Is Disney building an airport?

Guests used to be able to take The Magical Express from MCO to their Disney Resort, however, that service was recently discontinued. Taking The Magical Express was simple and stress free. However, Disney will soon have a much easier way to get on property. Disney will be building a new airport on Disney World property.



As of 2026, the Walt Disney Company is not building a new airport for public use, although it has a famous history with aviation. For several decades, there was a small private landing strip on the property known as the Walt Disney World STOLport (Short Take-Off and Landing), which was used in the early 1970s by Shawnee Airlines to fly guests directly to the resort from Orlando and Tampa. However, this strip was closed to passenger traffic long ago and is now primarily used for storage and occasional authorized use by company aircraft. While Disney is not building a traditional airport, they have significantly invested in transportation infrastructure that mimics the airport experience. This includes the massive expansion of the "Brightline" high-speed rail, which was originally intended to have a station directly on Disney property before the route was shifted to a nearby station at Disney Springs. Additionally, Disney has explored "Advanced Air Mobility" (AAM) or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) technology for internal guest transport, but for now, the company relies on its partnership with Orlando International (MCO) and its own internal bus, monorail, and Skyliner networks to move guests.

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The airport was only in use for about two years, before closing in favor of a vision for a larger, full-service airport within Walt Disney World itself, similar to Walt's original vision. This idea never came to fruition itself either. The runway at the STOL airport had a surprise for guests who would travel there.

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Disney had also eyed the Big Easy as a possible theme park location, and even began purchasing property in New Orleans, but ultimately chose Orlando after politicians in Louisiana demanded too much. Another city where Disney could have created his World was St. Louis.

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Building a brand new theme park would be incredibly expensive and would likely require funneling money away from current projects at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Is Disney World relocating to Texas? No, Disney World is not relocating to Texas.

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Previous rumors of Disney completely pulling out of Florida have been unfounded. In April, a satirical story about Disney's plans to relocate its Disney World theme park to a 1,000-acre parcel of land in Atlanta, Georgia, made the rounds prompting people to ask if Disney was leaving Florida for Georgia.

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There's an abandoned island at Walt Disney World, and it's hidden in plain sight. Located in Bay Lake near Magic Kingdom and several Disney hotels, Discovery Island was once a subtropical oasis that welcomed guests for 25 years before closing in the late '90s.

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News Across the U.S. According to the aviation news website simplyflying.com, no planes are allowed below 3,000 feet and within three miles of the two parks.

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Although Disney never officially stated its reasons for closing the park, poor attendance and high maintenance costs, combined with the newer and bigger Disney's Animal Kingdom being opened a year before, are the most likely causes. Since its closing, the island has sat largely abandoned, with no signs of development.

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Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB) is about 12 miles further from downtown Orlando than MCO, but it is a great alternative to MCO. First, it's smaller, meaning shorter lines and quicker clearing processes. It is also cheaper since low-budget airlines like Allegiant Air fly from SFB.

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Most Common Trip Length – 4 or 5 Days: This trip length works well for most people because you can visit all four Disney World theme parks, even possibly enjoy a second day at a favorite park, and it fits within most people's work vacation limits.

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Disney can't move While facilities such as factories can easily be moved, Walt Disney's World's sprawling, 27,520 acres made up of brick-and-mortar hotels, rides, stages, shops, and restaurants, is simply too vast, he said. The costs of building the new infrastructure would be astronomical.

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Is it weird to travel to Walt Disney World as a solo adult? No. Seriously, just no. Every day, thousands of adults visit Walt Disney World on their own, taking advantage of all that the parks, resorts, and entertainment areas have to offer.

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If you're flying a large family, you'll probably always pay more to fly than drive. That's because driving costs do not rise proportionally per person like airline tickets. But consider some “True cost” questions before flying: Do you have frequent flier miles to redeem?

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Yes, as long as you have a theme park reservation via the Disney Park Pass system, you can go in a park in the morning, leave, and then return to that same park later in the day.

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Disney announced plans to close Splash Mountain – at Disneyland and Walt Disney World – in 2020 after a petition to change the beloved water ride's theme went viral.

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However, fans can rest assured that the park indeed remains open for all to enjoy, and it's unlikely that it will be closing down anytime soon. This situation is humorous in that it's not the first time this kind of rumor has made waves.

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Richard Foglesong, an expert on Disney told Business Insider that, “they're stuck there, and Florida is stuck with them.” Besides the immense cost of relocating on top of the billions it would need to spend on keeping its Florida operations up to date in the meantime, Disney would never be able to get the special ...

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Very roughly, it would take at the very least $12.3 billion in today's dollars to build out the Walt Disney World property to its current state. And note that this answer is roughly six years old. So even if they did decide to leave Florida, it would take them decades and billions to rebuild.

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The Walt Disney Company Reports Third Quarter and Nine Months Earnings for Fiscal 2023. BURBANK, Calif. —The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today reported earnings for its third quarter and nine months ended July 1, 2023. Revenues for the quarter and nine months grew 4% and 8%, respectively.

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