Posted on 04/20/2013 4:36:56 PM PDT by Renfield
Starting in the mid-1960s when Disney set out to establish the Disney World Theme Park, they were determined to get land at below market prices and Disney operatives engaged in a far-ranging conspiracy to make sure sellers had no idea who was buying their Central Florida property. By resorting to such tactics Disney acquired more than 40 square miles of land for less than $200 an acre, but how to maintain control once Disney's empire had been acquired? The solution turned out to be cartoon-simple, thanks to the CIA....
I remember hearing that Disney was some sort of Utopian socialist and his body remains on ice.
This was after Walt Disney died right? I think he would turn over in his grave.
No, he was a huge patriot I think
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxihN_hEdmE
This is nothing compared to what Disney Corp. stole from the public domain in the 1978 federal copyright law.
Good post, but the author is dripping with hatred for Walt Disney.
Isn’t the Daily Beast actually the ***WaPo*** dressed up in ribbons...?
Beast is sort of the online successor to Newsweak.
The Disney “cities” are pretty much a legal fiction, assembled to allow Disney to operate its business without interference from local and county officialdom.
Too bad the state of Florida and the surrounding areas didn’t receive any economic benefit in return for this concession.
Well, I heard Mickey Mouse voted in 2008. Probably did again in 2012.
There is a documentary on Disney on netflix.
They said multiple fake buyers (for disney) were created to buy all the land.
you’re kidding of course.....Florida let’s WDW do what they want because Florida and thousands of businesses make more money from WDW being in Florida then anything else........they wouldn’t let WDW leave........And Disneyland built Anaheim, CA
you’re kidding of course.....Florida let’s WDW do what they want because Florida and thousands of businesses make more money from WDW being in Florida then anything else........they wouldn’t let WDW leave........And Disneyland built Anaheim, CA
You are freaking kidding right ? Do you have any idea how much money Disney brings to the surrounding economy every single day ? The surrounding area was nothing before Disney . Land was suited for nothing but growing out some cows and almost no one lived there.
Had the surrounding cities stuck their two cents in back then they would have found another place and those cities would still be shoveling manure.
Transformed central Florida to the business mecca it is today.
Garbage. Just sounds like sour grapes from the original land owners or their children that sold for the going price or government insiders that were shut out. What generally happens in cases like these, the government people and lawyers find out and buy up the land from the original people at the going rate. Then they turn around and jack the price up 10 or 12 times higher and control zoning, permits, etc. to ensure the sexual act is completed to their satisfaction.
I took a US road trip starting in January 1966. Late February brought me to Orlando, the largest business in which was Leon’s Fruit. I had to walk through a couple of miles of swampland from where I had been dropped off at the Freeway heading south to Miami before I saw any signs of civilization. I’m sure this is all built up now.
This was not a thriving town - I paid $4.50 a night for a hotel room as I recall - it was close by the RR tracks. The furniture bounced around when the Orange Blossom Special whistled through around midnight. ;^)
I would say Disney has been good for Orlando.
This story was written with the class warfare / capitalists are evil point of view.
One of the issues is that back when the Disney bros were in charge, the company really was family friendly, but now it's part of the liberal MSM establishment.
OR Disney was far thinking enough to KNOW that governments were a tyrany and would be an endless source of problems.
Remember to this day anaheim is an “issue” in california.
They simply took out the banana republic local counties from the equation.
Imagine the moron local politicians who would be endlessly causing problems. Disney is free market control. If there was no demand for their product they would have failed.
There are issues but the author is to anti corporate to see the other side of the issue.
Florida would have had their capital city in orlando but for some back woods local good ol boy who wanted the capital to be inconvenient for the rif raf.
Miami would have had disneyworld but they wanted too many conditions. (we call them bribes)
No. Walt chose the site and the land acquisition was mostly completed when he died in 1966. The reason Disney bought the land covertly using dummy corporations was to avoid speculators swooping in for the sole purpose of later extorting the Disney corporation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.