WDW Resorts

WDW Resorts

Coordinates: 28°25′7″N 81°34′52″W / 28.41861°N 81.58111°W / 28.41861; -81.58111

The Walt Disney World Resort, commonly known as Walt Disney World and informally as Disney World, is the world's most-visited entertainment resort, located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Covering 30,080 acres (12,173 ha; 47 sq mi), it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-four themed resorts (excluding eight more that are on-site but not owned by The Walt Disney Company), two spas and fitness centers, five golf courses, and other recreational and entertainment venues.

The resort was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s to supplement Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. In addition to hotels and a theme park similar to Disneyland, Walt's original plans also included an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", a planned city that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave the Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Walt died in 1966 before his original plans were fully realized.

The resort opened on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom as its only theme park, and has since added Epcot (1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (1989), and Disney's Animal Kingdom (1998).