The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, or simply abbreviated WDW, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, governed by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The resort is located within Orange and Osceola counties, and located closest to the cities of Winter Garden and Kissimmee in Greater Orlando. 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 used. Walt Disney World contains four separate theme parks, two water parks, two mini-golf courses, and four golf courses. There are twenty-one Disney-operated resorts on the property, and many other resorts on and near the property. Disney World also contains the Boardwalk, Disney Springs, and Flamingo Crossings areas for shopping, dining, and entertainment. The Fort Wilderness area offers guests numerous outdoor recreational activities and includes the Tri-Circle D. Ranch. The ESPN Sports Complex on the property hosts a variety of activities throughout the year, including runDisney marathon races and dance and cheer competitions in partnership with Varsity Cheer.
Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Inspired by an unrealized concept of the same name developed by Walt Disney, the park opened on October 1, 1982, as EPCOT Center, and was the second of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. The park spans 305 acres, more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom. Often referred to as a "permanent world's fair", Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, particularly technological innovation and international culture.
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, shortened to EPCOT or E.P.C.O.T., is an unfinished concept for a planned community, intended to sit on a swath of undeveloped land near Orlando, Florida, that 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".
Soarin', also known as Soarin' Over California, Soarin' Around the World, Soaring Over the Horizon and Soaring: Fantastic Flight, is a flight motion simulator attraction at Disney California Adventure, Epcot, Shanghai Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea. It employs a mechanical lift system, a projected presentation on an 80 ft (24 m) concave 180-degree dome screen, and artificial scents and wind to simulate a hang gliding flight over locations in six of the world's continents. Many consider it the first flying theater.
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable was a 70 mm documentary, shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It opened on January 21, 1995, replacing Symbiosis. The main narrator of the story was Simba.
Disney Experiences, colloquially known as Disney Parks, is one of the Walt Disney Company's three major business segments and a division of that company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando.
Circle-Vision 360° is a film format developed by The Walt Disney Company that uses projection screens which encircle the audience.
Test Track is a high-speed slot car thrill ride manufactured by Dynamic Attractions located in World Discovery at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Motors uses to evaluate its concept cars, culminating in a high-speed drive around the exterior of the attraction.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends is a pavilion located in the World Nature section of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The pavilion is themed as an oceanic exploration base called SeaBase Alpha, with several exhibits devoted to oceanic study. The building includes an aquarium and its attached dark ride attraction, a talk show-type attraction called Turtle Talk with Crush, and the Coral Reef Restaurant. With 5.7 million US gallons of tank volume, the pavilion is also the second-largest aquarium in the U.S. and the sixth-largest in the world.
The Land is a pavilion located in the World Nature neighborhood of Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The pavilion is dedicated to human interaction with the Earth, focusing on agriculture, conservation, and travel. It opened on October 1, 1982, as part of the Phase I features for the grand opening of what was then known as EPCOT Center. It explores how humans can both use the land for their benefit, and how they can also destroy it. Future Technology in better preserving the land is also explored in the pavilion, along with a focus on the celebration of the land itself.
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth was a nighttime show performed nightly at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The show utilized fireworks, pyrotechnics, water fountains, fire effects, lasers, searchlights, and a large rotating globe with curved LED screens to create a visual production on the park's World Showcase Lagoon.
WestCOT was a planned second theme park for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was essentially a replica of EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and was dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture. The park was represented by SpaceStation Earth, a larger version of the geodesic sphere Spaceship Earth featured at EPCOT Center.
The Walt Disney World Dolphin is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is the sister resort of the Walt Disney World Swan. Both hotels were designed by Michael Graves. The Dolphin opened on June 4, 1990, as part of a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company, Tishman Hotel Corporation, MetLife and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which was merged into Marriott International in 2019. The land the resort occupies is owned by the Walt Disney Company, while the buildings themselves are leased by Disney to the Tishman Hotel Corporation and MetLife but operated by Marriott International under the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts brand. The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are a part of the Walt Disney Collection of resorts; because of this they are Disney branded and guests of the resort have access to special Disney benefits available to Disney Resort Hotel guests only.
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 hotels were designed by Michael Graves, and are connected by a palm-tree lined covered walkway crossing a lagoon. The Swan opened on January 13, 1990, as part of a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company, Tishman Hotel Corporation, MetLife and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which was merged into Marriott International in 2019. The land the resort occupies is owned by the Walt Disney Company and leased on a 99-year term to the Tishman Hotel Corporation and MetLife who own the buildings and contract the operation to Marriott International under the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand. The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are a part of the Walt Disney Collection of resorts; because of this they are Disney branded and guests of the resort have access to special Disney benefits available to Disney Resort Hotel guests only.
The France Pavilion is a French-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase within Epcot at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. Its location is between the Morocco and United Kingdom pavilions.
Innoventions was an ever-changing collection of exhibits at the EPCOT theme park in Walt Disney World, Florida. It focused on technological advancements and their practical applications in everyday life. Innoventions is a portmanteau of the words "innovation" and "invention".
Captain EO is a 1986 American 3D science fiction short film shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 till 1998. The movie, starring Michael Jackson, was written by George Lucas, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film was shown as part of an attraction with in-theater effects. The attraction returned to the Disney Parks in 2010 as a tribute after Jackson's death. The film was shown for the final time at Epcot on December 6, 2015.
Epcot Forever was a limited-time fireworks show that premiered on October 1, 2019, at Epcot. Epcot Forever served as an interim replacement for IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth until its long-term replacement, Harmonious, premiered in 2021. It took the form of a celebration of Epcot's musical history. The show celebrated the park's 37-year history, featuring fireworks, music, lighting, lasers, and special effects kites set to new arrangements of music originating from some of the park's classic attractions, such as Journey Into Imagination, Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Tapestry of Nations and Universe of Energy. The show was also made to celebrate the past, present, and future of Epcot.
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, also known as Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy, is a motion-based trackless 3D dark ride, based on the 2007 Disney-Pixar animated film Ratatouille, located at Disneyland Paris's Walt Disney Studios Park in France and at Walt Disney World's France Pavilion at Epcot.
