Latest: JHM: How the "Disney World" project was described to Florida legislators back in February

Originally Posted By AutoPost

This topic is for Discussion of <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/Latest-ID-76518.asp" target="_blank"><b>Latest: JHM: How the "Disney World" project was described to Florida legislators back in February </b></a>
<p>Jim Hill posts the press release released February 2, 1967 that outlines the events of&nbsp;<span itxtbad="1">a</span><i itxtbad="1"> </i><span itxtbad="1">meeting attended by legislative, civic and industrial leaders representing all of Florida. At the meeting, Walt Disney Productions announced plans for a whole new "Disney World" to be constructed on a 43-square mile parcel of land sixteen miles southwest of Orlando, Florida.</span></p>

 

Originally Posted By disney pete

Quite an interesting article

 

Originally Posted By SeventyOne

^Agreed.

It raised another "what if" question for me. What would the greater LBV area be like if EPCOT had been built as intended? Would the City of Tomorrow eventually have succeeded in bringing in top universities and Fortune 500 HQs? Or would it still have been choked out by all the gift shops and motels and chain restaurants of I-Drive and 192.

Not meant to be a slam on the greater Disney area--I've lived here 6 years and could have moved at any time--just curious if EPCOT would have transcended the "tourist trap" stigma and become a "real" city.

 

Originally Posted By joe80x86

I too have always wondered would Epcot have succeeded as a city or would it have caused the entire company to collapse.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym333

While nice in theory, if EPCOT had been built I think we would be discussing today how EPCOT is a mess, how the technology is behind, etc.

Disney learned that lesson when they built Celebration. While on paper it all sounds good, when you have to provide essentials for permanent residents you run into a boat load of problems from quality issues to eduction of children. It is why Disney got out of the housing business.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***Disney learned that lesson when they built Celebration. While on paper it all sounds good, when you have to provide essentials for permanent residents you run into a boat load of problems from quality issues to eduction of children. It is why Disney got out of the housing business***

I have to disagree strongly on this one. While Epcot was the stuff of dreams and an attempt at planning the future, Celebration was never more than a glorified planned community. Big difference.

Who knows if Epcot would've worked or not, we'll never know...but the vision and scope and scale of the thing DWARFED the Celebration fiasco by a factor of about a million.

Not to mention the sad fact that Walt Disney died too young. If he'd had a decade or two to sink his teeth into DisneyWorld, I think it would be a FAR different place today to say the least!

Perhaps you could argue that would mean failure, and maybe so, but he obviously had a vision and a plan, and was the sort of person to spare no expense in going for it. Something sadly lacking in today's Disney sharp pencil brigade!