Book Review: Project Future by Chad Emerson

I have a major interest in many Disney related things, but primarily the parks and the company itself.  I enjoy reading about its development, history, and life behind the scenes.  I'm just starting to read books that tell the story behind the company and the parks.  A few years ago I read "DisneyWar" by James B. Stewart and loved it.  In fact, I'll probably read it again soon.  I've known about "Project Future" for awhile and finally bought it on Amazon Kindle to read on my Windows Phone.  We're going to "The World" in October and I wanted to see if there are things in the book that I didn't know yet.


My impression going in was that it was the most detailed telling of the complete story behind the development of Project Future, the initial code name for Walt Disney World.  I had read a review saying it was a bit dry...very factual and blow by blow.  Unfortunately I have to agree with that review.  I appreciate the detail in this book, but it read like an outline with fact after fact after fact.  "I" would have wanted more feeling in it, but I don't want to complain.  The author did include a preface saying he intentionally kept the book relatively short because it did contain so much detail and he didn't want its length to detract readers from digging in.  So perhaps if it was longer it could have included more feeling and anecdotal background.  


Leaving out much of the detail in Project Future, here's a brief synopsis of the development of Walt Disney World.  Disneyland opened in Anaheim CA in 1955 and it was created as a place where entire families could be entertained together.  Walt Disney's primary regret with Disneyland was not buying more land around the park to insulate it.  Once it was built many businesses and cheap motels moved nearby to ride the park's coattails and the area became very commercial and congested.  


In the early 1960s Walt began exploring locations for another park/resort on a grander scale and looked at locations like St. Louis MO, Niagara NY and Virginia, in addition to central Florida.  Once they targeted central Florida the company's strategy was to keep their identity secret to prevent landowners from increasing prices and other companies from jumping into the fray with them.  


Guess what?  It worked!  They formed fictitious companies and bought large tracts of land making up about 43 square miles near Orlando.  In addition, they created "improvement districts" and made themselves a municipality so they wouldn't be encumbered by local counties and governments.  They wanted to freedom to create and innovate.  They actually brought a lawsuit against themselves in Florida Supreme Court which resulted in a decision confirming that the municipality they created was legitimate.  When you go to Disney World today you don't have to look very hard to see evidence of the "Reedy Creek Improvement District", the most well known of the organizations they created to build the resort.  


To close, if you're a hardcore Disney fan this is probably a book you'll find interesting.  If not, you can learn about Walt Disney World's history from many other sources that may be a bit more entertaining.