Let's consult a map. Here's Germany. Morocco. And Fantasyland. But beyond Walt Disney World's borders you find a larger boundary. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that's been at the center of a feud between Disney and Governor Ron DeSantis. “There's a new sheriff in town.” But this district started way before
the DeSantis-Disney war. It explains something about the history of Florida... and the lost city of EPCOT. “It will be a community of tomorrow
that will never be completed.” And most importantly,
why Disney World is here... and isn't moving anytime soon. This isn't Disney World,
but Disneyland. And the key thing is not the park but the surroundings. Downtown Anaheim. A 40 minute drive from Los Angeles. Disneyland opened in 1955. In an internal publication, Disney
showed its belief that the site provided sufficient land
for present and future growth. Period photos show the area didn't start as densely developed as it is today,. But this 1965 map shows how quickly
things changed. Everything from schools
to shopping centers limited Disneyland's control over its future. Walt Disney needed more... and he wanted to get more from a new park. He wanted his new park to be
on the East Coast. He needed a lot of land, so dense
urban areas were out. He didn't want cold. That narrowed things down to Florida. He also didn't want to compete
with the ocean so he skipped coastal locations. When flying over Orlando, he saw I-4,
I-95, and the Sunshine State Parkway. That clinched it. Locals started to notice
big land deals being made by mystery companies. Soon, Floridians began to suspect
their mystery industry was Disney. The size was immense. Here's the size of Disneyland
if it were in Florida. And here is the land they bought for Disney World as it is today. Even after some land was sold off. Shortly after the land story broke Disney held a press conference
with Governor Hayden Burns and brother Roy Disney
to discuss the plans. “It will bring a new world of entertainment... pleasure, and economic development
to the state of Florida.” “Walt Disney.” Let's break down this next Walt Disney quote. After you've done something you see with the experience and all of that, what you might do if you were starting from scratch. Disney wanted to get right
what he missed in Anaheim. “Taking a look at the land this morning I say we are starting from scratch.” The land needed a lot of work,
drainage work, development: everything. Just look at this 1962 map of the area. There were some orange groves
on the land but this symbol means swamp. The area is called the Reedy Creek Swamp. “But we have many things in mind that would make this unique and different
from Disneyland.” But Disney also had greater ambitions for the land that he would
only reveal later on. “Here in Florida we have something special we've never
enjoyed at Disney.” “There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine.” To persuade Florida's government
to support the project... Disney released concept art like this... that showed way more than a theme park. Like a giant industrial complex. And a constantly evolving city of 30,000 people. EPCOT: An Experimental Prototype Community
of Tomorrow. “All these varied activities around the Disney World... will be tied together by a high speed,
rapid transit system running almost the full length
of the property.” “It will never cease to be a living
blueprint of the future... where people actually live a life they can't find anywhere else
in the world.” But Disney didn't want to wait for permits
for every sewer drain and light post in his city of tomorrow. To have complete dominion
over the land he'd bought... he needed political control,
not just a title. He needed a kingdom. Special districts are common. Tens of thousands of them exist
across the United States. For example, the famous retirement community,
The Villages just north of Disney
uses them. These let residents vote on a board which then establishes policies
that can raise taxes, build stuff, or fund public safety
departments. This can happen across municipal
boundaries, county lines... or other traditional boundaries. Disney wanted a superpowered version of this... with Disney staff as the sole voting
"residents" inside it. They would be able to vote themselves in and make their own rules. The Disney World land is split between Orange and Osceola Counties. It also includes what planning documents list as jurisdictions of the city of Bay Lake unincorporated areas and the city
of Lake Buena Vista all of which were created for and are largely controlled
by Disney. They had multiple points of leverage
to get this. “I believe we can build a community that more people will talk about
and come to look at... than any other area in the world.” All these plans meant promise of
economic development for a relatively sleepy area. “I predict that we'll experience
at least a 50%... and possibly a 100% increase in tourism
in the state of Florida.” Disney could also threaten
to pursue alternate sites... in northern California in Mineral King. They had a parallel proposal
to build a ski complex that was closer to Anaheim
and less swampy. It ended up serving as a taunt to Florida. The result was clear. In the same issue of Disney's
internal magazine in which they announced the biggest surprise of the decade Florida's VIPs were already flying out... to begin working on project problems. Other places didn't grant big powers
like Florida. There was no ski resort
in Mineral King because the Sierra Club fought it and the state never approved it. All that is why Disney World
is here. In May 1967, the Reedy Creek
Improvement District was chartered as an entity that could
regulate across counties.. like its own government. It could control sewage, generation of power
by nuclear fission airport facilities, railroads,
and construction. And Disney used its powers. The company created an
underground tunnel system for their utilities
called utilidors. Each tunnel had spots for ventilation, water
and transportation. They built the monorail and they created
their own lake. The Seven Seas Lagoon. So the parking lot wouldn't sit too close to the castle. They did it all because... they could. In 1966, Walt Disney died
in Los Angeles. The city part of his Disney World dream
mostly died with him despite some gestures toward building it. EPCOT became a part of the theme park
in 1982... but it was not a city. The district's comprehensive 10-year-plan shows how far the Disney dream has drifted
from EPCOT. Undeveloped land is labeled green
for conservation not as the foundation for some future city. Mass transportation consists of busses
and the monorail line rather than the intricate transit network that Disney envisioned. Disney has massive populations
staying in its many hotels but when you look at a map of permanent
residential addresses in the district you see 8 here and 9 here. It's projected to be about
43 people by 2027. Disney ensured that later residential developments
didn't change things. Development of Disney's "imagineered" small town
Celebration, Florida... began on the district in the 1990s but it was de-annexed from Reedy Creek. The same happened for the Disney-owned
Plantation Park Condos in Little Lake Bryan. Being cut out of the district means
no voting for the board. All of this was just background... until the feud. “Welcome to the Walt Disney Company's
annual meeting of shareholders.” “I called Governor DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern.” Disney's CEO called to protest Florida's
"Don’t Say Gay" law which restricts classroom instruction about sexual orientation. “We believe being joined at the hip
with this one California-based company was not something that was
justifiable or sustainable” And promised... “The corporate kingdom finally
comes to an end.” But the taunting continued. “Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results
Conference Call.” “So this is plainly a matter of retaliation while the rest of the Florida
special districts continue operating basically
as they were.” “Someone even said, like, maybe you need
another state prison.” “Who knows?” “I mean, I just think that
the possibilities are endless.” Still, the state would struggle to actually dissolve the district. The charter gives the district
the power to finance the projects and activities of the district
through bonds. If the district disappeared, hundreds
of millions in bond debt would probably flow to taxpayers in
Orange and Osceola Counties. And on the other side, Disney has already made noise about
a $17 billion Disney World expansion. In the end, Disney's district has had
a name change and board composition and process
may slightly change. But Germany and Morocco
aren't going anywhere. The kingdom will probably stay
a kingdom.
