Ever been to Walt Disney World in Florida?The background is interesting.Seethe following from Wikipedia:

To avoid a burst of land speculation,Walt Disney World Company

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

used variousdummy corporations

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

to acquire 30,500 acres (48sqmi; 123km2) of land. In May 1965, some of these major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest ofOrlando

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

inOsceola County

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

. In addition, two large tracts totaling $1.5 million were sold, and smaller tracts of flatlands and cattle pastures were purchased by exotically-named companies such as the "Ayefour

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

Corporation", "Latin-American Development and Management Corporation" and the "Reedy Creek Ranch Corporation". Some are now memorialized on a window above Main Street, U.S.A. inMagic Kingdom

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

. The smaller parcels of land acquired were called "outs". They were 5-acre (2ha) lotsplatted

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

in 1912 by the Munger Land Company and sold to investors. Most of the owners in the 1960s were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostlyswamp

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

at the time. Another issue was themineral rights

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

to the land, which were owned byTufts University

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

. Without the transfer of these rights, Tufts could come in at any time and demand the removal of buildings to obtain minerals. Eventually, Disney's team negotiated a deal with Tufts to buy the mineral rights for $15,000.

Working strictly in secrecy, real estate agents unaware of their client's identity began making offers to landowners in April 1964 in parts of southwest Orange and northwest Osceola counties. The agents were careful not to reveal the extent of their intentions, and they were able to negotiate numerous land contracts with some including large tracts of land for as little as $100 an acre. With the understanding that the recording of the first deeds would trigger intense public scrutiny, Disney delayed the filing of paperwork until a large portion of the land was under contract.

Early rumors and speculation about the land purchases assumed possible development by NASA in support of the nearbyKennedy Space Center

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

, as well as references to other famous investors such as Ford, theRockefellers

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

, andHoward Hughes

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

. AnOrlando Sentinelnews article published weeks later on May 20, 1965, acknowledged a popular rumor that Disney was building an "East Coast" version of Disneyland. However, the publication denied its accuracy based on an earlier interview with Disney at Kennedy Space Center, in which he claimed a $50 million investment was in the works for Disneyland, and that he had no interest in building a new park.[7]

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

In October 1965, editorEmily Bavar

(Links to an external site.)

Links to an external site.

from theSentinelvisited Disneyland during the park's 10th anniversary celebration. In an interview with Disney, she asked him if he was behind recent land purchases in Central Florida; Bavar later described that Disney "looked like I had thrown a bucket of water in his face" before denying the story. His reaction, combined with other research obtained during her Anaheim visit, led Bavar to author a story on October 21, 1965, where she predicted that Disney was building a second theme park in Florida. Three days later after gathering more information from various sources, theSentinelpublished another article headlined, "We Say: 'Mystery Industry' Is Disney".

Some landowners later sued Disney and the agent/dummy corporations alleging they were defrauded and would not have sold so cheaply if they had known Disney was the actual buyer.

What is your impression?Was this just smart business or did Disney use undisclosed agency to defraud the Florida landowners?How does this tie in to your readings in the text?