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New Book Calls Disney World "A Vatican with Mouse Ears"

Praise for Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando

"Well-researched, cogently argued and eye-opening...A fascinating, important and entertaining look at contemporary problems in urbanology, city planning and certainly, business ethics." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Here is a book that will change the way that you look at the Mouse. Not only does ol' Mickey have fuzzy ears and a cute, squeaky voice, but sharp teeth and claws too." --Catherine Collins, coauthor of Celebration, U.S.A.: Living in Disney's Brave New Town

New Book Calls Disney World "A Vatican with Mouse Ears"

On July 9, Yale University Press will publish MARRIED TO THE MOUSE by Richard Foglesong, which tells the untold story of how Disney used and abused the government powers that it received in return for locating in Florida.

Walt Disney World and Orlando have become the world's most popular tourist destination. Using the metaphor of love and marriage, MARRIED TO THE MOUSE traces the evolution of the Disney World-Orlando relationship, an "economic-development marriage," says the author, characterized by conflict and consensus, individuality and mutual dependency--just like a real marriage.

This still-evolving union validates the adage that whom you marry affects what you may become. In the early 1960s local and state leaders seduced the entertainment giant into this marriage by offering huge road projects and a range of special privileges. Their efforts succeeded. Since the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, Orange County's population has more than doubled, and its hotel room count has exploded from 8,000 to more than 100,000. Orlando has consistently ranked among the nation's ten fastest-growing urban areas.

But there is another side to the story. As MARRIED TO THE MOUSE shows, growth not only gives, it also takes away. Fueled by Disney's arrival, the tremendous growth in Orlando has created public expenditure needs, but not always matching tax resources. It has generated traffic congestion, public facility deficits, affordable housing shortages, and a low-wage economy. This situation is complicated further because of the special enticement granted to the Disney Co. for coming to Florida: their own private government--a sort of "Vatican with Mouse ears"--with powers and immunities that exceed Orlando's.

In a balanced analysis of the Disney-Orlando story, Richard Foglesong offers a critical account of how the Disney Co. has taken advantage of its governmental immunities from the beginning of Disney World to the present under chairman Michael Eisner. Orlando's experience with its biggest local employer raises broad questions about urban development policy: Can local leaders resist the demands of global corporations? Do privatization and deregulation offer a viable strategy for economic development? And is it possible to escape the weight of previous economic development decisions that seem to lock in, for example, more tourism and low wages, while locking out other opportunities?

More Advance Praise for Married to the Mouse

"A good case study of centralized land-ownership and private government versus democracy and capitalism." --Kirkus Reviews

"As an assessment of corporate conduct in a local community, Married to the Mouse is a penetrating case-study with far-flung relevance. It raises key questions about the fate of citizenship when regional planning is driven solely by economic development." --Andrew Ross, author of The Celebration Chronicles

"This book takes its place as a major work in the field of urban affairs. Electrifying." --Theodore J. Lowi, Cornell University

"Telling the tale well and offering shrewd insights into larger issues of urban growth, democratic governance, and economic development, Foglesong provides a lucid picture of Disney's fascinating experiment in entertainment and urban reform. It is a fine piece of work." --Steven Watts, author of The Magic Kingdom

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard E. Foglesong is professor of politics at Rollins College.
MARRIED TO THE MOUSE: Walt Disney World and Orlando
Richard E. Foglesong
272 pp.; $27.95; ISBN: 0-300-08707-1; 16 black and white illus. and 6 maps
Publication Date: July 9, 2001

 

 

 


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