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
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