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History and developmentIn 1959, the Walt Disney Company, under the leadership of Walt Disney, began looking for land for a second resort to supplement Disneyland, which had opened in Anaheim, California in 1955. Market surveys revealed that only 2% of Disneyland's visitors came from east of the Mississippi River, where 75% of the population of the United States lived. Additionally, Walt Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland and wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. Walt Disney first flew over the Orlando site (one of many) on November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He first flew over and appealed to the Sanford, Florida city council to allow him to build Disney World in Sanford, but his appeal was declined. The citizens of Sanford did not want the crime that was sure to come with tourism. He saw the well-developed network of roads, including Interstate 4 and Florida's Turnpike, with McCoy Air Force Base (later Orlando International Airport) to the east, and immediately fell in love with the site. When later asked why he chose it, he said, "the freeway routes, they bisect here." Walt Disney focused most of his attention on the "Florida Project" both before and after his participation at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, but he died on December 15, 1966, five years before his vision was realized. To avoid a burst of land speculation, Disney used various
dummy corporations and cooperative individuals to acquire 27,400
acres (110 km², 43 mi²) of land. The first five-acre (20,000 m²,
217400 ft²) lot was bought on
October 23,
1964,
by the
Ayefour Corporation (a pun on
Interstate 4). Another dummy corporation name which land was
bought under was RETLAW which spelled backwards is WALTER. Others
were also used with a second or secret meanings which add to the
lore of the Florida Project, including M.T. Lott Real Estate
Investments (pronounced empty lot). In May 1965, major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest of Orlando in Osceola County. Two large tracts totaling $1.5 million were sold, and smaller tracts of flatlands and cattle pastures were purchased by exotic-sounding companies such as the Latin-American Development and Management Corporation and the Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation. In addition to three huge parcels of land were many smaller parcels, referred to as "outs." Much of the land had been platted into five-acre (20,000 m², 217400 ft²) lots in 1912 by the Munger Land Company and sold to investors. In most cases, the owners were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly swampland. Yet another problem was the mineral rights to the land, owned by Tufts University. Without the transfer of these rights, Tufts could come in at any time and demand the removal of buildings to obtain minerals. After most of the land had been bought, the truth of the
property's owner was leaked to the
Orlando Sentinel on
October 20,
1965. A
press conference soon was organized for
November 15. At the presentation, Walt Disney explained the
plans for the site, including
EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, which
was to be a futuristic city (and which was also known as Progress
City). Plans for EPCOT would drastically change after Disney's
death. EPCOT became EPCOT Center, the resort's second theme park,
which opened in
1982.
Concepts from the original idea of EPCOT would be integrated into
the community of
Celebration much later. The Reedy Creek Drainage District was incorporated on May 13, 1966 under Florida State Statutes Chapter 298, which gives powers including eminent domain to special Drainage Districts. To create the District, only the support of the landowners within was required. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, before his vision was realized. His brother and business partner, Roy O. Disney, postponed his retirement to oversee construction of the resort's first phase. On February 2, 1967, Roy O. Disney held a press conference at the Park Theatres in Winter Park, Florida. The role of EPCOT was emphasized in the film that was played, the last one recorded by Walt Disney before his death. After the film, it was explained that for Walt Disney World to succeed, a special district would have to be formed: the Reedy Creek Improvement District with two cities inside it, the City of Bay Lake and the City of Reedy Creek (now the City of Lake Buena Vista). In addition to the standard powers of an incorporated city, which include the issuance of tax-free bonds, the district would have immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws. The only areas where the district had to submit to the county and state would be property taxes and elevator inspections.[citation needed] The legislation forming the district and the two cities was
signed into law on
May 12,
1967.
The
Florida Supreme Court ruled in
1968
that the district was allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds for public
projects within the district despite the sole beneficiary being
The Walt Disney Company. Construction of drainage canals was soon begun by the district, and Disney built the first roads and the Magic Kingdom. Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground were also completed in time for the park's opening on October 1, 1971. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses near the Magic Kingdom had opened a few weeks before. Roy O. Disney dedicated the property and declared that it would be known as "Walt Disney World" in his brother's honor. In his own words: "Everyone has heard of Ford cars. But have they all heard of 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 the dedication, Roy Disney asked Walt's widow, Lillian, what she thought of Walt Disney World. According to biographer Bob Thomas, she replied, "I think Walt would have approved." Roy O. Disney died on December 20, 1971, barely three months after the property opened. Disney subsequently opened EPCOT Center in 1982, a theme park adapted from Walt Disney's vision for a "community of tomorrow". The park permanently adopted the name Epcot in 1996. In 1989, the resort added Disney-MGM Studios, a theme park inspired by show business, whose name was changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2008. The resort's fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998. Meg Crofton was named president of the resort in August 2006, replacing Al Weiss, who had overseen the site since 1994. LocationDespite marketing claims and popular misconceptions, the Florida resort is not located in Orlando. The entire property is outside Orlando's city limits; the majority sits within southwestern Orange County with the remainder in adjacent Osceola County to the south. Most of the resort's land and all of the public areas are located in the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Orlando. The 25,000 acre (101 km²) site is accessible from Central Florida's Interstate 4 via Exits 62B (World Drive), 64B (US 192 West), 65B (Osceola Parkway West), 67B (SR 536 West), and 68 (SR 535 North), and Exit 8 on State Road 429 (Florida), the Western Expressway. At its peak, the resort occupied approximately 30,000 acres or 47 square miles (120 km²), about the size of San Francisco, or twice the size of Manhattan. Portions of the property since have been sold or de-annexed, including land now occupied by the Disney-built community of Celebration. FeaturesWalt Disney World Resort features four theme parks. Each park is represented by an iconic structure:
Other Attractions
The resort has a small aircraft runway located east of the Magic Kingdom parking lot. When the resort opened in 1971, Shawnee Airlines began regular passenger service from Orlando's McCoy Air Force Base (now Orlando International Airport) directly to Disney World's STOLport (Short Take Off and Landing) on a daily basis, with flights lasting only a few minutes. Today, the runway mostly is used as a staging area for buses and no longer is in service for aircraft. Another small airport - denoted on aeronautical charts as "Epcot Center Ultralight Flightpark" was located on the resort property. Apparently used for ultralights, this landing field is now covered by Phase II of Disney's Pop Century Resort.[1] Golf and recreationDisney's property includes five golf courses. The four 18-hole golf courses are the Magnolia, the Palm, Lake Buena Vista and Osprey Ridge. There is also a nine-hole walking course called Oak Trail, designed for young golfers. Additionally, here are two themed miniature golf complexes, each with two courses, Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland. Catch-and-release fishing excursions are offered daily on the resort's lakes. A Florida fishing license is not required because it occurs on private property. Cane-pole fishing is offered from the docks at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and Disney's Port Orleans Resort. Employment, maintenance and statisticsWhen the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about 5,500 "cast members". Today it employs more than 61,000, spending more than $1.1 billion on payroll and $478 million on benefits each year. The largest single-site employer in the United States [2], Walt Disney World Resort has more than 3,000 job classifications. The resort also sponsors and operates the Walt Disney World College Program, an internship program that has American college students live on site and work for the resort, providing much of the theme park and resort "front line" cast members. There is also the Walt Disney World International College Program, an internship program that has college students from all over the world. Living, working and learning. In a March 30, 2004, article in The Orlando Sentinel, then-Walt Disney World president Al Weiss gave some insight into how the parks are maintained:
There is a fleet of Disney-operated buses on property, branded Disney Transport, that is available for guests at no charge. In 2007, Disney Transport started a guest services upgrade to the buses. SatellGPS systems controlling new public addresses systems on the buses give safety information, park tips and other general announcements with music. They are not to be confused with the Disney Cruise Line and Disney's Magical Express buses which are operated by Mears Transportation. Taxi boats link some locations. A fleet of 12 monorails also operate at Walt Disney World Resort linking the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian resorts, and the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). An express monorail line connecting the TTC and the Magic Kingdom also exists. HotelsOn-site Disney hotelsThere are 32 resorts located on the resort property. Of the 32, 22 are Disney owned and operated resorts. The Disney resorts are classified into five categories: Deluxe (priced from $205-$805), Moderate (priced from $139-$199), Value (priced from $79-$127), Disney Vacation Club (priced from $269-$1,790), and Campground (priced from $39-$319). Another notable aspect is the large number of hotel resort complexes on the Walt Disney World property. The non-themed hotels are owned by private, non-Disney hospitality companies such as Starwood (Westin and Sheraton), Holiday Inn, Best Western, and Hilton. Guests arriving at Orlando International Airport can be transported to their Disney resort from the airport using Disney's Magical Express service, and have their bags picked up and transported for them through a contract with BAGS Incorporated. Guests board custom motor coaches, watch a video about the Walt Disney World Resort, and their luggage is later delivered directly to their rooms. On-site Disney resorts and opening year
On-site Disney Vacation Club resorts and opening year
On-site non-Disney hotels
Future resorts on Disney property
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Bob Sehlinger
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