The Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida is one of the world's most famous vacation destinations. This iconic resort is now located in what once was thousands of acres of swamp and marshland. Through spy-like moves and innovative strategies, Walt Disney and his cadre of creative leaders turned this massive swamp land into today's Disney World. This books shares the amazing behind the scenes story of how Disney's Florida resort, code-named Project Future, rose from the marshes of Central Florida to become one of the world's most popular theme park resorts.
Project Future
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Dave
Format:Paperback
I kept thinking over and over again; this could never happen today. Walt Disney World in Orlando is a testament to the creative genius, tenacity, and fantastic reputation that Walt Disney and his hand-picked team possessed at the time that this book takes place. For those looking for a big, glossy, picture-laden coffee table book, this is not the read for you. There are no pictures or diagrams in this book, but truly, it does not need them. Instead, you have a very easy read (took me four bus commuter trips to read this; I couldn't put it down) that documents the why and how of Walt Disney World Resort.
It is fairly common knowledge that Walt Disney was not happy with the less-than-desireable businesses that sprung up around Disneyland in Anaheim back in 1955. These tacky motels and cheap restaurants were not up to the quality of Disney's park, yet they reaped the benefits of proximity. Vowing not to let this happen again, Walt made sure that his next venture would have plenty of land not only for what he wanted to build, but also enough to create a buffer between his dream world and the land speculators who wanted to ride on his coat-tails. Reading almost like a mystery story, you'll learn about the other locations Walt first looked at for his next park (St. Louis, Niagara Falls, New York, and more) and most interestingly of all, the many layers of secrecy that were created to keep the Disney name out of the papers during the negotiations to purchase the property in Florida. The amount of time, research, and effort that went into creating the Orlando Resort is most likely never thought of, but here it is expertly outlined in under 200 pages. The end of the book also features a timeline of important dates in WDW's history as well as a list of key players involved and their roles in "Project Future" as WDW was dubbed back in the day.
Even when the land was purchased, there was much to do; the political machine had to be dealt with, as the Disney team wanted to create a Utopia with revolutionary ways of doing things. Too much government and/or taxation could have meant the downfall of the entire project. I was pleased that author Chad Emerson also gives facts and figures of the actual financial and environmental impact that Walt Disney World had on Florida; these numbers are truly staggering. Walt got the ball rolling and his team carried (most of) his vision forward. With special interest groups and the political climate today, I seriously doubt that a company could step forward and purchase 27,000 acres of swamp & farmland and turn it into one of the top vacation spots in the world. For better or worse, those days are gone. Fortunately, we have Walt Disney World, a living monument that is a testimony to the brilliance of Walt Disney. Thank you Mr. Emerson for this well-written glimpse into the hard work it took to make it happen.
It is fairly common knowledge that Walt Disney was not happy with the less-than-desireable businesses that sprung up around Disneyland in Anaheim back in 1955. These tacky motels and cheap restaurants were not up to the quality of Disney's park, yet they reaped the benefits of proximity. Vowing not to let this happen again, Walt made sure that his next venture would have plenty of land not only for what he wanted to build, but also enough to create a buffer between his dream world and the land speculators who wanted to ride on his coat-tails. Reading almost like a mystery story, you'll learn about the other locations Walt first looked at for his next park (St. Louis, Niagara Falls, New York, and more) and most interestingly of all, the many layers of secrecy that were created to keep the Disney name out of the papers during the negotiations to purchase the property in Florida. The amount of time, research, and effort that went into creating the Orlando Resort is most likely never thought of, but here it is expertly outlined in under 200 pages. The end of the book also features a timeline of important dates in WDW's history as well as a list of key players involved and their roles in "Project Future" as WDW was dubbed back in the day.
Even when the land was purchased, there was much to do; the political machine had to be dealt with, as the Disney team wanted to create a Utopia with revolutionary ways of doing things. Too much government and/or taxation could have meant the downfall of the entire project. I was pleased that author Chad Emerson also gives facts and figures of the actual financial and environmental impact that Walt Disney World had on Florida; these numbers are truly staggering. Walt got the ball rolling and his team carried (most of) his vision forward. With special interest groups and the political climate today, I seriously doubt that a company could step forward and purchase 27,000 acres of swamp & farmland and turn it into one of the top vacation spots in the world. For better or worse, those days are gone. Fortunately, we have Walt Disney World, a living monument that is a testimony to the brilliance of Walt Disney. Thank you Mr. Emerson for this well-written glimpse into the hard work it took to make it happen.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By John Ott
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bottom line: I enjoyed this book. That being said, you need to know that the author has chosen to focus on the legal, political, and real estate aspects of the founding of Walt Disney World. While those aspects are fascinating, he gives very little (almost no) attention to WDW's creative, design, engineering, or construction aspects. A few chapters on those additional aspects would have earned a four-star rating. Also, I deducted a star from the rating for the amount of typos. The book would have benefited from one more copy edit. All in all, this is an unique perspective on an unique place.
20 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Even after four decades, one of the most incredible things about Walt Disney World is its sheer size: 43 square miles. Take a look from the top of the Contemporary Resort or Bay Lake Tower some night at all the miles of darkness around you; or take a ride in the Characters in Flight Balloon at Downtown Disney to get a sense of what all that land looks like. Chad Denver Emerson's book explains down to the individual parcels and tracts how Disney managed to acquire this spread in the mid-1960s under the code name Project Future. But even more impressive is the story of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the novel legislative and legal pixie dust that created it. What's refreshing about Emerson's book is that he doesn't see control as a bad thing, at least when it is Disney who is exercising it. As America's cities were crumbling Walt was attempting to create something beautiful and new in Florida. Emerson concludes that "the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and Project Future in general, demonstrated that unique allocations of public and private governance can, in appropriate instances, promote visionary efforts."
This book provides plenty of new material even for those who have read Married to the Mouse and Realityland. There's the story of how the mineral rights became separated from the surface rights and how Disney gained control of both. There's the story of how the Florida Supreme Court eventually pronounced that the private/public structure of Walt Disney World was neat and pretty under the Florida Constitution. I learned details about the runner-up project in St. Louis that I had never heard before. And the lengths to which the company went to make sure no one traced the land purchases back to California is something out of the Bourne movies and certainly has never been told so cogently before, complete with an appendix of key players. The only thing missing is a map of the parcels.
The first two thirds of this book, as Walt achieves his manifest destiny, moves like a Space Mountain rocket. The last third moves more at the pace of the Magic Kingdom Railroad as it details legislative battles, legal challenges and the long-term impact of Project Future. But as the recent launch of D23 shows, Disney's fans love this kind of insider knowledge and will no doubt devour Project Future as they wait in ln line for Soarin'.
This book provides plenty of new material even for those who have read Married to the Mouse and Realityland. There's the story of how the mineral rights became separated from the surface rights and how Disney gained control of both. There's the story of how the Florida Supreme Court eventually pronounced that the private/public structure of Walt Disney World was neat and pretty under the Florida Constitution. I learned details about the runner-up project in St. Louis that I had never heard before. And the lengths to which the company went to make sure no one traced the land purchases back to California is something out of the Bourne movies and certainly has never been told so cogently before, complete with an appendix of key players. The only thing missing is a map of the parcels.
The first two thirds of this book, as Walt achieves his manifest destiny, moves like a Space Mountain rocket. The last third moves more at the pace of the Magic Kingdom Railroad as it details legislative battles, legal challenges and the long-term impact of Project Future. But as the recent launch of D23 shows, Disney's fans love this kind of insider knowledge and will no doubt devour Project Future as they wait in ln line for Soarin'.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Background On The Beginnings of Disney World
This books gives you a great background on what it took to put together the land mass that would become the Walt Disney World Resort. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jerry Pittman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Key in Understanding the Logistics
After a recent trip to Disney World, I was curious about the actual buying of the property and logistics of running the huge resort. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GoldenEagle1208
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read for WDW fans.
Comprehensive but interesting take on the development of WDW. Keeps facts straight without bogging down with odd refernces and financial jargon.
Published 1 month ago by David Bergen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well presented and structured book
This book provided an excellent behinds the scenes look at the intricate business, legal and political manuvers required to bring Walt Disney World into existence.
Published 2 months ago by Jason Olson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to follow
This book follows Walts acquisition of the land for Disney World. It is very interesting and detailed. But it is not written very well; it is jumpy and hard to follow at times. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Disney Fans
4.0 out of 5 stars
Project Future - excellent, but probably not what you thought it would...
I really enjoyed this book. It so different from the many other 'fact-like' stories available about the theme parks. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Karl Paulsen
2.0 out of 5 stars
Slow read
Slow read. interesting but slow. more legal mumbo jumbo than i wanted. not terrible. not that great either. would not recommend.
Published 7 months ago by Laura Sheffield
4.0 out of 5 stars
Specialist's Textbook
"Project Future" is a specialist book, a nuts and bolts account of how Walt acquired the land needed for Walt Disney World and how Roy finished the work of getting the Florida... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Alan D. Cranford
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Dry Read
This book is full of technical and legal details that just goes on and on. Not a good read for a WDW fan looking for inside stories and behind the scenes details. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Janine M Miraglia
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Start, But Not As Detailed as I Hoped
Project Future sets out to fill in the gaps that many books covering the history of Walt Disney World have left. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Robert Rowan
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