Walt Disney World Family Vacations

Brothers Walt and Roy Disney put the "family" in family-friendly travel before it was trendy, opening California's Disneyland in 1955 and then slowly buying up pieces of central Florida land in the sixties. Their goal? To develop Walt's vision of a vacation paradise, a "happy place" where people of all ages can play and learn together. Unfortunately, Walt passed away before his dream was realized; however, his older brother Roy brought Walt's dream to fruition with the opening of Magic Kingdom in 1971. And the vision has grown exponentially from there.

Today, Walt Disney World includes four theme parks, two water parks, 33 resort hotels, 81 holes of golf, two full-service spas, plus Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex and Downtown Disney -- an outdoor mall of a place with entertainment and dining.

And it doesn't stop there. The "World" continues to reinvent itself offering new attractions, and new ways to experience the parks, like zipping around Epcot by Segway. This quick guide will focus on what's new and fabulous as well as recommendations for old favorites.

Fun Facts: Walt Disney World is not such a small world -- at roughly 40-square-miles, it is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands. And it's a hungry world too. Each year guests drink and eat more than 75 million Cokes, 10 million hamburgers, and 6 million hot dogs.

You may also want to see our Orlando destination, Choosing Your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel article and Disney Family Vacations section.