Walt Disney World, Epcot

The Walt Disney World Resort, often referred to as simply Walt Disney World or Disney World, is a major recreational resort most famous for its theme parks. The resort is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment of The Walt Disney Company. more...

The resort is located in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, Florida, outside the city limits of Orlando.

Walt Disney World's construction began in 1967, in fact, just a year after Walt Disney's death. The property opened on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom, and since has added Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. In addition to the four main theme parks, the resort contains two water parks, six golf courses, a sports complex, an auto race track, twenty resort hotels, and numerous shopping, dining, and entertainment offerings. The 47-square-mile (122 km²) property is the largest theme park resort in the world. It is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North).

President Allen R. "Al" Weiss has overseen the resort since 1994. In late 2005, Weiss was named to the new position of president, worldwide operations, for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, giving him oversight of Disney's California, Florida, Paris and Hong Kong resorts.

Concept

Walt Disney originally envisioned what would eventually become the Walt Disney World Resort as a resort that would include a theme park that would be larger and more elaborate than Disneyland. There was also to be various housing facilities for guests of the resort, along with an industrial park, main resort terminal, and a futuristic airport, but most importantly was Walt Disney's "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow," or EPCOT. EPCOT was also known as Progress City. However, plans for EPCOT would drastically change after Walt Disney's death. EPCOT became EPCOT Center, the second theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Much later, concepts from the original idea of EPCOT would be integrated into the community of Celebration.

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