Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is the flagship theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Based on the original Disneyland in California, it opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of Walt Disney World's four theme parks.

Similar to its California predecessor, the layout of the Magic Kingdom is that of the central hub (Cinderella Castle) surrounded by six "lands" that are based around different themes--Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Liberty Square. Each land is home to different characters who do their best to show guests a good time.

Dedication
“''Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn — together.''”

―Roy Oliver Disney, October 25, 1971

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

There are several anecdotes relating to reasons for some of the features of Walt Disney World, and the 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
The 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 Village 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 Liberty Square, unique in name, but sharing 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.

Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn — together. Dedicated this 25th day of October 1971. Roy Oliver Disney.

History
(Look it up on Wikipedia)

Main Street, U.S.A.

 * Main Street Vehicles
 * Walt Disney World Railroad - Main Street Station
 * Town Square Theater

Adventureland

 * Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
 * Pirates of the Caribbean
 * Jungle Cruise
 * Swiss Family Treehouse
 * The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
 * A Pirate's Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas

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 Haunted Mansion
 * The Hall of Presidents
 * Liberty Belle Riverboat

Enchanted Forest

 * Ariel's Grotto
 * Enchanted Tales with Belle
 * Mad Tea Party
 * Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
 * The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
 * Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

Storybook Circus

 * Casey Jr. Splash 'n' Soak Station
 * Dumbo the Flying Elephant
 * Pete's Silly Sideshow
 * The Barnstormer
 * Walt Disney World Railroad - Fantasyland Station

Castle Courtyard

 * Cinderella Castle
 * Fairytale Garden
 * "it's a small world
 * Mickey's PhilharMagic
 * Peter Pan's Flight
 * Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
 * Princess Fairytale Hall
 * Sword in the Stone

Tomorrowland

 * Space Mountain
 * Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
 * Astro Orbiter
 * Tomorrowland Speedway
 * Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
 * Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
 * TRON Lightcycle/Run (Opening in 2023)

Mickey's Toontown Fair

 * Judge's Tent
 * Donald's Boat
 * Mickey's Country House
 * Minnie's Country House

Current Characters

 * Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater


 * Pluto at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Chip and Dale at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Minnie Mouse at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Daisy Duck at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Snow White and maybe Dopey at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Aurora randomly at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Aladdin and Jasmine in Adventureland


 * Chip and Dale in Frontierland


 * Mary Poppins in Liberty Square


 * Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland near the Carousel of Progress


 * Stitch in Tomorrowland


 * Fairy Godmother in Fantasyland behind the Castle


 * Anastasia and Drizella in Fantasyland behind the Castle


 * Peter Pan in Fantasyland near his attraction


 * Cinderella and Elena in Princess Fairytale Hall


 * Rapunzel and Tiana in Princess Fairytale Hall


 * Winnie the Pooh and Tigger near The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh


 * Alice near Mad Tea Party


 * Ariel at her grotto


 * Belle at Enchanted Tales with Belle


 * Gaston outside his tavern


 * Donald and Goofy at the Silly Sideshow


 * Minnie and Daisy at the Silly Sideshow

Past Characters


 * Marie at Town Square/Main Street USA


 * Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Rapunzel, and Tiana at Town Square Theater


 * Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theater


 * Timon in Adventureland


 * Rafiki in Adventureland


 * Ariel and Eric in Adventureland


 * Woody and Jessie in Frontierland


 * Lady Tremaine in Fantasyland behind the Castle


 * Mickey Mouse in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Minnie Mouse in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Donald Duck in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Goofy in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Pluto in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Chip and Dale in Fantasyland near the Carousel


 * Pinocchio in Fantasyland near the Pinocchio Village Haus


 * Snow White at Princess Fairytale Hall


 * Aurora at Princess Fairytale Hall


 * Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall


 * Mad Hatter in Fantasyland near the Mad Tea Party


 * White Rabbit in Fantasyland near the Mad Tea Party


 * Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in Fantasyland near the Mad Tea Party

Current

 * Disney After Hours

Retired

 * Night of Joy
 * Socerers of the Magic Kingdom

Transportaion

 * Walt Disney World Monorail System


 * Minnie Van Service


 * Bus


 * Boat


 * Ferry

Parking Lot


 * Woody Parking Lot


 * Aladdin Parking Lot


 * Jafar Parking Lot


 * Zurg Parking Lot


 * Simba Parking Lot


 * Peter Pan Parking Lot


 * Hook Parking Lot


 * Scar Parking Lot


 * Mulan Parking Lot


 * Rapunzel Parking Lot


 * Ursula Parking Lot


 * Cruella Parking Lot

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.