Magic Kingdom
This article is about the Magic Kingdom, a theme park. The Magic Kingdom is also a reference for every Disneyland Park around the world. For the band Magic Kingdom, see Magic Kingdom (band).
The park contained twenty-three attractions on the day it opened, twenty of them copies of attractions at Disneyland. Today the park map lists forty-eight attractions (though several of these, like the Guest Information Board, probably shouldn't be included in the number) in seven themed "lands."
The
Walt Disney World Railroad runs along the perimeter of the park and makes stops at Main Street, Frontierland, and Mickey's Toontown Fair.
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street is lined with shops selling merchandise and food. The decor is early-
20th century small-town America, inspired by Walt Disney's childhood. City Hall contains the Guest Relations lobby where cast members provide information and assistance. A real working
barber shop gives
haircuts for a fee. The
Emporium carries a wide variety of Disney souvenirs such as plush toys, collectible pins, and Mickey-ear hats. Tony's Town Square and the Plaza Restaurant are sit-down restaurants. Casey's Corner is at the end of Main Street and sells traditional American ball park fare including hot dogs & fries.In the distance beyond the end of Main Street stands
Cinderella Castle. Though only 180 feet (55m) tall, it benefits from a technique known as
forced perspective. The (fake) second stories of all the buildings along Main Street are shorter than the first stories, and the third stories are even shorter than the second, and the top windows of the castle are much smaller than they appear. The resulting visual effect is that the buildings appear to be larger and taller than they really are.
In addition to the bronze "Partners Statue" of
Walt Disney and
Mickey Mouse in front of
Cinderella Castle, there is also a bronze statue of
Roy O. Disney sitting with
Minnie Mouse near the park's entrance.
Adventureland
Adventureland represents the mystery of exploring foreign lands. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the South Pacific.
Frontierland
Frontierland is where guests can relive the wild west -- from cowboys and indians, to exploring the mysteries of the Rivers of America.
Liberty Square
This area of the park is based on an American Revolutionary town. The Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America hosts the Liberty Belle river boat.
Fantasyland
In the words of Walt Disney: "Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart and to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
Fantasyland is themed in a medieval-faire style.
Mickey's Toontown Fair
An expansion of the expansion
Mickey's Birthdayland and
Mickey's Starland, this area is the location of
Mickey's Country House,
Minnie's Country House, and
Donald's Boat.
Tomorrowland
In the words of Walt Disney: "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future."
Tomorrowland is themed to be a futuristic bustling spaceport.
* "The Magic Kingdom" is also a nickname for the Disneyland theme park itself. This usage predates the Florida theme park, but Disneyland never officially bore this name. While Disneyland's official nickname is "The Happiest Place On Earth," the official nickname of the Magic Kingdom is "The Most Magical Place On Earth." This led to the common use in Disneyana literature of the term
Magic Kingdom-style, to describe the classic Disney park - with the castle, Main Street, etc.
* Up until the early 1990s, the Magic Kingdom was officially known as the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom, and was never printed without the Walt Disney World prefix. This was to differentiate between the park and Disneyland in California, which was and is also commonly referred to as the Magic Kingdom. Between the opening of the Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney acknowledged the growing need for consistent theme park names - EPCOT Center was renamed in 1994 to Epcot, and gradually the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom dropped the prefix and became the Magic Kingdom Park.
* Cinderella Castle, along with the entrance plaza in front of the Main Street Train Station, are two of the most photographed icons at
Walt Disney World. At one time, it was said that Sleeping Beauty Castle at
Disneyland was the most photographed building ever, but that designation is open to debate, with
Big Ben, the
CN Tower, and the
World Trade Center also laying claim to that title in various online discussions.
*
2005 saw the release of a novel set
inside the Magic Kingdom,
The Kingdom Keepers by
Ridley Pearson. The novel is authorized by Disney, and sees a group of teenagers searching for treasure in the park following clues laid by
Walt Disney and his
Imagineers. Another novel that takes place inside and around the Magic Kingdom is
Cory Doctorow's
2003 science-fiction book
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
* The Magic Kingdom park is constructed above a series of tunnels called
utilidors, short for "utility corridors," used by park employees (
cast members) to reach areas inside and outside the park without being seen by park Guests. This means that Cast Members in
Adventureland outfits never have to be seen in
Main Street, USA, for example - this comes from an occasion in
Disneyland when
Walt Disney spotted a
Frontierland cowboy strolling through
Tomorrowland. The utilidors were built at ground level (due to Florida's high
water table) and the area around them was filled in with dirt from the "
Seven Seas Lagoon" which was being dug in front of the park, and the Magic Kingdom itself was built on top. This means that, technically, ground level inside the Magic Kingdom is actually on the second story. These tunnels do not extend to areas constructed after the park was originally built. The utilidors were originally planned to be used for every park, but due to financial constraints they were not used in any of the other Walt Disney World theme parks, except for a small network of utilidors in the Future World area of
Epcot and under
Pleasure Island.
* The Magic Kingdom itself is the setting for the
Disney on Ice play,
Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure.
List of current Magic Kingdom attractionsList of past Magic Kingdom attractions*
Walt Disney World Resort - Magic Kingdom web page*
WDW Photos and Videos on Theme Park Review
