The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been developed. Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for an extended stay, including four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, conference centers, a competitive sports complex and a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Additionally, there are 19 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property, and many other non-Disney-operated resorts on and near the property.
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, shortened to EPCOT, was an unfinished concept for a planned community, intended to sit on a swath of undeveloped land near Orlando, Florida. It was created by Walt Disney in collaboration with the designers at Walt Disney Imagineering in the 1960s. Based on ideas stemming from modernism and futurism, and inspired by architectural literature about city planning, Disney intended EPCOT to be a utopian autocratic company town. One of the primary stated aims of EPCOT was to replace urban sprawl as the organizing force of community planning in the United States in the 1960s. Disney intended EPCOT to be a real city, and it was planned to feature commercial, residential, industrial, and recreational centers, connected by a mass multimodal transportation system, that would, he said, "Never cease to be a living blueprint of the future".
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc., then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon is a water theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida near Orlando, and is one of two operating water parks at the resort. It is the second water park to open at the resort, preceded by Disney's River Country which closed in November 2001.
Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is an African-themed deluxe resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. It opened on April 16, 2001. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Disney's Wilderness Lodge is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Opened on May 28, 1994, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. Disney's Wilderness Lodge is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area on Bay Lake. The resort is located near Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. A similarly themed resort, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, is located at the Disneyland Resort in California.
Disney's Pop Century Resort is a resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, opened on December 14, 2003. It is the fourth value-priced resort in the complex, following Disney's All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, and All-Star Sports Resorts in the 1990s. The resort is themed around 20th century American pop culture.
Disney's All-Star Music Resort is a resort that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of five resorts in the Value Resort category, along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, Disney's Pop Century Resort, and Disney's Art of Animation Resort. The resort is located on the southern portion of the Walt Disney World Resort property near Disney's Animal Kingdom. Disney's All-Star Music Resort is a 1,604-room hotel featuring giant icons that pay homage to classic music genres—including Broadway show tunes, calypso, country, jazz, and rock n' roll. It was the first Disney Value Resort to feature family suites. As a characteristic with all Disney Value resorts, the resort features a music theme with giant novelty items such as guitars, trumpets, and drums. The resort is designated as part of the Florida Green Lodging Program.
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of five Disney Resorts in the "Value" category, along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Music Resort, Disney's Pop Century Resort, and Disney's Art of Animation Resort. The resort is located on the southern portion of the Walt Disney World property and has a Disney Movie theme. Like all Disney Value resorts, the property is decorated with giant Disney film icons such as the Fantasia Pool; a Mighty Ducks-themed Duck Pond Pool; Herbie, The Love Bug; puppies from One Hundred and One Dalmatians; and some of the residents of Andy's Room from Pixar's Toy Story. Like the other value resorts, the All-Star Movies has a large food court and poolside bar.
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is a Disney-owned and operated resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It began operation on October 1, 1971 as one of Walt Disney World Resort's first two on-site hotels. The resort has a South Seas theme, and originally opened with 492 rooms. It was designed by Welton Becket and Associates and constructed by US Steel Realty Development. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is a resort hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort that opened on August 1, 1997. The resort is located in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area. Its theme is American colonial Spanish and southwestern American. This hotel is categorized as a 'moderate' resort. This was Walt Disney World's first attempt at a 'moderate' resort with a convention center. It is the only moderate level Disney resort with suites, a cafeteria-style restaurant, a formal dinner restaurant, a gift shop, an arcade, one large pool, three quiet pools, a salon, fitness center, and a dance club. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Shades of Green is a resort owned by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) in Bay Lake, Florida on the Walt Disney World Resort property near Orlando. While the resort is on the Walt Disney World Resort, it is annexed as a military resort. It is one of five Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRC) resorts and is part of the military's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) program. The resort was expanded between 2004 and 2006 and funds itself from non-appropriated funds, with all profits being reinvested into it.
The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin, both of which are operated by Marriott International. It is one of the few resorts inside Walt Disney World that is not owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. The resort opened on January 13, 1990, partially in response to a lack of convention center space inside Walt Disney World.
The Disneyland Hotel is a resort hotel located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, owned by the Walt Disney Company and operated through their Experiences division. Opened on October 5, 1955, as a motor inn owned and operated by Jack Wrather under an agreement with Walt Disney, the hotel was the first to officially bear the Disney name. Under Wrather's ownership, the hotel underwent several expansions and renovations over the years before being acquired by Disney in 1988. The hotel was downsized to its present capacity in 1999 as part of the Disneyland Resort expansion.
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, commonly known as Bay Lake Tower, is a Disney Vacation Club resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort that opened in 2009. It is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area, adjacent to Disney's Contemporary Resort, Bay Lake, and Magic Kingdom.
Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a resort within Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is located where construction on the unfinished half of Disney's Pop Century Resort was started but later abandoned after the September 11 attacks. It is considered a value resort.
Toy Story Hotel is one of two hotels located within Shanghai Disney Resort. The hotel is themed after the Disney•Pixar franchise of Toy Story animated films. The hotel has two sections, the Sheriff Woody wing and the Buzz Lightyear wing. The hotel, when viewed from above, looks similar to an infinity symbol. Toy Story Hotel was opened in 2016 together with the rest of the resort.
Disney's Riviera Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It was built by Disney Experiences between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. It is the first newly constructed resort to be served by the Disney Skyliner gondola system and the 15th Disney Vacation Club property to be built. The resort is themed after Walt Disney's trips and experiences in Europe and a love of the French Riviera and Italian Riviera. A collection of his travel images are incorporated into the resort's decor. Popular Disney characters are also painted into the overall theme of the resort including known characters' boat storage. It opened on December 16, 2019.
Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Surfside Inn and Suites and Dockside Inn and Suites are a pair of hotels located in Universal Orlando in Orlando, Florida forming a single resort. The resorts are built on the former site of Wet 'n Wild Orlando, which had closed in 2016. The hotels were built as value-level hotels for Universal Orlando.
