This makes me very sad

[boomhauer]

From Wikipedia:

"Walt Disney World Resort once covered a total of 47 square miles (122 square kilometers) or 30,000 acres, about the size of San Francisco or twice the size of Manhattan. While not widely reported, today that figure has been reduced by about a quarter as property has been sold off for housing developments and other purposes. While less than half the original property designated Walt Disney World has been developed, the reality is that due to habitat/environmental preservation requirements and land sales, only about 2,000 acres of Walt Disney World remain open for development."

While 2,000 acres is a decent amount of space, realistically, it doesn't leave much room for expansion when you consider roads leading to and from any new developement. And of that space, one would have to assume much of it is in areas that simply cannot be developed into new theme park or resort area. Seems as though the growth of Disney World is pretty much ended.

 

[FanOfStitch]

That is sad news. I was really looking forward to all the different things they would have been able to do with the land.

 

[disneyaggie]

I find that sad. That was always a part of "the charm" . . . knowing (or thinking) there was so much more property to develop for new WDW parks. Sigh.

 

[Conan the Librarian]

From Wikepdia:

"Walt Disney World Resort once covered a total of 47 square miles (122 square kilometers) or 30,000 acres, about the size of San Francisco or twice the size of Manhattan. While not widely reported, today that figure has been reduced by about a quarter as property has been sold off for housing developments and other purposes. While less than half the original property designated Walt Disney World has been developed, the reality is that due to habitat/environmental preservation requirements and land sales, only about 2,000 acres of Walt Disney World remain open for development."

While 2,000 acres is a decent amount of space, realistically, it doesn't leave much room for expansion when you consider roads leading to and from any new developement. And of that space, one would have to assume much of it is in areas that simply cannot be developed into new theme park or resort area. Seems as though the growth of Disney World is pretty much ended.

Remember...this is Wikipedia. Take any information from in with a VERY LARGE grain of Salt.

 

[boomhauer]

Land sales.

Why in the world would the Walt Disney company feel enticed to sell ANY of that property????

Walt purchased that amount of land for a reason. The idea that any of it has been sold breaks my heart.

 

[spaceoddity]

I have to agree it's coming from Wikipedia....i would take it with a grain of salt.

 

[SplshMtnLvr28]

That's horrible. Why would they sell it for land sales? That doesn't sound like something Disney would do.

Walt purchased that much land so he would have plenty of room for Walt Disney World to expand and grow... I don't think (or at least hope) that it isnt true!

 

[schmitty]

I doubt that is true. A CM said this weekend on the tour that all the 47 square miles is still owned by Disney and that only a third of it has been developed.

 

[SplshMtnLvr28]

I doubt that is true. A CM said this weekend on the tour that all the 47 square miles is still owned by Disney and that only a third of it has been developed.

Yeah, I read somewhere recently that 1/3 has been developed, and one third is being kept as a nature reservation or something.

 

[Robo]

I doubt that is true. A CM said this weekend on the tour that all the 47 square miles is still owned by Disney and that only a third of it has been developed.

Unfortunately, "a CM said" is just as good a reason to doubt info as it being from the Wiki-Wacki-pedia.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

It's from Wikipedia, I wouldn't believe it. And I highly doubt that Disney would sell off their property when they can make soo much more money in the long run from expanding the parks.

 

[SplshMtnLvr28]

Unfortunately, "a CM said" is just as good a reason to doubt info as it being from the Wiki-Wacki-pedia.

Haha, that's true too...

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

The infrastructure is already there for an additional several parks if need be. The often quoted figure is the property originally slated to eventually have seven full-size theme parks. Most of the possible locations are already part of the WDW road plan, which is why they pay people to make long-term master plans that cover many decades.

There is more than enough room for WDW to expand; but the fact is, they don't need to. They already monoploize a 7-10 day vacation very easily, and you need to remember that the average person doesn't go to WDW the way someone who comes to these boards does. The average person hasn't been there since AK opened, let alone feels the need for yet another new park.

While the next few years will see many additions to the existing parks, you will not see a new park at WDW in the next decade, so I think it's sort of Chicken Little to worry about 2,000 acres not being enough for the future.

NED

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

It's from Wikipedia, I wouldn't believe it. And I highly doubt that Disney would sell off their property when they can make soo much more money in the long run from expanding the parks.

Oh, that part is true - you can do a search in the local papers (the orlando sentinel, etc.) and see that.

WDW is huge, guys. Twice the size of Manhattan. They haven't even begun to use the space they have.

If you look at their stylized maps (where it looks like MK and Epcot are right around the corner from each other), yes, it looks like WDW is filling up it's property. However, if you look at a REAL, accurate, map of the area, you see that the largest parts of the property are really undeveloped. They just make everything look bigger on the maps.

There will be no new parks in the forseeable future. Iger has confirmed that several times over to the stockholders and the press. They are going to concentrate on plussing the current parks. While like anyone I'd love a brand new park to explore, it just isn't happening anytime soon (in the next decade, at least) and there really just is nothing to worry about; WDW has more property than it could ever realistically need (unless the average person starts taking 30-day vacations, LOL).

NED

 

[boomhauer]

"While the next few years will see many additions to the existing parks, you will not see a new park at WDW in the next decade, so I think it's sort of Chicken Little to worry about 2,000 acres not being enough for the future."

I think you're sort of missing the points.

1.Those of us who come here and are Disney World fanatics don't just look at the area the parks, resorts and recreation cover. We look at everything that surrounds it and think, "this is our Disney World."

2.If they DID sell any of the property, there's nothing to stop whoever they sold it to from opening their own crappy motel, their own crappy restaurant, their own crappy laundromat, or whatever else they chose to do with the land. That happened with Disneyland, and that's EXACTLY why Walt bought the amount of land he did in Florida.

 

[princessgirl2238]

I doubt that is true. A CM said this weekend on the tour that all the 47 square miles is still owned by Disney and that only a third of it has been developed.

it is true, at least when i went to my first day of disney training last may, we were told the same facts and that there is more than enough space to build several more theme parks and many more resorts
just remember, wikipedia is edited by the public and most things on there are in most part not true (many colleges are starting to ban it as a research resource for research papers for this reason)

 

[PatriciaH]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...y25,0,7113899.story?coll=orl-business-utility

It's a smaller world -- Disney sells more land

Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 25, 2006

More chunks of the Disney empire are being sold off for housing, including a 349-acre parcel going to the developers of the massive Horizon West community in west Orange County.

The new Disney land sales also include a 60-acre site south of Seidel Road that would be reserved for a new high school serving the Horizon West area.

The Walt Disney Co. reportedly is selling the 349-acre site, set around Panther Lake, north of Seidel and southeast of the Orange County National Golf Center, to Centex Homes.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District, the independent government agency that provides utilities and other services to Walt Disney World, is negotiating to sell the 60-acre site from its utility land holdings, said District Administrator Ray Maxwell. The buyers, who are undisclosed investors, would set it aside for the high school site that Orange County Public Schools has long sought in the area.

Reedy Creek also is selling a 50-acre tract, south of Seidel and just east of the high school reserve, to Centex. The district's board of supervisors authorized the sale of that land for residential development Wednesday, for the proposed price of $8.3 million. That's nearly $166,000 an acre, a price more than 50 percent higher than what some land in the area is listed for.



Finger said the sales continue the company's new policy of divesting properties that no longer fit Disney's long-term plans. Three other parcels, totaling 130 acres, were put up for sale late last year and early this year. One of those, a 30-acre tract south of Disney World, is back on the market because an earlier deal fell through, she said.

"We're looking at our real estate portfolio. This [Panther Lake tract] is another of those parcels of land that are part of that program, to make sure our land uses complement our core business," she said. "So the land we're talking about, we're not feeling it's integral to our core entertainment business."

 

[boomhauer]

Well, there you go.

I'm sure Walt would be ecstatic to know this his dream is being sold off in chunks to real estate developers looking to build condos.

Shame on Disney execs.

 

[Mickey1122]

I think Stacy (the resort WDW tour guide show hostess) said that 1/3 was developed and Disney had room to build it all over again. It was either her or the Vacation Planning Video. I think they would get the facts right for this.
Is the orlandosentinel a reliable source? I do no thave enough experience with it.

 

[ppiew]

I believe a substantial chunk of land (south of I-4) was donated to the Nature Conservancy and in return they were able to develop some other lands nearer their core investment. Despite Reedy Creek, I think (Icould be wrong) that the State of Florida has a lot to say about what can and what cannot be developed when it comes to swamplands etc. I think there are a lot of drainage regulations etc. that need to be addressed b4 anything can be built.