What would Orlando, FL look like if WDW was never created?

Question

I was curious to know what you guys would think Orlando, Florida would look like if Walt Disney never decided to build Disney World there. What was Orlando like prior to DIsney World and how much of an impact do you believe it has had on the rest of the city. Would it look anything similar if Disney World was never created?

Answer 1

I think it would have been less populated than it is now but because there is so much land in this city, think it would have been built up with homes. I think a huge percent of it would still be swamp, citrus groves and cow pastures though.

Answer 2

The impact was huge! I have a map of Florida from the early 1900s and was curious to look at the area where WDW is now. It is simply open land. The only town nearby which was around back then was Kissimmee and downtown Orlando. No Lake Buena Vista or Windermere.... none of that. That area was a very sleepy location. In fact, when Walt purchased the land, he did it under a secret name. A young reporter for a local newspaper got wind of the purchase and did some digging. A day or two later, the headlines read something to the extent of "Disney buys property in Central Florida!" Land Value and lot prices shot up - sometimes tripple what they were originally worth because of the news.
And now look at Central Florida. It is a tourist hot spot! Pretty amazing :)

Answer 3

We lived near Cocoa Beach in the early 1960's. (Yes, I'm a grandmother.) At the time Walt Disney was buying up land but nobody knew who was making the purchases because he was not telling the public. Every day the paper would speculate on who was buying up all the land around little Orlando. It was very rural at the time. The downtown was run down and a lot of the stores were boarded up. There were orange groves all over, and lots of swampy land sitting open. The only tourist attraction was Cypress Gardens south of Orlando. Other than that, it was pretty desolate. We were there because of the space program, so the going and growing area at the time was around Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Tittusville. It wasn't until Disney had bought a huge piece of land, that it was told who had bought the land and what for. It's certainly changed.

Answer 4

Definitely not a touristy area. I-Drive, 192, Sea World (Orlando), Universal (Orlando), all these hundreds of hotels probably wouldn't exist. Before Walt Disney World Central FL was really nothing but orange groves and as someone else stated cow pastures. In a handful of select areas it is still like this but quickly (and I mean quickly, every tiny bit of land is getting built on now) diminishing.
This is my opinion and what I have heard from teachers and what not who have lived here for quite some time.

Answer 5

If WDW hadn't come to the area the population and growth would definitely smaller. Since this area is a tourist destination there wouldn't need to be near as many hotels. Also, the other theme parks came along after Disney. Therefore, they probably would not be here either. It certainly would be a different place to live and work.

Answer 6

By now, it would be like Ft. Lauderdale or Miami -- overdeveloped but without the beaches to compensate for the sprawl. I have relatives who've lived in Kissimmee BD (Before Disney) and the place was a cow town -- I'm not kidding -- Cow pastures and rodeo arenas.
Orlando would probably have more office buildings than hotels without Disney, but it would still be a major metropolitan area.

Answer 7

it would be totally different as most everything in orlando has been created aorund the tourist activities as far as shops, hotels, restaurants I dont believe universal would be there w/out wdw or any of the other attractions....Florida itself would be totally different w/out disney

Answer 8

Walt Disney Co., the 2d-best U.S. media organization, stated economic first-quarter income rose 5.a million %, strengthened by technique of larger promotion prices on the ESPN cable channel and bigger visitors to the organization's subject parks. internet income became $723 million, or 35 cents a percentage, from $688 million, or 33 cents, Burbank, California-depending Disney stated right this moment in a truth. sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose a million.4 % to $8.sixty seven billion. Disney, led by technique of chief govt Officer Michael Eisner, stated it boosted ad expenditures and associate prices that cable and satellite tv for pc operators pay to carry ESPN. subject-park sales rose as more suitable interior sight and global travelers visited Walt Disney global. consequences were trimmed by technique of decrease income on the movie unit, the position living house- video sales contained in the quarter couldn't genuine ``searching Nemo,'' the biggest promoting DVD in 2003.

Answer 9

One big huge lake of swamp fields

Answer 10

very much smaller.

It's flat all around Orlando, so you would see fields/city/fields.

WDW takes up an unbelievable amount of space.