Walt Disney World as the Lake Buena Vista STOLport. During the early 1970s, scheduled passenger service was operated by Shawnee Airlines with small de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter commuter turboprops which had STOL (short take off and landing) capabilities on flights to Tampa and Orlando. The airport is no longer in operation. When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about 5,500 "cast members". Today, Walt Disney World employs more than 74,000 cast members, spending more than $1.2 billion on payroll and $474 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World has
Hurricane Matthew its 45-year history, the Walt Disney World Resort closes. Its theme parks are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom water parks are Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney Springs were closed at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 6 and did not open on October 7. This was the first time since 2004 that the parks have closed, all instances due to hurricanes. Other Orlando-area theme parks, including Universal Orlando resort and SeaWorld Orlando, also closed. The Southeastern Conference football game between LSU and Florida, scheduled for October 8 in Gainesville, was cancelled, while the