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Synopsis

• List of Maps & Tables
• List of Abbreviations
• Preface (2+ pages)
• Acknowledgements (2 pages)
• 9 Chapters (200 pages including text, maps, and tables)
• Appendix 1 - Chronology (2 pages)
• Appendix 2 - List of Names (with brief text about the individuals) (19 pages)
• Notes (16+ pages)
• Index (8+ pages)

Chapter One - Serendipity
In addition to what is mentioned in the review, this chapter also indicates that three sets of questions will be addressed in the book. The author fails to fulfill such promises to a satisfactory degree.

Chapter Two - Seduction
After the first chapter sets the tone, the second chapter talks about how the general site for WDW was chosen. An extensive and perhaps unavoidably boring discussion of Florida’s system of roads and why it turned out the way it did is here to lay the groundwork for the next chapter.

Chapter Three - Secrecy
Describes how the large amount of property was pieced together, why it is located exactly where it is, and why it contains what it does. This is a lot more interesting, though still slightly tedious in some parts.

Chapter Four - Marriage
Walt’s final fascination with creating an EPCOT is discussed. It is here that the author gets in to discussing the origin of RCID, what Walt wanted, and the problems a corporation that wanted total control would have with an actual city with thousands of permanent residents. Walt figured the best way around it was to avoid having permanent residents, and instead have only temporary ones. What the author seems to forget in his concern for the residents of such a place is that this city would be built from scratch and nobody would be forced to move there.

It isn’t until a third of the way through the book that Celebration, the actual planned community built by Disney, is mentioned. Of course, Celebration doesn’t resemble the original concept for EPCOT, and the property was de-annexed from the RDIC, so the author has good reason not to treat Celebration as the realization of EPCOT.

This is also the chapter where the book gets down to the nitty-gritty of the legislative process involved in giving Disney the concessions it wanted.

Chapter Five - Growth
Discusses the development of the property - how everything was put together. Gets into labor issues, more about local growth, and it gets boring again. Details Disney’s use (and supposed abuse) of Hilton to learn about hotel management in preparation for running hotels for the first time in company history.

Chapter Six - Conflict
EPCOT Center theme park is developed instead of EPCOT. The author makes a minor mistake in referring to "Spaceship Earth" as "Flagship Earth". Disney is presented as having pulled a "bait and switch" as far as EPCOT, and hurting local hotel business by building hotels (supposedly instead of a real community), thereby preventing the surrounding area from building as many hotel rooms for increased revenue. The failure of other local developments is touched on here, as is the failed plan for a high-speed mag-lev train system. Challenging Disney’s charter in the courts is brought up.