We all have to start somewhere!
With Walt Disney World, there are huge milestones between the shovels hitting the ground in Central Florida and the current iteration of the resort. My goal is to share the year and the event that made headlines, which may include hotels, theme parks and everything in between!
Hope this is helpful and fun!
Walt Disney World Construction Timeline
1960’S
1965
- Walt Disney announces Florida Project
1966
- Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65
1967
- Construction of Walt Disney World Resort begins
1970’S
1971
- Magic Kingdom opens
- Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses opens
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort opens
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort opens
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground opens
- Roy O. Disney dies at age 78
1972
- Disney’s Village Resort opens
1973
- The Golf Resort opens
1974
- Discovery Island opens
1975
- Walt Disney Village Marketplace opens
1976
- Disney’s River Country opens
1980’S
1980
- Walt Disney World Conference Center opens
1982
- EPCOT Center opens
1986
- The Golf Resort is expanded and renamed The Disney Inn
1988
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa opens
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort opens
1989
- Disney-MGM Studios opens
- Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon opens
- Pleasure Island opens
1990’S
1990
- Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club resorts open
- Walt Disney World Swan opens
- Walt Disney World Dolphin opens
1991
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort French Quarter opens
- Disney Vacation Club is launched
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort opens
1992
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside (formerly known as Dixie Landings) opens
- Bonnet Creek Golf Club opens
1994
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort and Disney’s All-Star Music Resort opens
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge opens
- The Disney Inn is leased and then purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense and is renamed Shades of Green
1995
- Disney’s Blizzard Beach opens
- Disney’s Wedding Pavilion opens
- Walt Disney World Speedway opens
1996
- EPCOT Center is renamed Epcot
- Disney Institute opens
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas open
1997
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort opens
- Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex opens
- Downtown Disney West Side opens
1998
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens
- DisneyQuest opens
1999
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort opens
- Discovery Island closes
- Hurricane Floyd closes the resort for the first time in its history on September 15.
2000’S
2000
- The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge opens
2001
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge opens
- Disney’s River Country closes
- On September 11, a series of terrorist attacks closes the resort for the second time due to national safety concerns.
2002
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas opens
- Shades of Green closes for renovations
2003
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort opens
2004
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa opens
- Shades of Green reopens after renovations
- Hurricane Frances closes the resort for the third time from September 4 to 5.
- Hurricane Jeanne closes the resort for the fourth time on September 26.
2007
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas opens
2008
- Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios
2009
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort opens
- Treehouse Villas opens
2010’S
2011
- Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort opens
2012
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort opens
- Phase 1 of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland expansion opens
2013
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa opens
2014
- Phase 2 of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland expansion opens
2015
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows opens
- Walt Disney World Speedway closes
- Downtown Disney is expanded and renamed Disney Springs
2016
- Disney Springs finishes construction
- Hurricane Matthew closes the resort for the fifth time on October 7.
2017
- Pandora – The World of Avatar opens at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Hurricane Irma closes the resort for the sixth time from September 10 to 11.
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge opens
- DisneyQuest closes permanently for the NBA Experience
2018
- Toy Story Land opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
2019
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Aug 29, 2019)
We’ll be adding much more into this article as things are added to the landscape at Disney World!
