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Happy Birthday to the Happiest Place on Earth

October 18, 2011

This month marks the 40th birthday of the Magic Kingdom, the oldest part in the happiest place on earth.  The park originally opened October 1, 1971.  October was chosen so the crowds would be smaller and less chaotic than the opening of Disneyland in California in 1955.

Our own Walker Miller president, Connie Miller, was on site just weeks prior to opening when floods threatened the Contemporary grounds.  It was September of 1971 and her father, Walker Miller, was delivering pumps to counter the 12 feet of rising water.  Unfortunately, women at the time were not allowed on job sites so Connie, along with the wives of the other drivers, were asked to return to the guard house.  After some negotiating, Disney’s desperation for the pumps won out and the women were allowed to accompany the drivers as long as they remained in the trucks.  Can you imagine that happening today?  Gender equality has certainly evolved in the past 4 decades.

Disney itself has grown since 1971 to include four theme parks, two water parks and two dozen hotels.  While Magic Kingdom had a relatively small opening day, by Thanksgiving, they periodically reached capacity and had to deny entrance to visitors.  Disney certainly hit the ground running and now is an essential part of Central Florida’s economy.  Walt Disney World Resort is the largest single-site employer in the US, employing close to 66,000 people.  Walker Miller Equipment employs about 0.02% of that figure but started operating in Central Florida ten years before WDW.  As we discussed several weeks ago, Walker Miller Equipment celebrated 50 years in August.

Like WDW, we have also evolved throughout the decades.  We are thrilled to have our website and online parts store!  Unfortunately, we cannot list all the parts and manufacturers we represent here.  Have you searched for parts not listed?  We can add your parts by request!  Contact us via our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WalkerMillerEquipment.

Have a good week!  Adios till next time.