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Walt’s representatives used false company names to buy the property. The exact number of names is not known, but some used were Tomahawk Properties, Latin American Development, and Retlaw Enterprises ("Walter" spelled backward). They kept in constant contact with Walt back in California, informing him on every buy and how much land they had accumulated. The average price per acre was around $180. When the number of acres owned reached 12,500, the Florida team thought they had enough, but Walt said to keep buying. The price was too good to pass up, and the more land he had, the more he could keep the outside world from barging in on his property. And of course, the more space he could develop.
Meanwhile, the locals were talking about the secret group buying up all that swampland. The rumors of its identity ranged from the Ford Motor Company to Howard Hughes to Disney. Land prices began climbing, until finally, Walt decided to announce his intentions to the world.
The final price tag to the Disney company: a little over $5 million for 27,443 acres, about 43 square miles: twice the size of Manhattan Island, or the same size as San Francisco. Now the Disney organization could build all the dreams it could possibly imagine.
On November 15, 1965, Walt held a press conference in Orlando with Roy and the governor of Florida. His exact plans for Disney World were still sketchy, but he described them as his city of the future, along with a vacation retreat with parks, resort hotels, and golf courses. At least 7,500 acres would be permanently kept in their natural state (the total number of acres set aside today is 8,300). Walt strongly believed in preserving the environment. This would be his and The Walt Disney Company commitment to the planet’s future.
Only days after Walt made his announcement, the price of land surrounding the property that the Disney organization purchased shot up to $80,000 per acre.
Unfortunately, Walt passed away before any construction took place, but he laid the groundwork for his Imagineers to continue without him. In fact, the location of practically every major theme park, resort, and road today was set up by Walt himself. Many within the Disney organization questioned whether they could accomplish the near-impossible goals set forth by the company’s founder, but Roy believed they could. He also changed the name of the Florida Project from Disney World to WALT DISNEY WORLD, so everyone would remember that its creation and purpose represented the dreams of his amazing brother.
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Random Quote |
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"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."
-Walt Disney
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| Random Fact |
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Food is growing all over Tomorrowland instead of the traditional flowers. Mint, various lettuce, kale, artichokes, grapes, corn, beans, thyme, rosemary, chives, bananas, cabbage, strawberries, parsley, celantro, kumquats, oranges, dwarf apples, chili peppers, and more. Many of them were started by Disney gardeners from seed.
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| Random Link |
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The Tunnels - This site is dedicated to castmembers past, present and future. It includes lots of info pertinent to working for the Mouse.
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Disney Webmasters!!
Click here to learn how your site can be listed here.
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