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Florida is home to wealth of holiday attractions, from trendy South Beach in Miami to the Everglades National Park. However, for most families on vacation, Florida means one thing: Walt Disney World. Since its inception in 1971, Disney World has had to contend with a number of competitors - most notably, the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010. However, it has managed to maintain its reputation as one of the world's most exciting family holiday destinations, largely thanks to the sheer number of Disney-themed attractions that are on offer.
The major component of the Walt Disney World resort is its theme parks, the oldest of which is the Magic Kingdom. It's here that visitors will find the iconic Cinderella Castle, which stands at the end of the primary thoroughfare of Main Street. Famous rides in the Magic Kingdom include Big Mountain Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain and the Pirates of the Caribbean (the inspiration behind the successful film series starring Johnny Depp). What's more, the Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom is especially tailored towards younger visitors, with classic rides like Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World and the Mad Tea Party (which involves giant spinning tea cups) being particularly popular.
Although the Magic Kingdom was the first theme park in Walt Disney World, it was quickly followed by Epcot. Rather than child-friendly rides, Epcot focuses on showcasing international culture and technology and is characterised by a 50m tall silver geodesic sphere, known as Spaceship Earth. On the other hand, Disney's Hollywood Studios - a theme park which opened on the resort site 7 years after Epcot - takes Mickey Mouse's Sorcerer’s Hat from the film Fantasia as its icon. This park emulates the sprawling design of a real-life motion picture studio and has six themed areas, including Pixar Place, Animation Courtyard and Hollywood Boulevard. The latter is home to the Great Movie Ride, a journey through the most famous scenes of several Hollywood films, including Singin' in the Rain, Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Casablanca.
The latest addition to Walt Disney World's theme parks came in the form of the Animal Kingdom in 1998. This area’s icon takes the form of the 44m tall Tree of Life, and covers a huge 500 acres of land while focusing on animal conservation. Its themed areas include Discovery Island, DinoLand USA and sections dedicated to Africa and Asia.
With so much on offer, it's no surprise that Walt Disney World is one of the most popular locations for Florida holidays as well as holidays to the USA in general. But it's important to remember that this is much more than just a family-friendly destination. Indeed, Walt Disney World is a great place for adults to go on holiday without children too and is home to five world class golf courses, a racing facility, the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex, several sites for fishing excursions on the resort's lakes and even its own wedding venue.
Disclaimer: The information contained within this article is the opinion of the author and is intended purely for information and interest purposes only. It should not be used to make any decisions or take any actions. Any links are included for information purposes only.
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Florida holidays, Walt Disney World, Disney World holidays, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom,
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