Happy 45th Birthday Magic Kingdom. Here Are 45 Walt Disney World Fun Facts To Celebrate!

Happy Birthday to the Happiest Place on Earth!

1. Cinderella Castle stands at 189 feet tall. That height is just under the FAA 200 foot limit. Heights beyond that buildings must display a flashing red light on the top of the structure.
2.  Cinderella Castle was not created using stone.
3. 500,000 tiles in 500 different colors, including 14K gold, were used to create the murals inside Cinderella Castle
4. The Seven Seas Lagoon located in front of the park is a man-made lake.
5. Opening day attendance at Magic Kingdom was 10,000 people.
6. Most trash cans within the park are no more than 30 feet apart. Walt came up with this spacing himself after watching guests at other parks to see how many steps they would take with trash in hand. Clever!
7. The second tallest structure in the park is Space Mountain, which stands 183ft tall
8.  Speaking of Space Mountain, it was the first ride to debut at Walt Disney World before coming to Disneyland
9. Price for adult admission to Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971 was $3.50
10. The park does not sell gum–anywhere!
11. Walt Disney World has only ever unexpectedly closed 5 times since it opened in 1971—In 1999 for Hurricane Floyd, 2001 due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 2002 due to a power outage, and twice in 2004 for Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.
12. More than 1.6 MILLION turkey legs are consumed at the parks every year.
13. There are several stories about who was first on the list to be the featured band for Rockin’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Whatever legend is true, they declined and Aerosmith became the star of the show.
14. The fastest ride at Walt Disney World—–Test Track at EPCOT, which reaches speeds of up to 65 miles per hour.
15. The Astro Orbiter attraction in Tomorrowland opened in 1974. It was originally named Star Jets
16. The Liberty Bell replica found in Liberty Square was created using the same mold as the original Liberty Bell
17. The design of Main Street, USA was inspired by Marceline, MO–Walt’s hometown.
18. One day while at Disneyland, Walt saw a Frontierland character walking through Tomorrowland. This bothered him so much that when he designed Walt Disney World, he created a tunnel system called utilidors on the ground level of the property so that cast members could move around the park unseen by guests. Magic Kingdom is actually built on top of these tunnels and is a second level, so to speak.
19. Magic Kingdom spans 107 acres.
20. An architectural technique known as forced perspective is used throughout Magic Kingdom. As the building gets taller, it becomes narrower, giving the illusion that the structure is taller than it really is.
21. In 1996, Cinderella Castle was transformed into a giant birthday cake to celebrate the park’s 25^th anniversary. I thought it was cute but many many MANY people disagreed.
22. The Tomorrowland Transit Authority was originally called the WEDway People Mover (WED=Walter Elias Disney)
23. The 60ft tall Swiss Family Tree House in Adventureland is made of concrete and polyethylene leaves and weighs about 200 tons. 
24. The hearse in front of Haunted Mansion was used in the John Wayne flick “The Sons of Katie Elder” (That was for you, Poppy!)
25. Walt purchased the 43 square miles of Central Florida swampland, which would later become Walt Disney World for $5 million, or about $185 per acre.
26. It took less than 30 minutes to evacuate thousands of guests from the theme parks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
27. All of Disneyland can fit into the Magic Kingdom Parking lot
28. There are over 60,000 employees at Walt Disney World, making it the largest single site employer in the USA
29. Walt Disney World is home to THREE water bridges. Water bridges are just that—a bridge for water to flow. The most visible one on property connect Seven Seas Lagoon to Bay Lake. As you travel by boat over the bridge, you can watch cars passing below.
30. Both the Carousel of Progress and It’s a Small World debuted at the New York World’s Fair in 1964-1965.
31. A military veteran takes part in a flag-lowering ceremony everyday at 5pm on Main Street, USA
32. Guests throw coins into the water along the walkway queue of It’s A Small World. Disney donates that money to Give Kids The World
33. Abraham Lincoln was Walt’s favorite president.
34. There are pipes in the utilidor that uses air pressure to jet trash to its final destination.
35. Big Thunder Mountain took 10 years of planning and 18 months of construction
36. It is estimated that over 1.5 million pairs of lost sunglasses have been submitted to the Walt Disney World Lost and Found since 1971.
37. The Enchanted Tiki Room was once sponsored by Florida Citrus Growers
38. Splash Mountain in Adventureland boasts a 5-story drop at a 45-degree angle at 40 miles per hour (yikes!)
39. Fifteen attractions were present for opening day.
40. John Lennon officially ended the Beatles by signing termination papers while vacationing at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort in December 1974.
41. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and there’s a painting of Mr. Toad handing the deed over to Mr. Owl.
42. The Magic Kingdom’s popular ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, was almost nixed. Imagineers thought the idea of the Caribbean and pirates wouldn’t feel exotic enough to Florida guests.
43. here is a Mr. Toad tombstone in the pet cemetery outside of Haunted Mansion.
44. There are 13 lanterns that hang from the Liberty Tree In Liberty Square–they represent the 13 colonies. 
45. Walt Disney World Resort is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands.