Walt Disney World in Florida has become one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. Hundreds of millions of visitors come from all over the globe to visit, many staying for weeks at a time. The resort began as a series of golf courses and hotels surrounding a central "Magic Kingdom" theme park. It has since expanded to include three other parks, all of which constitute full-bore tourist draws on their own.
Walt Disney World sprang from the success of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Disney noted that the vast majority of its visitors came from the Western and Midwestern states. The East Coast--holding a substantial portion of the U.S. population--rarely ventured that far west. In response, Walt Disney began drawing up plans for a new park in Orlando, Florida. He died before its completion, but on October 1, 1971, Walt Disney World officially opened to the public.
The centerpiece of the four parks is the Magic Kingdom, a collection of themed rides and amusements based on classic Disney characters. It's patterned after the layout of Disneyland in California, with different "lands" containing different themes and accompanying rides. Many of Disneyland's most beloved attractions--including the Haunted Mansion, the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise--have been duplicated at the Magic Kingdom, along with roller coasters such as Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.
EPCOT Center--later called simply "Epcot"--was the first expansion park to open at Walt Disney World. It was conceived as a utopian vision of the future (the name is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), although it was divided into two separate sections before its opening in 1982. The first section, Future World, contains a number of pavilions each centered around a different aspect of tomorrow. The second, World Showcase, contains pavilions dedicated to the cultures of different countries from around the world.
The third park to open at Walt Disney World was based around a show business theme. Disney originally named it Disney-MGM Studios when it premiered in 1989, but has since changed its name to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is patterned after the Golden Age of Hollywood Studios and contains rides with a movie theme such as Star Tours (a "Star Wars"-based motion simulator), an Indiana Jones stunt show, and a 3-D movie featuring Jim Henson's Muppets.
The fourth park at Walt Disney World is an expanded zoo and animal conservatory, which opened in 1998. It covers more than 500 acres and contains open habitats for hippos, giraffes, elephants, lions and gorillas, among many other species. Water rides and roller coasters with a naturalistic theme appear as well, and a "DinoLand U.S.A." section contains attractions with a prehistoric theme.
