Disney Global Brands & Resorts

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's four major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on April 1st 1971, exactly 6 months before the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando, Florida.

Originally, the company was known as Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division and later as Walt Disney Attractions. The chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was Bob Chapek, formerly president of Disney Consumer Products. Chapek reports to Disney CEO Bob Iger. In 2018, the company's theme parks hosted over 157.3 million guests, making Disney Parks the world's most visited theme park company worldwide, with United Kingdom-based Merlin Entertainments coming in second. It is by far Disney's largest business segment according to employee headcount, with approximately 130,000 of the company's 180,000 employees as of 2015. In March 2018, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media was merged into Parks and Resorts and renamed Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Background
In 1949, Ice Capades added a Disney segment to its performances. Costumes from those shows were used at the opening of Disneyland in 1955 with some performers hired away for Disney.

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 Disney Imagineering. 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. Joining AB-PT as Disneyland investors were Walt Disney Productions (WDP), Western Publishing and Walt Disney. Walt Disney Productions had the option to repurchase the Walt Disney, WED and Western Publishing shares (31%) by May 1, 1959, for $562,500.

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.

Disneyland, changed from Disneylandia, was announced in July 1955 by Walt to be opened in July 1955. On July 17, 1955, the Disneyland park with five themed "lands" containing eighteen attractions with double the expected guests. WED owned Santa Fe &amp; Disneyland Railroad opened, too.

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. 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. The first Audio-Animatronic attraction, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, opened at Disneyland in 1963.

Disneyland Resort
Disneyland was founded as a single park by Walt Disney and opened on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California. Disneyland Hotel opened to the public on October 5, 1955. In 2001, the site expanded significantly and was renamed the Disneyland Resort with the opening of Disney California Adventure Park on February 8, 2001, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa on January 2, 2001, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel on December 15, 2000, and Downtown Disney on January 12, 2001. Disneyland was rebranded Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the larger resort complex. The resort focuses on Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters and occupies 500 acre.

Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World resort opened October 1, 1971, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, with the Magic Kingdom theme park and three resort hotels. It expanded with the opening of Epcot in 1982, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) and Disney's Typhoon Lagoon in 1989, Disney's Blizzard Beach in 1995, Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998, Disney Springs retail, dining, and entertainment complex, eight golf courses, and 18 new resort hotels. The resort is the largest (by area) and most-visited vacation resort in the world, with four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, 21 resort hotels, eight golf courses, and several additional recreational activities, and covers 27,258 acres of land.

Other venues:
 * ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, opened April 15, 1983, with Tokyo Disneyland. On September 4, 2001, the resort expanded with Tokyo DisneySea. There are several resort hotels on site, but only three are actually owned by the resort, which boasts the largest parking structure in the world. Tokyo Disney Resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company and is licensed by The Walt Disney Company. The resort was built by Walt Disney Imagineering, and Disney maintains a degree of control; Nick Franklin leads the Walt Disney Attractions Japan team at The Walt Disney Company, which communicates with the Oriental Land Company over all aspects of the Resort, and assigns Imagineers to the Resort. Its properties, listed below, are divided into parks, shopping centers, and lodging.


 * Shopping, dining, and entertainment complex: Ikspiari

Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris, Disney's second resort complex outside the United States and the largest Disney resort outside of the United States, opened on April 12, 1992, as the 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 seven Disney resort hotels. It is the only resort out of the United States fully owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Its properties sit on 4940 acre, listed below, and are divided into parks and shopping centers.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, 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. The resort consists of Hong Kong Disneyland theme park, Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre, and three hotels, with land reserved for future expansion. It is owned and operated by Hong Kong International Theme Parks, an incorporated company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and the Government of Hong Kong. The first phase of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort occupies 320 acre.

Shanghai Disney Resort
In November 2009, Disney received approval from the central government of China to build a Disney theme park, Shanghai Disneyland Park, in Shanghai's Pudong district. "China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world and this approval marks a very significant milestone for Walt Disney Co in mainland China," said Robert Iger, president and CEO of Disney. The resort opened on June 16, 2016. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 7, 2011.

Training
Founded by Walt Disney in 1955, each new employee at a Disney theme park is trained at a Disney University. Before classes and on-the-job training specific to the job they will be performing in the park, each employee attends the "Disney Traditions" course where they learn of the philosophies and history of Disney's guest services.

Disney intellectual properties outside Disney parks
Due to its acquisitions of Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012 and 21st Century Fox in 2019, some Disney-owned franchises are represented in its competitors' parks.