GEOGRAPHY

The Walt Disney World Resort is located on a 30,500 acre site (47 square miles) in the heart of Central Florida. The total acreage is about the same size as San Francisco or twice the size of Manhattan Island. A permanent wildlife conservation area has been set aside on 8,200 acres. The Magic Kingdom Park occupies 107 acres, Epcot covers 300 acres, the Disney-MGM Studios is 154 acres, and Disney's Animal Kingdom spans more than 500 acres. There are approximately 7,600 acres developed.



EMPLOYMENT

Walt Disney World opened with 5,500 Cast Members. The total employment figure is more than 50,000 during busy vacation periods.



MAGIC KINGDOM


The Magic Kingdom, which covers 107 acres, opened on October 1, 1971, with 23 attractions in six themed areas: Adventureland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Main Street, U.S.A. Another themed land, now called Mickey's Toontown Fair, opened in 1988. There are currently 32 attractions, 7 exhibits, 34 food locations, and 56 merchandise locations. Since opening day, these attractions/exhibits have been added:

~ Liberty Square Riverboat (10/02/71)
~ Peter Pan's Flight (10/03/71)
~ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (10/14/71)
~ America the Beautiful (11/25/71), Magic Carpet 'Round the World (03/16/74), American Journeys (09/15/84), now Timekeeper (11/21/94)
~ Flight to the Moon (12/24/71), Mission to Mars (06/07/75), now Alien Encounter (06/20/95)
~ If You Had Wings (06/05/72), Dreamflight (06/26/89), Take Flight! (01/05/96), now Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (10/07/98)
~ The Walt Disney Story (04/15/73)
~ Plaza Swan Boats (05/20/73)
~ Tom Sawyer Island ( 05/20/73)
~ Pirates of the Caribbean (12/15/73)
~ StarJets (11/28/74), now Astro Orbitor (04/30/94)
~ Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (01/15/75)
~ Space Mountain (01/15/75)
~ WEDway PeopleMover (07/01/75), now Tomorrowland Transit Authority (06/11/94)
~ Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (09/23/80)
~ Magic Journeys (12/05/87), now Legend of the Lion King (07/08/94)
~ Grandma Duck's Farm (06/18/88), now The Barnstormer (10/01/96)
~ Mickey's Birthday Surprise (06/18/88), Mickey's Magical TV World (04/26/90), now Mickey's Toontown Hall of Fame (1996)
~ Mickey's Hollywood Theater (1988), now Minnie's Country House (04/15/96)
~ Mickey's Country House (06/18/88)
~ Playground (1988), now Donald's Boat (04/15/96)
~ Splash Mountain (07/17/92)
~ Toon Park (04/15/96)
~ The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (06/05/99)

~ The Magic Kingdom parking facilities accommodate 12,213 vehicles.
~ The height of Cinderella's castle is 189 feet.



EPCOT


A permanent international showplace, covering 300 acres, with 18 attractions, 13 exhibits, 29 food locations, and 60 merchandise locations, which opened on October 1, 1982, consists of two major areas: Future World and World Showcase. Future World opened with six themed areas focusing on discovery and scientific achievements. The major adventures were:

~ EPCOT Computer Central (now Innoventions)
~ Journey Into Imagination
~ The Land
~ Spaceship Earth
~ Universe of Energy
~ World of Motion (now Test Track)

Since the opening of Epcot, these adventures have been added to Future World:

~ Horizons (10/01/83 - 01/10/99)
~ The Living Seas (01/15/86)
~ Wonders of Life (10/19/89)
~ Innoventions (07/01/94)
~ Test Track (03/17/99)

World Showcase opened with nine nations surrounding the World Showcase Lagoon:

~ Canada
~ China
~ France
~ Germany
~ Italy
~ Japan
~ Mexico
~ United Kingdom
~ United States of America

Since the opening of Epcot, these nations have been added to World Showcase:

~ Morocco (10/01/84)
~ Norway (05/16/88)

~ The World Showcase Lagoon covers 40 acres and is surrounded by a 1.2 mile promenade.
~ The Epcot parking facilities accommodate 12,155 vehicles.
~ The height of Spaceship Earth is 180 feet.



DISNEY-MGM STUDIOS


The motion-picture and television production theme park, which covers 154 acres, opened on May 1, 1989, with five attractions and one exhibit: The Monster Sound Studio (now ABC Sound Studio), presented by SONY; SoundWorks (exhibit), presented by SONY; SuperStar Television (now Disney's Doug Live!), presented by SONY; The Great Movie Ride; Backstage Studio Tour (now two attractions, a tram tour called Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour and a walking tour called Backstage Pass); and the Magic of Disney Animation. There are currently 12 attractions, 5 exhibits, 19 food locations, and 37 merchandise locations. Since opening day, these attractions/exhibits have been added:

~ Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! (08/25/89)
~ Star Tours (12/15/89)
~ "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure (12/17/90)
~ Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D (05/16/91)
~ The Studio Showcase (09/29/91), renamed The American Film Institute Showcase (10/05/96)
~ Here Come the Muppets (05/25/90), now Voyage of The Little Mermaid (01/07/92)
~ Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza (11/20/93)
~ The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (07/22/94)
~ Fantasmic! (10/15/98)
~ Disney's Doug Live (03/15/99)

~ Disney-MGM Studios parking facilities accommodate 7,500 vehicles.
~ The height of Earffel Tower is 130 feet.
~ The height of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is 199 feet.



DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM


The live-action adventure park, which covers more than 500 acres, celebrating all animals that ever or never existed, opened on April 22, 1998, with 5 attractions, 9 exhibits, 12 live entertainment shows, 8 food locations, and 11 merchandise locations.

~ Disney's Animal Kingdom parking facilities accommodate 6,000 vehicles.
~ The Tree of Life is 145 feet in height, 170 feet wide at the base, and 50 feet in width at the trunk, has 8,000 branches and approximately 103,000 leaves, and has more than 325 animals that grew into the trunk, roots, and visible branches.



ACCOMMODATIONS


The following eighteen major resorts offer a total of 20,237 rooms/units:

~ Disney's Contemporary Resort (1,041 rooms - 10/01/71)
~ Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground (408 rental trailers and 784 camping sites - 10/01/71)
~ Disney's Polynesian Resort (853 rooms - 10/01/71)
~ Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (900 rooms - 06/28/88)
~ Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (2,112 rooms - 10/01/88)
~ Disney's Yacht Club Resort (630 rooms - 11/05/90)
~ Disney's Beach Club Resort (584 rooms - 11/19/90)
~ Disney's Port Orleans Resort (1,008 rooms - 05/17/91)
~ Disney's Old Key West Resort (704 units - 10/01/91)
~ Disney's Dixie Landings Resort (2,048 roms - 02/02/92)
~ Disney's All Star Sports Resort (1,920 rooms - 04/29/94)
~ Disney's Wilderness Lodge (728 rooms - 05/28/94)
~ Disney's All Star Music Resort (1,920 rooms - 11/22/94)
~ Villas at the Disney Institute (584 units - 02/09/96)
~ Disney's BoardWalk Inn (378 rooms - 07/01/96)
~ Disney's BoardWalk Villas (532 units - 07/01/96)
~ Disney's Coronado Springs Resort (1,967 rooms - 08/01/97)
~ Disney's All Star Movies Resort (1,920 rooms - 01/15/99)



OTHER ACCOMODATIONS


Downtown Disney Hotel Plaza and other resorts - Nine hotels offers a total of 6,009 rooms. These hotels are:

~ Hotel Royal Plaza (396 rooms - 10/72)
~ Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel (325 rooms - 11/72)
~ Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa (1,028 rooms - 03/03/83)
~ The Hilton (813 rooms - 11/18/83)
~ Grosvenor Resort (628 rooms - 01/01/87)
~ Walt Disney World Swan (758 rooms - 11/22/89)
~ Walt Disney World Dolphin (1,509 rooms - 06/04/90)
~ Courtyard by Marriott (323 rooms - 01/20/95)
~ Doubletree Guest Suite Resort (229 rooms - 02/23/95)



COSTUMING


More than 3,500 different designs make up a working wardrobe of about 2.5 million pieces. Approximately 13,000 costume pieces are manufactured each year. About 175,000 yards of fabric are used each year. There is a one million yard fabric inventory of 2,000 different types in our California warehouse. More than two thirds of the Cast Members don their costumes every day. If you were to wash and dry one load of laundry every day for 44 years, you'd clean as much as the folks at the Walt Disney World Laundry do in a single day. The 550 workers launder an average of 240,000 pounds each day. In addition, between 30,000 and 32,000 garments are dry-cleaned daily. If the sheets laundered in one week were laid end to end, they would stretch from Orlando to Key West - 400 miles! Mickey Mouse has more than 175 different costumes (ranging from a scuba suit to a tuxedo) and Minnie Mouse has more than 200 different sets of costumes (including a cheerleader costume and several evening gowns).



DESIGN


From the air - the unique "Mouse Trap" on the 6th hole at the Magnolia Golf Course looks like the famous corporate symbol; there is a Mickey Mouse shaped pool at Shades of Green; the famous mouse is the model for the courtyard and area in front of the Chinese Theater at the Disney-MGM Studios; the "Mickey Forest," with nearly 33,000 trees, forms the likeness of the most famous Walt Disney World resident on approximately 40 acres just west of the Magic Kingdom; and Mickey Mouse is profiled as a putting and chipping practice area at the Bonnet Creek Golf Club. Spaceship Earth in Epcot weighs 16 million pounds - more than three times that of a Space Shuttle fully fueled and ready for launch. How many stones are there in Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom? NONE! The whole shell of the building is fiberglass. The Magic Kingdom is home to three of Florida's highest "mountains!" Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland rises 97 feet, Space Mountain in Tomorrowland rises 180 feet, and Splash Mountain in Frontierland rises 87 feet. Disneyland was built on citrus-grove land in a county named Orange - so was Walt Disney World.



FOODS


Each year, Walt Disney World Guests consume almost 9 million hamburgers, 7 million hot dogs, 9 million pounds of french fries, more than 275,000 pounds of popcorn, more than 46 million Coca Cola drinks, and ketchup from 30 million packets. Each year, so many ketchup packets are handed out that, if laid end to end, they would stretch from the Magic Kingdom to Minneapolis. There are more than 6,000 different food items available, including both snack and meal items. It would take one person, eating two hamburgers at every meal, 4,109 years and 215 days to eat the amount served at Walt Disney World each year. More than 40 varieties of cheeses are used by theme park and resort chefs.



MERCHANDISE


There are enough of the famous "Mouse Ears" hats sold each year to cover the head of every man, woman, and child in Pittsburgh. Enough Disney character t-shirts strike the fancy of Walt Disney World Guests each year to put Mickey's smiling face on the chest of every Chicagoan.



GOTTA WEAR SHADES


Every day, an average of 100 pairs of sunglasses are turned in to the Walt Disney World Lost and Found Department from the Magic Kingdom Park. That's enough to outfit every resident of Sun City, CA and Sun City, FL, in a year's time.



TRANSPORTATION


Walt Disney World has monorails, ferryboats, motor launches, courtesy trams, bus services, and water taxis. On the average, 200,000 Guests ride the various forms of "mass transit" every day which are busiest 8:00 am - 10:30 am. Walt Disney World has more than 750 watercraft. There are 14.7 lane miles of elevated beamway for 12 monorails, and 167 lane miles of paved roads for approximately 200 buses. Since 1971, the miles logged by the monorails would be equal to more than 44 round trips to the moon. The buses cover almost 12 million miles every year. That's enough to drive around the earth (at the equator) more than nine times each week! The total number of buses running simultaneously can reach as many as 185. One bus has been driven more than 1.3 million miles (with different engines).



COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT


For years, Disney Cast Members have donated their time and talent to the Central Florida community. Because of the tremendous interest in volunteer service, the Disney VoluntEars program was created in 1991. Since then, Cast Members have logged over 800,000 hours.

In 1998, the Walt Disney World Cast, along with Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Corporate I/S, continued the long tradition of community leadership when the Walt Disney World Company was recognized once again as the largest corporate contributor in Central Florida. Contributions totaled more than $2.9 million toward the Heart of Florida United Way's goal of $18 million.

Through the Disney Harvest program, Walt Disney World donates over 400,000 pounds of food to more than 40 Central Florida agencies each year.

Over 600 Cast Members have volunteered as Educational Program Mentors through Project Future, the Challenge Program, Bridges Program, and Crooms Academy to 575 students since the first program was started in 1990.

Through the annual Disney Scholars program, full four-year scholarships are awarded to 16 high school seniors in the tri-county area (Orange, Osceola, and Seminole) and in the communities of Winter Haven, Haines City, Davenport, Lakeland, and Clermont.

Teacherrific is a program that celebrates teachers for innovative education practices. A total of $200,000 is given to the winning teachers annually.

Walt Disney World is the largest supporter of the Give Kids the World compassion program, providing over 50,000 tickets a year and special services for terminally ill children and their families.

Disney's Celebration in the Park transforms Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando into a magical Disney experience as our annual thank-you to the community. All of the best Disney entertainment is provided at no charge to nearly 100,000 Central Floridians during one weekend in October.

The Disney Crew is a puppet show targeted at elementary age students, and is designed to discourage drug experimentation. The show travels to Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, and Polk counties and has played to over 1.7 million students.

The Disney Dreamers and Doers program recognizes students in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk, and Brevard counties. The positive response by educators and families led to the expansion of the program in 1986 to all public school districts in the State of Florida. To date, nearly 6,000 students have been recognized.

Disney's Community Service Awards program honors those groups whose members dedicate their lives in service to others. Over the years, we've recognized more than 1,000 Central Florida organizations with cash awards totaling over $4 million. In 1998, a total of $500,000 was awarded to 73 organizations at the fall awards ceremony.

Through the Ears to You program, VoluntEar Cast Members can recommend funding to local non-profit organiations for which they volunteer. Applications are reviewed once a year by the VoluntEar Board and funds are awarded at a May ceremony. Funding for this program comes from money collected from the many ponds, reflecting pools, and other bodies of water throughout Walt Disney World.



ENVIRONMENTALITY


8,300 acres of the 30,000+ acres at Walt Disney World is designated as a permanent wildlife conservation area and will never be developed.

In December 1992, Disney purchased 8,500 acres southeast of Walt Disney World. Formerly called Walker Ranch and now know as The Disney Wilderness Preserve, this area is managed by the Nature Conservancy, which will restore the land to its natural state.

The 28,000 square foot Materials Recovery Facility processes over 30 tons per day of recyclable materials, including cardboard, paper, steel, aluminum, glass, and plastic.

On an annual basis, Reedy Creek Improvement District collects approximately 1,600 tons of paper, 100 tons of aluminum, 7,000 tons of cardboard, 150 tons of plastic bottles, 200 tons of steel cans, and around 11,500 tons of food waste.

200 tons of unused, prepared food is donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida through the Disney Harvest Program.

Used building materials are sent to the Orange County Distribution Center, where they are distributed to local non-profit organizations. Construction and demolition waste amounts to around 620 tons a year.