Though most Disney guests this past week have been enjoying the holiday festivities at Walt Disney World, the resort very quietly made a big move earlier this month, purchasing more than 230 acres of land just west of Magic Kingdom, according to Orange County records.
Disney subsidiary Compass Rose Corp. officially purchased the land from Winter Garden-based Lake Reedy LLC earlier this month, but news about this massive purchase did not become public until right before Christmas, when it was most likely to fly under the radar. Though that might seem like a coincidence, we’ve seen this tactic before while Universal was still developing what would eventually become the Universal’s Epic Universe project.
The 235-acre property is located near Reedy Lake, bordering Walt Disney World resort on the side where Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course. So why is Disney buying this huge parcel of land?
Could a fifth park be on the way?
Any time a big theme park group purchases land, the first conclusion many jump to is that a new theme park is in the works. And sometime, this ends up being a correct assumption. However, with Disney attendance basically stagnant, the need for a fifth gate technically isn’t really there. But of course, Disney didn’t really “need” to add Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom to the resort, and of course those were massive hits for the resort. And now that Universal is developing additional parks, hotels, and more down the road, Disney may be looking to be making a big more to compete with their neighbor.
However, though it is nice to think about what a fifth gate could be like for Walt Disney World, we have a different idea about what could be happening with this massive land buy
Keeping the neighbors out
Central Florida is growing at a massive rate, and there are plenty of housing developments near Walt Disney World. However, in an effort to keep the resort shielded from the outside world, it seems very likely that Disney purchased this massive tract of land as an undeveloped barrier to keep itself secluded.
Could Disney be developing more hotels?
Though Walt Disney World already has over two dozen on-property hotels, as demand for both traditional rooms and DVC inventory continues to grow, Disney may be looking to add additional hotels to the resort on this property, which would certainly make the reported $6 million that they spent on the land a worthwhile investment.
Of course, right now Disney has no comment on their purchase of this land, and there’s no telling when (or if) they will announce their plans for this undeveloped area. But of course we’ll keep our ears to the ground and as soon as we hear any developments, we’ll let you know!
