How Disney World Became Its Own Government - YouTube

In Disney, one mouse reigns supreme- and if you  step foot on their Disney World property, that  

mouse is now your sovereign. This is the story  of how Disney World became its own government. 

The mid-1950s were a turbulent time in America.  The Korean War had just ended, and it wouldn’t  

be long before the US would find itself mired  in another in Vietnam. The US was also in the  

middle of a Cold War with the Soviet Union that  looked like it could turn hot at any moment, while  

Elvis Presley was shaking his hips on national  television, leading to millions of parents having  

to cover their children’s scandalized eyes. It was right in the middle of this time of  

upheaval that a man named Walter Elias Disney  opened his very own theme park in Anaheim,  

California. It was a place where the public  could go to truly get away from it all and  

see their favorite animated heroes from the screen  come to life. It was a place where their wildest  

dreams could come true, for a price, of course. Disneyland was incredibly successful, so much so  

that Walt was soon looking for a location for his  second park, one that he would make even bigger,  

grander, and most importantly, more profitable.  Because even though the park had been a huge  

achievement, Walt knew that it had a flaw. Surveys of visitors to Disneyland showed that  

only 5% of the park’s guests were from the eastern  half of the United States. Apparently, even the  

happiest place on earth wasn’t enough to convince  New York travelers to spend their hard-earned  

dollars in California. This meant that Disneyland  was missing out on 75% of the nation’s population  

and, with it, the largest pool of tourists in  the country, but Walt had a plan to fix that. 

His big idea was an even grander park. A whole  self-contained world of happiness and whimsy,  

all infused with that Disney magic, of  course. A Disney World, if you will. 

But this place was going to be different from  the first park in Anaheim. Disney wanted far  

greater control over the surrounding areas,  as he intensely disliked the businesses that  

had popped up around Disneyland, which he felt  detracted from his vision of what the Disney  

theme park experience should be. He needed  land, and a lot of it, but more importantly,  

he needed it to be in a place where he  could wield ultimate authority and where  

no pesky local officials would try to disrupt his  grand plan for the world’s greatest theme park. 

Disney turned his eyes to Florida and found  what he considered to be the perfect location.  

Sure, at the time, it was nothing  more than a stinky, steaming swamp,  

but Walt could see past that and recognize the  potential for his Walt Disney World Resort. 

He found a site inhabited only by skunk apes and  alligators, and which had the added benefit of  

being very close to the planned Interstate 4,  as well as the Florida turnpike. In addition,  

McCoy Air Force Base, which would become Orlando  International Airport, was also near the planned  

construction site. This placed Disney World in  a spot with easy access to major transportation  

hubs, which suited Disney's plans to bring that  other 75% of the country into his new resort. 

There was just one problem. The 30,500 acres  of land Disney was eyeing was cheap - for now.  

But if word got out that the Disney corporation  was looking to buy land to build a new resort,  

prices would undoubtedly surge, potentially  adding tens of millions of dollars in costs  

to the project. Thus, Disney World would have to  be planned in absolute secrecy. No one outside of  

the organization could know about the park. That  meant that even internally, no one was allowed to  

utter the words “Disney World,” and the project  was referred to in-house only as 'the Florida  

project.’ Any leakers knew that they would face  the wrath of the most powerful mouse in the world. 

In order to keep land prices down, the Disney  corporation created a slew of shell corporations  

that it used to acquire the land in question.  These corporations bore exotic names such as  

“Ayefour Corporation,” “Latin-American Development  and Management Corporation,” and “Reedy Creek  

Ranch Corporation.” This tactic successfully kept  landowners and the government unaware of Disney's  

slow takeover of 48 square miles of Florida- but  they soon ran into another problem. Mineral rights  

in the area belonged to Tufts University, which  could invoke its right to mine for minerals at  

any time and could force the removal of personnel,  equipment, even buildings. This was obviously not  

going to work for Disney since Cinderella’s castle  isn’t exactly mobile. Luckily for Disney, they  

eventually managed to negotiate the mineral rights  away from Tufts, acquiring them for just $15,000. 

Now, with the land for the park secured, nothing  could stop Disney from making their dream come  

true of building the place where dreams come true. Sadly for Walt Disney, he wouldn’t live to see his  

dream fulfilled. He died in 1966 after a battle  with cancer, just one year after the public  

announcement of Disney World. His brother, Roy O.  Disney, took over the park’s construction - and  

he too would make sure that this wasn’t  your ordinary, run-of-the-mill theme park.  

As Walt had himself said before he died, Disney  World would only stop growing when imagination ran  

out. Such a massive planned theme park would  require more than just hotels, restaurants,  

bathrooms, and even transportation- it would  need all the same services as a small city.

But for the Disney corp, trying to negotiate and  plan the administration of city services on such a  

massive scale with the Florida government wouldn't  just be a bureaucratic nightmare, it would also  

add dramatically to operational costs. And it  would mean Disney wouldn't have near-absolute  

authority over its own massive property- something  that the mouse couldn’t and wouldn't tolerate. 

To successfully control their own land, Disney  would need to negotiate with Bay Lake and Lake  

Buena vista municipalities, essentially taking  over the role of government. Disney sought to  

effectively govern itself free of any outside  influence - but it’s no surprise that this  

idea came with a fair number of detractors.  Critics of the plan argued that if Disney was  

granted absolute sovereignty, it could for  all intents and purposes regulate itself,  

dictating things like the local minimum  wage and even what is, or isn't legal. 

Disney pushed ahead though and petitioned  hard for the creation of a special district  

that would essentially be under its control.  While landowners in both Bay Lake and Lake  

Buena Vista would still be able to vote on  governance within the 'Disney District',  

as a major landowner itself, Disney would have  incredible power to enact statutes and measures.  

Finally, after persistent lobbying, Disney got  its wish, and suddenly Disney World was free  

of the restraints foisted upon your Average  Joe Theme Park owner in the rest of America. 

Well, not quite. Disney did win the right to  control its own infrastructure, largely free of  

state-wide regulations and any associated fees for  public services. This meant that Disney would be  

allowed to build its own sewage and water systems,  as well as roads. However, the company would still  

have to follow federal safety guidelines  and environmental regulations - you know,  

if they felt like it, because honestly,  nobody was really checking for a long time. 

This special Disney District would be named  the Reedy Creek Improvement District. It is  

governed by a five member board of supervisors  which are elected by landowners of the district.  

Since Disney is by far the largest landowner,  it's no surprise that senior Disney executives  

are routinely elected in landslide victories.  Reedy Creek Improvement District is a democracy  

like the rest of the US, only here every choice  is Disney. The district is completely free of  

county and state control, except in the payment  of property taxes and elevator inspections. 

For this though, Disney would need to provide its  own fire, medical, and environmental services.  

In addition, while it operates a small army of  security staff, Disney must still rely on county  

law enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol to  make arrests. Disney is free however to enact its  

own building codes, and ensures its buildings are  able to withstand 110 mph winds due to Florida's  

habit of getting in the way of hurricanes. For utilities, Disney uses a subsidiary,  

Reedy Creek Energy Services, to collect and  manage wastewater, as well as dispose of its  

own trash and generate its own electricity.  While Disney basically owns the district,  

most roads in the district are still public, save  for a small number of minor and dead-end roads  

which lead to Disney attractions. The Reedy Creek  Fire Department, basically subsidized by Disney,  

is responsible for responding to fire and  medical emergencies throughout the district,  

though Disney also keeps a large number  of onsite medics for park emergencies. 

Disney World has been a huge economic boon to the  area though. It employs 62,000 people at the park  

itself, not to mention the millions and millions  of dollars that get brought to the area and spent  

at other businesses by the millions who visit the  park each year. However, it's believed that the  

Disney corporation owes the Florida government  untold millions in property taxes. By pumping  

money into the election campaigns of officials who  promise to keep taxes low, Disney has managed to  

evade large sums in tax revenue for the state.  Recently, however, Disney World property has  

been reassessed, and the company's tax bill has  increased enough to warrant a slew of challenges  

and lawsuits filed by Disney corp against Florida. Disney's self-regulating special district  

is pretty unprecedented, and as the  company continues to grow and expand,  

it might be looking at similar strategies in other  places around the country. So you never know,  

one day you might wake up to find the mouse  planting his flag on your front lawn, and with  

his trademark giggle, he’ll inform you that you  and your whole family now belong to Disney too. 

Now go watch the video Disney doesn't want  you to see- Totally messed up things that  

have happened at Disney World, or click this  other video instead. Vive la mouse resistance!