General Information:

Media Type: Home Video
Type: Backstage/Behind the Scenes
Release Date: 2010-02-25

Geek's Thoughts: Most disneygeeks know the basic story of how the Florida project came to be. How the Disney company used shell companies and misdirection to purchase their land in the Orlando area. Then once purchased how they created the Reedy Creek Improvement District to govern the property Most books on the history of the parks take a stab at the topic but until Project Future no one has dedicated an entire book to the subject. The only other book that comes to mind that talks in depth on the subject is Married to the Mouse, and even in that book this is only subsection. Project Future takes a detailed look at the Walt Disney Company's search for an east coast location, the acquisition of the property then the politics to establish control over the property. Its focus is on the 1960s, during this decade the search, decision, and construction of the project happened.

 

Project Future begins with the wild success of Disneyland and the quest to move east. It talks about several projects that were abandon for various reasons such as the ones in Niagara Falls or Marceline Missouri. Several chapters are devoted to the search for a location in Florida. As you read through the search and purchasing process it becomes apparent how many things had to fall into place just right to bring Disney World to reality.

Approximately a third of the book is devoted to looking at the legislative and legal hurdles that had to be overcome to bring the Reedy Creek Improvement District (and by extension Walt Disney World) into existence. This is the first book I have read that takes an in depth look at the legislative process that created the district (and the two cities).

There are also two very useful appendixes in the book. The first is a listing of the key players and their roles in the project (think of it as a cheat sheet to players as you read about them). The second is a timeline.

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning some interesting tidbits about this very fascinating time in Disney history. Since I am a fairly visual person the two pieces missing from this book are some maps/figures to illustrate the properties and maybe some images of the people involved. I would have found the maps both interesting as well as useful in visualizing the property and how the pieces fit together. Even without these visual aids you get a great overview of all the things that had to fall into place just right to make the project work. I would highly recommend this to any of you that want to fill in some gaps in the history and creation of Disney World. It is a fairly easy read and the events, descriptions of the process, etc.. are all written in a fashion that you can easily follow.