The Magic Kingdom was the first park to open
on October 1, 1971, with 23 attractions in six themed areas- Main Street,
U.S.A. Adventureland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland, &
Tomorrowland.
It was estimated that 100,000 people would attend
the opening day at the Magic Kingdom, but only 10,000 visitors came
through the gates on the first day of operation.
On October 25, 1971, Roy O. Disney stood alongside
Mickey Mouse in the Town Square of the Magic Kingdom, & paid his
final tribute to his celebrated brother & their life-long collaboration-
"Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy & life of Walter
Elias Disney...and to the talents, the dedication, & the loyalty
of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come
true. May Walt Disney World bring joy & inspiration & new knowledge
to all who come to this happy place...a Magic Kingdom where the young
at heart of all ages can laugh, & play, & learn...together."
The Magic Kingdom can hold 100,000 people!
The steam engines on the Walt Disney World Railroad
in the Magic Kingdom, are named "Walter E. Disney", "Roy O. Disney",
"Lilly Belle" (after Walt's wife, Lillian Bounds Disney), & "Roger
E. Broggie" (the head of MAPO, the prototype manufacturing & production
division of WED). The trains run at about 10 mph.
On Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, the second
story 'offices' carry window advertisements bearing the names of Disney
executives, contributing artists, and family. Roy E. Disney and his
wife, Patty, are featured, as are Dick Nunis, chairman of Walt Disney
Attractions; John Hench, Disney artist since 1939 (later executive vice
president of WED); WED design head Dick Irvine; Bill Martin, a WED vice
president; Donn B. Tatum, former chairman of the board of Walt Disney
Productions, CEO, and chairman of the executive committee; and E. Cardon
("Card") Walker, former Walt Disney Productions CEO.
Walt's name is on the window of the Ice Cream Parlor.
Main Street, USA was inspired by Marceline, Missouri, which is where
Walt grew up.
Most buildings in the MK are built using 'forced perspective' - the
buildings look like they are 3 stories high, but are only 2 stories
high. The first floor is actual size, the second story is 7/8 the size
of the first, and the third story is 7/8 of the second story. City Hall
& the Exposition Hall are both full size.
The average speed of Big Thunder Mountain
is 30 mph, with a maximum speed of 40 mph
Big Thunder Mountain is 197ft tall.
"10 years of planning and 18 months of construction went into Big
Thunder Mountain, not to mention 650 tons of steel, 4,675 tons of specially-
formulated "mud", and more than 9,000 gallons of paint.At 17 million
(US $)BTM cost equal that of Disneyland opening in 1955. 300,000 was
also spent on authentic set decorations." Chris R )
Splash Mountain is 87ft tall.
Splash Mountain features over 65 Audio Animatronics. There are five
drops in the ride, which ends with a 40mph drop down a 5-story, 45 degree
slope. The ride can run up to 54 logs at once.
Space Mountain is 183ft tall.
The Space Mountain coaster runs at an avergage speed of 27 mph.
There are two separate tracks inside Space Mountain, one is 10ft longer
than the other, where they cross over. One track is 3,186 ft long, the
other 3,196 ft.
The Liberty Belle Riverboat is on a track.
"The Liberty tree weighs 38 tons." Chris R )
Guides of the famous Jungle Cruise in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom
fire off almost 631,000 rounds of ammunition per year. But don't worry,
they're only blanks!
Cinderella's Golden Carousel - The carousel came from Olympic Park and
was built in 1917 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. 90 of the horses
were from there and they are carved out of wood. There are also 11 fibreglass
horses made by Disney, which equals 101 horses! The horses on the very
outside of the carousel are the largest, decreasing in size to the smallest
horses in the centre of the carousel. Next time you're on the carousel,
take a close look at the horses, only one side of them is very intricately
detailed - the side that faces outwards, the inside of the horse is
very plain. 23-carat gold leaf is used to decorate the horses, real
silver and bronze is also used.
During the parades, look at the second story windows on Main Street,
they open and close automatically just before and after the parade to
reveal the speakers that play the parade music.
Look in the road along the parade route & you'll see groups of six
magnets embedded in the road surface. These are used to monitor the
parade floats along the route.
As most people walk on the right side of the road, Main Street was designed
with the food shops on the right side for people to get their breakfast
on the way in, and also things that they'll need for the day, cameras,
etc, and the shops are on your right on the way out.
"Cinderella fountain is Fantasyland is called "Rags to Riches"
because if you bend down infront of it, the crown on the background
looks like it's on her head." Amanda
"Over to Tomorrowland for an Extinct ride call "Magic Carpet Around
the World". This had 37 hours of film edited into a 21 minute journey
through 20 countries. The 12 channel stereo sound track features a 24
voice chorus and a 56 piece orchestra, supplemented with unique folk
instruments." Chris R
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