Go Lean Commentary
The Caribbean enjoys 80 million annual visitors, among its 30 member-states and vast cruise line industry. Impressive!
But one destination in Florida, Walt Disney World, hosted 47.5 million visitors (2009) … alone.[b]
There are lessons for the Caribbean to learn from this experience.
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to glean insight from the Walt Disney World history and experience. This is a huge subject in itself and is an appropriate topic for academic research, dissertations and business improvement books. But for this blog/commentary, there is a narrow focus, the special consideration of the “Self Governing Entity” that emerged from the Reedy Creek Improvement District that facilitated the construction and administration of the landmass that became the Walt Disney World Resort. The following encyclopedic details apply to this study:
The Walt Disney World Resort, informally known as Walt Disney World or simply Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake, Florida (mailing address is Lake Buena Vista, Florida), near Orlando, Florida and is the flagship of Disney’s worldwide theme park empire. The resort opened on October 7, 1971 and, according to Forbes Magazine, is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an attendance of 52.5 million annually. It is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi), in which it houses 27 themed resort hotels, four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, one camping resort, one residential area and additional recreational and entertainment venues. MagicKingdom was the first and original theme park to open in the complex followed by EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom which opened later throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s, though he died in 1966 before construction on “The Florida Project” began. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave The Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Original plans called for the inclusion of an “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” (EPCOT), a planned city that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the immediate governing jurisdiction for the land of the Walt Disney World Resort. As of the late 1990s, it comprised an area of 38.6 sq mi (100 km2) within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. The RCID includes the cities of BayLake and LakeBuena Vista, and unincorporated RCID land.
After the success of Disneyland in California, Walt Disney began planning a second park on the East Coast. He disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, and therefore wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. Walt Disney knew that his plans for the land would be easier to carry out with more independence. Among his ideas for his Florida project was his proposed EPCOT which was to be a futuristic planned city. He envisioned a real working city with both commercial and residential areas, but one that also continued to showcase and test new ideas and concepts for urban living.
Therefore, the Disney Company petitioned the Florida State Legislature for the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which would have almost total autonomy within its borders.
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Retrieved November 2, 2014) –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World50 Year Historic Timeline:
1965
Walt Disney announces Florida Project 1966
Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65 1967
Construction of Walt Disney World Resort begins 1971
MagicKingdom Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses Disney’s Contemporary Resort Disney’s Polynesian Resort Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground Roy O. Disney dies at age 78 1972
Disney’s Village Resort 1973
The Golf Resort 1974
DiscoveryIsland 1975
Walt Disney Village Marketplace 1976
Disney’s River Country 1980
Walt Disney World ConferenceCenter 1982
Epcot 1986
The Disney Inn 1988
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort 1989
Disney-MGM Studios Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon PleasureIsland 1990
Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort Walt Disney World Swan Walt Disney World Dolphin 1991
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort French Quarter Disney Vacation Club Disney’s Old Key West Resort 1992
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside (Dixie Landings) Bonnet Creek Golf Club 1994
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Shades of Green 1995
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort Disney’s Blizzard Beach Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding Pavilion Walt Disney World Speedway 1996
Disney Institute Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas 1997
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex Downtown Disney West Side 1998
Disney’s Animal Kingdom DisneyQuest 1999
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort 2000
The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge 2001
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge 2002
Disney’s Beach Club Villas 2003
Disney’s Pop Century Resort 2004
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa 2007
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas 2008
Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2009
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Treehouse Villas 2011
Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort 2012
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Phase 1 of New Fantasyland 2013
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 2014
Phase 2 of New Fantasyland Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Retrieved November 2, 2014) –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World
The economic impact of Walt Disney World as a Self-Governing Entity (SGE) is undeniable. The resort is responsible for $18.2 billion in annual economic activity in Florida, said a study released by the theme park giant. The study found that Disney paid out nearly $1.8 billion in compensation to more than 59,000 workers in 2009.[a]
The Go Lean roadmap seek to emulate some of the strategies, tactics and implementation successes of the Walt Disney World as a SGE. This roadmap seeks to elevate the 30 Caribbean member-states with economic engines (direct and indirect spin-off activities), by assuming jurisdiction for Self-Governing Entities in the region and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea. This approach allows for initiation, cooperation and coordination of SGE’s (and the EEZ) to effectuate change in the region, allowing these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion GDP and create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines, specifically in SGE’s and the EEZ.
- Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.
Imagine many Disney World-style industrial developments, (not necessarily as touristic resorts), throughout the Caribbean region.
Wow! This is a game-changer.
The individual Walter Elias Disney (1901 – 1966) proved to be a game-changer. The Go Lean book posits that one person can make a difference and positively impact society; so the book advocates for a community ethos of investment in the “gifts” that individuals “bring to the table”. The book identifies the quality of geniuses and relates worthwhile returns from their investments. This mode of study allows us to consider this example of contributions from Walt Disney and his corporate/artistic creations:
Video: The History of Walt Disney World – http://youtu.be/_6Kesbfg-Ok
The book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that SGE’s and the EEZ can be strategic, tactical and operationally efficient for elevating Caribbean society. These points are pronounced early in the book with this Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 and 14), with these statements:
v. Whereas the natural formation of our landmass and coastlines entail a large portion of waterscapes, the reality of management of our interior calls for extended oversight of the waterways between the islands. The internationally accepted 12-mile limits for national borders must be extended by International Tribunals to encompass the areas in between islands. The individual states must maintain their 12-mile borders while the sovereignty of this expanded area, the Exclusive Economic Zone, must be vested in the accedence of this Federation.
xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries… In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism … impacting the region with more jobs.
The subject of SGE’s has been directly addressed and further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2338 | Using SGE’s to Welcome the Dreaded ‘Plutocracy’ |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 | Where the Jobs Are – Ship-breaking under SGE Structure |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 | Fairgrounds as SGE and Landlords for Sports Leagues |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=286 | Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Project Breaks Ground – Model of Medical SGE |
The Go Lean book itself details the economic principles and community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge Self-Governing Entities and industrial growth in the Caribbean:
| Economic Principles – People Choose because Resources are Limited | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – All Choices Involve Costs | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Job Multiplier | Page 22 |
| Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens | Page 23 |
| Community Ethos – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Cooperatives | Page 25 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future | Page 26 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship | Page 28 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development | Page 30 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations | Page 32 |
| Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederating 30 Member-states in a Union | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Mission – Build and Foster Local Economic Engines | Page 45 |
| Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy | Page 64 |
| Tactical – Growing Economy – New High Multiplier Industries | Page 68 |
| Separation of Powers – Department of State – Self-Governing Entities | Page 80 |
| Separation of Powers – Interior Department – Exclusive Economic Zone | Page 82 |
| Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change – SGE Licenses | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities | Page 103 |
| Anecdote – French Guiana Space Agency – Example of a SGE | Page 103 |
| Implementation – Benefits from the Exclusive Economic Zone | Page 104 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Self-Governing Entities | Page 127 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Interstate Commerce | Page 129 |
| Planning – Lessons from New York City | Page 137 |
| Planning – Lessons from Omaha | Page 138 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage Natural Resources – EEZ and SGE’s | Page 183 |
| Anecdote – Caribbean Industrialist & Entrepreneur Role Model | Page 189 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds | Page 192 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Develop Ship-Building as SGE’s | Page 209 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Prison Industrial Complex as SGE’s | Page 211 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact the One Percent – Job Creators Inducements | Page 224 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Self-Governing Entities | Page 234 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Rural Living – Self-Governing Entities | Page 235 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Promote World-Heritage-Sites as SGE’s | Page 248 |
| Appendix – Airport Cities – Models for Self Governing Entities | Page 287 |
There is a role for the contributions of one impactful person, or one impactful company, in this vision for the elevation and empowerment of the Caribbean homeland. The Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap invites these contributions. However, the roadmap also mitigates the threats of corporate abuse of a plutocracy. With the right applications from people, tools and techniques many SGE initiatives can have a positive impact in changing society, with minimal risks and threats of negative consequences. Walt Disney and the Reedy Creek Improvement District have demonstrated how successful SGE’s can be.
Thank you Walt Disney. Thanks for showing us the way, for providing a role model that we can emulate for our own success.
Change has come to the Caribbean. Everyone is hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
——————
Appendix – Source References:
a. Retrieved November 3, 2014 from: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2011/04/14/disneys-annual-economic-impact-182b.html
b. 2009 Attendance Walt Disney World’s 1. Magic Kingdom: 17.2 million 2. Epcot: 11.0 million 3. Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.7 million 4. Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9.6 million. Retrieved November 3, 2014 from: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201004/1895/