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DevoutandHeretical t1_jeaii68 wrote

Reply to comment by Foxhound199 in TIL that Walt Disney World began as "The Florida Project". Dummy corporations were used, by Walt Disney Productions, to buy up 27,000 acres of land to avoid bursts of land speculation in the Orlando area. Early rumors assumed possible development by NASA, Ford, the Rockefellers, and Howard Hughes. by jdward01

What I remember hearing was that when he built Disneyland everyone and their mother knew it was happening and bought up a ton of the space around the park and crowded it up, so he didn’t want to repeat that with Disneyworld so that they could expand as they desired.

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john510runner t1_jebtayz wrote

The legend is only true if a) one means the ownership of orchards around what is now Disneyland changed hands and b) if “crowded” means the orchards being replace by single family homes

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john510runner t1_jebtoq9 wrote

I grew up in Anaheim. Being near a theme park or sports stadium sounds lucrative but it doesn’t always pay off if one lives near those “amenities”. Traffic and crowds rarely help the people living in neighborhoods near traffic and crowds.

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BradMarchandsNose t1_jedlw6i wrote

It’s lucrative for businesses not for the people that live there. Hotels can make a ton of money being near big attractions

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lsjunior t1_jed4kjd wrote

It was more so to keep the tourist traps and cheep motels out of site or at arms length, so to speak. Also, when Orlando sentinel broke the story, it was Disney buying up land the surrounding properties quadrupled in price.

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