The cover article of the New York Times

The cover article of the New York Times Magazine of December 14, 1997, featured Celebration, Disney’s new town near Orlando, Florida. The town generally was praised for its architecture, walkability, amenities and the way it fosters community activity. Author Michael Pollen, however, criticizes the town for being undemocratic. “[Disney} has built a most impressive landscape of community ... yet they have built it atop a subsoil of authoritarianism,” Pollen states. Pollen’s evidence, however, falls short of substantiating that claim. He cites the Celebration Pattern Book and Covenants, Codes and Restrictions, which govern everything from the color of houses to the size and duration of political signs. Residents are aware of these restrictions when they buy, and so far have raised few objections. The major problem has been a battle over curriculum in the new school. The article down-plays the fact that the Celebration school is public, and therefore residents have the same rights with regard to education as anyone in their county.