The Disney Development Company (DDC) was a fully owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, incorporated in Florida. Beginning in 1984, its primary role was in the master planning, design and construction of resort, commercial and business areas within the Walt Disney World Resort, and the development of the planned community, Celebration, Florida.
Completed Disney Development Company projects included but were not limited to: Disney's Grand Floridan Resort & Convention Center (WWAT&G, architect), The Crossroads of Lake Buena Vista (Hunton Brady & Associates, architect), Disney's AMC-10 Theaters, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney's Pleasure Island (Walt Disney Imagineering, architect), Disney's Casting Center (Robert AM Stern, architect), the WDW Swan Resort (Michael Graves, architect), the WDW Dolphin Resort (Michael Graves architect), Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts (Robert AM Stern architect), Team Disney office building (Arata Isozaki, architect), Disney's Contemporary Resort Convention Center (Gwathmey Siegel, architect), Disney's Boardwalk Resort (Robert AM Stern, architect), Master Signage program, Disney Vacation Club (in Lake Buena Vista, Hilton Head and Vero Beach), Disney's Port Orleans Resort, Disney's Dixie Landings Resort, Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort (Peter Dominick, architect), Disney's Wide World of Sports, Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) Fire Station, Eagle Pines & Osprey Ridge golf courses & clubhouse, Disney's Cruise Line and Cruise Line Terminal, Disney's All-Star Resorts, Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf, Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, Disney's Fairytale Weddings pavilion, Celebration, FL, Disney's Animal Kingdom Resort (Peter Dominick, architect), and EuroDisney Resorts (architects included Graves, Stern, Gehry, Tigerman, Venturi & others) located east of Paris in Chessy, France.
[1] In May 1996, the Disney Development Company merged with Walt Disney Imagineering to form a single entity. [2]
The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been developed. Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for an extended stay, including four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, conference centers, a competitive sports complex and a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Additionally, there are 19 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property, and many other non-Disney-operated resorts on and near the property.
Celebration is a master-planned community (MPC) and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Orlando, Celebration is located near Walt Disney World Resort and was originally developed by The Walt Disney Company. Its population was recorded as 11,178 in the 2020 census.
Bay Lake is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29 at the 2020 census. It is named after a lake that lies east of the Magic Kingdom. All four of the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks, and one of Walt Disney World's two water parks, are in Bay Lake, though all Disney parks in the region have mailing addresses in nearby Lake Buena Vista.
Lake Buena Vista is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World, although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located in the adjacent city of Bay Lake. It is one of two Florida municipalities inside the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which also contains Walt Disney World, the other being Bay Lake. The permanent residential population of Lake Buena Vista was 24 at the 2020 census.
The Tokyo Disney Resort (東京ディズニーリゾート) is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a license from The Walt Disney Company, which constructed and designed the resort and its various attractions through its Imagineering research & development arm.
Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando.
State Road 536, named World Center Drive for its entire length, is an east-west state highway that extends from Interstate 4 (I-4) near the EPCOT theme park to SR 535 in Lake Buena Vista, with the road continuing east to SR 417 and International Drive.
The Golf Disneyland is a golf complex operated by The Disney Experiences, located at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The complex includes a Disney-themed golf course. Popular with adult visitors, it also has a children's section. Within the golf course is the Marriott Village. Other Disney Golf offerings include the Palm, the Magnolia, the Lake Buena Vista, and Oak Trail golf courses at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc., then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
The Seven Seas Lagoon is an artificial lake at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Located south of the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Seven Seas Lagoon serves as a natural buffer between the Magic Kingdom and its parking lot and connects with the adjacent Bay Lake. The lake reaches a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m). The lagoon is used mainly for recreational boating, as well as by the resort's three Disney Transport ferryboats that transport guests between the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
Disney's Wilderness Lodge is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Opened on May 28, 1994, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. Disney's Wilderness Lodge is located in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area on Bay Lake. The resort is located near Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. A similarly themed resort, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, is located at the Disneyland Resort in California.
Disney's Beach Club Resort is a beach-themed resort at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on November 19, 1990. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
Bonnet Creek Resort is a development in the southeast corner of Walt Disney World. The land, which is not owned by Disney, is bordered on three sides by Disney-owned land and on the fourth side by Interstate 4. It is surrounded by the Bonnet Creek nature preserve and is named after Bonnet Creek, which runs through the property. The entrance is located on Buena Vista Drive, just east of the entrance to Disney's Riviera Resort.
Disney's Yacht Club Resort is a New England nautical-themed resort at Walt Disney World. First opened on November 5, 1990, it is one of the several Epcot Area Resorts. Disney's Yacht Club is located next to a sister resort, Disney's Beach Club Resort, and across Crescent Lake from Disney's BoardWalk Resort. The resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. It was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
Disney's Venetian Resort was to be a Disney-owned resort at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, that originally would have begun operation on October 1, 1971. It was going to be themed after Venice, Italy, located on Seven Seas Lagoon. Due to the 1973 Oil Embargo, the resort, along with Disney's Asian Resort and Disney's Persian Resort, were never built. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Michael Eisner saw how well Disney's Grand Floridian Resort was doing and wanted an even better resort. The idea for the Venetian was scrapped in favor of Disney's Mediterranean Resort, which was also not built.
Disney Institute is the professional development and external training arm of The Walt Disney Company. The company showcases 'the business behind the magic' through seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as programs for professionals from many different industries, including healthcare, aerospace/aviation, government/military, food/beverage and retail.
The Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is a hotel located adjacent to the Disney Springs complex located on Walt Disney World Resort property in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The 23-acre (9.3 ha) hotel, which opened on November 23, 1983, is among seven hotels that make up the Disney Springs Resort Area. The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are located on the property of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, but are not operated by Disney.
Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort is a residential community within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and is owned and operated by Disney subsidiary, Golden Oak Realty, within Disney Signature Experiences. The first phase of development is located southeast of the Magic Kingdom Park in Bay Lake. The area was named in homage to Walt Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in California. The first few home sites were available for purchase in late 2010 and were completed in late 2011. A Four Seasons resort was opened north of the property with the company purchasing several properties to serve in its "private residences" initiative on the WDW property.
Wing Tao Chao is a Chinese-born American architect, master planner, construction developer, hospitality professional, and a former Disney Imagineer.