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This history of the Magic Kingdom began in 1959, when Walt Disney began to look for a place to build a second theme park <ref> Walt Disney: the triumph of the American imagination By: Gabler, Neal. Knopf 2006</ref>. Coming off the success of Disneyland (which had opened in 1955), Walt wanted to bring his next theme park to the East Coast. According to research done by the Disney Company, although 75% of the American population was located east of the Mississippi River, only 5% of Disneyland's visitors came from that region <ref> http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201312/3819/ </ref>. The success of the Disney attractions at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, showed Walt that Disney could be a huge success in the East Coast market <ref> http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/look-closer-1964-new-york-world%E2%80%99s-fair </ref>. Also adding to Walt's frustration, was the fact that the area around Disneyland had become rundown by local businesses hoping to capitalize on Disneyland's success. To solve this problem, Walt wanted to have control over much more land than he could in Disneyland. With this goal in mind, Walt began to scout for a new location where he could build a "Disneyland East". One of the original locations Walt considered was St. Louis, where Disney had plans to build "Riverfront Square," a five-story, fully enclosed theme park which would have a St. Louis and New Orleans theme <ref name= "St.Louis"> http://archive.ksdk.com/news/article/348062/3/Disney-theme-park-almost-a-reality-in-St-Louis </ref>. Although Despite the fact that Disney developed significant plans for the theme park, negotiations with St. Louis eventually fell through. Although the exact reasons for this falling out are not clear, it is commonly accepted that among the reasons was the fact that Busch family wanted Disney to sell beer in the park, which he refused to do <ref name= "St.Louis"/>.

By 1963 WED Enterprises set their sites of Florida as the location for their "Project X" (later renamed the "Florida Project"). Florida was already the top state in terms of tourism, and the Florida climate would allow the new theme park to be open year round. In November, Walt Disney himself flew over one of the potential sites in Florida, Orlando. Disney decided Orlando was the perfect location for his new park. The well-developed road system including the already planned Interstate 4 and the Florida Turnpike further added to the appeal of the area <ref> http://www.wdwradio.com/2005/02/wdw-history-101-how-to-buy-27000-acres-of-land-and-no-one-noticeq/ </ref>. After much research WED Enterprises and Walt eventually selected a centrally-located site near Bay Lake for construction of their new park. Lawyer Paul Helliwell and Florida relator realtor Roy Hawkins were responsible for coordinating the companies' purchases of the Florida land <ref> http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201312/3819/ </ref>. In order to keep the public from knowing that Disney was buying the land (as this would greatly increase the cost), Disney set up dummy corporations including: Latin American Development and Management, Bay Lake Properties, Tomahawk Properties, Retlaw, M.T. Lott Real Estate, Ayefour Corporation <ref> http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2014/5/12/walt-disneys-florida-project-1964-1965.html </ref> and others to buy the land. All in all, Disney bought 27,443 acres of land from more than 100 property owners. The total coast of the land was nearly 5.5 million (about 200 dollars per acre). After being outed by a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel <ref> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-orlando-sentinel-headline-disney-1965-20141024-post.html </ref>, Walt Disney announced his plans for The Florida Project to the public on November 16, 1965 <ref> http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/11/16/page/45/article/disney-gives-some-facts-on-florida-plans </ref>.