Magic Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. "Magic Kingdom" may also refer to other Disneyland-style theme parks around the world. For the band Magic Kingdom, see Magic Kingdom (band).
| Disney theme park | |
  Cinderella Castle is the icon of the Magic Kingdom |
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| The Magic Kingdom | |
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| Location | Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA |
| Opening Day | October 1, 1971 |
| Resort | Walt Disney World Resort |
| Theme | Various |
| Website | Magic Kingdom Homepage |
| Operator | The Walt Disney Company |
| Walt Disney World Resort |
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| Theme parks |
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Magic Kingdom |
| Other attractions |
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Disney's Typhoon Lagoon |
| Walt Disney World resorts |
The Magic Kingdom is a theme park within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Walt Disney Parks and Resorts unit. Opened on October 1, 1971, it is the most famous Florida theme park. Designed and built by WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering), the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, which opened in 1955.
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[edit] Dedication
While there is no individual dedication to the Magic Kingdom Park, the dedication 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.
[edit] Areas of the Magic Kingdom
The park contained twenty-three attractions on the day it opened, twenty of them copies of attractions at Disneyland. Today the park map lists forty-eight attractions (though several of these, like the Guest Information Board, probably shouldn't be included in the number) in seven themed "lands."
The Walt Disney World Railroad runs along the perimeter of the park and makes stops at Main Street, Frontierland, and Mickey's Toontown Fair.
[edit] Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street U.S.A. is designed to represent many small towns across America as they may have existed in the early 20th century. The theme is inspired by Walt Disney's childhood as well as the film Lady and the Tramp.
[edit] Adventureland
Adventureland represents the mystery of exploring foreign lands. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the South Pacific, with an extension resembling a Caribbean town square. It contains classic rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise.
[edit] Frontierland
Frontierland is where guests can relive the wild west -- from cowboys and indians, to exploring the mysteries of the Rivers of America. Frontierland contains classic attractions such as Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tom Sawyer Island and the Country Bear Jamboree.
[edit] Liberty Square
This area of the park is based on an American Revolutionary town. The Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America hosts the Liberty Belle river boat. Liberty Square is home to the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents.
[edit] Fantasyland
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."
Fantasyland is themed in a medieval-faire/carnival style.
[edit] Mickey's Toontown Fair
An expansion of the expansion Mickey's Birthdayland and Mickey's Starland, this area is the location of Mickey's Country House, Minnie's Country House, and Donald's Boat.
[edit] Tomorrowland
In the words of Walt Disney: "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors 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."
Tomorrowland is themed to be a futuristic bustling spaceport.
[edit] Trivia
- "The Magic Kingdom" is also a nickname for the Disneyland theme park itself. This usage predates the Florida theme park, but Disneyland never officially bore this name. While Disneyland's official nickname is "The Happiest Place On Earth," the official nickname of the Magic Kingdom is "The Most Magical Place On Earth." This led to the common use in Disneyana literature of the term Magic Kingdom-style, to describe the classic Disney park - with the castle, Main Street, etc.
- While even the earliest tickets specifically bore the name, "the Magic Kingdom" (Admission Ticket Archive at AllEarsNet), there is a myth among some Disney fans that the park was originally called either "Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom", or simply "Walt Disney World" due to the confusion created because the dedication to the entire resort was placed in the park. While it was sometimes referred to as "Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom", especially in earlier years when they were initially branding the resort, and many tourists confused the name of the park with the name of the resort when it was the only theme park in operation, "Walt Disney World" has always been the name of the larger resort and not the park itself. In order to further differentiate between the park and Disneyland in California and to acknowledge the need for consistent theme park names and branding, in 1994 Disney refined the names of the other theme parks; "EPCOT Center" was renamed to simply "Epcot", and "the Magic Kingdom" was specifically altered to "Magic Kingdom Park", and has remained so ever since.
- 2005 saw the release of a novel set inside the Magic Kingdom, The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson. The novel is authorized by Disney, and sees a group of teenagers searching for treasure in the park following clues laid by Walt Disney and his Imagineers. Another novel that takes place inside and around the Magic Kingdom is Cory Doctorow's 2003 science-fiction book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
- The Magic Kingdom park is constructed above a series of tunnels called utilidors, short for "utility corridors," used by park employees (cast members) to reach areas inside and outside the park without being seen by park Guests. This means that Cast Members in Adventureland outfits never have to be seen in Main Street, USA, for example - this comes from an occasion in Disneyland when Walt Disney spotted a Frontierland cowboy strolling through Tomorrowland. The utilidors were built at ground level (due to Florida's high water table) and the area around them was filled in with dirt from the "Seven Seas Lagoon" which was being dug in front of the park, and the Magic Kingdom itself was built on top. This means that, technically, ground level inside the Magic Kingdom is actually on the second story. These tunnels do not extend to areas constructed after the park was originally built. The utilidors were originally planned to be used for every park, but due to financial constraints they were not used in any of the other Walt Disney World theme parks, except for a small network of utilidors in the Future World area of Epcot and under Pleasure Island.
- The Magic Kingdom itself is the setting for the Disney on Ice play, Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure Now Known as Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Disneyland Adventure.
[edit] See also
- List of current Magic Kingdom attractions
- List of past Magic Kingdom attractions
- Magic Kingdom entertainment history
[edit] External links
| Roller coasters at Walt Disney World |
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Barnstormer - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Expedition Everest - Primeval Whirl - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - Space Mountain |
