Amid the flat orange-grove lands of central Florida, site preparations on 2500 acres of swamp land are nearing completion outside Orlando. The parcel, a fraction of Walt Disney World's total 27,000 acres, will accommodate Phase One of a bigger and grander Disneyland of the east — the "Vacation Kingdom of the World" that expects to see 8 million visitors in its first year of operation, beginning October 1971.
The water-oriented complex will be built around a dying lake that is being reshaped, dredged, lined with clean sand and filled with fresh water. Five "theme" hotels are expected to attract large numbers of vacationers to the so-called "destination resort." Phase One calls for completion of two hotels and an entertainment-recreation "Magic Kingdom." Thunder Mesa ("a spectacular panorama of the old west"), Space Mountain ("the world of the future"), the Mickey Mouse Musical Revue performing to such Disney favorites as "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," and many, many more attractions have been conceived and planned for the delectation of the international tourist by the "imagineering" staff at WED Enterprises, the design and showmanship subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions.
[…]
