Walt Disney World opened in Florida
On this day · 1 October 1971
On October 1, 1971, the Magic Kingdom welcomed its first guests, planting Disney's flag in central Florida swampland.
On October 1, 1971, the gates of the Magic Kingdom swung open near Orlando, Florida, launching what would become the most-visited resort on Earth. The first day drew a deliberately modest crowd of roughly 10,000 guests — Disney planners, scarred by the chaotic 1955 opening of California’s Disneyland, wanted nothing close to a stampede.
Walt Disney himself never saw it; he had died in 1966, five years before opening day. The project he sketched out — a sprawling resort on tens of thousands of acres of Florida wetland — was completed by his brother Roy O. Disney and the company’s engineers.
The Magic Kingdom debuted with about 23 attractions across themed lands, alongside the Contemporary and Polynesian Village resort hotels. Liberty Square, with its Hall of Presidents, was unique to Florida and had no Disneyland twin.
Disney bought up the land quietly through shell companies so prices wouldn’t balloon before the plans were public.
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