HKSYU Course Resources

"In November of 1965, after numerous months of speculation surrounding a mystery industry purchasing large amounts of land in central Florida, Walt Disney finally put an end to those rumors. He announced to the public his grandiose plans for the thousands of acres he secretly purchased. For the 18 months prior to the announcement Walt entrusted a small group of men to covertly make these purchases for him. Next, they were tasked with drafting a legislative act to submit to the state of Florida which would allow Disney to wield nearly absolute legal control over their property under a quasi-government municipality. Staying true to their storytelling roots, Disney wove a tale of mystery centered around a high-ranking CIA operative, who just a few short years before, was rumored to be the paymaster behind the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba. This savvy and well-connected CIA agent became the de facto leader for the group of Disney executives and attorneys who orchestrated and executed a nearly perfect plan to keep Disney's identity a secret from the public by utilizing aliases, shell corporations, and meandering travel itineraries, all in an effort to protect their identity during the land acquisition process. As told through the personal notes and files from the key figures involved in the project, Buying Disney's World details the story of how Walt Disney World came to be, like you've never heard before. From conception to construction and everything in between-including how a parcel of land within Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort was once acquired during a high stakes poker game--explore from verified sources how the company most famous for creating Mickey Mouse acquired central Florida's swamps, orange groves, and cow pastures and built a Disney fiefdom and Magic Kingdom"--