How Walt Disney Changed Everything
Walt Disney World: This is a really interesting article from National Geographic about Disney and how they ended up in Orlando, and it's influence on the community/state.
This is a really interesting article from National Geographic about Disney and how they ended up in Orlando, and it's influence on the community/state.
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0703/feature4/
I just read the entire article and all i can say is "WOW".....I arrived in Orlando in 1989 at 5 years old and i saw all the major changes the article stated. I knew Orlando had changed a lot, but i didnt realize the magnitude of it until right now, just as i read this article. Oh, and i had no idea Disneyworld's rides were exempt from state safety inspections...that gave me something to think about..... :-0
Good article!
I do truly believe that they are the reason Orlando is Orlando of today. My parents told me that ORD used to be a small airport, now, its a relativly big airport on the scale of a big city.
Yes, I will say it: If Disney didn't go and build in Orlando, Universal or Seaworld wouldn't have been built!
Interesting fact that I didn't know: Busch Gardens is older than WDW!
Yup, Busch is older. It's kinda funny because Disney World just seems so old. I feel like it's been there forever but it's actually only been about 35 years since it was built.
Disney doesnt have to abide by a lot of the same rules that everyone else in the state has to. One of my favorite authors, Carl Hiassen looks at that in detail in his book Team Rodent. Is Florida and Orlando better off? From a financial standpoint yes, but a moral, political and environmental standpoint....thats to be questioned.
Moral Standpoint?
How has Disney stripped away Orlando's morality. If you really have a good answer, I would love to know because that sounds intersting. I would assume they wouldn't be any more morally bankrupt than Universal or Busch Parks. I think all are responsible for the "moral" problem then. Enviromental? They appear to be pretty enviromentaly friendly in their practices. Just look in any of their resorts.
I will admit chances are they do get by some things because they bring money into the state (Money Talks!). But other than that, I would never see the other claims having much truth. However, you do live in FL so you might be seeing something that I as a tourist don't see- the dark side of the theme park insustry in FL
From Karin S
Posted March 15, 2007 at 4:20 AM
I've gotta agree with Erik. While I am a HUGE Disney fan, I read "Team Rodent" and in creating Disney World, the state was ravaged environmentally and politically. Disney is not the best neighbor but that's not news to those of us who live in Florida. Though the book was written years ago, it's an eye-opener.
Yes, Disney put Orlando on the map but at what cost? It is traffic congested, littered with chain restaurants and hotels. It's like a Vegas for families. So much of the real Florida has been obliterated which is sad. But hey, who wants their fantasy ruined by reality?
thats was a good article if it wasn't for disney,orlando wouldn't be what it is today.There would not any wannabe disney parks,orlando wouldn't be one of the top vacation area.Thx to disney it is a popular destination.
Says the guy that doesn't live there.
Although, I do see both sides of the arguement. I lived in Florida as a kid, visit Orlando every year in November (Well, Atlanta the last two, but I don't pick IAAPA's location), and love the area. I want very badly to move down there, as many friends in the industry have made their way down there in recent years.
I don't know much about the environmental arguement. I can imagine that the area around I Drive and Disney itself doesn't look nearly as nice as it did 30 years ago, but that the same time, creating jobs and a tax revenue stream isn't bad either. Hell, it drives an industry that I work in, so, I'm a bit biased ;)
Yes, there are traffic jams like crazy everywhere, but Orlando is never boring! For me, there is always something to do, and i have disney to thank for that. Oh, and the area on I-drive and the disney/universal studios area is probably the most well maintained, groomed and cleanest area in all of Orlando.
I mean I know I am a bit of a disadvantage here not actually being for FL, but I find it suprising about the claims to Disney for not being Enviromentally Friendly or Moral.
What I really want to know is why FL people are so angry at Disney? I have relatives in FL and they like Disney World, but also feel uneasy about its presence. Its just that many Flordians that I have met really do not like Disney World.
I am just wondering!
Trafic I can understand! Thats probably very annoying!
Orlando was once the headwaters of the Everglades. It was swamp. Florida was 3/4 water, and it was a very delicate ecosystem. Disney drained that ecosystem. That is one point of it. The other is the amount of toxins and polutants it dumps into the atmosphere just to keep its parks running, and the amount that the visitors bring with them. Morally...yeah, same thing. They will bully and push any other small business out of existence. You can really argue the same about Wal-Mart. But disney even more so. They were the driving force on why the Bullet Train from Miami to Jacksonville wasnt built. Florida voters voted to build it, but disney stepped in and threatened to divert its dollars away if it was built. Why? Because it would give people a cheaper faster way to get to other parts of the state than Orlando, and theoretically take away their dollars. They also control the police force in the area where they are.....I'm not talking about disney onsite police, I'm talking their own little jurisdiction. They dont have to go through training, they dont have to pass a concealed weapons permit course, yet they have every authority that a regular police officer does. Generally they arrest you and take you within the jurisdiction of the Orange County Sherriffs Dept.
Yes, they bring families loads of happiness...but the way they go about in getting it is very ethically and morally wrong.
The book, in case you were wondering, was not written by anyone with a vendetta against disney, just a Floridian like the rest of us.
Furthermore Anthony and Javion, I think Florida would really be better off without any theme parks....that includes Universal. I enjoy them all thoroughly, but the negative impact they have is just a cost that we really cant afford anymore.
From Karin S
Posted March 15, 2007 at 4:03 PM
Well said, Erik. People come down once or twice a year and see beautiful themeparks, hotels, palm trees and don't think what all this is doing to the ecology of the state. They clog I-4 or International Drive and then they go back to wherever they came from, only to be replaced by more tourists doing the same thing. I drive the back way into Disney, avoiding the interstate, and the increase in construction the past few months is amazing. McMansions are built on small lots in gated communities and Disney will soon start construction on their new luxury hotels and vacation homes; and more restaurants and hotels outside of the parks will follow.
Don't kid yourself that the jobs are plentiful. Many are minimum wage, part time or internships from college students. Many times these employees don't work enough hours to receive benefits. There are employees who do advance within the company, but more move onto other professions.
I don't blame any of the parks but enough is enough. The state has so much to offer outside of the parks (actually, within an hour or two of the parks) but few visitors make it outside of Orlando.
Thank you!
That was a pretty good explination. I personally have no idea what is going on from a day to day basis being not from there again.
I think the whole enviromental thing is something that every state has to worry about. Yeah, Disney and others have drained part of the Everglades, but everybody has torn apart their natural beauty. Here in Illinois, which used to be covered with Prarie only has .001% of the Praries left. Along with that went many ecosystems including the Prarie Chicken Population. Ok, enough of this IL history lesson. The way I see it, every place has to worry about this stuff as well. Granted Six Flags is not Universal or Disney, but it seems very nice and recieved in Gurnee, the real town its in. Its just intersting to see the way theme parks interact with the locals.
Morally, I understand where you are comming from; its a big problem in this day and age with mega corporations and aquisitions and the like. I fear that its going to be a death match in FL with Universal (NBC) vs Disney (ABC). Those two corportaions are gobbling everything up and I am afraid Busch is next!
I know Disney was its own city, but that is intresting! I didn't take it as an attack at Disney, but just to answer the question of why Flordians have a beef with Disney
Good stuff!
Back to the discussion, Disney changed the entire theme park industry with just Disneyland alone not to mention FL.
yea like many ppl cant stand disney for some reason i might not know bc i dont live there but my family gets tired of going to all the theme parks in orlando for some.but i lived i wouldnt know i was getting tired of disney.
Karin: When I mentioned bringing jobs to the area, I didn't specifically mean Disney. For better or worse, Disney has created an economy that wasn't there before, from the Hotels, Restaurants, other Theme Parks... Hell, I've got friends working at the Orange County Convention Center that I think can probably attribute their jobs, in part, to Disney as well.
From Karin S
Posted March 15, 2007 at 5:51 PM
No, Daniel, I didn't think you meant Disney. It might have all started with the Mouse, but others have jumped on the band wagon. I'm not angry about what's happened to Orlando; I just wish the growth would slow down. I see it happening throughout the entire state and the beauty of Florida is being destroyed. It isn't Disney's fault; it's a great place for a family vacation. We are a state which depends on tourism but, ironically, the very thing we need is also destroying us. Hey folks, the next time you come to Florida, spend a few days visiting areas you've never seen - the REAL Florida - where you can swim with the manatees and not just look at them in a tank.
Disney has had done good for the economy of Florida, but think...if it wasnt for disney we wouldnt need a strong economy. I know...doesnt make a lot of sense.
The perfect example I can think of is my hometown of Port St. Lucie, FL. It was on the fastest growing cities list for that past four years, at one point getting pretty close to the top.
There are no jobs here....yet people still came, because of the weather, the cheaper homes...and I swear to god I read this in a study: Proximity to disney. That was the third reason. That says a lot about how people have become, and even more that says a lot about disney's grip on people. We have no industry, the citrus industry is pretty much gone, the housing market has had the bottom drop out, but hey...we're only and hour away from disney!
Oh no that makes perfect sense. I have an example that Disney is the tennants of the land.
Disneyquest used to be in my beloved Chicago, but the property value of the area it was (Ohio and Rush)because very expensive (not because of Disney, but there are also hotels, Rainforest Cafe, and Unos which is better here than in FL, sorry). Anyway, they packed up and left because they were not making a big enough profit (It did pretty well, but Disney deemed it "not worth it"). For a small town to remain a small town, it needs to stay away from commericalzation and Walmart. I think that could be seen in some ways in the movie Cars.
By they way, if you are in FL and want Chicago Pizza? Go to Giodanos. There is one by Downtown Disney. Sorry for going off track!
I was always happy with Uno's...though I hear its not the chicago style pizza of choice.
I know Disney reputation with the environment isn't stellar in Florida, but their contributions to the environment can't be ignored though. They really do some amazing work in Africa and through the Animal Kingdom, have donated millions of dollars to protecting the environment and really work to educate millions of people a year on the environment. They've even successfully bred rare species of animals and have even won an award (I can't recall exactly what it is at the moment) for their outstanding work with the environment. On the flip side of that and what has been mentioned before is their destruction of the everglades to create their Floridian Kingdom. So Disney - friend or foe to the environment? I guess it really depends on the continent.
good thing i live in chicago i can taste our town pizza any time i want lol.but i was upsat when disney quest closed down i would go there every weekend.
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