Bob Welbaum: Four More Disney Legends Named by NFFC
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Caption: An Assemblage of Legends In Front: Linda Kent (widow of Ralph Kent); Second Row: Jess Rubio, Gretta Verity, Joe Hale, Bill Sullivan; Third Row: Phil Smith, Dave Smith, Tom Nabbe, Charlie Ridgway, Kristin Dains (representing her grandfather Hank Dains)
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Phil Smith
Phil Smith began his Disney career without knowing who his employer was! He had been working in the Panama Canal Zone when he was hired in November, 1965 as legal counsel during the final procurement of the land plots that became Walt Disney World. Of course moderator Greg Denaro�s first comment was �I thought it was incredibly interesting for an attorney to be working for a company and not even knowing who he was working for.� Phil explained how he had been interviewed by Disney�s general counsel in the summer of 1965 and was offered a job. But he didn�t have any idea who his employer would be because the Florida Project was a well-guarded secret and they were still in the process of buying land. He went back to Panama, and then the Miami Herald printed the article with the famous headline �We Say It�s Disney.� Then he knew. He had tried some investigative due diligence of his own by looking up attorney�s names in legal references, but was looking in states like New York and Michigan and hadn�t thought to research California.

At the time of his employment, most of the major land parcels had been purchased. But small parcels were still being procured, and Phil�s job included ensuring that the company had clear title to all its acquisitions.

Once hired, Phil became the first permanent cast member, and even lived on the property as the only resident during early construction. Phil described pre-Disney Orlando and the purchased property with its one house where he and his wife and two children lived. It was so quiet they could hear panthers at night in the swamp. Before development began, occasionally people would come by looking for a job. Since some of them appeared to be of questionable character, Phil became close friends with the local constable, who would come running whenever they called. In exchange, the constable was allowed to hunt on the south end of Disney property. This became even more advantageous when he brought Phil fresh venison. Phil and his family used to enjoy picnics on what became Discovery Island, which they called Buzzard Island because there were hundreds of these scavengers around. Shopping was fifteen miles away in Winter Garden. The house was ultimately moved and turned into an environmental lab.

Phil didn�t meet Walt Disney until Walt came to Orlando for the project�s formal announcement. During that visit, Phil drove Walt around. While motoring from the airport to the hotel, Phil drove over a swale and bounced everyone�s heads off the roof of the car. He was afraid his Disney career was about to end right then (especially since one of his passengers was a lady Walt was hoping would make a large donation to CalArts). But later Walt made a point of riding back to the airport with him, and Phil was very appreciative of that gracious gesture.

Phil also worked with local governments to facilitate the project�s development. What was the local reaction after the formal announcement had been made? �There was probably a lot of disbelief. A lot of people didn�t really think it would happen. Nobody had any idea of the scope of the project�.For the most part, people just had no idea what was going on. So in effect, you had to educate them as to what was coming.� That meant a lot of pressure had to be applied get the necessary infrastructure built to support the development. Phil suspected many didn�t realize the size of the project until Walt Disney World actually opened.

Phil talked a bit about the importance of synergy between California and Florida and the Disneyland veterans who came to Orlando to help, and how many ended up staying. Phil spent a couple of months in Tallahassee, Florida�s capital, working with the legislature to establish the all-important Reedy Creek Improvement District, which provided immediate governing jurisdiction for Walt Disney World. Then he described the District: �Reedy Creek is a multipurpose taxing district that was formed in order to allow Disney to do the infrastructure needed for Walt Disney World without burdening the taxpayers. Because the District was able to issue bonds, and the money from those bonds built the drainage canals and the different infrastructure here at Walt Disney World, and we had to go through the legislature to get that passed. � It�s much like a city except it has no police power. But it can do just about everything else. It does in fact run the electric utility, the fire departments.� Also part of this preparatory process was having Florida pass legislation to ensure the Disney name and images would be fully protected.

When construction began, Phil reviewed all contracts and became familiar with laws governing theme-park operations. He also negotiated the contracts for the Magic Kingdom�s initial sponsors. Phil worked with many contractors, and one of his more interesting stories involved Disney�s contract with General Motors: GM wanted it signed before the end of the year for tax reasons and its top executives were vacationing on the island of Bimini. So Phil had to fly on the Disney plane to Bimini to get the required signatures.

Phil was appointed Assistant Secretary for the Walt Disney World Company in 1968 and became Secretary in 1970. After the resort�s opening in 1971, Phil oversaw all day-to-day legal issues, including safety and individual claims. In 1973, he assumed the additional title of Vice President, Legal, and was later responsible for all contracts for Epcot. In 1984 he became Vice President of Administration, then Senior Vice President of Administration in 1987, with responsibility for backstage shops, engineering, safety, food distribution, and more.

Phil retired in December, 1992 with 27 years of service. On this day he paid homage to the great people he worked with; that�s what made his job so satisfying. He especially remembers Dick Nunis, Roy Disney, and Donn Tatum as having influenced him.