Magic Kingdom



The Magic Kingdom is one of Walt Disney World's six parks and stands as the heart and soul of the resort. The park was the first to be opened and stands as the most visited place in the world.

The layout of the Kingdom is that of the central hub (Cinderella's Castle) surrounded by seven "lands" that are based around different themes; Main Street U.S.A, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Tommorrowland and Liberty Square. Each land is home to different characters who do their best to show guests a good time.

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 Park in California. The Florida park, however, was built in a larger area and improved upon Disneyland's design.

There are several anecdotes relating to reasons for some of the features of Walt Disney World, and 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
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 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 the unique in name, Liberty Square, it is unique because it shares 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.

History
From The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World by Susan Veness.



1971-1972: The Early Days
The Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, to a crowd of 10,000 visitors.

Attractions open that day were:
 * Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel
 * Country Bear Jamboree
 * Diamond Horseshoe Revue
 * Dumbo the Flying Elephant
 * Frontierland Shooting Gallery
 * Hall Of Presidents
 * Haunted Mansion
 * It’s A Small World
 * Jungle Cruise
 * Mad Tea Party
 * Mickey Mouse Revue
 * Mike Fink Keel Boats
 * Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
 * Skyway to Tomorrowland
 * Skyway to Fantasyland
 * Snow White’s Adventures
 * Swiss Family Treehouse
 * Tropical Serenade
 * Grand Prix Raceway
 * The Walt Disney World Railway

During the other three months of 1971, other attractions opened:
 * Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat
 * Peter Pan’s Flight
 * 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
 * Flight to the Moon
 * America the Beautiful

In 1972, the If You Had Wings attraction opened in Tomorrowland. During the park’s first anniversary, 10.7 million guests had passed through its gates.



1973-1974: Something New
On 1973 many new attractions opened that later turned into timeless classics:
 * The Walt Disney Story
 * Tom Sawyer Island
 * Tom Sawyer Island Rafts
 * Plaza Swan Boats
 * Richard F. Irvine Riverboat
 * Pirates of the Caribbean

On 1974 America the Beautiful closed and the next day it reopened with a new film, Magic Carpet ‘Round the World which after a year closed and America the Beautiful reappeared. Star Jets opened on Tomorrowland. By the end of 1974 the park’s popularity was so big that on December 29, a record 74,597 day-guests passed through the gates and for the first time in history, closed due to over-capacity.



1975: Liftoff to Tomorrowland
On January 1975 long-awaited Space Mountain opened in Tomorrowland. After some time, when travelling to the Moon lost it’s Mystique, Flight to the Moon became Mission to Mars. On June, America on Parade opened to honor the American Bicentennial. The classic Carousel of Progress was moved from Disneyland to Magic Kingdom.



1976-1981: Main Street Milestones
Although 1976 was quiet in terms of new attractions, the Magic Kingdom hit a milestone when Susan Brummer passed through the gates as the park’s 50,000,000 th visitor. On June 1977 the Main Street Electrical Parade premiered. The period from 1978 to 1981 was quiet at the Magic Kingdom as a second gate, EPCOT Center broke ground in preparation for an October 1, 1982 opening. Mickey Mouse Revue closed on September 1980, followed by the retirement of the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat. But big news came on November with the opening of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. A Dream Called EPCOT film began showing at the EPCOT Preview Center in Magic Kindiom, generating excitement for the new park. 1981 focused on Magic Kingdom’s 10 Year Aniversary. The stage show Disney World Is Your World opened and the Tencennial Parade started running. Disney World welcomed its 126,000,000 th guest during the tencennial celebrations.

1982-1983: The Quiet Years
Most of Walt Disney World’s energy was focused on EPCOT Center through 1982 and 1983. The Plaza Swan Boats no longer swam the park’s island waters as of August 1983.

1984: A New Boss
A change of power occured on 1984. Michael Eisner became the new chairman and chief executive officer. On July 1984 the Show Biz Is show opened only to close two months later. America the Beautiful was replaced by American Journeys while on the other end of the park, the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade opened.

1985-1987: More Development, but not at the Magic Kingdom
After the upheaval of 1984 it would takeanother four years before any new development occurred on the Magic Kingdom. Time and Money were used to open the third gate at Walt Disney World. The $300 million “Hollywood that Never Was and Always Will Be” was opened as Disney MGM Studios. Merlin’s Magic Shop was closed at the Magic Kingdom and the Diamond Horseshoe Revue was Renamed the Diamond Horseshoe Jamboree. If You Had Wings was renamed If You Could Fly. Magic Journeys the first 3-D attraction in the park debuted.

1988-1990: Junior Jamboree
In honor to Mickey’s 40th aniversary, a temporary land, Mickey’s Birthdayland opened. The area consisted of Mickey’s House, Grandma Duck’s Petting Farm, Mickey’s Playground and three circus-style tents opened with character meet-and-greets and two live shows includin Minnie’s Surprise Birthday Party. One of the prime attractions was a cow living at the petting farm named Minnie Moo, born with the classic tri-circle Mickey head on her side. On January 1989 If You Could Fly closed, being replaced with Delta Dreamflight. Due to it’s enormous popularity, Mickey’s Birthdayland was kept and renamed Mickey’s Starland.

1991-1993: Parades and a Big Splash
On September 1991 the popular Main Street Electrical Parade. It was replaced on october by the amazing SpectroMagic. The Surprise Celebration Parade ran each afternon since September. It had been 12 years since the Magic Kingdom welcomed a major attraction. In 1992, Splash Mountain opened. The Walt Disney Story closed on October 1992 followed by Mission to Mars. The Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress both underwent huge refurbishments. On December Magic Journeys closed. A month later American Journeys closed followed by Surprise Celebration Parade and Star Jets.

1994: The City of the Future
In 1994 Tomorrowland needed and got a mayor refurbishment. It had begun to look dated so the Imagineers gave it a general design creating a City of the Future.In the process the WEDway PeopleMover adopted the name, Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The attraction 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea closed.

1994-1995: Drama and Comedy
On 1994 The Legend of the Lion King opened at the Mickey Mouse Revue theater. On November the Timekeeper opened with the movie From Time To Time in Tomorrowland. The Penny Arcade and the House of Magic Closed on 1995. Star Jets reopened as Astro Orbiter. On June, 1995 the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter opened giving a slight of Terror to the Magic Kingdom. Snow White's Adventures underwent an extensive upgrade, toning down its scare factors and adding the character of Snow White herself to the ride.

1996-1997: Goofy For More
Mickey’s Starland was transformed into Mickey’s Toontown Fair, enjoying an expansion in June 1996 with the additions of the Toontown Hall of Fame and kiddie coaster The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm, which replaced Grandma Duck’s Petting Farm. The Grand Prix Raceway’s track was shortened to make room for the new Toontown Fair attractions. It was later renamed the Tomorrowland Speedway. The Richard F. Irvine riverboat was renamed the Liberty Belle. In 1997, King Stefan’s Banquet Hall was renamed Cinderella’s Royal Table. Delta Dreamflight was renamed Take Flight. Cinderella Castle was transformed into a giant birthday cake as part of Walt Disney World’s 25th Anniversary celebration.

1998-1999: Silver Anniversary Stunner
In April of 1998, Tropical Serenade reopened as The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management with Aladdin’s Iago and The Lion King’s Zazu as hosts. In October of 1998, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin replaced Take Flight. The beloved Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride closed in September of 1998, reopening in June of 1999 as The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. SpectroMagic went on hiatus in the summer of 1999 and the classic Main Street Electrical Parade returned for a limited engagement.

2000-2002: New Millenium, New Shows
2001 added new entertainment to the park. This included Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration, the Share a Dream Come True Parade and the return of SpectroMagic. 2001 also saw the opening of The Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the departure of the Mike Fink Keelboats. On October 1, 2001, Disney’s 100 Years of Magic elebration began, honoring the anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth.

2003-2004: More Mickey and Friends
October 2003 saw another period of great change in the park--the 3-D film Mickey’s PhilharMagic replaced The Legend of the Lion King, an all-new fireworks spectacular called Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams lit up the sky for the first time and The EtraTERRORastrial Alien Encounter closed. Alien Encounter's replacement arrived more than a year later with the scary but friendly Stitch’s Great Escape.

2005-PRESENT: Movie Makeovers
Disney could not ignore the 2003 blockbuster movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, so in 2006, the classic Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was refurbished to add the characters of Jack Sparrow, Barbossa and Davy Jones to the ride. Also in 2006, The Timekeeper closed and reopened as the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor the following year. It's a Small World, The Haunted Mansion, The Hall of Presidents and Space Mountain all underwent huge refurbishments. Now, expectation grows over the big expansion of Fantasyland, which will include new attractions, shops, restaurants, experiences and areas based on Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dumbo.

Main Street, U.S.A.

 * Main Street Vehicles
 * Walt Disney World Railroad - Main Street Station
 * Town Square Theater
 * Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom

Adventureland

 * The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
 * Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
 * Pirates of the Caribbean
 * Jungle Cruise
 * Swiss Family Treehouse
 * Shrunken Ned's Junior Jungle Boats

Frontierland

 * Splash Mountain
 * Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
 * Country Bear Jamboree
 * Frontierland Shootin' Arcade
 * Tom Sawyer Island
 * Walt Disney World Railroad - Frontierland Station

Liberty Square

 * The Hall of Presidents
 * Haunted Mansion
 * Liberty Belle Riverboat

Fantasyland

 * Cinderella Castle
 * Dumbo the Flying Elephant
 * It's a Small World
 * Mad Tea Party
 * The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
 * Mickey's PhilharMagic
 * Peter Pan's Flight
 * Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
 * The Barnstormer featuring Goofy as The Great Goofini
 * Casey Jr. Splash 'n' Soak Station
 * Merida "Play and Greet" (Fairytale Garden)
 * Ariel's Grotto (Re-opening in 2012)
 * Be Our Guest Restaurant (Opening in 2012)
 * Enchanted Tales with Belle (Opening in 2012)
 * Princess Fairytale Hall (Opening in 2013)
 * Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Opening in 2014)
 * Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (Opening in 2012)
 * Pete's Silly Sideshow (Opening in late 2012/early 2013)
 * Scuttle’s Scavenger Hunt (Opening as part of the Fantasyland expansion currently in progress.)

Tomorrowland

 * Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
 * Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
 * Stitch's Great Escape!
 * Astro Orbiter
 * Space Mountain
 * Tomorrowland Speedway
 * Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
 * Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress

Planned Film
Director Jon Favreau and Walt Disney Pictures plan to produce and release a film concerning a family at Disneyland which finds the theme park characters and attractions coming to life.

Favreau, who said "the Disney iconography was probably the first set of archetypes that I was exposed to" and that Disney movies and attractions "made a deep impression on me as a child", noted that, "When I first heard about the Magic Kingdom film project, I was on my way to visit Disneyland with my family. I took notes and had no problem filling a book with all the ideas that this concept offered, even on first blush."

Marc Abraham and Eric Newman of Strike Entertainment are scheduled to produce the film. Writer-producer Ronald D. Moore had previously written an original script for the project, which the studio eventually declined to use, stating that Favreau and a new screenwriter will develop a new script. On June 20, 2011, Spider-Man 2 story contributor, Michael Chabon signed on to write the film's script.