Magic Kingdom

About Magic Kingdom

By the ULTIMATE Florida Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Magic Kingdom is the park that started it all in Florida. When Walt Disney World opened near Orlando on 1 October 1971, it opened with Magic Kingdom and two hotels; everything else came later.

A secret search for land

Before there was a castle, there was a land deal. Walt Disney and his brother Roy announced their Florida plans publicly on 15 November 1965, at a press conference at the Cherry Plaza Hotel in Orlando. By then they had quietly assembled 27,500 acres, which the Disney Archives describe as a parcel twice the size of Manhattan Island.

Opening day

Walt Disney World opened on 1 October 1971 with Magic Kingdom and two hotels. Disney had used the name “Magic Kingdom” for Disneyland since 1955, but in Florida it came to mean just one part of a much larger resort, a sign of how much more was planned.

Walt and Roy Disney announced their plans for Florida at a press conference in Orlando on 15 November 1965 (Disney Archives).

The castle

Cinderella Castle stands at the entrance to Fantasyland. Its chief designer, Herb Ryman, had also worked on Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, and the designers studied European palaces, Fontainebleau and Versailles among them, alongside the original designs for the 1950 film. Upstairs, the dining room has been Cinderella’s Royal Table since 1997.

Planning your day

Magic Kingdom’s classic rides draw queues from opening time. Arrive before the gates open, see the headline rides first and save Main Street for the evening, when the castle is lit.

Our advice: for a first visit to Walt Disney World, start here. It is the park that explains all the others.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Magic Kingdom before you go.