Walt Disney World Resort

The Walt Disney World Resort, often referred to as simply Walt Disney World or Disney World, is a major recreational resort most famous for its theme parks. The resort is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment of The Walt Disney Company. The park is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, outside the city limits of Orlando.

The resort opened on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom, and has since added Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. In addition to these four main theme parks, the resort contains two water parks, six golf courses, a sports complex, an auto race track, twenty resort hotels, and numerous shopping, dining, and entertainment offerings. The 47-square-mile (122 km) property is the largest theme park resort in the world. It is directly accessible via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North) of Interstate 4.

A popular misconception is that the resort exists in Orlando. In fact, the entire Walt Disney World property is outside Orlando city limits; the majority sits within southwestern Orange County, with the remainder in adjacent Osceola County to the south.

Most of Walt Disney World's Central Florida land, and all of the public areas, are located in the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, located southwest of Orlando and a few miles northwest of Kissimmee. The land within Walt Disney World Resort is part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allows the Disney corporation to exercise quasi-governmental powers over the area.

Walt Disney World Resort features four major theme parks, each with a main attraction that serves as its symbol:

• The Magic Kingdom (Cinderella Castle)
• Epcot (Spaceship Earth, the geodesic sphere.)
• Disney-MGM Studios (The Sorcerer's Hat)
• Disney's Animal Kingdom (the Tree of Life)

There are also two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach (a third, River Country, is permanently closed), and the Disney's Wide World of Sports athletic complex.

The Downtown Disney area, consisting of three sections (Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and West Side), contains many shopping, dining, and entertainment venues. This includes DisneyQuest (an indoor "interactive theme park"), the House of Blues, and a permanent Cirque du Soleil show (La Nouba).

Another notable aspect is the large number of hotel resort complexes on the Walt Disney World property. The non-themed hotels are owned by private, non-Disney hospitality companies such as Starwood, Holiday Inn, and Hilton. The themed resorts include:

• Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
• Disney's All-Star Music Resort
• Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
• Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney's Beach Club Resort
• Disney's BoardWalk Inn
• Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
• Disney's Polynesian Resort
• Disney's Pop Century Resort
• Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside (formerly Dixie Landings)
• Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter (formerly Disney's Port Orleans Resort)
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge
• Disney's Yacht Club Resort