Disney Property Developments and the Titanic Search: A Disney Dish Podcast

Flamingo Crossings Property Development

• 🏨 Disney is developing 2,600 new apartments at Flamingo Crossings, west of Animal Kingdom, to house college program participants.
• 🛍️ This development also includes a new retail component to serve the apartments and existing hotels.
• 📍 Flamingo Crossings is located very close to Walt Disney World property, off Western Way, between Coronado Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Crossroads Plaza Demolition and Road Expansion

• demolishing the Crossroads Shopping Center, located off 535 near Disney Springs hotels.
• 🛣️ This move is intended to widen and improve road infrastructure, specifically making access to Disney Springs easier for locals and visitors.
• ⏳ Tenants in the Crossroads Plaza have been given 15 months to vacate the premises.

Disney's Near-Involvement with the Titanic Search

• 🚢 In 1978, Walt Disney Productions considered partnering with National Geographic and Robert Ballard for a search for the sunken Titanic.
• 💰 The potential involvement was driven by the desire to secure a centerpiece exhibit for Epcot's Seas Pavilion and attract sponsors.
• 📉 The project was ultimately deemed too costly, with an estimated initial Disney investment of $1.4 million, especially given Epcot's escalating budget.

The Titanic Discovery and Epcot's Seas Pavilion

• ⚓ Robert Ballard successfully discovered the Titanic on September 1, 1985, at a depth of 12,415 feet.
• 📺 Ballard was featured in the opening television special for Epcot's Living Seas pavilion in January 1986, showcasing footage of the wreck, though Disney had not yet recovered artifacts.
• 💔 Ballard has expressed concern over the accelerated decay of the wreck due to increased submersible traffic and artifact recovery efforts.

Creative Inspirations and Historical Parallels

• 💡 The concept of salvaging a sunken ship by filling it with compressed air or buoyant materials, as depicted in the movie "Raise the Titanic," was inspired by a 1949 Carl Barks comic story.
• 🦆 A real-life incident in the Suez Canal involved a boat full of sheep being raised using a similar method, with patent offices referencing the Donald Duck comic as prior art.
• 🤫 It's revealed that a British military operation may have discovered the Titanic in 1977 but kept it classified due to other ongoing operations.