THEME PARKS AND RESORTS

The Parks and Resorts division was founded in 1971 as Walt Disney Attractions when Disney's second theme park, the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, opened, joining the original Disneyland in California.

Disneyland was founded as a single park by Walt Disney on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California. In 2001, the area was officially named the Disneyland Resort with the opening of Disney's California Adventure Park, two new resort hotels and the Downtown Disney retail, dining and entertainment district.

The Walt Disney World Resort originally opened on Oct. 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom and three resort hotels. Today it is the largest vacation resort and most popular tourist destination in the world, with four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and entertainment complex, 20 resort hotels, eight golf courses, and miles of recreational activities.

Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, opened April 15, 1983. On Sept. 4, 2001, the resort expanded with Tokyo DisneySea.

Disneyland Paris, Disney's second resort complex outside the United States, opened April 12, 1992, as Euro Disney Resort. Located in Marne-la-Vallée in the suburbs of Paris, France, it features two theme parks, a golf course, an entertainment complex and six Disney resort hotels.

Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney's fifth resort and its second in Asia, opened September 12, 2005. The resort is located in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Currently, the resort consists of one theme park and two hotels, with land reserved for future expansion.

Disney Cruise Line was formed in 1995; its two ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, began operation in 1998 and 1999.

DISNEY AND PIXAR

Pixar is an American CGI animation company. It was founded in February 1986, but was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 2006.
Pixar has made 10 feature films, including:
Toy Story (1995)
A Bug's Life (1998)
Monster's Inc (2001)
Finding Nemo (2003)
The Incredibles (2004)
Cars (2006) -under Disney
Ratatouille (2007) -under Disney
Wall-E (2008) -under Disney
Up (2009) -Disney digital 3-D

Pixar was responsible for creation and production, while Disney handled marketing and distribution. But after disagreements, Disney finally bought Pixar.

HOW DOES DISNEY REPRESENT REALITY?

Disney focuses on tackling issues in their productions, such as:
Separation (Dumbo), Death (Bambi, Cindarella's dad...), Differentiating between people's looks and what's inside (Beauty and the Beast) and Family issues concerning single parenthood (The Little Mermaid)

There is always the sense that Disney Films should be perfect and have the most ideal situation but this is not always true in films and there has to be some sort of reality.

The form of reality Disney represented in their full length animated features is well done. While being at an appropriate level for children they at the same time do not harbor the truth and they bring a sense of reality to the film.

Alice in Wonderland, though, may seem like a dream to little children, but the reality is the film is based on a 'trip' caused my drug abuse. This is one of the darker realities tackled and it could be argued that the hidden theme is dangerous the children.

DISNEY'S COMPETITION

Disney is one of the biggest film producing companies for family films, developing from a cartoon company nearly a century ago. Although it does have some competition such as:

DreamWorks Animation

There are numerous new companies taking advantage of the cheaper technology prices, such as:

Kanbar Entertainment

WHAT DOES THE DISNEY BRAND MEAN?

Walt Disney set out to entertain and educate through his films and theme parks.

Disney employ all people, of different race and gender without discrimination.

The Walt Disney Company say, "We strive to create an optimal employee experience while meeting our business needs."

They follow a strong tradition of innovation

They strive to follow a high standard of excellence, maintaining high-quality standards across all product categories.

They create positive and inclusive ideas about families, and provide entertainment experiences for all generations to share.

Every product tells a story, and they say, "timeless and engaging stories delight and inspire."

At The Walt Disney Company, entertainment is about hope, aspiration and positive resolutions.

They honor and respect the trust people place in them.

Their fun is about laughing at their experiences and themselves.

INTERVIEW WITH COFOUNDER ROY DISNEY

VIDEO

BUSINESS SIDE OF DISNEY

The company operates in...
Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.

The company operates mainly in four segments...
Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, and Consumer Products.

Synergy:

The movies (i.e. through Disney, Pixar, Touchstone, Miramax and Buena Vista) are the cornerstone product.
They are marketed before launch through partners, agencies, competitors (e.g. NBC, CBS) and subsidiaries.
The subsidiaries is where the synergies really come in.
Disney (DIS) owns ABC, the Military Channel, the History Channel and ESPN. Some commercials are run on these channels for movies - especially ABC.
Once the movie is launched, the company continues to gain marketing synergies for its other subsidiaries.
The more popular movies are then enfranchised into their Theme Parks and used as an attraction for visitors.
Then at the Theme Parks one must stay somewhere, eat, drink, purchase souvenirs, and pay to enter the Park.

ORIGINS OF DISNEY

WALT DISNEY, was the co-founder (with his brother) of Walt Disney Productions, in 1923.
The Walt Disney Studios is the foundation on which Disney was built.
The creations of Mickey Mouse and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was the world's first full-length animated film, created popularity for Disney.
Disney is arguably the best family films, animated and not.