Magic Kingdom, Orlando

The Magic Kingdom is a theme park covering 107 acres (433,000 m²) at Walt Disney World Resort  1  near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Opened on October 1, 1971, it is the most famous of the Florida theme parks. Its layout and attractions are generally similar to those of Disneyland in California.

In addition to the bronze "Partners Statue" of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle, there is also a bronze statue of Roy O. Disney sitting with Minnie Mouse near the park's entrance.

The Magic Kingdom park is constructed above a series of tunnels called utilidors, short for "utility corridors," used by park employees ("cast members") to reach areas inside and outside the park without being seen by park guests. This means that cast members in Tomorrowland outfits never have to be seen in Frontierland, for example - this comes from an occasion in Disneyland when Walt Disney spotted someone in Fantasyland gear strolling through Adventureland. The utilidors were built at ground level (due to Florida's high water table) and the area around them was filled in with dirt from the "Seven Seas Lagoon" which was being dug in front of the park, and the Magic Kingdom itself was built on top. This means that, technically, ground level inside the Magic Kingdom is actually on the second story.

Attractions

The park contained twenty-three attractions on the day it opened, twenty of them copies of attractions at Disneyland. Today the park map lists forty-eight attractions (though several of these, like the Guest Information Board, probably shouldn't be included in the number) in seven themed "lands." Major attractions are listed below.

The Walt Disney World Railroad runs along the perimeter of the park and makes stops at Main Street, Frontierland, and Mickey's Toontown Fair.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street is lined with shops selling Disney merchandise and park food. The decor is early-20th century small-town America, inspired by Walt Disney's childhood. Main Street is the location of City Hall, which contains a Guest Services counter where castmembers provide information and assistance. There is also a real barber shop here which gives haircuts for a fee. You will also find the flagship Magic Kingdom retailing outlet on Main Street, where you can pick up most things i.e. plush toys, pins - the Emporium.

Liberty Square

Based on New Orleans Square at Disneyland, the smallest land in the park is based on a American Revolutionary town. The Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America hosts the Liberty Belle.

• The Hall of Presidents, a show featuring an Audio-Animatronic version of every United States President
• The Haunted Mansion, a dark ride through a haunted house

Mickey's Toontown Fair

A 'spin-off' from Toontown at Disneyland, this area is the location of Mickey's and Minnie's houses, Donald's tugboat, and a county fair tent.

• The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm, a small steel roller coaster

Tomorrowland

• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, a 'racetrack' with small gas-powered racecars
• Space Mountain, which includes 2 indoor roller coasters in the dark
• Astro Orbiter, a raised Dumbo-style ride in rocketships
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority (originally the WEDway PeopleMover), a gentle people mover ride over Tomorrowland
• Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, an Audio-Animatronic show which debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, a dark ride with "laser guns" to shoot targets and score points
• The Timekeeper, a CircleVision 360 film starring Robin Williams, Rhea Perlman, and Jeremy Irons
• Stitch's Great Escape in which Stitch escapes from a prisoner teleportation tube and wreaks comical chaos throughout the audience.

Trivia

In Cinderella's Golden Carousel, Cinderella's own horse is the only one which has a golden bow on its tail. It's in the second rank in from the outside, in the line immediately before the Indian chieftan horse.

"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" is built in the former location of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride," based on the 1949 Disney animated film The Wind in the Willows. Fans of the Mr. Toad ride organized a petition in an attempt to prevent it from being replaced, but were unsuccessful. However, the ride contains a picture of Mr. Toad presenting the Toad Hall deed to Owl (look to the left behind the car when you enter Owl's house), and one Mr. Toad car is on display inside the Exposition Hall on Main Street.

Other noteworthy Magic Kingdom attractions which have been removed include "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (based on the film of the same name) and the "Skyway," for which stations can still be seen in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The "20,000 Leagues" lagoon was left visible for years after the attraction closed, but has recently been barricaded and drained and will be filled with dirt to make room for a new attraction.

"The Magic Kingdom" is also a nickname for the Disneyland theme park itself. This usage predates the Florida theme park, but Disneyland never officially bore this name. While Disneyland's official nickname is "The Happiest Place On Earth," the official nickname of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is "The Most Magical Place On Earth." This led to the common use in Disneyana literature of the term Magic Kingdom-style, to describe the classic Disney park - with the castle, Main Street etc.