In 1959, four years after the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney's company began looking for a suitable site for his next project; Disney World. Settling on 30,500 acres in Orlando, Florida, construction began in 1967 of what would become the flagship destination of the Disney Worldwide Corporation. Learning from some of the issues surrounding his California park, Disney used various "dummy" companies to acquire the land, in order to avoid a burst of land speculation surrounding the property. All of this was done in secrecy so that no one knew who was actually buying up the land. One of the biggest problems to be dealt with was that a number of the sites he wanted were owned by Tufts University. Disney's team negotiated a deal to buy the mineral rights from Tufts for $15,000; thus, effectively owning the property. Unfortunately, Walt died before he saw his dream completed. His brother (and his business partner), Roy, took over to finish the project as a means of honoring Walt's ambitions. Florida's governor and legislature created a bill to form a special, independent district, run by the Disney Corporation, that would eventually become Lake Buena Vista. The Magic Kingdom was the first of the themed parks to open ( on October 1st, 1971), followed by Epcot (1982), Holloywood Studios (1989), and Animal Kingdom ( 1998). Disney World is now officially known as WDW Parks & Resorts and is operated by a Board of Directors. In keeping with its show business theme, employees are known as "cast members." Numbering more than 74,000, this makes Disney World the largest single-site employer in the United States. In addition to its amusements, Disney World sponsors the WDW College program and the International College program ( along with internship and training programs) to develop its "front line" cast members.
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