Walt Disney History

Walt Disney World Transportation

On today's show, Mike and Mark discuss the various modes of transportation around Walt Disney World and when you might prefer a car.

You can subscribe to MouseStation from the links at the bottom of this page , or via your favorite podcast aggregator. If you'd rather pop up our podcast radio player into a separate window so that you can continue browsing MousePlanet in this window, click here . (NOTE: Our podcast radio requires Adobe Flash Player. You can dowload the player here .)

Send in your suggestions, comments or tips via our email feedback form or via voicemail on our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278).

This week's tips come via email from Wesley in Vermont, who wrote about taking the train from Albany, NY to Kissimmee, having a reserved cab waiting for them at the Kissimmee station, using Starwood points to stay at the Swan and Dolphin and eat meals there, watching the poolside movie at the Swan/Dolphin pool on Saturday nights, using Disney Rewards points to pay for other meals, and not complaining about the heat and humidity in August.

Mark also suggested the Auto Train as an alternative to taking a passenger train and taking a cab to your resort.

Mike and Mark discuss the various modes of transportation around Walt Disney World and when you might prefer a car.

Mark described and gave a bit of the history of the Walt Disney World monorails ( designed by George McGinnis ), including the story of the first monorail pillar driven, the sightseeing trips through the under-construction EPCOT Center, the unbuilt spur from EPCOT Center to the Walt Disney World Shopping Village, and more. Monorails are very useful on the routes that they run.

There are a variety of watercraft that run to and from the Magic Kingdom, including the three main ferries that go to the Transportation and Ticket Center: The Richard F. Irvine (formerly the Magic Kingdom I ), the Admiral Joe Fowler (formerly the Magic Kingdom II ), and the General Joe Potter (formerly the Kingdom Queen ). There are also smaller craft that go to the Magic Kingdom Resort Hotels. On a crowded day or night, it may be faster to take a ferry than to wait in line for a monorail due to the capacity.

Other transportation watercraft include the Friendships that ply the waters of Crescent Lake with stops at Epcot, the Boardwalk Resort, the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, the Swan & Dolphin Resorts, and Disney's Hollywood Studios (and reverses the stops in the other direction). Friendships also travel the World Showcase Lagoon. There are also ferries that run to Downtown Disney from the Port Orleans Resorts and from the Old Key West and Saratoga Springs Resorts.

History of The Walt Disney World Resort plugin wordpress

Walt Disney World is referred to as the place where dreams come true. Indeed, in many respects the present-day resort was the dream of one Walt Disney whom envisaged a Disneyland not constrained by land restrictions, and one with the emphasis on science and technology.

In 1959, his company, the Walt Disney Company, began looking for sites for a second Disneyland. On a flight over Florida Orlando in 1963, Walt Disney fell in love with the site. His reason for choosing the site, when asked was: “the freeway roads, they bisect here.”

However, Disney needed to keep the land acquisition secret, and so set up a series of dummy co-operations to purchase 27,000 acres in the area. This continued until about 1965, after most of the land had been brought, when the story was leaked to Orlando Sentinel.

On 15 November 1965, Disney held a press conference on the project. Here, their plans for Epcot were revealed, to tie in with the Disney theme.

Sadly, Walt Disney never saw the resort open, as he passed away in 1966. From here on, Roy Disney headed the project and saw to it that it was renamed from Disney World to Walt Disney World.

Further conferences were held in 1967, which again focused on the role of Epcot. Equally, it was emphasized that for the Walt Disney project to be carried out, a special district would need to be formed. This was known as The Reedy Creek Improvement District. This included two cities inside it, the City of Bay Lake and the City of Reedy Creek. This district would receive immunity from state and country land-use laws.

Drainage canals were soon built, along with the first roads and the Magic Kingdom itself. Disney’s Contemporary, Polynesian and Wilderness resorts were completed in time for the grand opening.

That grand opening came on the 1 October 1971, when the Magic Kingdom opened to the public. On the opening, Walt’s wife remarked, “I think Walt would have approved.” Not long after the opening, Roy Disney also passed away.

Of course, the grand opening of the Magic Kingdom was only the beginning for the resort. Epcot would follow in 1982, thus realizing those 1960 conferences. In 1989, other popular attractions like Disney’s MGM studios and a water park, Typhoon Lagoon, opened. The biggest new addition, Disney’s Animal Park, opened in 1998. Along the way, numerous other additions to Disney World have been made.

Walt Disney, the triumph of the American imagination

Walt Disney, A Biography

Walt Disney

The Walt Disney World Trivia Book, More Secrets, History and Fun Facts Behind the Magic

Who Was Walt Disney?