Once upon time, there was a magical land called Disney World,
filled with Princesses and charming Princes and mice and duck that can talk and
drive cars. Walt Disney World has wowed generations since being constructed in
1971 with its characters, rides, and a happy environment. It is brought people
from near and far around the globe to enjoy Disney’s wonder and magic. Disney
World is built for all ages from one to ninety-nine. Walt Disney World is located in Orlando, FL and
extends to the surrounding areas due to the massive since of its rides and
hotels. Before Disney was built, the tourism and effect of modern day industry
was slim to non-existent. It was an average town with the typical bunch of
grocery stores, suburban neighborhoods, and restaurants. But such enchantment of
a place raises questions on the type of industry Disney is and the effects it
is had on the surrounding area. But what was Orlando, FL and the surrounding
areas before Disney came to town? What kind of effect did Disney have? On the
population? Did employment rates go up or down due to Disney’s presence? What
about the average household income, was there an increase or decrease? It is safe
to say that Disney World and Walt Disney’s big dream of making the Happiest
Place on Earth a reality, had a significant impact in all concerning variables
on the once small area of Orlando and the surrounding areas.
Background Research
In
1964, Walt Disney began purchasing thousands of acres of land in Central
Florida’s farmland. For the two years Disney World was under construction it
employed 9,000 workers and cost Disney 4 million dollars. Hotels and
restaurants flooded the Orlando area in anticipation for the new park;
swamplands sold for millions. Disney opened in October 1971. Walt Disney World
attracted 20 million visitors and employed 13,000 workers in the first two
years after its opening. Within that first year, Disney World increased revenue
at local restaurants about 94%. Hotels as far as Daytona Beach saw an increase
in bookings. The Magic Kingdoms’ payroll reached $1.1 million during the first
year. Disney did create an increase in jobs for 20-25 year olds, causing
employment to rise up to 11%. Unfortunately due to Disney’s opening, there was
an increase in crime and drug trafficking in the area. In 1972, Central Florida
saw 256 related drug arrests. Traffic on the highways also was an incredible
growth. Orlando became the fastest growing city in Florida. Hundreds of firms
relocated to the Central Florida area. The map below shows a pinpoint of Disney World's location. When clicking on the pin, the window shows Disney World's address as well.
Tourism
is what brings the most profit followed by citrus farming and other sort of
agricultural professions. Tourism is a great generator of jobs, but tend to be
low paying. These jobs also often have poor conditions, especially those worked
by migrant workers. These jobs are unstable because of how dependent tourism is
on seasons. There is large concern of increase of tourism as it leads to an
increase of pollution and damage to the environment. Though Florida’s population
is the 9th highest in country, per capita income of state ranks 24th
in nation. This is a huge disparity.
Methods Used
To find out general background information, our group relied
on articles from various websites as well as online databases. Our group used
this information that we gathered to further our knowledge about the
circumstances surrounding the creation of Disney World and what the projected
effect of it was. This allowed the group to better understand how the
expectations measured up to the actual effects. It also provided context to the
group’s data.
Due to the government shut down, our group collected this
data primarily through the data demographic site Social Explorer. Collectively, we agreed that in order to truly focus on Disney World's impact on the Orlando area, we needed to narrow down our data to just the counties surrounding Orlando; the counties are Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia. The map below shows our selected counties in red. As shown on the map, the city of Orlando is in the center of our selected counties.
Our group collected the information from both the 1970s and 1980s censuses. We were able to find the total population for the 1960s census and included that as well. The
1970s was the census before the opening of Disney World and the 1980s was the
census after. We compared both sets of data in terms of population, employment
rate, and average family income and evaluated the difference between the two. We
created two separate tables in excel representing each census, uploaded
them to GoogleGIS and then merged them to better demonstrate this difference.
With these three different maps, viewers are able to see the growth of the
population, employment, and average family income and the overall cause and affect
that Disney’s opening and increasingly booming business has had on Orlando and
the surrounding areas. The data not only shows the effect Disney had ten plus
years after the opening, but is the beginning of the steady climb that Disney
continues to have on these Florida counties with it’s continued expansion.
Total Population Change
The first data set that our group decided to analyze was the total population change from the 1960s to the 1980s. The map below shows the counties that our group chose and their percent change in population depicted by a gradient change. The deeper the red color the county is, the higher percent change.
As the map shows, there is a significant increase in population in our selected counties. The county with the most significant increase is Seminole County with a 227.14% increase from the 1960s to the 1980s. Seminole County is very close to Orlando, but still outside the city itself. However, our data showed that Orange County, where Orlando city is located, had one of the smallest percent changes with 78.73%. While this is a significant increase, the surrounding counties actually presented themselves to have the largest increase. Our group analyzed this data and came to a simple conclusion. People in the area did not want to be practically in Disney World's back door; however, they were attracted to the growing area. That is why Orange County, where the city of Orlando is located, did not have the highest percent change in total population.
Employment Rate in the Civilian Population
Our group then thought about all of the positives that Disney World brought to the area. One of the positives we immediately came up with was employment rate. There are thousands of jobs at Disney World; therefore, the employment rate should increase. The map below signifies the employment rate. The percent that is next to the number of people employed in the windows signify the percentage of people in the work force from the total population in that county. Also, the percent change is shown by the use of a gradient. The deeper the red, the higher percent change in that county.
The data showed that our hypothesis was correct regarding the employment rate. All of the counties' employment rates went up between the 1970s and the 1980s. Seminole County again had the largest percent change with 172.19% followed by Osceola County with 147.11%. Similarly to the total population map, our group noticed that the counties with the biggest percentage change in employment rate are counties that do no contain Orlando within its county boundary. Our group can explain this data the same way that the total population was explained. The people who work at Disney World do not necessarily want to live in the hectic city of Orlando, but still need to be close enough to it to commute to work daily.
Average Family Income
Finally, our group hypothesized that household incomes must have increased since the Orlando area became more desirable due to urbanization. The map below signifies the percent change in average family income from the 1970s to the 1980s. Like the maps before, the deeper the color in the gradient, the higher the percent change in average family income.
The data our group discovered validated our hypothesis that average household income did significantly increase from the 1970's to the 1980's. In conjunction to the data above, the surrounding counties showed the highest percentage change. One answer to this data is that the area surrounding Orlando became extremely desirable real estate. Therefore, the cost of living in the area increased. In order to compensate for the rising prices for homes, household income increased. Another answer to this data is that Disney provided more jobs creating a higher household income.
Results from our data
In conclusion, Disney World created what is known today as the modern city of Orlando. Our data maps representing the changes in total population, employment rate and average household income show that Disney World affected the area significantly. The three data sets our group analyzed are all interconnected. Total population connects to both average household income and employment rate. Employment rate is directly connected to the total population; when there are thousands of new jobs in one area, people will move to that area in order to get employment. This causes the total population to increase with the employment rate. Average household income is also directly connected to the total population. When the housing market is competitive because people are all wanting to move to a certain area, the prices of houses increase. Therefore, the average household income of each family must increase. This shows the correlation between the total population increase and average household income increase. Similarly, the employment rate is connected to the average household income increase. Disney World creating jobs increased the employment rate. Since the employment rate increased, the amount of money coming into households increased. Therefore, the employment rate increasing allows the average household income increase.
All of our findings show since all of the data is interconnected, Disney World affected the area permanently in a variety different ways that were both positive and negative. While some locals were upset with the emergence of Disney World in their tiny town, it opened jobs and helped the area flourish to its modern day success. Our data has shown that Disney World has positively affected the employment rate as well as the average household income. However, a lot of locals that currently live in Orlando are "anti-Disney World" since the traffic in the area along with the lost tourists have taken over the area. Unfortunately for the locals, Disney World for outsiders is the "Happiest Place on Earth".
Employment Rate in the Civilian Population
Our group then thought about all of the positives that Disney World brought to the area. One of the positives we immediately came up with was employment rate. There are thousands of jobs at Disney World; therefore, the employment rate should increase. The map below signifies the employment rate. The percent that is next to the number of people employed in the windows signify the percentage of people in the work force from the total population in that county. Also, the percent change is shown by the use of a gradient. The deeper the red, the higher percent change in that county.
The data showed that our hypothesis was correct regarding the employment rate. All of the counties' employment rates went up between the 1970s and the 1980s. Seminole County again had the largest percent change with 172.19% followed by Osceola County with 147.11%. Similarly to the total population map, our group noticed that the counties with the biggest percentage change in employment rate are counties that do no contain Orlando within its county boundary. Our group can explain this data the same way that the total population was explained. The people who work at Disney World do not necessarily want to live in the hectic city of Orlando, but still need to be close enough to it to commute to work daily.
Average Family Income
Finally, our group hypothesized that household incomes must have increased since the Orlando area became more desirable due to urbanization. The map below signifies the percent change in average family income from the 1970s to the 1980s. Like the maps before, the deeper the color in the gradient, the higher the percent change in average family income.
The data our group discovered validated our hypothesis that average household income did significantly increase from the 1970's to the 1980's. In conjunction to the data above, the surrounding counties showed the highest percentage change. One answer to this data is that the area surrounding Orlando became extremely desirable real estate. Therefore, the cost of living in the area increased. In order to compensate for the rising prices for homes, household income increased. Another answer to this data is that Disney provided more jobs creating a higher household income.
Results from our data
In conclusion, Disney World created what is known today as the modern city of Orlando. Our data maps representing the changes in total population, employment rate and average household income show that Disney World affected the area significantly. The three data sets our group analyzed are all interconnected. Total population connects to both average household income and employment rate. Employment rate is directly connected to the total population; when there are thousands of new jobs in one area, people will move to that area in order to get employment. This causes the total population to increase with the employment rate. Average household income is also directly connected to the total population. When the housing market is competitive because people are all wanting to move to a certain area, the prices of houses increase. Therefore, the average household income of each family must increase. This shows the correlation between the total population increase and average household income increase. Similarly, the employment rate is connected to the average household income increase. Disney World creating jobs increased the employment rate. Since the employment rate increased, the amount of money coming into households increased. Therefore, the employment rate increasing allows the average household income increase.
All of our findings show since all of the data is interconnected, Disney World affected the area permanently in a variety different ways that were both positive and negative. While some locals were upset with the emergence of Disney World in their tiny town, it opened jobs and helped the area flourish to its modern day success. Our data has shown that Disney World has positively affected the employment rate as well as the average household income. However, a lot of locals that currently live in Orlando are "anti-Disney World" since the traffic in the area along with the lost tourists have taken over the area. Unfortunately for the locals, Disney World for outsiders is the "Happiest Place on Earth".
Group Eight:
Jessica Falletta, Rachel Ruehmer, Rebekah Phelps and Taylor Dellinger
References:
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Jim. "WDW Chronicles: Year One - Year of Magical Mouse." AllEars.Net
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