IMAGINEERING THE WAY, THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE MAGIC KINGDOM.
but today ill just post what the back cover says, about the book.
(KEEP COMMING BACK PLEASE FOR NEW CHAPTERS BEING ADDED)
Let's begin with what kind of contest it was, it was a trivia contest, and the trivia was: "WHAT LIVES UNDER SLEEPING BEAUTYS CASTLE AT DISNEYLAND PARK IN DISNEYLAND PARIS."
You folks can guess and post here, and ill let you know by IM so it wont give anything away from the others.
The contest was about 2 years before i got onto WB
there were 4 items that came to me for winning,
1. THE BOOK
2. CELL PHONE PENDANT
3. FRIDGE MAGNET
4. AND A MINI NOTE PAD AND PEN SET
Now onto the back cover......
Have you ever wondered how the most magical place on Earth came about?
How The Walt Disney Co. turned an area of swampland into one of the most visited attractions in the World?
IMAGINEERING THE WAY, THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE MAGIC KINGDOM
leads you through the early days of the Walt Disney World Resort, all the way to the present day.
As well as looking in detail at every ride, show or attraction that ever existed in the Magic Kingdom the book brings answers
to some of the Disney myths created over the years:
-Does the castle really lowerinto the ground to be cleaned?
-Who is George and why does he reside in Pirates Of The Carribean?
-Do chocolate chips really exsist in Space Mountain?
-Which ride can you hear the line "I LOVE DISCO!"?
-Is Walt really cyrogenically frozen inside the Magic Kingdom?
All of these answers and more can be found insiside IMAGINEERING THE WAY, THE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE MAGIC KINGDOM.
So we'll start tomorrow on chapter 1
Oh BTW I should also mention that he autographed it:
To John
I hope you enjoy reading it as
much as i enjoyed writing it.
the books publisher is lulu
info on the book if you're interested in getting one for yourself
$15.22 for paperback
$5.99 for downloaded PDF ver.
_____________________________________________________________________
PART 1- THE BEGINNING
Chapter 1It all Started with a Mouse
We all know the story. On Saturday November 18th 1928 Mickey Mouse
was born and instantly became a star. His first cartoon Steamboat Willie
was seen as a massive leap in the world of animation. From that day on
Walt Disney and Walt Disney Co. continued to cross boundaries and be
at the forefront of new new technology. Be it the multi-plane camera in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasound for Fantasia or the
ground breaking Audio Animatronic first for Lincoln in the 1964 New
York Worlds fair.
Having already introduced the world to the theme park in the guise of
Disneyland on July 17th 1955, Walt had realized his mistake in not
snapping up more land than he needed. For years after Walt opened
Disneyland he was inundated with offers of free land all over the United
States and even by several countries abroad, but Disney didn’t want to build just ‘another park’.
This changed when he visited the 1964 New York Worlds Fair with 4
new attractions. General Electric’s ‘Carousel Of Progress’, Ford’s
‘Magic Skyway’, Pepsi Cola’s ‘It’s A Small World’, and the state Illinois
‘Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln’. Walt was so impressed with the
Technological advancements of his artist, designers, and builders, whom
He called ‘Imagineers’.
While at the Fair, Disney began to mull over the ideas of the new park
‘- Project X’. He didn’t know what he was going to put in it but he knew
the idea was feasible. It is believed that Walt Disney had sent his brother,
Roy and several friends and business associates to look for land as early
as 1963. The team had traveled the length and breadth of the country
looking for land that was suitable and cheap enough to build his new
park. They checked into hotels under false names and made anonymous
enquires on areas of land. If anyone found out that the name
‘Disney’ was attached then the price per acre would increase rapidly and
the adjoining land would be bought up quickly by other businesses. This was
just what Walt didn’t want to happen. He had always dreamed of a place
where you were able to escape everyday reality. Having any reminder
of that ruined the idea all together.
Many parts of the United States were considered. Places such as St. Louis,
Niagra Falls, and the Great Smokey Mountains. None of these places
had the draw of Florida. The weather in the state was near perfect all year
round, the roads were accessible and the land was completely untouched,
mostly used for cattle grazing or as swampland. ‘Project X’ had a location
and Walt Disney had a plan.
___________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1It all Started with a Mouse
We all know the story. On Saturday November 18th 1928 Mickey Mouse
was born and instantly became a star. His first cartoon Steamboat Willie
was seen as a massive leap in the world of animation. From that day on
Walt Disney and Walt Disney Co. continued to cross boundaries and be
at the forefront of new new technology. Be it the multi-plane camera in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasound for Fantasia or the
ground breaking Audio Animatronic first for Lincoln in the 1964 New
York Worlds fair.
Having already introduced the world to the theme park in the guise of
Disneyland on July 17th 1955, Walt had realized his mistake in not
snapping up more land than he needed. For years after Walt opened
Disneyland he was inundated with offers of free land all over the United
States and even by several countries abroad, but Disney didn’t want to build just ‘another park’.
This changed when he visited the 1964 New York Worlds Fair with 4
new attractions. General Electric’s ‘Carousel Of Progress’, Ford’s
‘Magic Skyway’, Pepsi Cola’s ‘It’s A Small World’, and the state Illinois
‘Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln’. Walt was so impressed with the
Technological advancements of his artist, designers, and builders, whom
He called ‘Imagineers’.
While at the Fair, Disney began to mull over the ideas of the new park
‘- Project X’. He didn’t know what he was going to put in it but he knew
the idea was feasible. It is believed that Walt Disney had sent his brother,
Roy and several friends and business associates to look for land as early
as 1963. The team had traveled the length and breadth of the country
looking for land that was suitable and cheap enough to build his new
park. They checked into hotels under false names and made anonymous
enquires on areas of land. If anyone found out that the name
‘Disney’ was attached then the price per acre would increase rapidly and
the adjoining land would be bought up quickly by other businesses. This was
just what Walt didn’t want to happen. He had always dreamed of a place
where you were able to escape everyday reality. Having any reminder
of that ruined the idea all together.
Many parts of the United States were considered. Places such as St. Louis,
Niagra Falls, and the Great Smokey Mountains. None of these places
had the draw of Florida. The weather in the state was near perfect all year
round, the roads were accessible and the land was completely untouched,
mostly used for cattle grazing or as swampland. ‘Project X’ had a location
and Walt Disney had a plan.
___________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2
‘PROJECT X’
Back in California, Walt Disney had begun work on ‘Project X’,
later to be known as ‘Project Florida’, in production studios. He
a windowless room right next to his office. Walt kept hold of the
key, the only one available for the room and it was here that he
worked on preliminary plans for administration buildings,
recreational areas and, of course, a theme park. No areas of the
floor, wall, or table was left clear - as maps, plans, diagrams,
sketches, and models were literally scattered around the room.
With the return of Roy and his associates, Walt was very keen
To see the different locations in Florida Roy had found, and
Wanted to go out and see which he preferred. But, this was a
difficult task. How could Walt Disney be seen looking at
land in Florida? If he would be seen then the word would
get round that Disney was looking at land in the area and
the price per acre would skyrocket. Walt decided that the
only way he could view the different locations were to
fly over the areas - but remain on the plane, even when
it was re-fueling. One stop, Walt was spotted by an
overzealous flight mechanic who asked him if he was
the famous Walt Disney. Walt denied it and the secret
stayed safe.
As the group flew over the different Florida locations,
it is believed that Walt saw the land over Orange and
Osceola County and knew that it was the place where
he would build his magical land.
It was now down to the business of buying up enough
land so that Walt’s dream of Disney World could come
true. Walt and Co. set up several false companies to by
up the land. The exact names and number of companies
is unknown but some included: WED Enterprises
(WED being the initials of Walter Elias Disney),
Latin American Developments, Retlaw Enterprises
(Walter spelt backwards) and Tomahawk Properties.
On May 4th 1965, the Orlando Sentinel reported rumors
of an ‘East coast of Disneyland’. Disney was still buying
land at this point and the team had to be extra careful about
preceding with the land they bought, making sure they did
not arouse anymore suspicion.
During the process Walt spent his time continuing his work
in the productions studios and his secret passion - ‘Project X’.
He kept informed about how much land had been acquired
and how much it had cost so far. The average price had worked
out about $180.00 an acre. When Roy and Co. had accumulated
around 12,500 acres, the Florida team had thought they had
bought enough. With the remainder of his mistake in Disneyland,
Walt told the team to continue buying. Later in the project, Walt
was reported to have commented on the lessons he had learned
from building Disneyland.
“I mean, when we opened, if we could have bought more land,
we would have. Then we’d have had control and it wouldn’t
look too much like a second-rate Las Vegas around here. We’d
have had a little better chance to control it. But we ran out of
money, and then by the time we did have a little bit of money,
everybody got wise to what was going on and we couldn’t
buy anything around the place at all! The one thing that I l
learned from Disneyland was to control the environment.
Without that we get blamed for things that someone else does.
When they come here they’re coming because of an integrity
that we’ve established over the years, and they drive for
hundreds of miles and the little hotels on the fringe would
jump their rates three times. I’ve seen it happen and I just
can’t take it because, I mean it reflects on us. I just feel a
responsibility to the public when I go into this thing that
we must control that, and when they come into this
so-called world, that we will take the blame for what
goes on.” (WALT DISNEY) Disney was that disappointed with what happened in Anaheim
that he was 100% committed to making sure Disney World wasn’t
going to go the same way. The only way to do this was to buy far
more land than needed, creating a boundary around the things he
wanted to build. This way, Disney could make sure his ‘dream’
world was well separated from that of reality.
By October 1965, Disney had acquired 27,443 acres of land (43 square miles) at a cost of just over $5 million. It was the twice the size of Manhattan and the same size of San Francisco.
On October 24th , 1965 the Orlando Sentinel were back on the case.
The correctly guessed the purchaser’s identity with a 72-point
banner that said, “WE SAY OUR ’MYSTERY’ INDUSTERY IS
DISNEY.”
By now the cat was out of the bag and Disney could no longer
keep the secret. The Following day, October 25th, the Florida
Governor, Hayden Burns confirmed reports that Disney has
purchased land in Florida. As soon as the announcement was
made, the price per acre rose from an average of $180 to a
massive $1,000.00. With the rise in price and the instant urges
of Governor Hayden (who was in the midst of a re-election campaign)
Walt agreed to officially announce the secret that he had kept in a windowless room in California. Disney World would become
public domain and the world would be able to share in Walt’s
amazing dream.
On November 15th, 1965, at the Cherry Plaza Hotel, Orlando
Florida, Walt Disney, Roy Disney, and Governor Haden make
the first official public announcement that Walt is planning
on building Disney World (and gives a 6 year schedule until
it will open). His plans are still sketchy at this point but he
announces a city of future (EPCOT), a vacation resort with
parks, golf courses, and resort hotels. He announces that at
least 7,500 acres will be kept as natural land as Walt strongly
believed in preserving the natural environment.
“I would like to be part of building a model community, a
City Of Tomorrow, you might say, because I don’t believe
in going out to this extreme blue-sky stuff that some architects
do. I believe that people still want to live like human beings.
There’s a lot of things that could be done. I’m not against the
automobile, but I just feel that the automobile has moved into
communities to much. I feel that you can design so that the
automobile is there, but still put people back as pedestrians
again, I’d love to work on a project like that. “ Also I mean
in way of schools, facilities for the community, community
of entertainment and life. I’d love to be part of building up
a school of tomorrow …. This might become a pilot operation
for the teaching age - to go out across the country and across
the world. The great problem today is the one of teaching.”
(WALT DISNEY)
Within days of the announcement land around Disney property
rose to a huge $80,000.00 an acre. Walt Disney had arrived in
Florida.
‘PROJECT X’
Back in California, Walt Disney had begun work on ‘Project X’,
later to be known as ‘Project Florida’, in production studios. He
a windowless room right next to his office. Walt kept hold of the
key, the only one available for the room and it was here that he
worked on preliminary plans for administration buildings,
recreational areas and, of course, a theme park. No areas of the
floor, wall, or table was left clear - as maps, plans, diagrams,
sketches, and models were literally scattered around the room.
With the return of Roy and his associates, Walt was very keen
To see the different locations in Florida Roy had found, and
Wanted to go out and see which he preferred. But, this was a
difficult task. How could Walt Disney be seen looking at
land in Florida? If he would be seen then the word would
get round that Disney was looking at land in the area and
the price per acre would skyrocket. Walt decided that the
only way he could view the different locations were to
fly over the areas - but remain on the plane, even when
it was re-fueling. One stop, Walt was spotted by an
overzealous flight mechanic who asked him if he was
the famous Walt Disney. Walt denied it and the secret
stayed safe.
As the group flew over the different Florida locations,
it is believed that Walt saw the land over Orange and
Osceola County and knew that it was the place where
he would build his magical land.
It was now down to the business of buying up enough
land so that Walt’s dream of Disney World could come
true. Walt and Co. set up several false companies to by
up the land. The exact names and number of companies
is unknown but some included: WED Enterprises
(WED being the initials of Walter Elias Disney),
Latin American Developments, Retlaw Enterprises
(Walter spelt backwards) and Tomahawk Properties.
On May 4th 1965, the Orlando Sentinel reported rumors
of an ‘East coast of Disneyland’. Disney was still buying
land at this point and the team had to be extra careful about
preceding with the land they bought, making sure they did
not arouse anymore suspicion.
During the process Walt spent his time continuing his work
in the productions studios and his secret passion - ‘Project X’.
He kept informed about how much land had been acquired
and how much it had cost so far. The average price had worked
out about $180.00 an acre. When Roy and Co. had accumulated
around 12,500 acres, the Florida team had thought they had
bought enough. With the remainder of his mistake in Disneyland,
Walt told the team to continue buying. Later in the project, Walt
was reported to have commented on the lessons he had learned
from building Disneyland.
“I mean, when we opened, if we could have bought more land,
we would have. Then we’d have had control and it wouldn’t
look too much like a second-rate Las Vegas around here. We’d
have had a little better chance to control it. But we ran out of
money, and then by the time we did have a little bit of money,
everybody got wise to what was going on and we couldn’t
buy anything around the place at all! The one thing that I l
learned from Disneyland was to control the environment.
Without that we get blamed for things that someone else does.
When they come here they’re coming because of an integrity
that we’ve established over the years, and they drive for
hundreds of miles and the little hotels on the fringe would
jump their rates three times. I’ve seen it happen and I just
can’t take it because, I mean it reflects on us. I just feel a
responsibility to the public when I go into this thing that
we must control that, and when they come into this
so-called world, that we will take the blame for what
goes on.” (WALT DISNEY) Disney was that disappointed with what happened in Anaheim
that he was 100% committed to making sure Disney World wasn’t
going to go the same way. The only way to do this was to buy far
more land than needed, creating a boundary around the things he
wanted to build. This way, Disney could make sure his ‘dream’
world was well separated from that of reality.
By October 1965, Disney had acquired 27,443 acres of land (43 square miles) at a cost of just over $5 million. It was the twice the size of Manhattan and the same size of San Francisco.
On October 24th , 1965 the Orlando Sentinel were back on the case.
The correctly guessed the purchaser’s identity with a 72-point
banner that said, “WE SAY OUR ’MYSTERY’ INDUSTERY IS
DISNEY.”
By now the cat was out of the bag and Disney could no longer
keep the secret. The Following day, October 25th, the Florida
Governor, Hayden Burns confirmed reports that Disney has
purchased land in Florida. As soon as the announcement was
made, the price per acre rose from an average of $180 to a
massive $1,000.00. With the rise in price and the instant urges
of Governor Hayden (who was in the midst of a re-election campaign)
Walt agreed to officially announce the secret that he had kept in a windowless room in California. Disney World would become
public domain and the world would be able to share in Walt’s
amazing dream.
On November 15th, 1965, at the Cherry Plaza Hotel, Orlando
Florida, Walt Disney, Roy Disney, and Governor Haden make
the first official public announcement that Walt is planning
on building Disney World (and gives a 6 year schedule until
it will open). His plans are still sketchy at this point but he
announces a city of future (EPCOT), a vacation resort with
parks, golf courses, and resort hotels. He announces that at
least 7,500 acres will be kept as natural land as Walt strongly
believed in preserving the natural environment.
“I would like to be part of building a model community, a
City Of Tomorrow, you might say, because I don’t believe
in going out to this extreme blue-sky stuff that some architects
do. I believe that people still want to live like human beings.
There’s a lot of things that could be done. I’m not against the
automobile, but I just feel that the automobile has moved into
communities to much. I feel that you can design so that the
automobile is there, but still put people back as pedestrians
again, I’d love to work on a project like that. “ Also I mean
in way of schools, facilities for the community, community
of entertainment and life. I’d love to be part of building up
a school of tomorrow …. This might become a pilot operation
for the teaching age - to go out across the country and across
the world. The great problem today is the one of teaching.”
(WALT DISNEY)
Within days of the announcement land around Disney property
rose to a huge $80,000.00 an acre. Walt Disney had arrived in
Florida.
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