Building Walt Disney World

Once upon a time there was a man with a vision. Watch the incredible construction story behind the Walt Disney World Resort. For more by The B1M subscribe now: ow.ly/GxW7y
Read the full story on this video, including images and useful links, here: www.theb1m.com/video/building...
Images courtesy of The Walt Disney Archives, Google Maps, Robert J Boser, State Archives of Florida, Orange County Archives, The Walt Disney Company, Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, State Library and Archives of Florida, Benjamin D Esham, The Disneyland Resort, Jennifer Lynn, Taylor Strictland, Paula Watson and Blogmickey.com.
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© 2018 The B1M Limited | Share + Inspire

[@pnull]

Happy to say I was there opening day: October 1, 1971

[@TheB1M]

Awesome! What was it like??

[@pnull]

@@TheB1M The only thing there was the Magic Kingdom, and even that was not completely open. I also remember the World Symphany Orchestra gave a concert that evening in front of the Cinderella Castle.

[@davidjames666]

My family has an unused ticket book from that year. A ticket was $.50 and it is still good, as it says “never expires”

[@alxisl]

AMAZING!

[@danny-li6io]

That’s incredible! I would imagine there were cars backed up for miles to get into the park?

[@MrGriff305]

Nothing better than being a child in Florida in the 80s. Beaches and boating in South Florida tropics, movies filmed in Miami, a brand new Disney World, and Space Shuttle launches to the east. It was always some fun magic!

[@ZeranZeran]

What happened to the optimism that people like Walt had!? I hate how every "future" show or movie is so doom and gloom We need futurism to be positive and a look forward towards our goals and dreams again.

[@vercopolis]

Unless you're a child in the movie industry. Pedo.

[@NYC_Construction_Updates]

Walt Disney was amazing, he had great views of architecture.

[@Cheeseatingjunglista]

He was a racist authoritarian headcase with delusions of grandeur....prob why the USA loves him so much

[@OttisR0t]

@@Cheeseatingjunglista WAT?

[@preahko]

@@OttisR0t yes...pretty much established that he was a fascist and anti-Semite. don't you watch Family Guy?

[@unleashthefury111]

Of course he did, he was a free mason

[@perceptoshmegington3371]

Cheeseatingjunglista yeah the USA is the worst with its individual freedoms and high standard of living. Where are you from? Belgravia?

[@luuchoo93]

One single private company transformed a regular swamp in the middle of nowhere into the most visited destination in the United States, and one of the most visited places on the entire planet. History can be amazing

[@nemi-mout1874]

Yup👍🏿

[@sandramcclure2598]

It's amazing what one will do to promote sexual perversion. I wonder how many children have been sexually abused at WDW? We may never know. All we can do is not ever give them any more money. Unless sex with children is okay with you, and that's sad. just saying.

[@rafaelhinojosa915]

@@sandramcclure2598 how many children have been sexually abused by the catholic church?

[@anonimo2942]

@@sandramcclure2598 ????

[@dvchel]

Look at Las Vegas and what has happened there, in credit of the Hoover Dam.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

Did you know: you can fit 300 Disneyland's on Walt Disney World property? Another way of looking at it is Disney World property is twice the size of New York City. The vision Disney had 60 years ago was absolutely insanely daring, and brilliant.

[@richardgroves8565]

Twice the size of Manhattan island, the same size as San Francisco.

[@mtodack]

And still growing

[@Ron19591]

DO I care?

[@ZeranZeran]

Holy CRAP! Disneyland local here and I had no idea it was THAT much bigger.. Wow. I thought I got tired of walking here! Lol That's so cool. Roy really honored his brother til the end, and in the highest form. Beautiful

[@ZeranZeran]

@@Ron19591 Yes you may.

[@bradjohnston8193]

On Saturday, September 11, 1971, Disney did a test run of the Magic Kingdom as a shake-down, to see if the attractions were working properly. They allowed a huge crowd of people - all construction workers who had built the park, and their families - into the park for five hours, starting at sunset. Not every attraction was open but most were, and several bugs were found (and corrected before the official opening.) It was a trip, man! I got to experience the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, the Swiss Family Robinson Tree-House (which I have never been in since!,) the Tiki Birds, Main Street, Cinderella's Castle, the Cable Cars, the Monorail, the Grand Prix race-cars and the Peoplemover, among other things. (I'm not sure, but I think we did Pirates of the Caribbean. I also am not sure if we rode the Steam Train around the park or not - it may not have been working. Space Mountain was still more than three years away.) Some of the original Main Street vehicles (replicas of 1910-era Jitneys and Omnibuses) are still there and, though they had 6 or 7 miles on them that night (they have speedometers, and I looked,) it has taken them 50 years to pile on 17,000 or so miles. I did not ride It's A Small World; in fact, it took me more than 35 years to bother to ride it. I even got to go into the Contemporary Hotel and its 12-storey-deep atrium. We were very, very busy, running around trying to see everything in five hours, and the time went by with lightning speed. I got to ride the Monorail three times: twice in the back, and at the end when we were leaving, in the Operator's Cab, and that was just frigging amazing! You want to talk about a Space-Age experience - an electric train suspended fifty feet over the ground, and right through a hotel!!! That was the summer of Apollo 15, after all. The monorail impressed the Hell out of me. There were only two hotels then; the Contemporary and the Polynesian. I both visited and rode through them both. I had a choice: the Monorail or the boat, and I chose the Monorail. So I can say that I got to tour Disney World twenty days before the official opening of October 1, 1971. There were 11,000 of us. I wonder how many are still alive? I was twelve years old and I will never forget it.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Awesome story, what a great experience, who in your family did what to get you included!?

[@bradjohnston8193]

@@donaldstanfield8862 My step-father; he was an iron-worker who helped build Cinderella's Castle. It has a 170-foot-tall iron frame, just like the Statue of Liberty. If you could get deep inside it (I got to do that for about three minutes, juuuust once!) you would see that large parts of it are void space and you can still see where concrete was sprayed onto wire mesh and sculpted, in the way a swimming pool is made. The "caves" of Tom Sawyer's Island were made the same way. After the opening, my mother went to work in the Contemporary Hotel for three years. During that time, we could get in for free. I remember when hotel rooms were $21 a night, and you could rent a small boat and run around Bay Lake for $7 or $8 an hour, depending on the boat. It was fun to be a teenager then. It is, literally, 20 to 30 times more expensive today, depending on the hotel. Admission is 25 times as much. That's twice as high as inflation in general. I've been thinking about it, and about half of us were kids and half were adults. I think that now, less than half of us survive, perhaps 5,000 or less. (I'm 62 now.) That night was a privilege, I can tell you that! Like we used to say, it was groovy. Never to be repeated.

[@jimmy5003]

@Brad Johnston Your comment and the response to the question below was a Walt Disney Experience. Well described sir, you can actually taste the nostalgia. Life = Passion, groovy indeed.

[@bradjohnston8193]

@@jimmy5003 Thank you. It was absolutely the highlight of my middle childhood.

[@cakesbygaby]

Great video! One thing: River Country in Fort Wilderness was Walt Disney World’s first water park, not Typhoon Lagoon. It opened in 1976 and closed in 2005. My childhood hangout. :)

[@dickhurtz4528]

I got my first chocolate covered frozen banana there.. never heard of such a thing..

[@jrlm510]

8:34 my king Harambe lives on ❤️

[@lionheart1867]

Walt Disney could've simply built a Disneyland clone in Orlando, those with a lesser vision would have. However, he dreamed of something better, something bigger and more magical than the original, and I'm so glad he did. Although I haven't been to WDW in thirty years, I remember my two visits like they were yesterday. It made an impression on my young mind that has stayed with me until this very day. Walt Disney was one of the greatest visionaries in history!

[@rlt152]

You should go back, I went earlier this year for the first time in close to 20 years and I loved it just as much as the previous times I went, planning on going again in 3 years when the park celebrates it's 50th Anniversary.

[@Guernicaman]

Imagine what Walt would've accomplished, had he lived another 10 to 15 years! Something tells me we'd be living in a very different world.

[@vermontsmostobesetubaplaye1988]

As I kid, and even now, WDFW always seemed eerie to me. Bad energy there.

[@aldredd]

Typhoon Lagoon wasn't their first water park - they previously had River Country which opened in 1976 on the shore of Bay Lake, and only closed in 2005

[@rlt152]

Actually closed in 2001 but you are correct, it was one of my favorites

[@TheKairielise]

rlt152 Technically, you’re both right. River Country effectively closed in 2001. As in, the last guest ever to swim there visited in 2001. However, when it closed then, it was only expected to be a “seasonal” closure, due in part to the post 9/11 tourism slump, the parks inability to compete with Typhoon and Blizzard, and seasonal maintenance. Even though it’s “open season” never actually came again, it wasn’t until 2005 that the company officially announced it’s permanently closed status.

[@cvn6555]

@@TheKairielise It actually was permanently closed because Florida passed a law that all water parks had to end their slides/etc. into pools. Disney saw no way to convert their slides from emptying into the lagoon water to pools. River Country was the best. Until Volcano Bay...

[@magiccheeseball]

@@cvn6555 that's just a rumor it did not close because of that reason it would have been grandfathered in and wet and wild had a ride that used Lake water and that ride never closed

[@christophermarshall2612]

Well it actually closed in 2001 and they tried to fix it but closed before finished

[@Chillyswitch]

i love that this is literally a documentary! you should get this on netflix!

[@Hryanw]

Fun fact: the day Disney flew over Bay Lake and decided that’s where he wanted to build Disney world was the same day JFK was shot.

[@piercehubbard4086]

I love Disney Land, Disney World, and Disney cruises! My parents took us on a Disney Cruise when I was 16 for Christmas. I thought it would suck and be all for kids, but they make it fun for any age! Best vacation of my life. My family is in Palm Springs now and try to go to Disney Land once a year. It really brings some magic that can even make a tough person start to remember and go back to childhood when life is simple.

[@JaimeTheSafeGuru]

Incredible story. I’m fascinated by the Disney brand. They must continue to have unbelievable leadership and, razor sharp focus. Disney is the best!

[@bobboberson2024]

One little factoid not mentioned here - is that the entire property was built above grade, which was the top of the water level. So yes, it was drained and construction began. But that intial foundation is the basement to the public's experience above. The attractions are on the "second floor," if you will. This was to curb flooding - and more importantly create a vast underground network to connect every point in the park.

[@jonathanpalmquist4894]

Ya, you'd think that this construction channel would have mentioned the most interesting construction based fact about the park. He really didn't talk about its actual construction at all.

[@anikun]

and that was only done with the magic kingdom, not any of the other parks

[@bobboberson2024]

Yes sir...

[@danieldietrich9969]

That is only true for Magic Kingdom and the first section of EPCOT. Not the entire property.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

@@anikun -- well I don't how they do it but all of the garbage disposal is underground, as well as all of the dressing rooms for the staff. They leave their costumes there are and they're cleaned and pressed so none of their uniforms are taken home. It's a remarkable achievement. And the groundskeeping bill must be insane because the grounds throughout the 28,000 sq. miles are never anything but perfectly manicured and pristine.

[@chrisadamson9556]

I've been all over and Disney World is my choice for the best vacation.. Been there 8 times since the first year Animal Kingdom opened. I try and go at least every few years. I usually save for a year to go. Every time I go, It's like a new experience... My kids are grown and I'm a Grandfather but, My Wife and I love, Love, Love it... We usually go late October through the first week of Nov. Epcot has The Food & Wine festival with free concerts and food from all over the world. The crowds are lower because school is in and the weather is the best.

[@mtodack]

I was born and raised in fla and went all the time. Now I live in another state and go every few years when financially able. You are correct. A whole new experience every time

[@pandarosamusic5751]

This is absolutely one of your best videos, just because of the amount of detail you go into.

[@tricky2055]

Hollywood Studies was first opened as MGM Studios.

[@loonercrazy]

More specifically The Disney/MGM Studios

[@blakesworld4463]

Better name then the new one.

[@moonscar119]

@@blakesworld4463 true... but MGM held some trademarks that Disney could not use for some merchandise..... so they changed the name to make more money

[@WorldOfExcitementE]

Moon Scar There’s more to it than that.

[@RobinandCarlJackson]

Thank you! I just posted the exact same thing

[@CitiesoftheFuture]

So interesting! we had never seen a detalied story of Disney! we love your channeel man!

[@gmdaskham]

Try Rob Plays channel. He saw awesome information about Disney World.

[@CitiesoftheFuture]

Gareth Askham thank you! We will check it out!

[@gmdaskham]

Glad to help. Here's his channel: kzbin.info

[@Thrash2010ATL]

Really??? There's literally 1000's of them

[@rtyuuuuu]

I mean it's described as Walt having a prophetic vision to make Disney World, but his idea of doing so is widely accepted as being credited to him visiting and being inspired by Tivoli, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world(the oldest being Bakken, also in Denmark).

[@citiesskyscrapers4561]

Your channel is so awesome!

[@TheB1M]

THANK YOU!!!!

[@hiridavidfeign]

Very concise. I love all the aerial shots. Really great selection of photos.

[@joesmith389]

0:28 Walt Disney World is actually the largest theme park resort in the world (by far), and the number one vacation destination in the world.

[@maggiemae7749]

PT Barnum was correct. Bet Disney patterned after Barnum

[@LNTunes1010]

Known as Spaceship ‘Earth’. 7:30 🕢 Geodesic: relating to or denoting the shortest possible line between two points on a sphere or other curved surface. Perhaps earth’s surface area expands as a function of time? This is what Walt Disney set out to prove with EPCOT: Experimental Prototype Community Of The [Future]. However, EPiCenter Of Time, I feel, is more befitting.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

@@LNTunes1010 Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow...

[@stevesnellgrove1518]

great job On the documentary... Walt Disney world is my favorite place to go with family .. it truly is magical ❤️

[@sagarjoshi1698]

He is way beyond thinking. Salute and also dedication.

[@charliewestfort6245]

I felt very lucky to go most of the parks at Disney World a few years ago. The ball was still at epcot at the time

[@levarallen824]

Rip Walt Disney thanks for building such an amazing attraction I must visit one day

[@JujuGurgel]

I remember visiting Hollywood Studios when it was still MGM studios

[@richardterroni9433]

Same here, in fact I didn't get to visit as Hollywood Studios until 2018.

[@philrabe910]

It's an awful lot of fun to visit, but OMG the crowds are so much bigger now than that first opening year- when we all thought it was SO much busier than the Six Flags in Georgia. They first experimented with a water park over near the campground, I forget what it was called. Fort wilderness doesn;t sound wet enough. It had a couple of slides and maybe a lazy river, but tiny. They had no idea how popular a water park could be in Florida Heat!

[@vincentpadovano7855]

What a vision....RIP Walt Disney

[@tvommy]

Such a great story

[@JEPHRO760]

Typhoon Lagoon was not Disney's first step into water parks. The first was the now abandend River Country. It was situated right next to Fort Wilderness Camp Grounds. The infrastructure as alot of the slides are still standing today.

[@davidperez7882]

Man do I love Disney

[@frankortolano5886]

your research is excellent

[@lukegreen5341]

I've Might Go To Walt Disney World Resort In Orlando Florida In The United States Of America During My New Orleans Louisiana And Orlando Florida Holiday Megatrip On My 30th Birthday Celebrations In 2023. Thanks Mate. X

[@rikeep]

I never knew it was called the Florida Project! Gives added meaning to the film

[@bjmajor]

It had some other names as well, including Project X.

[@Cheops2112]

Was there in ‘76 & ‘77...Good times.

[@camdengamer2998]

Wow. Very informative. Thank you.

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Well done. Thanks from Orlando Florida.

[@sandamaliekulasekeraa2128]

Brilliant project😊😊😊😊😊 A fairytale brought to life indeed♥️💛💝💖💙💚💜💐🎀😍☺️😊

[@budkinches1548]

That was the most detailed doc I've ever seen on Disney world. Wow! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@masaon314]

Love the longer length video you put out! Keep it up!

[@edwincancelii2917]

One of my favorite videos.

[@bambamyong]

Thanks for this Episode 🙌🏽 seeing what’s happening to Disney World in 2022. Hopefully you’ll have a new update!

[@RockyRacoon5]

This video was 2 years ago what the fuck, I remember watching just hours after it released. Time is consuming me :(

[@mogul1]

Great video as usual!

[@savdavid]

Very well done. Thanks!

[@OnlyOneKenobi]

Great video and thank you for it! ☺

[@olddisneylandtickets]

WOW! I love your video's and this Walt Disney World video is spectacular, that smooth vibe really works well for this subject - THANK YOU!

[@connormorgan6180]

What music did they use. That brought me to Disney even though I’m sitting on my couch.

[@rahmanshahid6570]

Really nice and informative.

[@atobaidoo8948]

I like the Picture quality. Thanks.

[@theenlightenedexchange4817]

Exactly. A wish was made never forget that

[@tlininger36]

Very well done informative video, thank you!

[@leonardengelhart1965]

Well put together video. Thank you

[@UnseenVids]

I love this channel and video! Well done! Love the ending!!!

[@Myron1988]

Cant wait to see it all

[@jonyp1995]

Great work BIM! One of your best 10/10

[@TheB1M]

Ah wow... thanks so much for your feedback! 🙂👍👍

[@jackshears2043]

Great video, could you please look in closer depth at EPCOT? (The prototype city not the theme park)

[@Locutus]

There is a channel called Rob Plays, and he only talks about Disney related things. I'm 90% cerain he has a video on what you want.

[@mikegruber172]

Celebration is what EPCOT was supposed to be

[@Ferocious_Imbecile]

Yeah surely the concept of Epcot as a modern corporate controlled gated community was perhaps the most socially interesting aspect of the entire project. I'd love to see more about that, both for its innovation in urban technology as well as its social implications as the upper middle classes pay to segregate themselves from the lower orders.

[@Guernicaman]

@@Ferocious_Imbecile - The Original EPCOT was not a gated community as we know them today. While there was security, the idea was you lived next door to work & commute to work would be automated thru people movers. Part of the perks of living there were that any & all products & innovations produced at the factories inside EPCOT would be tested by those living within the urban area surrounding the epicenter. EPCOT welcomed tourists - who didn't live there - to check out the facilities thru guided tours of the factories & shop at the mall-like facilities. Once inside, all transportation was thru monorail, or if you lived inside EPCOT, people movers. These were automated cars before automated cars were even a thing.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

[@amazon4716]

You build it and they will come 😅 Love Disney ❤️

[@stephenlennartz3466]

So many wonderful memories with family here. We visited twice with our two, young sons. It was the perfect 'training ground' to prep all of us for Universal! Soon ... we'll be back at Disney with our new granddaughter. The circle of life? ; )

[@MichaelSnasdell]

Yet another fantastic, informative video. Thank you for finding so many interesting topics, and researching them so well to produce these videos.

[@fadisamman5546]

Thank you

[@citiesskyscrapers4561]

Great video!

[@qman327]

This channel is so amazing, you should open a patrion. I wanna support you!

[@bazzatheblue]

What an incredible story and a well put together video.

[@TheB1M]

Thank you!!! ...and thanks for watching!

[@rowsdower12]

I knew some of this but not to this detailed. Why I subscribed cause it's a great channel for enrichment. I grew up in Florida near Disney world.

[@georgejetson1025]

This was interesting . Damn interesting !

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Interesting and well presented. Thanks from Orlando Florida.

[@poetnathan26]

You guys are one of the best channels on KZbin every video Is informative and interesting and well produced

[@cassi3erin]

You should do another video on the innovative, but unsuccessful use of the modular building system that was used to build the two original resorts, The Polynesian Village and Contemporary Resort.

[@olddisneylandtickets]

I've seen a documentary (not sure where) that showed how the Contemporary's modular rooms were made/installed. I guess the intent was to be able to just slide out the old room and slide in news ones for an "all-in-one" update down the road. I guess it didn't work because the building settled and trapped the "removable" rooms in place forever. Neat idea though and cool watching them get inserted! I'd LOVE to stay in one :-)

[@HollywoodF1]

@@olddisneylandtickets It was never the case that the rooms were intended to be removable. Each room was welded permanently into place and exterior finishes were built around them. The entire point was simply to fast-track construction by finishing the rooms and the superstructure at the same time, and to use assembly line-style construction to save money, and improve quality as well. It's another one of those extremly popular but totally false rumors surrounding Disney parks.

[@ashishawasthi3123]

Salute you man

[@JimMorgan]

Typhoon Lagoon was the second waterpark. The first, and my favorite, was River Country.

[@joetanaka6446]

Good story 🎬📽💻

[@jameskirby8471]

AMAZING video!!!!

[@jody024]

That Alladin reference, smooth~

[@wrc5557]

Would be interesting to see a B1M video on the new universal Florida park......its a once in every 2 or 3 decade opportunity to see a park of that scale and ambition being build in the US!

[@luishenrique6784]

omg you are SO GOOD awesome video

[@213dreamingstar]

Great video, however Typhoon Lagoon was not the first water park. River Country was. Now, TL is the oldest remaining water park. Also, your voice is super relaxing to listen to with the music choices lol

[@corporateGuy89]

wow - this is a quality channel

[@marcorubio3496]

Some history was omitted but it would had extended the video yet it is a generalized history of the creation and evolution of a park which most have grown up enjoying.

[@42846GAVIN]

Do a video on the panama canal construction

[@pcz5233]

Walt would be turning over In his grave If he seen what EPCOT has become. He had a plan and they changed It.

[@sushantaryal3870]

Great as always

[@TheB1M]

Thank you!!

[@kendallthegamer9348]

I love going to Disney

[@pinkrhodeblush]

happy birthday walt

[@jbragg35]

Man if only Walt and Roy Disney were still here and saw how much his empire grew he'd be PROUD!!!

[@wakeupscreaming9883]

Swamp lands or wetlands are actually estuaries for birds and many other species. I'd be more impressed if a developer takes a desert or rock wasteland and transforms it. Development and population growth has ruined Florida.

[@anthonylabarbera3656]

agreed.

[@threzzy_]

Cause fuck the desert animals

[@sunshineimperials1600]

You must be a very boring person.

[@thetimelapseguy8]

Lol I would be impressed if he built it in detroit.

[@eouzcuemarz3114]

nice video👍

[@Snipedog1978]

Typhoon lagoon was Disney’s second water park, river country was the first

[@danielaliksa2705]

Love you

[@StlWhiteVerve]

thx

[@charleskesner1302]

Interesting thanks.

[@nickpse]

Great video, make one about the i4 ultimate project now!

[@eurossocial]

WOW!! Excellent video! You have a new subscriber to your channel;-)

[@aioriarabadan]

very good

[@jamessommer6077]

I was actually wondering if Star Wars Edge is going to be at Disney world in Orlando but now I know it will be there in 2021.

[@celtongerilla6595]

Great video content and information. On the other hand, I think the volume of the voice is somehow unaudible.

[@OldMusicFan83]

You forgot to mention the oversized 'robot arms' that grab you at the front gate and hang you upside down by your ankles, and shakes you until all of your money falls onto the ground...

[@rsm2342]

Naw, that’s the IRS.

[@nolanmatter6399]

“No signs of slowing down” insert Coronavirus 😭

[@thekotta]

well it wasn’t slowed down much work continued quickly after

[@StuieMaaate]

Coronovirus is just the COMMON FLU the real virus is the LYING FAKE MEDIA! the real danger is the VACCINES

[@donaldstanfield8862]

@@StuieMaaate 🤣