A new commemorative plaque has been installed at the former Cherry Plaza Hotel site in Orlando's Thornton Park District - the exact location where Walt and Roy Disney stood on November 15, 1965, to announce what would become Walt Disney World.
The plaque was presented by the Thornton Park District, Orlando Main Streets, and The Walt Disney Company. A dedication ceremony brought together community members, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, and Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle.
The plaque reads in part: "Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland ... the blessing of size." - Walt Disney
On that day in 1965, hundreds of reporters, civic leaders, and business figures gathered at the Cherry Plaza Hotel to hear Walt and Roy describe plans for a vast entertainment enterprise -- larger than anything at Disneyland in California. Walt spoke not just of a theme park, but of a "model community" built around innovation in urban living, technology, and design.
Walt Disney passed away just over a year after the announcement. Roy carried the project through to opening day in October 1971.
Mayor Dyer spoke at the ceremony: "Walt and Roy Disney didn't just announce a theme park in 1965. They announced a partnership with a community that was ready to dream bigger about its future."
The plaque now permanently connects that moment to the Thornton Park neighborhood. What started as the Florida Project now covers nearly 30,000 acres in Central Florida -- roughly twice the size of Manhattan -- and Walt Disney World today employs 80,000 cast members, making it the largest single-site employer in the United States.
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