Missed It By That Much..

Walt Disney World was almost a half hour away...

As early as 1958, Walt Disney was disappointed that the area outside of Disneyland was littered with cheap, garish shops, hotels and restaurants that capitalized on the success of Disneyland.

Even worse, Walt felt that the surrounding area detracted from the overall guest experience and he sought to find a place with enough land to hold all of his dreams and where he could control the entire experience.

There were many areas Walt looked at for an East Coast location. Some of those areas included Niagara Falls, the Great Smokey Mountains, Washington, D.C. and in Florida itself areas that included Miami, Sarasota, and Ocala. For a variety of reasons, Walt finally settled on land located near Orlando.

Oh, and we were so close...