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
Sports in Orlando, Florida Sports in Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida, has a history of major events in sports. It has had a considerable measure of success in minor league sports as well, with teams winning several minor league championships. Orlando is home to the Orlando Magic, an NBA pro basketball franchise that plays at Amway Center in downtown Orlando. The Magic hosted the 1992 NBA All-Star Game at the Amway Arena, and hosted the 2012 NBA All-Star Game at the Amway Center. Orlando is home to the Orlando Apollos, an AAF pro football franchise that plays at Spectrum Stadium on the UCF campus. The