FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2024-185

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (October 1, 2024) – In this edition of Fun with Maps we celebrate the opening of Walt Disney World on this date 1971.

Happiest Place

Walt Disney realized by the late 1950s that the combination of success of Disneyland in California and it being landlocked warranted another theme park.

Disney died during the planning phase of the Florida based park in 1966, so he never saw his dream Walt Disney World realized.  The park opened on October 1, 1971 in Orlando. 

It steadily grew with EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, entertainment districts, etc. added on, plus of course all the hotels.

Now the complex hosts 49 million guests annually, up from 11 million when it opened.  There are 77,000 cast members to look after you.  Disney World is the largest single site employer in the US with the annual payroll of about $3 billion.

Uniquely, it enjoys a FAA prohibited airspace designation, awarded to parts of Washington DC, military installations and Camp David only.  So, don’t bring your drone to Disney World.

This early map of Florida by Tanner shows little development in most of the state south of the panhandle.  There is no Orlando, Miami, or Tampa on the map.  The map dates from 1839.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.