Disney throwing its political weight around in Florida? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!
Does this really surprise anyone? Walt and his lawyers were very smart when they started putting WDW together. Just read the book "Married to the Mouse". It lays it all out.
If Disney never came, would there even be a Florida Chamber of Commerce?
You do realize Florida was a tourist destination for a hundred years before Disney showed up, right?[
There was a Florida.... before Disney? Show me proof.
My post was just supposed to be a funny, Ive lived in Florida and worked for the mouse for a while now, so Im familair with the area's history.
Disney cares about very little beyond its bottom line. It's kinda like when an evil billionaire donates $10 million to cancer research or a wildlife rescue fund. It's a good deed, but not for the right reasons.
It's well-worth a read. Very well-sourced, a scholarly take, with an eye towards urban development and policy impact. One of the best Disney books I've ever read.I haven't read that book
Married to the Mouse has a take on this. One of the impacts of WDW is that they import labor---but it's very poorly paid labor. This ends up putting *more* stress on the surrounding counties and their social service mechanisms, and arguably those stresses outpace the increased marginal tax revenue.Since when is a private company's primary goal the welfare of the citizens of one of the states where they do business?
What was once good for Disney was almost always good for Florida.
It was a healthy symbiotic relationship.
Now ... it's kinda like one of those Real Housewives or Kardashian type reality shows.
What's good for Florida are jobs. Real jobs. Full time ones. And that is what is on the table with the mega-resorts proposed for SoFla. Disney doesn't want real competition. You see how well it handled UNI finally getting its act together and taking just a small piece (very small in reality) of business away when WWoHP opened.
Disney cares about very little beyond its bottom line. It's kinda like when an evil billionaire donates $10 million to cancer research or a wildlife rescue fund. It's a good deed, but not for the right reasons.
The prospect here isn't that the Chamber cares about a good wholesome Florida image. If it did, it would work to solve the many societal ills we have.
No, it wants to protect Disney and who cares about all those jobs down here. Disney PR will trot out a number about what it's worth to the state and yada, yada, yada.
The Mouse has become a giant rat with a voracious appetite and a vicious temperment.
Can I invite a member of Disney Social Media to come debate that point here? (I mean I just did and I'm sure that Tom or Jenn or Gary are reading and will not come here because their social media department exists only as inhouse PR/propaganda and not a true conduit with the fan community ... my question is more is this piece of the post is just gonna disappear? I started asking questions like this on one Disney Place and suddenly you'd have thought I questioned whether Mickey existed!)
~GFC~
Nothing says legit like paying for a study that is a pat on the back.April 13, 2011
New Study Shows Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Makes Strong Economic Impact Across Florida
The study was commissioned by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and conducted by the outside consulting firm Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics.
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