Last Updated: May 2026
Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971 — five years after Walt Disney himself died from lung cancer in December 1966, before a single acre of Florida swamp had been broken. The project he initiated in secret, buying up 27,000 acres of Central Florida land through shell companies to prevent land speculation, was completed and opened by his successors. The resort is roughly the size of San Francisco, employs more than 62,000 people making it the largest single-site employer in the United States, and draws approximately 48 million visitors annually across its four theme parks. We visited all four over four days in early April, arriving at the tail end of spring break and ahead of the summer crush. It was 92 degrees and humid every day, and we had a genuinely excellent time.
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