History
of Walt Disney World: The Walt Disney
World Resort is not actually in Orlando,
as most people think. Walt Disney World
is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida,
just outside the limits of Orlando.
In
1959, Walt Disney began looking for
land for a second resort, to supplement
Disneyland. Surveys revealed that only
2% of the visitors to Disneyland came
from the east coast, where nearly 75%
of the population lived. So, with that
information, and the fact that Walt
was not fond of businesses that had
sprung up near Disneyland so he wanted
a much larger area to control, he began
looking on the east coast. Company legend
has it that Walt wanted a large amount
of land so as to isolate the guests,
so that all of their surroundings are
full of magic and fantasy! It's a place
to get away from the "real"
world.
Walt
first visited the site in Orlando in
November of 1963. He saw the well developed
roads, and he fell in love with the
site. When asked, he said that the roads
bisected here, which is why he chose
it. He focused most of his attention
on the project, called the Florida Project
before and after his New York World's
Fair participation. In order to avoid
a sudden spike in land prices, Walt
created several dummy companies to buy
27,400 acres. The names of these dummy
companies can now be seen listed on
windows on Main Street USA at the Magic
Kingdom. The first company listed is
"M. T. Lot". Another dummy
company was Avefour Corp. The first
five acre lot was purchased in October
of 1964. In May of 1965, two large pieces
of land were sold, totaling $1.5 million.
These were purchased by very exotic
sounding companies, such as the "Reedy
Creek Ranch Corporation." Interestingly
enough, the fire department located
within Walt Disney World is the Reedy
Creek Fire Department. This land was
mostly swampland back then. However,
Tufts University owned mineral rights
to the land.
Once
the land had almost all been purchased,
the news was leaked about who actually
owned the property, and a press conference
was organized to present plans for the
site. Walt explained these plans, including
the plans for EPCOT, which stood for
Experimental Prototype Community of
Tomorrow. EPCOT was to be a futuristic
city, also known as Progress City. These
plans changed drastically following
Walt's death, becoming EPCOT Center,
a second theme park. Many of the original
concepts for EPCOT were incorporated
into the community of Celebration later.
Sadly,
Walt Disney passed away on December
15, 1966, before his vision was realized.
Walt's brother Roy put off his own retirement
to oversee the rest of the construction.
At
the dedication of the property, Roy
gave a moving speech, explaining that
this property would officially be known
as WALT Disney World, to honor his brother.
In Roy's dedication, he said "Everyone
has heard of Ford cars. But have they
all heard about Henry Ford, who started
it all? Walt Disney World is in memory
of the man who started it all, so people
will know his name as long as Walt Disney
World is here." After his dedication,
Roy asked Lillian, Walt's widow, what
she thought of Walt Disney World. Lillian
replied "I think Walt would have
approved."
So
even though he never got to see it,
Walt's dream was realized, thanks in
no small part to his brother, Roy. Roy
Disney passed away just two short months
after Walt Disney World opened, in December
of 1971. He didn't get to see the park
for long, but he made sure that his
brother's dream was realized, just as
he'd always done.
Walt Disney World is Dream Land... Thanks
Walt Disney and Roy Disney by the wonderful
world created to the children of 1 -
80 years old.
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