"What would Walt do?"

[JIMINYCR]

I really don't know what WED would do, I don't think anyone does. His life experiences between 1966 and 2022, 56 years, would certainly have had an effect on him. He'd had to have quit smoking.

Maybe not. I’ve known many people who despite a diagnosis of lung cancer refuse to give up the cigs. Either the addiction has too much of a hold on them or they don’t care enough to stop. Or some just enjoy it too much and will go out to the very end a smoker.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I agree and it is equally easy to speculate the Walt would have been successful. However, that part is strictly based on wishful thinking and comparing building a theme park is equal to building a city. The simplest part of the plan he had was the rendering of what it would look like. The real part is actually building it to begin with. For example, the plan called for underground highways and parking area. This was being built on a swamp. Wishful thinking isn't going to make that happen especially when it called for multiple layers under the city itself. And that's just the first part, after that the selling of the idea of corporates willing to invest millions in Walt's dream is hardly a place where BoD's would be willing to invest. But, like you said, we will never know, however, a few educated guesses might not be that far off.

I don't know if Walt's vision would have succeeded, but the USA has had many planned communities. Some were unsuccessful, others were very successful. Every city eventually has to evolve or end, so none of them are the same as when they were first built. It depends how one defines "success."

I did a search, and WOW! There are/were a TON of them wordwide. In some cases, a city burned down, so the government took to rebuilding in an organized fashion.

A number of planned communities have been built/funded by companies, so it isn't impossible Walt could have done it.
In the USA, planned communities date back to our very beginning: Jamestown and St. Augustine. Jamestown was semi-planned, somewhat a disaster, and funded by the Virginia Company. St. Augustine is even older. The original mission of St. Augustine was to eliminate the French colonization of Florida and it succeeded in that mission. Clearly it has evolved.

Anyhow, I just thought that was interesting. A few years back I saw a documentary about Jim Rouse. Many of his plans have been very successful, though maybe not quite as he originally planned them.

 

[StantonZ]

While it's interesting to read the "what-if's", it is impossible to compare the business environment of Walt's time or even project his actions 10+ years into what was a devastating decade (1970's) for business. The truth is the company was lucky that Eisner came around when he did (thanks in large part to Walt's nephew Roy), as it may not have looked anything like what it does today without him (and late Frank Wells). For me, Walt Disney is the answer to the question "if you could have dinner with anyone--dead or alive--who would that be"? A better question is: will we ever see another "Walt" (you can argue about guys like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk)...and will that person have the lasting impact that Walt did?

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't know if Walt's vision would have succeeded, but the USA has had many planned communities. Some were unsuccessful, others were very successful. Every city eventually has to evolve or end, so none of them are the same as when they were first built. It depends how one defines "success."

I did a search, and WOW! There are/were a TON of them wordwide. In some cases, a city burned down, so the government took to rebuilding in an organized fashion.

A number of planned communities have been built/funded by companies, so it isn't impossible Walt could have done it.
In the USA, planned communities date back to our very beginning: Jamestown and St. Augustine. Jamestown was semi-planned, somewhat a disaster, and funded by the Virginia Company. St. Augustine is even older. The original mission of St. Augustine was to eliminate the French colonization of Florida and it succeeded in that mission. Clearly it has evolved.

Anyhow, I just thought that was interesting. A few years back I saw a documentary about Jim Rouse. Many of his plans have been very successful, though maybe not quite as he originally planned them.

Sure, but this was way more than just a "planned" community. This was way more a company store of mega proportions. Disney would have compete control of who lived there for starters. Then there was the reliance on companies, like GE and others to put in and update the mechanical segments (appliances, heat, AC, plumbing and anything that might need to be upgraded at regular intervals and the people residing there would have no say at all in the properties that they owned and paid for. HMO on steroids. Disney was going to build and manage all schools, hospitals, utilities and infrastructure as well.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Sure, but this was way more than just a "planned" community. This was way more a company store of mega proportions. Disney would have compete control of who lived there for starters. Then there was the reliance on companies, like GE and others to put in and update the mechanical segments (appliances, heat, AC, plumbing and anything that might need to be upgraded at regular intervals and the people residing there would have no say at all in the properties that they owned and paid for. HMO on steroids. Disney was going to build and manage all schools, hospitals, utilities and infrastructure as well.

Yes, but there have been some planned communities that ...were very over the top. Some didn't survive, some evolved.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

We do have some idea of things he would or wouldn't have done. Would the prices have skyrocketed the way they did? I doubt it. He is quoted as saying his vision for Disneyland was for people to NOT soak people for their money in a carnival-style.

We also have up until 1966 to know not only what he would do but what he did do. I think he was open to the idea of working with the demands of the people. He didn't want a rollercoaster in the park, but relented and put in Matterhorn in 1959. Which he ended up liking. So who knows, maybe he'd have liked Space Mountain.

I have a hard time seeing him put a Disney park in a Communist country though. I don't think that is hard to picture him not doing.

Also, even if Epcot failed, and I mean his version of it, I feel he had no problem failing and scrapping an idea that didn't work. He was such a visionary that he was flowing with ideas.

Put it this way, even 56 years after his death it is still a very legit question as to what he would do. He created the standard of the theme park experience in 1955 that has never been matched. I think part of the problem is that his ideas and his image is slowly eroding and that is a big mistake because everyone combined has not been able to compare with what he created beforehand.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

He would have kept innovating both in film making and in theme park attractions and transportation systems. I’m certain we’d have a mag-lev train in the parks!