Five years after Walt Disney announced plans to open a theme park in Florida, the Walt Disney World Resort opened Oct. 1, 1971. The date was selected by the Disney Company as it was the slowest day in a slow month for the Orlando area. The company saw huge demand when they opened Disneyland and were trying to not repeat issues with food, attractions and guest satisfaction.
Walt E. Disney set up fake businesses to buy land for cheap. There were many secret deals made. The land nearby was 182$ an acre then the price of land went up to 80,000$ when DIsney world opened.
William Windsor Jr. from Lakeland, Florida was the first visitor to Disney World. Windsor Jr. brought his wife and two sons Jay (3 years old) and Lee (19 months old) to the theme park. The family slept in their car overnight at a roadside rest area. As the first guests, the Windsor family was part of postcards and photographs that were used and part of the first Disney World parade.
Disney’s Steamboat Willie is a landmark in the history of animation. The first film starring Mickey Mouse to be released with synchronized sound, it threw silent animation into obsolescence and launched an empire. Previously, there had been little to distinguish Disney’s cartoons from those of his competitors.
Disney's cartoons offered escape at a time when Americans needed it most. Meanwhile, as his short features raked in cash, Disney was planning a bigger project-a movie-length cartoon in full color, with music. Given the time-consuming nature of animation, the project was costly and risky. But when "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was released in 1937, it proved to be no risk at all.
Many of the parks have been inspired by Walt E. Disney. Walt E. Disney was not able to see the opening of Disney World because he died before the opening. Roy O. Disney supervised the completion.