What Walt Disney Can Teach Us About Vision
In the early 1960s, a clandestine group of seemingly unconnected individuals and corporations started acquiring small parcels of swampland around Bay Lake in Central Florida, just southwest of Orlando. By the time it was all said and done, this group had acquired nearly 28,000 acres, about the size of the city of San Francisco. In November of 1965, the announcement came: the acquirer of the land was Walt Disney and the Disney Corporation, who had plans for a Florida project that we all now know as Walt Disney World.
Walter Elias Disney was a visionary, but there's something about him that you might not know, something that separates him from the Rockefellers, Jobs, and other titans and visionaries: by all accounts that matter, he was an amazing father and husband. (Even though his wife said no one would go see a movie about dwarfs.) Walt had an abusive father and ran one of the most powerful companies in the U.S.; he had every excuse not to prioritize his family, but he made time for it all. So much so that his daughter, Diane Disney Miller, wrote her own book about Walt and shared this beautiful anecdote after a childhood classmate told her who her dad was:
"That night, when Dad came home from work and flopped into his easy chair, I approached him with awe. Then doubt crept in. He didn't look famous to me, he just looked tired. So I asked a crucial question. 'Daddy, are you Walt Disney?'
'Yes, honey,' he replied.
'I mean, are you the Walt Disney?'
He nodded. So it was true!
'Daddy,' I said, 'please give me your autograph.'"
In other words, Walt Disney was one of a kind. Let’s look through the lens of Vision - Architect - Build - Live and see what we can learn from Walt and his final project.
Vision - Architect - Build - Live
Vision
Disney theme parks did not start with blueprints or a strategic plan; they started with Walt's vision. When Disneyland opened in 1955, it was an instant success. After only two years, it was the most popular tourist destination in the United States and, without question, a financial triumph. Yet something didn’t sit well with Walt. As Disneyland grew in popularity, hotels and businesses began raising their prices. New businesses and attractions popped up around the park that were not consistent with Disney's values or the experience Walt wanted for families. He wanted more control of the experience, and to do that, he knew he needed land. Walt understood that his values, purpose, and roles were foundational to his vision. His values—love, play, creativity, entrepreneurship, and hope—shaped his purpose: to keep families together. Family, to Walt, was the backbone of society, and he built his business around this idea. Beyond being one of the most influential figures in American history, Walt was a loving spouse, father, and grandfather who always made time, particularly on Sunday mornings, to be with his grandchildren.
Key Takeaway
No one else can decide your vision—only you.
Uncovering your vision takes reflection. It’s easy to talk about your values, but much harder to define them and, of course, live them. Your purpose, your why, is a scary question, but if you get it right, it will give you the energy you need when times are tough. We all wear lots of hats, but which ones deserve your time and energy? Your roles—whether as a spouse, parent, grandparent, friend, dreamer, or professional—can’t all be a priority, and only you get to decide what success looks like. All of these together become the first draft of your vision.
Just as Disney World started with Walt’s bold vision, the Total Family Tree methodology places vision at its core, guiding the growth and well-being of individuals and families. This alignment ensures that your family’s journey is as intentional and successful as Walt's was in creating a world-renowned destination.
Architect
With Walt’s updated vision in hand, a small team of trusted folks searched all over the United States, particularly the East Coast, to look for options consistent with Walt’s vision. They considered Niagara Falls and downtown St. Louis but ultimately settled on central Florida. When one of the team brought Walt a location in West Palm Beach, he responded with, “I don’t want to compete with an ocean.” What else did Walt communicate to his architects? The land must be affordable, a lake would be nice, and it should be near major highways but not too developed. No easy task. His team of architects knew that to pull this off, they would need to be secretive and savvy. In the end, his team, using an ungodly complicated structure of shell companies, aliases, and business entities, acquired land for the Florida Project at $183 an acre, compared with $3,500 an acre for the land used for Disney World, valued at $100,000+ per acre today.
Key Takeaway
Do the architects around you—family and friends, advisors, service providers, professionals—understand your vision?
We use the term architects to refer to the ‘trusted advisors’ in your personal and professional life. Do they know your values and what you won’t compromise on? Do they know why you’re here and what keeps you going? Do they know your priorities so they can help you get there? It’s your responsibility to not only uncover your vision but also communicate it to the architects and loved ones in your life.
Like Walt Disney’s team, your personal and professional architects need to be aligned with your vision. This alignment ensures that every step taken—whether acquiring land or making key life decisions or creating an estate plan— aligns with your vision.
Build
The builders of Disney World didn’t just start pouring cement and hammering pieces of wood together, and good thing, because it turns out that swampland in central Florida wasn’t quite ready to accommodate the largest theme park in the history of the world. The builders first needed to understand the plan, strategy, and design for the land and property. From that, they could determine the appropriate infrastructure, materials, and approach for construction. As the builders better understood their needs for power, water, sewage, roads, drainage, public transport, public safety, airports and highways, it became clear that it would be complicated to adhere to all codes and regulations, especially since, at the time, Osceola County didn’t have any building or zoning ordinances in place. This led to the builders going back to the architects, and together, they came up with the solution of creating Disney’s own municipality, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which would allow Disney the authority and autonomy to build what we now know as the most magical place on earth, entirely on their terms.
Key Takeaway
Don’t start building until you’re done designing, and don’t start designing until you have your vision. Many times, ‘builders’ will tell individuals and families they need a financial plan, an estate plan, insurance, software, family foundations, charitable endeavors, management companies, and life coaching—and maybe they do. But the implementation should support and understand the design.
Financial goals, like retirement and buying a vacation home, are great but should not be confused with having a vision.
As Walt Disney and his team discovered, building anything—whether a theme park or a family legacy—requires careful planning and alignment with a clear vision.
Live
On December 15, 1966, Walt Disney passed away from lung cancer; he was 65 years old. Disney World didn’t open for another five years, but Walt’s vision lived on, and it did what every great vision can do for others—inspire. The video at the bottom of this page is one of the last times Walt would ever appear on screen and it's a masterpiece of inspiration. When Disney World opened, Walt’s older brother Roy delivered a message to the guests and characters at the park: “At this time, I think it’s appropriate that we remember Walt’s words:
"You can dream, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality."
The magic of Disney World has always been about more than the attractions—it’s about the child-like wonder it inspires and, most importantly, the joy of sharing those moments with the people we love.
Key Takeaway
Once we’ve uncovered our vision, designed and built our life, the magic comes from getting to live it with the people who matter the most. People turn a house into a home. People make all of this worth the effort that goes into it.
Vision, if you’re willing to put in the work, gives you tremendous inner drive, inspiring those around you—including future generations who will eventually need to discover their own vision.
Like Walt Disney’s enduring vision, a well-conceived vision can inspire not only your own life but also future generations and the people around you, guiding them in the journey of living their own values, purpose, and roles.
Total Family’s website is totalfamily.io. We wanted it to be family.com, but someone beat us to it, and I don’t think we’ll be able to afford it anytime soon. For more about Disney’s Florida Project check out Buying Disney’s World and for more about Walt, check out any of the episodes on Founder’s Podcast.
