The Story of How the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Was Thought Up
The Magic Kingdom along with the resorts was started in the year 1967 by The Walt Disney Company following the death of Walt Disney. Although the initial idea was to make the park similar to the existing Disneyland in California but Magic Kingdom was built on a larger area. The Magic Kingdom is inspired by Disneyland’s design.
Walt Disney was not fortunate to live long enough to see the park. He died on December 15th, 1966. His brother Roy O. Disney took over the responsibility of creating the park. The completion of the park became his passion and he continued with his brother’s legacy. The name of Disney World was changed to Walt Disney World in order to honor his brother. Roy O. Disney died two months after the opening of the park on December 20th, 1971.
Walt Disney once saw a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland at Disneyland and he wanted to get rid of this factor that had been ruining the illusion. So in order to improve this, The Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels, called Utilidors. Due to the water table being close to the surface in Florida, it was impossible to build underground. This was why the Utilidors are the first floor of the park and the rest of the park is regarded as the second or third floor.
After the construction of the utilidors, the space has been filled with dirt and sand dredged up from the bottom of Bay Lake when it was drained. The sand from the bottom of the lake has been used to line the lake and build the beaches. The hard clay also fills the area and has been a problem with plants planted around the park. Actually the park is only 14 feet above the sea level but thanks to the Utilidors, which facilitates the cast members to walk from one side to the other side of the park within 10 minutes without being noticed by the Guests.
Although The Magic Kingdom was based on the Disneyland in California but not much has been duplicated. Majority of the things at the Magic Kingdom are superiorly designed from Disneyland. For example the castle is in Magic Kingdom being 189 feet is over 100 feet taller than the one in Walt Disney World. In order to promote the major differences between Disneyland and the new park, Country Bear Jamboree, Liberty Square, Hall of Presidents, Space Mountain, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Mickey Mouse Revue were opened first at the Magic Kingdom.