Walt Disney World Resort, often referred to as simply Walt Disney World or Disney World, is the largest recreational Resort in the world, containing four theme parks. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment of The Walt Disney Company, it is located in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, Florida, outside the city limits of Orlando.
Construction began in 1967, less than a year after Walt Disney's death. It opened on October 1, 1971, as the Magic Kingdom, and since has added Epcot on October 1, 1982, Disney-MGM Studios on May 1, 1989, and Disney's Animal Kingdom on April 22, 1998 as new theme parks.
In addition to the four main theme parks, the resort contains two water Parks, six golf courses, a sports complex, an auto race track, twenty Resort hotels and numerous shopping, dining, and entertainment offerings. It even has its own fire department and a massive public transit system of buses, boats, and monorails. The 30,000 acre (120 km�) property is the largest theme park resort in the world, although over the past decade significant land has been sold off for housing and other developments, including land now occupied by the Disney-built (but not owned) community of Celebration.
It is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North). In addition, in 2006 a new western entrance opened from Exit 8 on State Road 429 (Florida), the Western Expressway. It also runs a bus line that connects the resort to Orlando International Airport and the Disney Cruise Line terminal in Port Canaveral.
Meg Crofton was named president of the resort in August 2006, replacing Al Weiss, who had overseen the site since 1994
; "disneyworld.com")
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