Disney Purchases 965 Acres Of Land Near Celebration In Central Florida
For years, there have been rumors that Walt Disney World would develop some of its land for additional parks or more resort hotels. As the past year has revealed, some new resorts and lands are in development, but nothing regarding a fifth gate or anything like that. Well, the speculation is going to pick up again as the Walt Disney Company has bought 965 acres of ranch land near WDW and just southeast of Celebration, Florida.
According to a report from GrowthSpotter, the 965 acres is known as BK Ranch and it is located in Osceola County near Celebration. The area has been for sale for a very long time and has been zoned for development off of Old Tampa Highway about a mile west of the Poinciana SunRail station.
Disney paid $23 million to purchase the land on Thursday.
The land was zoned with plans that there could be a huge community built to rival Celebration which is built near Walt Disney World. On the plans, there are calls for 3,000 homes along with commercial/office space adding up to 378,000 square feet of total space.
While this could get people excited about the belief that something big may be coming to Walt Disney World, experts believe they shouldn’t hold their breath. There is already a great deal of land on WDW property that could be developed, and chances are, nothing much will become of this purchase.
Disney pays $23 million for ranch land near Celebration. See what the Mouse might do with it. https://t.co/CcMziSk83G pic.twitter.com/3nbdrmcxGC
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) December 17, 2018
The Walt Disney Company may have purchased this land for any number of reasons, and many of them could never include a single guest using it. There are some who believe that the BK Ranch will actually be something that Disney uses, but not for those attending its theme parks in Central Florida.
Jerry McGratty is the owner of Westhampton Realty and he is the court-appointed receiver for the 965 acres of property. He believes that this land is something Disney wanted to buy for its conservation needs as well as “water management needs.” McGratty doesn’t think much will ever come from it for the public.
“I do not believe they will ever develop it.”
As of now, this whole thing has nothing to do with the idea that the Brightline high-speed rail may have a stop at Walt Disney World in the future as reported by Inquisitr, but it does raise some interesting ideas.
Walt Disney World is growing at this very moment with a couple of new resorts being built as well as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge under construction and more coming into play soon. There is always the possibility that a new park or more lands may be built in the future, but they likely won’t happen on the site of the BK Ranch. The Walt Disney Company has purchased this land for $23 million, but it may end up being used for things that guests never see.
