Before Walt Disney died, he successfully (and secretly) assembles the 28,000 acres for WDW. During his last years, he lead a team that planned out, sketched, and built models for what Walt wanted to build on the company's newly acquired Florida property - a theme park similar but not a copy of DL with hotels and a residential small "futurist" city that looked like it came out of the Jetsons. Then, suddenly, after spending all his time for months on the planning of the "Florida Project", Walt died.
His brother Roy O. Disney (Roy E. Disney of SaveDisney.com is Roy O. Disney's son) was then the company's new cheif in command. At first, still grieving over the loss of his younger brother, Roy took no major executive actions. As this went on, Roy was considering selling the company off. Then, after a few months, Roy decided he was going to carry on with Walt's plans and build WDW. He decided it would be too much to build both the park/resort and city at the same time, so he rationalized that it would be best to build the park/resort first and, if that made money, the profits would finance the futuristic city... in the future.
So construction started like a lighting bolt. First installing the lands infrastructure (draining swamps, building canels, creating man-made lakes, roads, water/suage, garbage facilities, etc.). It was the largest construction work for just infrastructure alone for a single project. Then construction started on the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, Polynessian, two golf courses, and the monorail - all at the same time. It was the most complete and comprehensive construction ever for a resort and a "complete" theme park. Budget limitations didn't allow for some rides and hotels to get built, so Roy decided to build these after opening.
The park opened on time in October 1971 and for an incredibly low budget (compared with today's standards). Months leading to opening, it looked like they were not going to make deadline by a long shot. One constuction worked I read an interview from said even a week before opening, it looked like it would be a miracle that they would meet their deadline. According to this worker, very big and obvious things were not done yet that week before opening, such as filling cement for sidewalks.
Roy would not accept excuses for any delay. He didn't care how much work had to be done. He wanted it done by deadline. He told his project managers that if they had to hire more workers... hire more workers. If they had to work throughout the night, as well as the day, work throughout the night. That worker I read that interview from said that, with amazement, he saw things get done litterally over night, such as the sidewalks.
It is known that Roy would fly to Florida to inspect the construction almost daily until opening. On October 1, 1971, Roy opened WDW opened for the public. Then, about two months later, he died.
Here is my question for all of you. Do you think Roy Disney was overworked and exausted - too overworked and exausted for a man his age - and this is what killed him - his drive and over-ambition to see to it that (at least in part) his younger brother's dream became a reality? Or do you think he was nearing death any way - that maybe he knew this, and that this was the true reason for his drive to build WDW - and the true reason why he wouldn't allow any construction delays - why that deadline was so important to him? Or maybe he was already sick and exaustion from working to hard just made him even sicker, thus speading up the tameframe he would have died?
Or do you think that his death two months after opening was merely a coincidence?
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For those who don't know the story: Roy's right-hand man, the one who helped make the miracle of getting the park opened on time by managing the construction of WDW like a drill sargeant, Card Walker, became the company's third execuitive after Roy died. Walker cancelled development on the hotels, a major major ride called Western River Expedition, and decided to explore the idea about building a second "gate" with money that would have been spent to build Walt's futuristic city (thereby changing that project's status from "on hold" to officially cancelled). He also responded to public demands for an east-coast Pirates of the Caribbean by ordering it built and open within a year without giving it the neccessary funds to do so.
His brother Roy O. Disney (Roy E. Disney of SaveDisney.com is Roy O. Disney's son) was then the company's new cheif in command. At first, still grieving over the loss of his younger brother, Roy took no major executive actions. As this went on, Roy was considering selling the company off. Then, after a few months, Roy decided he was going to carry on with Walt's plans and build WDW. He decided it would be too much to build both the park/resort and city at the same time, so he rationalized that it would be best to build the park/resort first and, if that made money, the profits would finance the futuristic city... in the future.
So construction started like a lighting bolt. First installing the lands infrastructure (draining swamps, building canels, creating man-made lakes, roads, water/suage, garbage facilities, etc.). It was the largest construction work for just infrastructure alone for a single project. Then construction started on the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, Polynessian, two golf courses, and the monorail - all at the same time. It was the most complete and comprehensive construction ever for a resort and a "complete" theme park. Budget limitations didn't allow for some rides and hotels to get built, so Roy decided to build these after opening.
The park opened on time in October 1971 and for an incredibly low budget (compared with today's standards). Months leading to opening, it looked like they were not going to make deadline by a long shot. One constuction worked I read an interview from said even a week before opening, it looked like it would be a miracle that they would meet their deadline. According to this worker, very big and obvious things were not done yet that week before opening, such as filling cement for sidewalks.
Roy would not accept excuses for any delay. He didn't care how much work had to be done. He wanted it done by deadline. He told his project managers that if they had to hire more workers... hire more workers. If they had to work throughout the night, as well as the day, work throughout the night. That worker I read that interview from said that, with amazement, he saw things get done litterally over night, such as the sidewalks.
It is known that Roy would fly to Florida to inspect the construction almost daily until opening. On October 1, 1971, Roy opened WDW opened for the public. Then, about two months later, he died.
Here is my question for all of you. Do you think Roy Disney was overworked and exausted - too overworked and exausted for a man his age - and this is what killed him - his drive and over-ambition to see to it that (at least in part) his younger brother's dream became a reality? Or do you think he was nearing death any way - that maybe he knew this, and that this was the true reason for his drive to build WDW - and the true reason why he wouldn't allow any construction delays - why that deadline was so important to him? Or maybe he was already sick and exaustion from working to hard just made him even sicker, thus speading up the tameframe he would have died?
Or do you think that his death two months after opening was merely a coincidence?
****
For those who don't know the story: Roy's right-hand man, the one who helped make the miracle of getting the park opened on time by managing the construction of WDW like a drill sargeant, Card Walker, became the company's third execuitive after Roy died. Walker cancelled development on the hotels, a major major ride called Western River Expedition, and decided to explore the idea about building a second "gate" with money that would have been spent to build Walt's futuristic city (thereby changing that project's status from "on hold" to officially cancelled). He also responded to public demands for an east-coast Pirates of the Caribbean by ordering it built and open within a year without giving it the neccessary funds to do so.
