There are many amusement parks globally, but none can ever compare to the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.
There are four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, and 36 hotels within the famous tourist attraction.
You’re probably wondering how big is Disney World? With a whopping 27,258 acres, it’s easily the largest vacation resort in the world.
To give you an idea of how big it is, it’s almost the same size as the whole of Miami. At just over 27,000 acres, Disney World is the largest theme park in the world.
It is much bigger than the Disneyland Resort which is 500 acres and includes Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, Downtown Disney, and hotels like the Grand Californian Hotel.
It is also much bigger than the Universal Orlando Resort. Universal Studios is 541 acres.
The Evolution of Disney World
After the successful establishment of Disneyland in California, Walter Disney began looking for another area where he could build his second Disney theme park.
In 1965, he purchased 43 acres of land in Florida.
The park initially cost $400 million to build, and it became an instant success when it opened in 1971. Fast forward to 2022, and for me to say that the park has grown is an understatement.
Disney World Orlando now sees 58 million visitors each year!
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Theme Parks in Disney World
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open on October 1, 1971, five years after the death of Walt Disney. The theme park has an area of 106 acres.
Within Magic Kingdom, you can find Tomorrowland, Main Street, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square. This is also where you can find the iconic Cinderella Castle.
People are now looking forward to the TRON Lightcycle ride, which is set to open in 2023.
This is the park you have to visit if you’re going on a Disney World vacation! We recommend buying your theme park tickets before going there.
EPCOT
EPCOT or Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow opened on October 1, 1982. It has a total of 305 acres.
Disney originally planned for it to be a futuristic city, but later on, it became the resort’s second theme park.
EPCOT showcases the future technologies of the world by incorporating pavilions from 11 different nations.
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios opened on May 1, 1989. It covers 135 acres of land. Within this, the most popular attractions are Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
The first one covers 11 acres while the latter has 14 acres.
The park’s theme is classic Hollywood movies as well as popular TV shows. Because of this, there are multiple theaters in this theme park.
If ever you want to watch a show, this is the place you’d go to.
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Animal Kingdom
Covering 580 acres, Animal Kingdom is the largest theme park in Disney World. However, it also contains the least amount of rides.
Animal Kingdom’s main attraction is the 145 ft-tall tree right at the center of the park. Around 2000 animals currently live within the theme park.
Water Parks in Disney World
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Typhoon Lagoon covers 61 acres of land and houses the world’s largest outdoor wave pool. Its main attraction is a giant ship that’s been impaled by a mountain.
This centerpiece has a geyser that erupts water 50 ft into the air.
Blizzard Beach Water Park
The theme of Blizzard Beach is that of a ski resort, but the snow is melting. The result looks like a waterlogged resort on top of an artificial 90 ft hill.
Blizzard Beach is the 5th highest point in Florida.
Golf Courses in Disney World
Palm Golf Course
This 18-hole course is covered in palm trees and has multiple lakes and tropical sand pits. Those who have played it say that the course is difficult even for pros.
Magnolia Golf Course
This golf course is famous for its magnolia trees. Eleven of the 14 holes have challenging water hazards and the sand pits are sometimes in the shape of Mickey Mouse.
Lake Buena Vista Golf Course
Lake Buena is an 18-hole golf course that has been certified as a cooperative wildlife sanctuary. The best feature about this course is the elevated greens that are difficult to approach.
Oak Trail Golf Course
Oak Trail is a 9-hole golf course. Disney designed the golf course to be playable by young golfers. The course is also fun for the whole family to walk through.
Hotels in Disney World
Disney World currently owns and operates 26 hotels, and there are a further 10 hotels on the property that aren’t operated by Disney.
In total, there are over 30,000 rooms in the resort.
The hotels range from economic to deluxe in price. There are even 409 wilderness cabins and 799 campsites on the property.
What’s exciting is that there’s a new two-night Star Wars experience where you get to live in a Star Wars-themed cabin.
You can also experience the Crown of Corellia’s multi-course menu of otherworldly food.
However, if you’re looking for something more laid back, Disney’s Beach Club Resort might be the hotel for you.
This hotel has a New England theme and houses the world’s largest sand-bottom pool.
Another interesting hotel in the resort is Disney’s Polynesian Village. A beautiful lagoon surrounds the villas. You’ll feel like you’re in Hawaii.
In 2021, Disney World added new Moana-themed rooms and even attached a monorail to the hotel.
What Else Is In Disney World?
With all of those visitors, Disney has opened up 300 restaurants or dining outlets on the property. It employs over 350 chefs for this.
There are also 400 buses, 12 monorails, and several boats to help transport guests around the theme parks.
Moreover, Disney World has a total of 13 acres of land just for function rooms. You can surely celebrate your birthday or have company events there.
On top of that, the Disney Springs Shopping Center has over 150 shops where you can buy various types of merch.
Room For Expansion
With all of the attractions currently built on Disney World, it’s surprising to know that they’re yet to build on a huge chunk of the land.
In total, the developed area only encompasses 15,360 acres of land. That means that there’s still 40% of the land left for future projects.
Disney did, however, save some of this land for conservation purposes.
Conclusion
It’s truly amazing how a regular theme park can become so successful that it expands into the size of a city. With how big Disney World is, you can easily spend several days in the resort.
I hope you got a general idea of how much land you’d have to cover should you ever visit and that this post answered how big is Disney World!
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