CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCEHappened as dated, per the source[1]: "The Magic Kingdom, Polynesian Village Resort, and Contemporary Resort Hotel opened on October 1, 1971."
- Start
- Oct 1, 197190% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Walt Disney World Opens in Florida
The Magic Kingdom and its Florida resort opened to the public near Orlando, realizing Walt Disney's vision for a second, larger theme park.
- Walt Disney World opened on 1 October 1971, with the Magic Kingdom, Polynesian Village and Contemporary resorts opening to about 10,000 guests on the first day, far below feared crowds[2][3]
- The grand opening ceremony followed on 23-25 October 1971, when Roy Disney dedicated it as "Walt Disney World"[2]
- Planning began in 1959; Walt Disney flew over the Orlando site in November 1963 and dummy corporations acquired 27,443 acres from April 1964; the plan was revealed on 15 November 1965[2]
- Walt died on 15 December 1966 and his brother Roy came out of retirement to finish the project; construction began in 1967 after the Reedy Creek Improvement Act was signed on 12 May 1967[2]
- Opening-day adult admission was $3.50 with a 50-cent parking fee, and Magic Kingdom was reached by monorail or ferry[3]
- The resort has since grown to four theme parks (EPCOT 1982, Hollywood Studios 1989, Animal Kingdom 1998) and about 27,000 acres[2]
References 390% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%youtube.com/watch?v=gmKWwPKJCTUyoutube.com· Posted Sep 15, 2026· Starts Oct 1, 1971 ✓· 98% of score
Happened as dated, per the source: "The Magic Kingdom, Polynesian Village Resort, and Contemporary Resort Hotel opened on October 1, 1971."
- [2]90%Walt Disney World - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org· Published Jan 1, 2024· 2% of score
- [3]80%TIMEKEEPING: Walt Disney World's Opening, October 1 - December 31, 1971wdwnt.com· Published Oct 1, 2020· 0% of score
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