Walt Disney Worlds first employee has died at the age of 83. Phil Smith who was responsible for paving the legal way for the resort to develop as it did with so much land died of complications from kidney disease. 

Smith is responsible for helping to create the Reedy Creek Improvement Disitrct, which is Walt Disney

A map showing the Walt Disney Company’s land holdings and the current boundaries of the District (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Worlds private governemnt which controls planning as well as emergency services.  Reedy Creek Improvement District is comprised of an area of 38.6 sq mi within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties including the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista.

When Smith began working for the company he didnt know alot about it, as Walt Disney had been using shell companies  in Florida to buy up land at very low prices from unknowing landowners. He began his journey with The Walt Disney Company in 1965, when he was brought on by Paul Helliwell of Disney’s law firm in Miami. 

Smith retired in the early 1990s as Disney’s senior vice president of administration and support.