Main Street , U . S . A . at Disneyland in California . PHOTO BY BRIAN SHIH
By the time Magic Kingdom opened on October 1 , 1971 , Imagineers , Cast Members , and Executives had already honed 16 years of knowledge since Disneyland opened in 1955 . They learned how to run a theme park in a way that every other amusement enterprise in the world would go on to emulate .
While keeping fan favorites , making improvements to park design , and finding new ways to delight guests were a big part of the dream of Walt Disney World , it was never meant to be simply a bigger , better version of Disneyland . Walt ’ s vision was so much bigger , centering on an all-new concept — the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow — as the key differentiator between the West Coast and East Coast properties .
After Walt ’ s sudden passing in 1966 , the team at WED Enterprises ( you know them today as Walt Disney Imagineering ) worked to fulfill Walt ’ s so-called Florida Project . While development for EPCOT took a backseat , plans for Magic Kingdom were well underway . Using everything they ’ d learned in California , WED Enterprises built what would become the top-attended theme park in the world , Magic Kingdom .
THE BLESSING OF SIZE Disneyland started out in a sleepy little town full of orange groves , somewhere you ’ d never have thought to visit before Mickey and his pals moved in . Once it was open , lots of businesses catering to tourists popped up in the immediate vicinity of the property ’ s borders .
It ’ s no secret that Walt wasn ’ t a fan of the result — being able to see the outside world from within his gates . He couldn ’ t control the environment surrounding Disneyland , so when planning for WDW , he claimed as much space as he could get his hands on .
The size of the property in Florida meant there was room to hold all kinds of ideas — from multiple parks , hotels , and campgrounds to recreational activities and shopping centers — all within a Disney
“ bubble ” where guests could fully escape into the world of yesterday , tomorrow , and fantasy .
And its location was nestled between two major highways , providing easy access to families traveling from the South , Midwest , and Eastern Seaboard . That guaranteed there would be plenty of guests to enjoy the resort as a true vacation destination .
This idea of size extended into the park itself . Magic Kingdom was inspired by the hub-and-spoke design of Disneyland and contains many similar lands and attractions , but there ’ s a lot more space within the park .
At 105 acres ( compared to Disneyland ’ s 85 acres ), the walkways are wider and the queues are more spacious . There is even room for the parade to make a loop backstage so it can start each performance in Frontierland and end on Main Street , U . S . A . ( In Disneyland , it goes back and forth , rotating starting points between Fantasyland and Main Street .)