| Thinking of walking from the Magic
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| | suspicions confirmed after various
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| Kingdom to Epcot? Think again!People,
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| | non-responsive answers from Disney
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| especially those who haven't been to Walt
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| | employees, released the story that it was
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| Disney World in many years, always
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| | Walt Disney who had been secretly behind
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| comment to me about how huge WDW really
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| | the purchases of all of this land. Of
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| is. Actually, most people don't realize
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| | course, once it was revealed that Disney
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| how much land WDW actually encompasses.
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| | was behind the purchases, the prices of
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| In fact, it's about about 80 times the
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| | land jumped more than 1000%! That's
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| size of the entire nation of Monaco,
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| | partially why Walt bought his first acre
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| twice the size of Manhattan, and the same
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| | of land in Florida for Walt Disney World
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| size as San Francisco, California! So
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| | for $80.00 and his last for
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| when you say WDW is huge, you ain't
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| | $80,000.00!Disney quickly scheduled a
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| kidding!The Walt Disney World Resort is
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| | press conference and confirmed the story.
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| made up of 47 square miles of land.... or
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| | With the governor of the state of Florida
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| about 30,000 acres. Only about 1100 acres
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| | and his brother Roy by his side, Walt
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| of that land is devoted to the 4 theme
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| | described the $000 million dollar project
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| parks. In fact, with only 7,100 acres
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| | that would become Walt Disney World. In
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| developed, there's quite a lot of room
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| | exchange for bringing such a boost to the
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| for expansion!But how (and why) did
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| | area's economy, the creation of thousands
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| Disney buy up all that land?Back in the
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| | of jobs, and improvements to the
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| early 1950s, Anaheim, the home of
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| | environment and infrastructure of central
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| Disneyland, was a quiet little town,
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| | Florida, Disney was given permission to
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| surrounded by nothing more than acres and
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| | establish their own, autonomous
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| acres of orange groves. Originally, Walt
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| | government, known as the Reedy Creek
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| Disney wanted his new, 8-acre theme park
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| | Improvement District. This
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| to be built near his Burbank studios, but
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| | quasi-government gave Disney the ability
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| soon realized that such little space
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| | to create their own building codes, do
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| would not be enough. So, he purchased
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| | his own zoning and planning of roads and
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| over 160 acres of orange groves and
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| | bridges, and create his own residential
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| walnut trees in Anaheim near the junction
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| | community, among other perks.When Walt
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| of the Santa Ana Freeway and Harbor
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| | Disney purchased the 47 square miles that
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| Boulevard, and built his "Magic Kingdom"
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| | was to become the Walt Disney World
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| inside its borders (while moving 15
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| | Resort as we know it today, it was
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| existing houses in the process). Today,
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| | nothing more than a desolate swampland,
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| Disneyland encompasses fewer than 300
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| | scrub forests, and groves. In order to
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| acres, which includes Disney's California
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| | transform this area into the number one
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| Adventure and additional hotel
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| | vacation destination in the world,
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| properties. Relatively speaking, all of
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| | massive amounts of Earth had to be moved.
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| Disneyland could fit inside of
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| | Additionally, since much of central
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| Epcot.Regrettably, Walt Disney did not
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| | Florida is essentially "floating" on a
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| buy enough land surrounding Disneyland,
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| | body of water, a daunting challenge
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| and soon after the park opened it was
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| | presented itself. Disney had to transform
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| surrounded by tacky hotels, tourist gift
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| | this land, while balancing the needs of
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| shops and restaurants. His dream of a
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| | the environment and ecology of the area.
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| completely contained theme park for
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| | If any part of the water supply was
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| families was now tainted with views of
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| | damaged or deleted, it would have caused
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| billboards and fast-food restaurants.
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| | a massive ecological imbalance to the
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| Walt vowed that if he ever built another
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| | region.The first thing Disney did was set
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| theme park, he would not make the same
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| | aside a 7,500 acre Conservation Area in
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| mistake twice. He would be sure that they
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| | 1970, which would never be built on. This
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| could control the surroundings, which
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| | would preserve cypress trees as well as
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| would include campgrounds, and
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| | provide land for the area's natural
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| first-class facilities for recreation and
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| | inhabitants. Second, they developed an
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| accommodation.In the early 1960's, Walt
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| | engineering marvel by creating a system
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| and a team of Imagineers, including his
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| | of more than 55 miles of canals and
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| brother Roy and General Joe Potter (can
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| | levees to control water levels. Disney
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| you find his name somewhere in Walt
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| | Imagineer John Hench designed this
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| Disney World?)embarked on a super-secret
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| | network of canals to blend into the
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| endeavor, known simply as "Project X"
| |
| | natural landscape, rather than being
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| (later known as "Project Florida") to
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| | constructed in straight lines. The
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| scour the nation in search for a new
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| | mechanism that control the water levels
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| location for a second theme park. First
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| | are completely automated, and require no
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| and foremost, they were looking for a
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| | monitoring and little maintenance. Pretty
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| lots of land... cheap! Second they wanted
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| | impressive, considering the property is
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| it to be near a major city, with good
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| | about twice the size of
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| weather and great highways and
| |
| | Manhattan!Currently, the two
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| infrastructure. Reportedly, when Walt's
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| | municipalities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena
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| plane crossed over the intersection of
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| | Vista are home to Walt Disney World.
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| I-4 and Route 192 in Florida, he knew he
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| | These two cities are governed by Disney
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| found his spot.But how does Walt Disney
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| | employees who live on the property in a
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| go and buy up thousands of acres of land
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| | small cluster of homes "backstage".
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| without the landowners holding out for
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| | Although the permanent residential
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| exorbitant prices? He doesn't. Sort of.
| |
| | population of these cities is very small
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| Walt Disney set up dozens of "dummy"
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| | (population 20 in 2003), it hosts
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| corporations, with names like "M.T. Lott"
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| | millions of families who, for a brief
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| (get it? Empty Lot?), the "Latin-American
| |
| | period, call Bay Lake "home."Over the
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| Development and Managers Corporation" and
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| | years, an additional 3,000 acres was
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| the "Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation" to
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| | purchased by Disney, bringing the Walt
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| purchase seemingly worthless parcels of
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| | Disney World Resort's total size to over
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| land ranging from swampland to cattle
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| | 30,000 acres. Less than one year after
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| pastures. By May of 1965, there had been
| |
| | the formal public announcement that it
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| major land purchases recorded in Osceola
| |
| | was in fact the Disney Company that had
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| and Orange Counties (just southwest of
| |
| | purchased all of that land near the
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| Orlando), although no one realized (or
| |
| | intersections of major Highways U.S. 192
|
| suspected at first) that Disney had
| |
| | and Interstate 4, he stated;"Here in
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| anything to do with it. One of the
| |
| | Florida, we have something special that
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| earliest purchases included 8,500 acres
| |
| | we never enjoyed at Disneyland . . . the
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| owned by Florida state senator Irlo
| |
| | blessing of size. There's enough land
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| Bronson.In late June of that same year,
| |
| | here to hold all the ideas and plans we
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| the Orlando Sentinel reported in an
| |
| | can possibly imagine." With only about 1
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| article that over 27,000 acres had
| |
| | 4 of the entire property developed, it
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| recently changed hands. Speculation began
| |
| | looks like he was right.Louis Mongello
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| that large corporations such as Ford,
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| | has been fascinated by Walt Disney World
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| McDonnell-Douglas, Hughes Aircraft, and
| |
| | throughout his more than 40 visits, and
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| Boeing, (as Kennedy Space Center was
| |
| | in the process learned everything he
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| located nearby), as, yes, even Walt
| |
| | could about the history, secrets and
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| Disney. In October, though, Orlando
| |
| | inner workings of the resort.
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| Sentinel reporter Emily Bavar, having her
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| |
|
