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On 1 October 1971, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida admitted its first visitors. On that opening day, around 10,000 people paid the $3.50 admission fee, purchased a $4.25 coupon book valid for seven rides, and dined on hot dogs at 45 cents each. \u201cWe need a place like this because of the world situation,\u201d one Floridian motel owner explained, \u201ca place where we can come and relax and forget about all the bad things.\u201d And a parent from Tampa Bay confided: \u201cLet\u2019s face it, I\u2019m going to be back here whether I like it or not \u2013 the kids will see to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three weeks later, Roy Disney formally dedicated the resort to his late brother Walt, announcing his hopes: \u201cMay Walt Disney World bring joy and inspiration and new knowledge to all who come to this happy place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plans for Walt Disney<\/a> World dated back to the 1950s. The success of Disneyland Resort<\/a> in California, which opened in July 1955, fuelled ideas for a scaled-up development on the east coast. Dubbed the \u201cFlorida Project\u201d, designs for a new entertainment complex in the Sunshine State were initially built around Walt\u2019s idea for an \u201cExperimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow\u201d (EPCOT) similar to the \u201cwhite city\u201d designs of World Expositions. (Indeed, Disney provided exhibits for the 1964 New York World\u2019s Fair.)<\/p>\n In 1963, Disney viewed potential sites, settling on an area of swamp between Orlando and Kissimmee. To avoid unwelcome media attention and land speculation, Disney used fake investment companies to buy vast tracts of land at competitive prices. Following Walt\u2019s death in 1966, his brother Roy oversaw the construction of the resort, prioritising the Magic Kingdom, a version of Disneyland.<\/p>\n