, the engineers, or builders at Disney World came up with the hidden Mackey game. While walking through the park you must count the amount of hidden Mackey heads you find in the park. They can be hidden in the shapes of walls food, plants, etc.
This game has been played for many years by visitors of all ages. It started out as a joke to the engineers as they were building and thinking up new technology, it made the job even more interesting and fun than it already was. Building the attractions took a lot of work and thought. The engineers had to think of different means of technology needed to accomplish their goal. They also had to think of the efferent Disney stories and themes and how they would be incorporated in the different attractions and rides at the park.
There were many long hours of thought and precision put into the building and engineering of this wonderful park, it did not just come from a few doodles. All in All, Disney World has been through a lot since its debut in the year 1 971. From its original founder, Walt Disney, passing to the disinflation in the tourist economy Disney still managed to hold up. From this bad also came good, Roy Disney saw many more opportunities for Disney World and after the inflation, more rides and attractions were added, and some still are being added and thought up at this very moment.