Disney Experiences,[a] commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company.[4][2] It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
Led by Josh D'Amaro, the company's theme parks hosted over 157.3 million guests, making Disney Parks the world's most visited theme park company worldwide,[5] with United Kingdom-based Merlin Entertainments coming in second at 67 million guests. It is Disney's largest business segment by employee headcount, with approximately 130,000[6] of the company's 180,000 employees as of 2015.[7][needs update] In March 2018, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media was merged into Parks and Resorts and renamed Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. In September 2020, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products laid off 28,000 employees in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Originally, entry into the theme park and travel business was a side project of Walt Disney himself. As the Disneylandia project started to become a reality, Walt Disney Productions at Walt's request set up Disneyland, Inc. (DLI) in 1951 and agreed to a design deal in March 1953 with WED Enterprises (WED), Walt's personal corporation, which then included what would now be called Walt Disney Imagineering.[9][CDL 1] With the WED concept designs and prospectus for Disneylandia, Roy Disney in September 1953 met with TV networks in a deal for Disney-produced TV show and Disneyland investment. American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT) agreed to the Disneyland, Inc. investment.[9] Joining AB-PT as Disneyland investors were Walt Disney Productions (WDP), Western Publishing and Walt Disney.[CDL 2] Walt Disney Productions had the option to repurchase the Walt Disney, WED and Western Publishing shares (31%) by May 1, 1959, for $562,500.[10]
With a need for the Disneyland Hotel nearby and no funding available for Disney to build it, Walt Disney approached Jack Wrather to build the hotel who agreed.[11]
Disneyland, changed from Disneylandia, was announced in April 1954 by Walt to be opened in July 1955.[CDL 3][CDL 4] On July 17, 1955, the Disneyland park opened with five themed "lands" containing eighteen attractions with double the expected guests.[CDL 5] WED owned Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad opened, too.[12]
On June 29, 1957, Disney Production exercised its options to purchase all but AB-PT's common stock outstanding. This allowed WDP to consolidate DLI into its 1957 annual accounting statements adding four months' worth of net profits, $511K.[13] In June 1960, Walt Disney Productions completed the purchase of AB-PT's share of the company for nearly $7.5 million and its TV contract, and the theme park became a fully owned subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions.[CDL 6]
Beginning in 1958 with the contracting of Economics Research Associates (ERA) to find a location for another Disney resort, Disney Productions moved beyond a single park. ERA recommended Florida; another study in 1961 named Ocala or Orlando in Florida as possible locations. In November 1963, Walt Disney made a trip to Florida for final site selection.[CDW 1]:333, 334 In 1962, Disney Productions purchased Celebrity Sports Center (opened on September 17, 1960, in Denver, Colorado) from its owners, including Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, and John Payne, to use as a staff training center for its second resort.[14] In 1963, Roy made plans to buy from 5,000 to 10,000 acres (2,000 to 4,000 ha), which was carried out in 1964, amassing 27,443 acres (11,106 ha) by October 1965.[CDW 2][CDW 3] Plans for the Florida project that would eventually become Walt Disney World were announced to the public in November 1965.[CDW 3] Legislation forming the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, was signed into law by Florida Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, allowing Disney to build the infrastructure for the second park.[CDW 4] Ground breaking followed for the future Reedy Creek park on May 30.[CDW 5] In Roy O. Disney's last act as CEO in 1968, he officially named the second park Walt Disney World.[CDW 1]:357
Disneyland International was incorporated on November 20, 1961.[15] The next year, The Oriental Land Company contacted Disney about building a theme park.[16]
In 1959, the WED-owned Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System began operations at Disneyland.[12][17]
The first Audio-Animatronic attraction, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, opened at Disneyland in 1963.[18] Disneyland's first new themed land, New Orleans Square, opened in 1966. Tomorrowland was revamped in 1967 with seven new attractions.[17] The design and architectural group and the WED Enterprise name was purchased from Walt's corporation, renamed as Retlaw Enterprise.[12]
Disney expanded into attractions at the 1964 New York World's Fair with It's a Small World[19] and costumed character appearances. When the characters proved a hit at the 1964 World's Fair, Walt wanted another outlet for "live" characters; thus, Disneyland put on Disney on Parade, a self-produced live arena show starting in 1969.[20][21] Small World and its famous song lasted two years at the fair; it was then moved to Disneyland as an expanded major attraction in 1966 and later duplicated in the other Disney theme parks.[19]
In 1965, Walt Disney won a bid with the US Forest Service to develop Mineral King as a ski resort. The Sierra Club sued in June 1969 to stop the development, which was granted by the federal district judge. The Forest Service appealed and won at the appeal and the Supreme Court. This ruling opened the possibility of refiling to the club. In the next round of lawsuits, the same district judge blocked the redevelopment. The injunction and the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act led to Disney backing out.[22]
$40 million worth of Walt Disney Productions Convertible Debentures were sold in January 1968 to fund Disney World (WDW). The next year in February, an agreement was made with multiple labor unions, in which the unions exchanged the right to strike for regular pay increases during the first building phase.[CDW 6] By 1971, chairman of the Park Operations Committee and vice president of park operations Dick Nunis was appointed executive vice president of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.[23]
Walt Disney World began operation on October 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom park at a cost of $400 million. The Magic Kingdom had six themed lands: Main Street, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Tomorrowland.[CDW 7] Additionally, Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort campground and two hotels, Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, also opened.[CDW 8]
Disneyland expanded in 1972 with a seventh themed land, Bear Country, replacing the Indian Village of Frontierland, and later renamed Critter Country. In 1979, the Disneyland crafts and maintenance union workers went on strike for 15 days, at first, rejecting and then accepting the park's contract.[17] Space Mountain opens at Disneyland in 1977.[17]
Two more hotels opened in 1973 at Walt Disney World: the Golf Resort[24] and the Gold Resort;[CDW 9] Disney opened the Buena Vista Club golf club in Lake Buena Vista on November 22, 1974.[CDW0 1]:71 Lake Buena Vista Village, the shopping area, opened on March 22, 1975[CDW0 1] and was renamed Walt Disney World Village in 1977.[25]:280 Celebrity Sports Center, Disney World's training center, was sold on March 29, 1979.[14]
At Walt Disney World, the Treasure Island nature preserve pens opened on April 8, 1974,[CDW0 2]:569 renamed Discovery Island in 1977.[CDW0 1]:126 On July 1, 1975, the WEDway PeopleMover opened in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland.[CDW0 3] The first water park, River Country, opened on June 20, 1976 at Disney World.[CDW0 4]:22 EPCOT Center's groundbreaking occurred at Walt Disney World in May 1979.[CDW0 5]
In 1979, Oriental Land and Disney agreed to build a Japanese theme park.[16] Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15, 1983 on 200 acres (80 ha) in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.[26]
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.[CDW0 6] Disneyland started using Disney Dollars on May 5, 1987,[CDL4 1] while Walt Disney World parks started with Epcot on October 2.[CDW1 1] 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.[CDW0 7]
The steam railroad and monorail at Disneyland were purchased from Retlaw Enterprises, formerly WED Enterprises, in 1982.[17] Bear Country was renamed Critter Country on November 23, 1988.[CDL4 2]
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;[CDW1 2] ground breaking took place on January 28, 1988.[CDW1 3] The first non-Disney owned hotel, Pickett Suite Resort, opened in Disney World Village on March 15, 1987.[CDW1 4]
On June 1, 1982, the Walt Disney World monorail line was extended to EPCOT Center from the Transportation and Ticket Center.[CDW0 1]: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.[CDW0 8]: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.[CDW1 5] 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.[27] Construction of the Disney-MGM Studios theme park began in 1986.[CDW1 6] Disney-MGM Studios opened on May 1, 1989,[CDW1 7] along with a Pleasure Island entertainment area;[CDW1 8] its second water park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, opened on June 1.[CDW1 9] In 1983, Walt Disney World Village's name was changed to the Disney Village Marketplace.[CDW1 10] A new themed area, Mickey's Birthdayland, opened in the Magic Kingdom near Fantasyland on June 18, 1988.[CDW1 11]
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.[28][29] Wrather Corporation owned the Disneyland Hotel and operated the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose tourist attractions.[28] In March 1988, Disney purchased Industrial Equity's half of Wrather Corporation.[29]
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.[30]
The Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division was incorporated as Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. on August 10, 1989.[31] In January 1990, Disney CEO Eisner announced plans to expand both Disneyland (by 20% in 10 years)[CDC 1] and Walt Disney World (WDW). The plan would have WDW add another theme park and 16 new attractions in Disney-MGM Studios.[CDW2 1] 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.[CDC 2] 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.[CDC 3]
In 1990, the possibility of a West Coast version of Epcot Center was placed in development.[CDC 4] This was announced as WestCOT in 1991, to be placed at the Disneyland Resort.[17] 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.[CDC 5] 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.[CDL5 1] 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.[CDC 6] Mickey's Toontown, a new themed land at Disneyland, opened on January 24, 1993.[CDL5 2] 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.[32]
At Walt Disney World, Mickey's Birthdayland closed on April 22, 1991, then reopened on May 26 as Mickey's Starland.[CDW2 2]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.[CDW2 3] 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.[CDW2 2]130 Planet Hollywood opened a location in Pleasure Island on December 17, 1994.[CDW1 12] The third water park at Walt Disney World, Disney's Blizzard Beach, opened on April 1, 1995.[CDW3 1] The Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland was completely refurbished and reopened in June 1995.[CDW3 2] Taking up a corner of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, the Walt Disney World Speedway opened on November 28, 1995.[CDW3 3] In 1996, the Disney Institute opened on February 9,[CDW3 4] and Disney's BoardWalk opened on July 1.[CDW3 5] The first of the World of Disney stores opened in the Disney Village Marketplace on October 3.[CDW3 6] The Downtown Disney district opened in November 1997, combining Disney Village Marketplace and Pleasure Island.[CDW3 7] A fourth theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom, opened at Disney World the week of April 20, 1998.[33]
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.[CDW2 4] The first off-resort vacation club hotel was Vacation Club Resort, which opened on October 1, 1995, in Vero Beach, Florida.[CDC 7]
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.[30]
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.[CDC 8] 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.[CDC 9] 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.[CDC 10]
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.[34]
In November 1995, Disney announced the building of Tokyo DisneySea, to be owned by Oriental along with Tokyo Disneyland.[26] 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.[35]
In December 1998, Walt Disney Attractions added Disneyland Paris, Disney Regional Entertainment and Walt Disney Imagineering to its portfolio, which already held Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland. Chairman Dick Nunis retired at the same time.[36] On October 31, 1999, Walt Disney Attractions, Inc. was merged into Walt Disney Attractions, LLC.[37]
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.[38] The first DisneyQuest outside of a resort was opened in Chicago on June 16, 1999, with plans for more locations worldwide.[39]
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.[40] The Disney Wonder cruise ship began operation on August 15.[41] Disney World's Discovery Island was closed on April 8, 1999.[42]
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.[43] Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort opened on September 4, 2001.[44] 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.[45]
Downtown Disney opened at the Disneyland Resort on January 12, 2001, between Disneyland and the future California Adventure.[CDC 11] 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.[32] In California Adventure on October 6, 2002, A Bug's Land area opened.[CDC 12] 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.[CDC 13] A $1 billion expansion/renovation of Disney California Adventure was announced in 2007 to be completed by 2012.[46]
River Country water park closed on November 2, 2001.[CDC 14][47] Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios in January 2008.[48] 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.[49]
Walt Disney Studios Park opened M