Walter E. Disney

The Coverings 2010 press team was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Disney property. I have heard of these tours from other Architects over the years and have always wanted to participate. Assuming them to be invitation-only events, I relegated the tour to page two of my mental “bucket list”.  However, a tip of the hat is due to Esther Perman and Nicole Janok at Weeder+Perman for arranging the Disney Tour – and a dozen other perks – for the invited press.

 
 
We learned that Walt Disney was above all things, a teller of stories. Where Disney World may seem to be a sequel to his earlier Disneyland, the planning of his Florida project could not have been more different, or more profound. 

Disneyland Plaque

For Disneyland, Walt had selected an area outside Los Angeles; far enough out in Orange County to provide 160 undeveloped acres, but close enough to the freeway and other infrastructure to accommodate visitors. In addition to local residents, Los Angeles was growing as a vacation destination and an entertainment capital, providing an ongoing flow of family travelers and fantasy followers. Everything from media coverage to construction laborers to plant nurseries were available for Disney’s master plan. Construction began in summer of 1954 and Disneyland was grandly opened a mere twelve and a half months later!

 Walt Disney envisioned his new development to be so much more than an amusement park. He considered the entire development to be his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow – his E.P.C.O.T. Disney had long been captivated by World’s Fairs. They were a wonderful a mix of national pavilions promoting cultural understanding and of corporate demonstrations of future products and services. Alas, Worlds Fairs were only temporary extravaganzas, gone as surely as they came. Disney’s masterwork however would be a thriving community build around an ongoing fair of far away lands and future dreams. 

Image by Samantha Decker via Flickr

Whereas the Anaheim acreage for Disneyland was a relatively typical acquisition, the land mass required for Disney’s new world was a large scale covert mission. It began with Project X, a secret national search for the ideal location. On a flyover of central Florida, Walt must have seen the “X” marking the treasured spot. Soon dozens of entities – none bearing the Disney name – began seemingly random purchases of Orlando-area land. Over time, Disney secretly amassed a collection of low-cost pieces of Florida swamp- and scrub-land totaling 27,000 acres. Disney had taken this clandestine approach because he’d seen the quick and unmanaged growth around his California park. As soon as media reports speculated the Florida land grab was linked to Disney, he came forth to announce his grand vision – and real estate prices immediately soared.

Reedy Creek Improvement District - Disney World

The Los Angeles infrastructure that served Disneyland so well was non-existent at the Disney World location. Public-private ventures were established for the required utilities and services; Disney initiating and/or funding such necessities as water, sewer, power, communications, police, fire, and so forth. 

Disney was ahead of his time regarding sustainable land use and habitat protection. Well over a quarter of his newly acquired land was set aside as a perpetual nature preserve. An elaborate system of canals and levies were designed into the landscape to control water levels. Winding through the property (a place two times the size of Manhattan) these waterways were also used for canoe recreation and training. The canal system has managed water through several Central Florida hurricanes and will continue to serve in the future.  

These are a few of the details in the the planning of Disneyland and Disney World – two of Walt’s greatest “stories”  (as told to us by Wayne, a twenty-one year veteran as a Disney “cast member” and the current presenter of Disney by Design.) Please feel free to leave your comment below.

Later in this series we will look at how Walt Disney handled details.

Now, add your own content and make this a conversation; please comment below.