[tainsley]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Walt would wonder why the fifth Park is not opened in Orlando....what would be very proud of the Magic bands

I agree! My magic band is my favorite piece of jewelry! LOL. And I am soooo glad to live here in The Villages.

[Steve & Deanna]

We too are so glad that we found a 'little bit of paradise' here and I'm sure that Mr. Schwartz would be quite proud to see it today and seeing so many of us...just enjoying life in general in The Villages and seeing what his vision turned into.

[Bavarian]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Walt would wonder why the fifth Park is not opened in Orlando....what would be very proud of the Magic bands

Walt would be disappointed that EPCOT, the city of the future, was not built, only EPCOT Center the permanent World's Fair which is turning into Tomorrowland. He want a city where people from around the world would live and research new ideas on living and research new medicine and show off what worked in EPCOT Center.

[eweissenbach]

In all the reading I have done about Mr. Schwartz, it seems obvious that he was not a BIG thinker. He may well have been satisfied with a community like Continental CC, Spruce Creek South, or Water Oaks. It was when he brought son Gary aboard that the vision that would become the Villages began to take shape. People who were here in those days say that it was not at all unusual to see Harold at the town square, or anywhere else in TV, much unlike his offspring. I surmise that he was overwhelmed with the growth he lived to see, and I am sure that much of what would become the Villages of today, was already planned out on the drawing board. I would think he would be proud of what he, and his son and grandkids have built, but without them his legacy would have probably been that kindly old man who roamed around the trailer park several years ago.

[janmcn]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Walt would wonder why the fifth Park is not opened in Orlando....what would be very proud of the Magic bands

Funny you would mention this on the very day they broke ground for Avatorland, the fifth park.

[Bavarian]

Originally Posted by janmcn

Funny you would mention this on the very day they broke ground for Avatorland, the fifth park.

Avatorland is an extension of Animal Kingdom, not a Fifth Park. I would like Tommowland expanded and make it Science and Engineering again, not Fantasy land. Mission Space and Test Track in EOCOT Future World belong in Magic Kingdom Fantasy Land. But keep Carousal of Progress, all ways go there since '64-'65 World's Fair.

[justjim]

I'm looking for one word that might describe Harold Schwartz if he saw TV today. Excited, surprised, overwhelmed, and happy/proud might partially describe his reaction.

My wife and I met Harold Schwartz when we visited TV for the first time in the mid-90's. He was "hanging" around the sales office---seem to be making sure you were getting "service" and all your questions answered. Very personable---a people person.

Surreal is most likely how he would feel about TV today.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

In all the reading I have done about Mr. Schwartz, it seems obvious that he was not a BIG thinker. He may well have been satisfied with a community like Continental CC, Spruce Creek South, or Water Oaks. It was when he brought son Gary aboard that the vision that would become the Villages began to take shape. People who were here in those days say that it was not at all unusual to see Harold at the town square, or anywhere else in TV, much unlike his offspring. I surmise that he was overwhelmed with the growth he lived to see, and I am sure that much of what would become the Villages of today, was already planned out on the drawing board. I would think he would be proud of what he, and his son and grandkids have built, but without them his legacy would have probably been that kindly old man who roamed around the trailer park several years ago.

Well said. As always.

[redwitch]

I'd say that without Gary's involvement, Harold would have had his third bankruptcy trying to make his dream come true. At the same time, I'm not convinced that he would have been happy with all that has taken place in the past ten years. His dream, from what I've been told by folks who knew him, was a community where everyone knew everyone, where all could partake of the recreational facilities, etc. I think he would have been very proud of some aspects of TV and saddened by others (especially the chasm that seems to have developed for north and south of 466).