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The Walt Disney World Resort, commonly known as Walt Disney World, or often just as Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was initially operated by Walt Disney World Company. The property covers 27,258 acres (43 sq mi; 110 km2), featuring four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-seven themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.

Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s. "The Florida Project", as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of attractions. Walt Disney's original plans also called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), a planned community intended to serve as a test bed for new city living innovations. 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 Disney died on December 15, 1966, during construction of the complex. Without Disney spearheading the construction, the company created a resort similar to Disneyland, abandoning experimental concepts for a planned community. Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex, in 1971, followed by Epcot in 1982, Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1989, and the most recent, Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998.

Today, Walt Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an average annual attendance of over 52 million. The resort is the flagship destination of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise, and has become a popular staple in American culture.

Future expansion

The resort has a number of expansion projects planned or ongoing, including:

Toy Story Land due to open at Disney's Hollywood Studios on June 30 2018. This plans to feature various rides and attractions including a Slinky Dog Roller Coaster and the park is Toy Story themed
Star Wars Hotel (opening date to be announced)
Disney Riviera Resort an all new Disney resort opening fall 2019
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge due to open at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2019
A Tron themed ride at Magic Kingdom due to open in 2021
Expansion at Epcot including new attractions related to Guardians of the Galaxy and Ratatouille due to open by the end of 2021
Disney Skyliner, a new gondola lift style transportation system. Select cabins will feature iconic Disney characters on the exterior and will transport guests across Disney property.

Location:

The Florida resort is not within Orlando city limits but is southwest of Downtown Orlando. Much of the resort is in southwestern Orange County, with the remainder in adjacent Osceola County. The property includes the cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake which are governed by the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The site is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North), and Exit 8 on SR 429, the Western Expressway. At its founding, the park occupied approximately 30,500 acres (48 sq mi; 123 km2). Portions of the property have since been sold or de-annexed, including land now occupied by the Disney-built community of Celebration. Now the resort occupies 27,258 acres (43 sq mi; 110 km2),about the size of San Francisco, or twice the size of Manhattan.

Attractions:

Theme parks

Magic Kingdom, opened October 1, 1971
Epcot, opened October 1, 1982
Disney's Hollywood Studios, opened May 1, 1989
Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened April 22, 1998

Water parks

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, opened June 1, 1989
Disney's Blizzard Beach, opened April 1, 1995

Other attractions

Multiple resorts across Disney property offer a variety of spa treatments including Disney's Grand Floridian and Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Disney's Boardwalk is located outside of their Boardwalk Inn and is a quarter-mile of shopping, entertainment, dining, and nightlife options that are fun for a variety of ages
EPCOT has annual festivals that run for limited amounts of time throughout the year like the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, EPCOT Festival of the Arts, and the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival
Disney does special ticketed events throughout the year including the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, which usually runs late August through October, and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Disney Springs, opened March 22, 1975 (Previously known as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, Disney Village Marketplace, and Downtown Disney)
Disney's Wedding Pavilion, opened July 15, 1995
ESPN Wide World of Sports, opened March 28, 1997

Former attractions

Discovery Island — an island in Bay Lake that was home to many species of animals and birds. It opened on April 8, 1974, and closed on April 8, 1999.
Disney's River Country — the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on June 20, 1976, and closed on November 2, 2001.
Walt Disney World Speedway — a racetrack at Walt Disney World and included the Richard Petty Driving Experience. It opened November 28, 1995, and closed on August 9, 2015.
DisneyQuest — an indoor interactive theme park that featured many arcade games and virtual attractions. It opened June 19, 1998 as part of an unsuccessful attempt to launch a chain of similar theme parks. It closed on July 2, 2017 to be replaced by the NBA Experience.
La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil — opened December 23, 1998, and closed after December 31, 2017.

Resorts:

Of the thirty-four resorts and hotels on the Walt Disney World property, twenty-eight are owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products. These are classified into four categories — Deluxe, Moderate, Value, and Disney Vacation Club Villas — and are located in one of five resort areas: the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Wide World of Sports, Animal Kingdom, or Disney Springs resort areas.

While all of the Deluxe resort hotels have achieved an AAA Four Diamond rating, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is considered the highest tier flagship luxury resort on the Walt Disney World Resort complex.