A few weeks ago, CNBC aired a documentary on Walt Disney, "Walt: The Man Behind The Myth."
The two-hour special explored the life and legacy of the man who created one of the world's most beloved pop icons, Mickey Mouse, and the world-renowned Disney theme parks.
The documentary first aired in February of last year. Though educational, the special glossed over what we found to be the most interesting bit—Walt's original plans for Epcot in Disney World.
Check out Disney's original plan for Disney World and Epcot >
After Disneyland was built in California, Walt had an idea for another Disney project in Florida; however, he passed away in December 1966 before he could see it come to fruition. Before he died, he filmed a video two months earlier expressing these plans in detail.
We found the nearly half hour video Disney produced for Florida Legislators to get permission and rights for his project. In it, Disney laid out his big ideas for his massive Florida project.
Called "Project X," Walt's Florida expansion was meant to be much more than Disney World. Forget the theme park. Florida wasn't about Disney World, though it was a small part of the picture.
Rather, Disney's plan consisted of building his own perfect Utopian city: the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow—Epcot.
The video sounded like a scene straight out of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" which envisioned a similar world back in 1932.
Located partly in Orange and Osceola Counties, Disney picked the center of the state for his Florida project on purpose, reasoning it would be easy for tourists and residents to arrive by car.
The land was located between Orlando and Kissimmee, a few miles from the crossing point of Interstate 4 and the Sunshine State Parkway (this was before I95 was finished, of course).
The theme park and all the other tourist facilities—hotels, motels and recreational activities—were meant to fill one small part of Disney's Florida project. This part alone is five times the size of California's Disneyland.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider