ORLANDO, Fla. – As Disney World celebrates its 50th anniversary, we wanted to take a closer look at exactly how it has impacted not only the Central Florida region but also its residents.

​More than 75 million people visit Orlando every year, with most coming just to visit Disney World. Compare that to the 21 million permanent residents living in Florida, and those numbers highlight just how central Disney World is to Central Florida’s economy, and by extension, our local culture.

In fact, Walt Disney World is so big, the state of Florida created two new cities just for Disney — Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista (formerly Reedy Creek).

Megan Morris actually moved to Orlando in 2013 just for Disney. She’s been a Disney fan ever since she was a little girl, but the Disney culture has become so much more than that. It’s been a lifeline of sorts.

Morris has a life-threatening genetic disease with a typical life expectancy of 55 years old. She is currently 36.

Throughout this journey of hardship and hospitalizations, Morris has looked to Disney as a representation of a better tomorrow.  

“There are a lot of circumstances I can’t control but Disney uplifts me a lot during those times,” Morris said.

After moving to Orlando, Morris got a job at Disney, working there until she had to leave for health reasons. She says her daily route under the Walt Disney World entrance banner always makes her smile and gives her spirits a boost.

And Morris isn’t alone. UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management Professor Dr. Carissa Baker also moved to Orlando for Disney, studying theme parks and storytelling.

"Our identity is so closely linked with this idea of this form of entertainment, of the theme park capitol of the world,” Dr. Baker said.

It’s one reason why Orlando is the number one tourist destination in the U.S. — a destination that started with a dream 50 years ago.

Disney World was the vision of Walt Disney and has since grown and expanded to include four theme parks, two water parks, more than a dozen Disney-owned hotels and millions of jobs created.

With Central Florida welcoming about 75 million visitors a year, every aspect of the area's economy and identity is tied to Disney World.

One of the biggest is guest services — “Be Our Guest” and spend your money, if you will.

UCF Rosen School of Hospitality Management has close ties with Disney and the other theme parks, as many of the school’s graduates go on to work at these parks.

"One of the main reasons that we’re here is because Disney World especially started here in the 1970s and there just became a growing need in this area to have a lot of strong hospitality services,” Baker said.

One of those services? Housekeeping. Renaly Madera is one of thousands of housekeepers working at a Disney hotel. She moved here in 2018 from Puerto Rico to provide a better life for her daughter. Unite Here Local 737 is the union which represents many of Disney’s housekeepers and other staff.

Next year, the union’s contract is up and of the biggest sticking points? Income.

According to the union’s website, in 2017 a housekeeper’s minimum wage was $10.50 an hour or $21,840 a year. In October of this year, the minimum wage jumps to $17 an hour or $35,360 a year.

Madera says as a single mother, living off of $10.50 an hour was incredibly difficult. After bills, there wasn’t any extra money left for her daughter.

“Everything here is expensive. Food, her lunch, I have to go to the market with a calculator- mom, I want this! I said- no, I can’t because of the money,” she said.

Money and magic going hand-in-hand. Walt Disney World producing a product that has continued to evolve for the past 50 years.