History of Florida to use I-75, and settled along the west coast of Florida. Florida's first theme parks were developed in the 1930s and included Cypress Gardens (1936) near Winter Haven, and Marineland (1938) near St. Augustine. Disney selected Orlando over several other sites for an updated and expanded version of their Disneyland Park in California. In 1971, the Magic Kingdom, the first component of the resort, opened and became Florida's best-known attraction, attracting tens of millions of visitors a year. It stimulated the development of other attractions, as well as large tracts of housing and related businesses. The Orlando area became an
Great Orlando Wheel Great Orlando Wheel The Great Orlando Wheel (or Orlando Great Wheel) is one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation proposed giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010. It was to have been constructed near Orlando in Orange County, Florida, United States, at a site adjacent to the Orlando–Orange County Convention Center, near Interstate 4, SeaWorld, and International Drive. Plans included an integrated terminal building with commercial and retail facilities, and it was to have provided a 25-mile (40 km) view of Central Florida attractions including SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, as well as firework