ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Disney World is marking leap day in a very special way by doing something it has never done before.
It is making the most of the extra 24 hours this leap year by celebrating with a round-the-clock party.
The park opened its gates to the Magic Kingdom at 6 a.m. Wednesday and won't be closing them for 24 hours, as part of the leap day celebration called "One More Disney Day."
Disney executives said they have been planning for this day for more than a year.
"Our guests, we want them to make the most out of every moment out of every day and we thought, well what better way to do that on leap day when people have extra time,” said Jay Zavada, park director of special events.
Many park guests that WFTV spoke to said they weren’t sure if they could hold out for the next 24 hours, but said they would do their best to try.
"How long are you guys going to stay today?" asked WFTV's Tim Barber.
"We don't know. We are going to see how long we can hold out; we are not sure,” said Daytona resident Brenna Young. "It's not very often that they have a day come around that they can do it, so it is awsome that they are doing it."
Others said they were so excited about Disney's celebration for the day that only comes along every four years.
"I think it is a crazy good idea; I think what better way is there to celebrate a special day that only happens once every four years?” said Elissa Levine, who brought her three children with her to the park.
"I am really excited because I have been coming to Disney all my life and this is the first time it is open for 24 hours,” she said.
It's the first time ever the park has done an event like this and Orlando is not alone. Across the country, California's Disneyland is also open the entire day.
"We do a lot of things for the first time; that is part of being a creatively driven company so we try and do things. But certainly we will look at it and we will learn from it and we will figure out what does this mean for the future,” said Zavada.
"Someone asked me the other days are we going to do it again in four year, and I said well four years is a long time, but certainly we always consider every good idea and we will see how it goes this year," he said.
Disney has around 2,000 employees working at all times throughout the day.
Disney said a majority of its annual pass holders will be at the leap day event, but everyone is welcome to join.
Disney executives would not comment, nor estimate how much money they're expecting to bring in from this event.
Because it's the first time, officials do not have any idea how many people are expected to show up.
WFTV
