The story
History
Disney's entry into the theme park and travel business began as a side project of Walt Disney. As the proposed Disneylandia project developed, Walt Disney Productions, at Walt's request, established Disneyland, Inc. (DLI) in 1951. In March 1953, DLI entered into a design agreement with WED Enterprises (WED), Walt Disney's privately owned company, which at the time included the operations that would later become Walt Disney Imagineering.
Using WED's concept designs and prospectus for Disneylandia, Roy O. Disney met with television networks in September 1953 to seek financing for the project through a combination of investment in Disneyland and Disney-produced television programming. American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT) agreed to invest in Disneyland, Inc. Other investors included Walt Disney Productions (WDP), Western Publishing, and Walt Disney personally. Walt Disney Productions held an option to purchase the shares owned by Walt Disney, WED, and Western Publishing, representing 31% of the company, for $562,500 by May 1, 1959.
Because Disney lacked the financing to construct a hotel near the park, Walt Disney approached developer Jack Wrather, who agreed to build the Disneyland Hotel.
The project, by then renamed Disneyland, was announced by Walt Disney in April 1954 and scheduled to open in July 1955. Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, with five themed "lands" and eighteen attractions. Attendance on opening day was approximately twice the number expected. The Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, owned by WED Enterprises, also began operations with the park.
On June 29, 1957, Walt Disney Productions exercised its options to acquire all outstanding common stock in Disneyland, Inc. except the shares held by AB-PT. The transaction allowed Walt Disney Productions to consolidate Disneyland, Inc. into its 1957 financial statements, adding four months of net income totaling approximately $511,000.
In June 1960, Walt Disney Productions purchased AB-PT's remaining interest in Disneyland, Inc. for nearly $7.5 million and acquired the related television contract, making the theme park company a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions.
Beginning in 1958, Walt Disney Productions began exploring locations for a second Disney resort, commissioning Economics Research Associates (ERA) to identify possible sites. ERA recommended Florida, and a further study in 1961 identified Ocala and Orlando as potential locations. In November 1963, Walt Disney traveled to Florida to make the final site selection.:333, 334
In 1962, Walt Disney Productions purchased the Celebrity Sports Center in Denver, Colorado, which had opened on September 17, 1960. Its owners included Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, and John Payne. Disney intended to use the facility as a staff training center for its planned second resort.
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In 1963, Roy O. Disney began planning the purchase of between 5,000 and 10,000 acres (2,000 and 4,000 ha) in Florida. Land acquisition began the following year, and by October 1965 Disney had assembled approximately 27,443 acres (11,106 ha). Plans for the project that would become Walt Disney World were publicly announced in November 1965.
The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, which established the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, giving Disney broad authority to develop infrastructure for the new resort. Groundbreaking for the future resort followed on May 30. In 1968, in one of his final acts as CEO, Roy O. Disney officially named the development Walt Disney World.:357
Meanwhile, Disney continued expanding beyond California. Disneyland International was incorporated on November 20, 1961. The following year, The Oriental Land Company approached Disney about developing a theme park in Japan.
At Disneyland, the WED-owned Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System began operations in 1959. The first Audio-Animatronic attraction, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, opened in 1963. Disneyland's first new themed land, New Orleans Square, opened in 1966, followed by a major redevelopment of Tomorrowland in 1967 that introduced seven new attractions. The design and architectural operations of WED Enterprises were also purchased from Walt Disney's privately owned company, which was subsequently renamed Retlaw Enterprises.
Disney also participated in the 1964 New York World's Fair, where it developed attractions including It's a Small World and presented costumed Disney characters. Their popularity at the fair encouraged Walt Disney to pursue additional live character entertainment, leading Disneyland to produce Disney on Parade, a touring arena show that began in 1969.
It's a Small World operated for two years at the World's Fair before being moved to Disneyland in 1966 as an expanded attraction. Versions of the attraction were later built at other Disney theme parks.
In 1965, Walt Disney won a bid from the United States Forest Service to develop a ski resort at Mineral King in California. The Sierra Club filed suit in June 1969 in an effort to stop the project, and a federal district judge initially blocked the development. The Forest Service successfully appealed the ruling, including before the Supreme Court, but the decision allowed the Sierra Club to refile the case. In subsequent litigation, the same district judge again blocked the development. The continuing legal dispute, together with the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act, ultimately led Disney to abandon the project.
To finance the development of Walt Disney World, Walt Disney Productions sold $40 million in convertible debentures in January 1968. In February 1969, Disney reached an agreement with several labor unions under which the unions gave up the right to strike during the initial construction phase in exchange for regular wage increases. By 1971, Dick Nunis, chairman of the Park Operations Committee and vice president of park operations, had been appointed executive vice president of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom, which had cost approximately $400 million to develop. The park opened with six themed lands: Main Street, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Tomorrowland. The resort also opened with Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Disney's Contemporary Resort, and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort.
Disneyland continued to expand during the 1970s. Bear Country, the park's seventh themed land, opened in 1972 on the site of Frontierland's former Indian Village and was later renamed Critter Country. Space Mountain opened at Disneyland in 1977. In 1979, Disneyland's crafts and maintenance workers went on strike for 15 days, initially rejecting and later accepting the park's proposed contract.
Walt Disney World also expanded rapidly during the decade. Two additional hotels opened in 1973: the Golf Resort and the Gold Resort. Disney opened the Buena Vista Club golf club in Lake Buena Vista on November 22, 1974.:71 Lake Buena Vista Village, a shopping complex, opened on March 22, 1975, and was renamed Walt Disney World Village in 1977.:280 The Celebrity Sports Center, which had served as a training facility for Walt Disney World, was sold on March 29, 1979.
At Walt Disney World, the Treasure Island nature preserve opened on April 8, 1974,:569 and was renamed Discovery Island in 1977.:126 The WEDway PeopleMover opened in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland on July 1, 1975. Disney's first water park, River Country, opened at Walt Disney World on June 20, 1976.:22 Groundbreaking for EPCOT Center took place in May 1979.
In 1979, Oriental Land and Disney reached an agreement to develop a Disney theme park in Japan. Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15, 1983, on a 200 acres (80 ha) site in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division
With the retirement of Donn Tatum as Walt Disney Productions' Chairman and CEO on June 3, 1980, three divisions were formed, including the Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division, of which Disney Legend Dick Nunis was named division president. Disneyland started using Disney Dollars on May 5, 1987, while Walt Disney World parks started with Epcot on October 2. A renegotiated Disneyland Japan royalty agreement in April 1988 by Chief Financial Officer Gary L. Wilson netted Disney US$723 million in cash in exchange for lower royalty payments.
The steam railroad and monorail at Disneyland were purchased from Retlaw Enterprises, formerly WED Enterprises, in 1982. Bear Country was renamed Critter Country on November 23, 1988.
Tishman Company's plans for two Walt Disney World hotels were rejected by the new CEO Michael Eisner on September 30, 1984, marking a change in Disney architecture. New plans for the Dolphin and Swan hotels were submitted by Michael Graves in July 1986; ground breaking took place on January 28, 1988. The first non-Disney owned hotel, Pickett Suite Resort, opened in Disney World Village on March 15, 1987.
On June 1, 1982, the Walt Disney World monorail line was extended to EPCOT Center from the Transportation and Ticket Center.:338 The EPCOT Center theme park opened on October 1, 1982, at a building cost of US$1.2 billion, with two areas, Future World and World Showcase.:272
Plans for a Hollywood-style theme park were announced in April 1985 for the Walt Disney World resort at a project cost of US$300 million. In April 1985, Disney signed a licensing agreement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), giving Disney the right to use the MGM name, logo and movie library for this third park. Construction of the Disney-MGM Studios theme park began in 1986. Disney-MGM Studios opened on May 1, 1989, along with a Pleasure Island entertainment area; its second water park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, opened on June 1. In 1983, Walt Disney World Village's name was changed to the Disney Village Marketplace. A new themed area, Mickey's Birthdayland, opened in the Magic Kingdom near Fantasyland on June 18, 1988.
In 1987, Disney and Ron Brierley's Industrial Equity (Pacific) Ltd., already a 28% owner of the Wrather Corporation, agreed to purchase the remaining Wrather Corporation stock with a 50% share each. Wrather Corporation owned the Disneyland Hotel and operated the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose tourist attractions. In March 1988, Disney purchased Industrial Equity's half of Wrather Corporation.
In 1985, Premier Cruise Line became the licensed partner cruise line with Disney. This allowed Disney characters on their ships and combined cruise, hotel, and theme park packages.
Walt Disney Attractions
The Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division was incorporated as Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. on August 10, 1989. In January 1990, Disney CEO Eisner announced plans to expand both Disneyland (by 20% in 10 years) and Walt Disney World (WDW). The plan would have WDW add another theme park and 16 new attractions in Disney-MGM Studios. Disney and The Coca-Cola Company agreed to a 15-year marketing contract on January 25: Coca-Cola products would be exclusive in Disney theme parks, and Coca-Cola would use some Disney characters in their ads. On March 16, 1990, Attractions president Nunis announced a 25-year plan for a 4,400-acre (1,800 ha) development in Osceola, Florida, with homes, shopping malls and industrial buildings.
In 1990, the possibility of a West Coast version of Epcot Center was placed in development. This was announced as WestCOT in 1991, to be placed at the Disneyland Resort. On July 31, 1990, a new 350-acre (140 ha) ocean-themed park and resort, Port Disney, was announced for Long Beach. Port was to have a cruise-ship terminal, five hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas, costing $2 billion to build. On December 12, 1991, Disney selected only one California project to go forward with, Disneyland Resort, which was to include the WestCOT Center, hotels, a shopping mall, and a lake. Port Disney was abandoned in March 1992, and Disney canceled its leases on the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose attractions picked up from the Wrather Corporation. Mickey's Toontown, a new themed land at Disneyland, opened on January 24, 1993. Disney canceled its plans for WestCOT in mid-1995 due to financial issues at Disneyland Paris and the park's projected high cost. That park was then replaced by plans for the California Adventure park, hotels, and a retail district.
At Walt Disney World, Mickey's Birthdayland closed on April 22, 1991, then reopened on May 26 as Mickey's Starland.324, 329, 333 In order to expand Disney World on wetland, on April 23, 1993, the company agreed to form an 8,500-acre (3,400 ha) wilderness preserve in Florida, known as the Disney Wilderness Preserve. The Disney Inn hotel was leased starting February 1, 1994, by the US Army, then purchased on January 12, 1996, and later renamed Shades of Green.130 Planet Hollywood opened a location in Pleasure Island on December 17, 1994. The third water park at Walt Disney World, Disney's Blizzard Beach, opened on April 1, 1995. The Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland was completely refurbished and reopened in June 1995. Taking up a corner of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, the Walt Disney World Speedway opened on November 28, 1995. In 1996, the Disney Institute opened on February 9, and Disney's BoardWalk opened on July 1. The first of the World of Disney stores opened in the Disney Village Marketplace on October 3. The Downtown Disney district opened in November 1997, combining Disney Village Marketplace and Pleasure Island. A fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened at Disney World the week of April 20, 1998.
The first Disney Vacation Club Resorts, Vacation Club Resort, opened on October 1, 1991, and was renamed Disney's Old Key West Resort in January 1996. These vacation club hotels were operated by Disney Vacation Developments, Inc. as vacation timeshares. The first off-resort vacation club hotel was Vacation Club Resort, which opened on October 1, 1995, in Vero Beach, Florida.
In 1993, Premier Cruises discontinued its partnership with Disney for one with Warner Bros. After failing to reach agreements with Carnival or Royal Caribbean, Disney announced in 1994 the formation of its cruise line. The Disney Cruise Line launched with the Disney Magic ship in 1998 along with its exclusive resort island port of Castaway Cay.
Disney reportedly had plans to build a park named Disney's America. The park was to have been located in Haymarket, Virginia; 2,300 acres (930 ha) of property were purchased from Exxon in 1993. The history-themed park was announced on November 11, 1993. The plans for the 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) called for a 150-acre (61 ha) amusement park, a campground, a golf course, 2 million square feet (190,000 m2) of office/commercial space, and 2500 homes. With projections indicating that the park would operate at a loss and with opposition in the press, Disney canceled the project on September 15, 1994.
Walt Disney Imagineering created Disney Fair, a U.S. traveling attraction, which premiered in September 1996. The fair was poorly attended and was pulled after a few stops. Disney Entertainment Projects (Asia Pacific) Inc., a new Disney Asian Pacific subsidiary, selected a renamed fair called DisneyFest as its first project, taking it to Singapore to open there on October 30, 1997.
In November 1995, Disney announced the building of Tokyo DisneySea, to be owned by Oriental along with Tokyo Disneyland. Oriental and Disney signed the DisneySea licensing agreement in November 1997; the theme park was scheduled to open in 2001 at a cost of $2.6 billion.
In December 1998, Walt Disney Attractions added Disneyland Paris, Disney Regional Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering to its portfolio, which already held Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland. Chairman Dick Nunis retired at the same time. On October 31, 1999, Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. was merged into Walt Disney Attractions, LLC.
On June 19, 1998, Disney Regional Entertainment opened its first DisneyQuest, a location-based entertainment venue, at Downtown Disney West Side in Walt Disney World. The first DisneyQuest outside of a resort was opened in Chicago on June 16, 1999, with plans for more locations worldwide.
In 1999, plans were announced for a new resort in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland, as a joint venture, Hong Kong International Theme Parks Ltd., between the Hong Kong Government and Disney Resorts. The Disney Wonder cruise ship began operation on August 15. Disney World's Discovery Island was closed on April 8, 1999.
Disney Destinations
Walt Disney Attractions, LLC changed its name to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, LLC on April 14, 2000, then to Disney Destinations, LLC on April 25, 2006. Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort opened on September 4, 2001. The Walt Disney Company in selling its Japanese and US chains decided to keep the Disney Stores in Europe, along with the store in Manhattan, which was converted into a World of Disney store run by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2004.
Downtown Disney opened at the Disneyland Resort on January 12, 2001, between Disneyland and the future California Adventure. Disney California Adventure opened at the Disneyland Resort on February 8, 2001, with three major areas: Paradise Pier, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, and the Golden State. In California Adventure on October 6, 2002, A Bug's Land area opened. Parks and Resorts chairman Jay Rasulo announced at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on September 12, 2009, that Walt Disney World's Fantasyland would be overhauled and increased in size by 2013. A $1 billion expansion/renovation of Disney California Adventure was announced in 2007 to be completed by 2012.
River Country water park closed on November 2, 2001. Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios in January 2008. Pleasure Island's core remaining six nightclubs were closed down in late 2008 to change the area to match the family friendly make-up of the other two sections of Downtown Disney at Disney World.
Walt Disney Studios Park opened March 16, 2002, as the second theme park at the renamed Disneyland Resort Paris. The first park was renamed Disneyland Park (DLP). DLP Paris opened Toy Story Playland in August 2000 with three attractions.
Construction on Hong Kong Disneyland began on January 12, 2003, then opened September 12, 2005. Groundbreaking occurred at Hong Kong Disneyland in December 2009 for a three land expansion: Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch, and Toy Story Land.
In June 2005, Disney Magic made the first cruise outside of the Caribbean, by moving its port for the summer to Los Angeles with a Mexican Riviera schedule. Disney Cruise Line ordered a new 2 ships class from Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany by February 22, 2007. The Magic in May 2007 transferred its homeport to Barcelona, Spain, for the lines' first summer Mediterranean itinerary then returned to its permanent port in September.
The Chicago DisneyQuest location was closed in September 2001. Disney Parks started the Adventures by Disney tour vacation business in 2005. Disney entered a float, "The Most Magical Celebration on Earth", into the 2006 Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade.
In October 2007, Disney announced plans to build a resort at Ko Olina Resort & Marina in Kapolei, Hawaii, featuring both a hotel and Disney Vacation Club timeshare units. The 800-unit property, named Aulani, opened in 2011 and joined the other resorts not associated with a theme park, such as Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort in South Carolina.
With the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration starting on October 1, 2000, sanctioned Disney pin trading was started. In 2001, the Themed Entertainment Association gave Disney Parks and Resorts the Thea Award for Breakthrough Innovation for the park's FastPass system.
History
In February 2009, Tom McAlpin left the presidency of Disney Cruise Line and was succeeded by Karl Holz, who became president of both Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations. New Vacation Operations included Adventures by Disney.
Disney Cruise Line ordered three ships of a new class, known during development as the Triton class, in 2016 and 2017. In April 2017, Disney announced that Holz would retire from the presidency of Disney Cruise Line on February 15, 2018, while Anthony Connelly would assume the role of president on October 1, 2017.
Following Disney's company-wide reorganization in March 2018 that created the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment, Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations were renamed Disney Signature Experiences, with Jeff Vahle appointed president. In May 2018, Ken Potrock was promoted from senior vice president and general manager of Disney Vacation Club to president of Consumer Products.
In early March 2019, Disney Cruise Line purchased the Lighthouse Point property on the island of Eleuthera from the government of the Bahamas for development as an additional cruise destination.
History
Disney's sports operations at Walt Disney World date to the resort's opening. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses were among its original golf facilities and began hosting the Walt Disney World Open Invitational, an annual PGA Tour event.
In 1994, Disney held the inaugural Walt Disney World Marathon, its first major road race, and subsequently expanded its running-event program. A Disneyland Marathon and 5K were held in 1995, three weeks after the Los Angeles Marathon, on March 26, 1995.
In 1995, Walt Disney World had IMS Events, Inc. construct the Walt Disney World Speedway. Disney's Wide World of Sports opened in 1997 under executive Reggie Williams.
By 1998, Williams had been named vice president of Disney Sports Attractions, overseeing a newly created sports and recreation division. The first Disney Classic 10K was held on October 3, 1999, helping launch Walt Disney World's 15-month Millennium Celebration. On March 30, 2003, Disney Sports Attractions held the first Disney Inline Marathon.
Williams retired as vice president of Disney Sports Attractions on November 21, 2007. On January 3, 2008, Ken Potrock was promoted to senior vice president of the renamed Disney Sports Enterprises.
On February 25, 2010, Disney's Wide World of Sports was renamed the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, accompanied by upgrades and new facilities.
On September 25, 2011, Disney began leasing five Walt Disney World golf courses—Palm, Magnolia, Lake Buena Vista, Osprey Ridge, and Oak Trail—to Arnold Palmer Golf Management under a 20-year operating agreement in which Disney and the operator would share revenue. As part of the agreement, Arnold Palmer Golf Management planned to redesign the Palm course.
The Orlando golf market had experienced an oversupply of courses following the area's building boom and subsequent downturn, making profitability difficult. Disney sought to use Palmer's involvement and the "Palmer Advantage" membership program to attract greater attention to its courses. Osprey Ridge had been sold to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for construction of a hotel, though the project was delayed until 2014; Arnold Palmer Golf Management was to continue operating the course until hotel construction began. Another course, Eagle Pines, had closed several years earlier to make way for the Golden Oak residential development, which was under construction in 2011.
In January 2013, Potrock was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of Disney Vacation Club and Adventures by Disney. Tom Wolber, then senior vice president of operations for Disney Cruise Line, was promoted to succeed him at Disney Sports Enterprises. The Walt Disney World Speedway closed in late June 2015.
Sports marketing director Faron Kelley was promoted to vice president of sports in January 2016, with responsibility also extending to Disney's water parks.
In early March 2018, Maribeth Bisienere, then senior vice president of Disney Springs and ESPN Wide World of Sports, was promoted to senior vice president of Parks. In February 2020, Rosalyn Durant moved from ESPN to Walt Disney World Resort as senior vice president of operations for Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and the water parks.
From Wikipedia’s article on Disney Experiences, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4