WDW Magazine March 2021 | Page 52

50 YEARS OF THE FLORIDA PROJECT

1964 The begining of secret land purchases in Central Florida for what is now known as Walt Disney World
MAY 30 , 1967 Official groundbreaking on the Florida Project
MAY 27 , 1965 Miami Herald headline " Giant Land Deal Near Orlando Revealed "
DECEMBER 15 , 1966 Walt Disney passes away
OCT . 1 , 1971 Magic Kingdom opens
The Contemporary Resort opens
The Polynesian Village Resort opens
Disney World is now formally known as Walt Disney World , named by Roy , in honor of Walt ' s passing
Donn Tatum becomes CEO of The Walt Disney Company
NOV . 19 , 1971 Fort Wilderness opens
JAN . 15 , 1975 Space Mountain and Walt Disney ' s Carousel of Progress open
JULY 1 , 1975 TTA PeopleMover opens
MARCH 22 , 1975 Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village ( now known as Disney Springs ) opens
1983 Ron Miller becomes CEO of The Walt Disney Company
DEC . 16 , 1983 Mickey ' s Very Merry Christmas Party debuts
NOV . 15 , 1980 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens

1960s 1970s

1980s

NOV . 15 , 1965 Walt Disney announces plans for a new theme park on east coast 1966
Roy O .
OCT . 24 , 1965 Orlando Sentinel headline " We Say ' Mystery ' Industry Is Disney "
Disney postpones retirement following Walt ' s death to guide the completion of Disney World
1966 Walt Disney films an introduction to the Florida Project and discusses plans for Disney World and EPCOT
OCT .
1971 Electric Water Pageant debuts
MAY 20 , 1973 Tom Sawyer Island opens
DEC . 17 , 1973 Pirates of the Caribbean opens
1976 E . Cardon Walker becomes CEO of The Walt Disney Company
JUNE 11 , 1977 Main Street Electrical Parade debuts
OCT . 1 , 1982 EPCOT opens
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT : Walt Disney presenting the Florida Project . PHOTO BY CLIFF WANG , Roy O . Disney and others surveying land for purchase in Florida . STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA , Roy O . Disney . STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA , Donn Tatum . D23 . COM , MSEP float from 1979 . STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA , Cinderella Castle in 1971 . STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA , E . Cardon Walker . OHMYDISNEY . COM , EPCOT entrance in 1983 . STATE ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA , Big Thunder Mountain . PHOTO BY RICH RAMOS , Ron Miller . WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM ,