Though most Disney guests this past week have been enjoying the holiday festivities at Walt Disney World, the resort very quietly made a big move earlier this month, purchasing more than 230 acres of land just west of Magic Kingdom, according to Orange County records.

Disney subsidiary Compass Rose Corp. officially purchased the land from Winter Garden-based Lake Reedy LLC earlier this month, but news about this massive purchase did not become public until right before Christmas, when it was most likely to fly under the radar. Though that might seem like a coincidence, we've seen this tactic before while Universal was still developing what would eventually become the Universal's Epic Universe project. 

The 235-acre property is located near Reedy Lake, bordering Walt Disney World resort on the side where Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course. So why is Disney buying this huge parcel of land?

Could a fifth park be on the way?

Any time a big theme park group purchases land, the first conclusion many jump to is that a new theme park is in the works. And sometime, this ends up being a correct assumption. However, with Disney attendance basically stagnant, the need for a fifth gate technically isn't really there. But of course, Disney didn't really "need" to add Disney's Hollywood Studios or Disney's Animal Kingdom to the resort, and of course those were massive hits for the resort. And now that Universal is developing additional parks, hotels, and more down the road, Disney may be looking to be making a big more to compete with their neighbor. 

However, though it is nice to think about what a fifth gate could be like for Walt Disney World, we have a different idea about what could be happening with this massive land buy