I hate this place..........i really do...........

‘THE THIRD BATTLE OF MANASSAS’

The grassroots opposition quickly gained momentum, and citizens were joined by a number of local, regional and national organizations who wanted to stop Disney—including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Northern Virginia Environmental Network. A third influential organization called Protect Historic America was formed specifically for this fight. This group of luminary historians and preservationists—organized by Nick Kotz, Mary Lynn Kotz and Julian Scheer—included James MacPherson, David McCullough and Shelby Foote. Protect Historic America focused on the potential impact on the nearby historic sites, as well as the perception of American history.

Miller left his job at a top law firm in DC for a contract position at PEC, where he was tasked with forming a formal coalition from the group of concerned envi-ronmentalists, noted historians, citizens, and organizations. This coalition—known as “Disney, Take a Second Look”—launched a multifaceted campaign that involved multiple studies looking Disney’s economic claims and potential alternative sites; numerous press events to garner national attention; lobbying in Richmond; and a number of public rallies and protests. Who could forget the foam-head caricatures of Disney characters that showed up at multiple events, including the opening of “The Lion King” movie at D.C.’s Uptown Theater?

The heart of the campaign, however, came from the thousands of hours spent researching proffers and the fiscal, environmental, and traf-fic impacts—research which was shared with local and state government officials to help them make better-informed decisions. The coalition cited over 40 alternative locations in the D.C. area that were better suited for such development—due to existing transportation and mass transit infrastructure, as well as needed distance from priceless historical resources. They also revealed a number of holes in Disney’s claims of economic gain for the region. The corporation said that “Disney’s America” would be open 365 days a year—generating $38 million in state taxes and over 12,000 jobs by 2007. Yet, PEC and its partners showed that, due Northern Virginia’s climate, the park could not possibly stay open year-round. Thus, they proved that the project would likely produce no more than 6,000 jobs by 2007—a vast majority of which would be for seasonal, minimum-wage work. And, since the region was largely rural (Haymarket’s population at the time was under 500), Disney would have to bring in the workforce needed from elsewhere. Lastly, the coalition pointed out that it was likely the park would become a net drain on Prince William County’s tax base due to the costs of the infrastructure and services needed to support the resulting development.

Thanks to widespread national media coverage and the coalition’s damning reports, public opinion was changing swiftly. Only a couple of months after the initial poll showing a 75% approval rat-ing for “Disney’s America,” a new poll showed that public approval had dropped to 50%. A few months later, a third poll showed that the tables had turned completely— with 75% of people opposed to Disney’s plans and only 25% approving. It was clear that Disney had underestimated the strength of the grassroots opposition they were facing.

On September 17, 1994 thousands of people came together for a march on Washington—protesting “Disney’s America.” This just may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, because soon after Disney announced that it was abandoning its proposed park in Haymarket—only nine months after making their plan public.

“The fight with Disney had a profound effect on people’s perception of what the average person could do when faced with a huge challenge,” Miller says. “It changed what people thought was possible for Virginia’s future. Up to that point, many thought that the urban sprawl spilling out of D.C. was unstoppable, but PEC and all of our partners proved that wasn’t the case.”