HomeHotlinkAbouttheme toggle
Expand

What DeSantis Did to Disney’s Dream City

Views:1148
@ReasonVids

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to end a wildly successful half-century experiment in municipal governance.

https://reason.com/video/2022/06/01/the-death-of-walt-disneys-private-dream-city/
----
Once upon a time, a man named Walt wanted to build a city—nay, a kingdom—in Florida swampland.

In 1964, the Disney company began secretly purchasing 27,400 acres in small parcels and stitching them together to form a landmass roughly the size of Manhattan. Walt Disney wanted plenty of space to keep the type of tacky tourist shops that encircled Disneyland—plopped in the middle of Anaheim, California—from encroaching on his new kingdom.

"There's enough land here in Central Florida to hold all the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine," Disney said in a filmed presentation that was aired for local lawmakers as part of a bid to convince them that his extraordinary dream required extraordinary powers: Total control over the land so that politics couldn't interfere with Disney World's development.

The centerpiece of Disney's pitch was EPCOT, the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow, which a narrator in the presentation describes as a "dynamic, urban center" featuring a "variety of activities found only in metropolitan cities," which would eventually be home to 20,000 residents.

Though he passed away in 1966 before the plan came to fruition, Walt Disney got his wish. The year following his death, local lawmakers approved the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a remarkable experiment in private governance that has thrived for the past 55 years.

Enter Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

"Disney should not run its own government," Florida's governor said at an April 25 press conference. 

In March, Disney CEO Bob Chapek issued an internal memo stating that the company opposed a law that was recently passed in Florida banning public school classroom discussion or instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3.

DeSantis, whose office didn't respond to our interview request, reacted by dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District as of June 1, 2023, which would bring this half-century experiment in semi-privatized governance to an end.

Produced by Zach Weissmueller; edited by Danielle Thompson and Weissmueller. 

Photo credits: Paul Hennessy/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Douglas R. Clifford/ZUMA Press/Newscom; https://www.flickr.com/photos/8363028@N08/; Paul Hennessy/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Oliver Tsang/SCMP/Newscom;  Inti Oncon/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom; Pietro Recchia/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Douglas R. Clifford/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Splash News / Duke Energy/Newscom; Orlando Sentinel File/TNS/Newscom; Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images/Sipa/Newscom; Douglas R. Clifford/ZUMA Press/Newscom.

Music: "Aquarium" by Wolf Samuels via Artlist; "Ganymede" by Yehezkel Raz via Artlist; "Morning Sunbeams" by Yehezkel Raz via Artlist; "Lost on Earth" by Marek Jakubowicz via Artlist; "Ripples" by Tamuz Dekel via Artlist; "Machina" by Jameson Nathan Jones via Artlist; "Signals" by Jameson Nathan Jones via Artlist; "High" by Audiopanther via Artlist; "Distant Worlds" by Theatre of Delays via Artlist; "Leopard's Stalk" by Hans Johnson via Artlist

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
disney
,
ron desantis
,
privatization
Thumbnail for 'Can you be TOO SMART to be a police officer? Yes, you can!'
'Can you be TOO SMART to be a police officer? Yes, you can!'
ReasonVids
758 views
Thumbnail for Detroit Threat Management: #Anarchy in Detroit, Part II
Detroit Threat Management: #Anarchy in Detroit, Part II
ReasonVids
1126 views
Thumbnail for After Escobar: How the US Imposed its Own Drug War on Colombia
After Escobar: How the US Imposed its Own Drug War on Colombia
ReasonVids
928 views
Thumbnail for What's the Matter with Menthols?
What's the Matter with Menthols?
ReasonVids
829 views
Thumbnail for High school fitness program from 1962
High school fitness program from 1962
bestofupgoat
503 views
Thumbnail for Detox Juice That Flushes Toxins From Your Body | Satvic Movement
Detox Juice That Flushes Toxins From Your Body | Satvic Movement
invidious
196 views
Thumbnail for Stossel:  Who Owns Your Body
Stossel: Who Owns Your Body
ReasonVids
896 views
Thumbnail for Tech Visionary George Gilder: "Bitcoin is the Libertarian Solution to the Money Enigma."
Tech Visionary George Gilder: "Bitcoin is the Libertarian Solution to the Money Enigma."
ReasonVids
1013 views
Thumbnail for A Deadline Looms for Your Tax Preparer
A Deadline Looms for Your Tax Preparer
IJvids
887 views
Thumbnail for Boondoggle in the Motor City: Detroit's Train to Nowhere
Boondoggle in the Motor City: Detroit's Train to Nowhere
ReasonVids
888 views
Thumbnail for Massive negro brawl at IHOP over the n word
Massive negro brawl at IHOP over the n word
bestofupgoat
210 views
Thumbnail for Make America White Again
Make America White Again
AOU
1281 views
Thumbnail for How Housing Policy and Public Pensions are Bankrupting America
How Housing Policy and Public Pensions are Bankrupting America
ReasonVids
895 views
Thumbnail for Joe Biden says, Buy a Shotgun | 4THWALL OBSERVER
Joe Biden says, Buy a Shotgun | 4THWALL OBSERVER
invidious
326 views
Thumbnail for Can Computers Replace Teachers?: Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward
Can Computers Replace Teachers?: Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward
ReasonVids
934 views
Thumbnail for Welcome to the Gulag, Mr. President
Welcome to the Gulag, Mr. President
AmericanRenaissance
2203 views
Thumbnail for After seeing this, I don’t blame Hasan Piker for pussying out of the Sam Hyde fight tbh
After seeing this, I don’t blame Hasan Piker for pussying out of the Sam Hyde fight tbh
bestofpoal
1904 views
Thumbnail for Young hearts - Part 23
Young hearts - Part 23
bestofsaidit
702 views
Thumbnail for PULL UP. PULL UP.
PULL UP. PULL UP.
AOUisgay
437 views
Thumbnail for Rep. Tom McClintock on the Contradictions of Green Policy
Rep. Tom McClintock on the Contradictions of Green Policy
ReasonVids
944 views
Thumbnail for Cute way to say “I love you”🪐💗 | Sonya Art 22
Cute way to say “I love you”🪐💗 | Sonya Art 22
invidious
128 views
Thumbnail for Top 30 Weirdest Boards on 8chan
Top 30 Weirdest Boards on 8chan
WarmPotato
2068 views
Thumbnail for Why does Heathrow need to expand? | Jay Foreman
Why does Heathrow need to expand? | Jay Foreman
invidious
378 views
Thumbnail for Talking Tom 🔴 MEGA PACK Season 1 🐱 Cartoon for kids Kedoo Toons TV | Kedoo Toons TV - Funny Animations for Kids
Talking Tom 🔴 MEGA PACK Season 1 🐱 Cartoon for kids Kedoo Toons TV | Kedoo Toons TV - Funny Animations for Kids
invidious
350 views
Thumbnail for Emergency Steak from World War 2 | Tasting History with Max Miller
Emergency Steak from World War 2 | Tasting History with Max Miller
invidious
115 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
disney
,
ron desantis
,
privatization

Linking Here:

https://voat.xyz/vhttps://voat.xyz/v/allhttps://talk.lol/v
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle