Epcot Center Ultralight Flightpark was a private-use

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

airport located in Osceola County, 13 nautical miles (24 km) northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Lake Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada * Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was privately owned by the

Walt Disney World Company The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

, and was used to launch aircraft used in the " Skyleidoscope" and " Surprise in the Skies" shows at the

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

theme park. Although still listed active in FAA records as recently as September 2010, this facility closed for theme park use in 1992, when Surprise in the Skies ended. The land sat unused for nearly 10 years, when it was cleared for the second phase of

Disney's Pop Century Resort Disney's Pop Century Resort is a resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, opened on December 14, 2003. It is the fourth value-priced resort in the complex, following Disney's All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, ...

, named the Legendary Years. Construction on the hotel was stopped after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

caused tourism to drop off. The former airport is now the site of

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a resort within Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is located where construction on the unfinished half of Disney's Pop Century Resort was started but later abandoned after the September ...

, which opened in May 2012.

Facilities and aircraft

Epcot Center Ultralight Flightpark had one circular

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated "ALL/WAY" with a 424 × 424 ft (129 × 129 m)

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

surface. There were 20 aircraft based at this airport: 50% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

and 50%

References

Buildings and structures in Osceola County, Florida Defunct airports in Florida Transportation in Osceola County, Florida Ultralight aviation Walt Disney World Epcot {{Florida-airport-stub

Facilities and aircraft

See also

References