Blog

How and Why Disney Chose Central Florida …

Posted by Bob Gernert on March 18, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 15 as the Chamber presents a special breakfast program with new insights as to how and why Disney chose Central Florida.

45 years ago this June, Walt Disney made the landmark decision to build his new Disney World project in Central Florida. A recently published book gives the fullest account yet of this momentous event that forever changed the Central Florida landscape. Entitled, “Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World,” the book unearths the fascinating process Walt and his leadership team followed to identify the perfect location for this “Disneyland East” and the clandestine methods they used to secure tens of thousands of acreage on which to build the vacation kingdom.

This multimedia presentation will provide attendees with a unique look at the following:

1. How and why Walt Disney selected Central Florida for his Disneyland East project–code named “Project Future”

2. How Disney and his team used clever and novel strategies to obtain roughly 27,000 acres without the secret getting out

3. How Disney and his team worked with the Florida state legislature to create the unique Reedy Creek Improvement District to govern Project Future

Chad Emerson, a law professor at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. and theme park industry journalist, is the author of Project Future and he’ll present his first Central Florida Chamber of Commerce presentation right here in Winter Haven.

In his two years of research, Chad has been able to weave intriguing details that include involvement in the project by former OSS (the precursory of the CIA) leaders, the tense negotiations Walt and team encountered with the Busch family in St. Louis and John D. MacArthur the eccentric billionaire in Palm Beach, Fla. along with with details about the business, regulatory, and legal strategies–often novel and always creative–that allowed Disney’s vision to become a reality.

This special “Centennial Spotlight” program will take place in addition to our traditional monthly best business practices series. The author will have the book available for purchase and signing.

Sure to sell out, RSVP now to reserve your seat. Doors open at 7:30 to a full breakfast buffet from Fred’s Southern Kitchen. The one hour program begins at 8 a.m. and is followed by Q&A.

$25 for Chamber members, $35 for non-members. RSVP required and you may do so here.

See other entries filed in: Chamber Centennial Celebration, Chamber Events, Perspective, Success Stories, Tourism