The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World and Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in the United States, near the cities Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was first operated by Walt Disney World Company. The property, which covers nearly 25,000 acres, only half of which has been used, comprises four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-seven themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.
Disneyland Paris, originally Euro Disney Resort, is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, a new town located 32 km (20 mi) east of the centre of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, many resort hotels, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, and a golf course, in addition to several additional recreational and entertainment venues. Disneyland Park is the original theme park of the complex, opening with the resort on 12 April 1992. A second theme park, Walt Disney Studios Park, opened in 2002. Disneyland Paris celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2017. In 25 years, 320 million people visited Disneyland Paris. The resort is the second Disney park to open outside the United States following the opening of the Tokyo Disney Resort in 1983.
It's a Small World is a water-based dark ride located in the Fantasyland area at the various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide; these include: Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland, with its inaugural version having originally premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair before permanently moving to Disneyland. The ride features over 300 audio-animatronic children in traditional costumes from cultures around the world, frolicking in a spirit of international unity, and singing the attraction's title song, which has a theme of global peace. According to Time.com, the Sherman Brothers' song "It's A Small World" is the most publicly performed song of all time.
Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, the park opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of four theme parks at the resort. The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. Its layout and attractions are based on Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.
Tokyo Disneyland is a 115-acre (47 ha) theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States, and it opened on 15 April 1983. The park was constructed by WED Enterprises in the same style as Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not wholly or partly owned by the Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney Imagineering, commonly referred to as Imagineering, is a research and development subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks resorts, cruise ships, and other entertainment venues. Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering was founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland.
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 in 1971, following the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida just outside of Orlando Florida.
The Happiest Homecoming on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. The Happiest Celebration on Earth commemorated fifty years of Disney theme parks, and celebrated Disneyland's milestone throughout Disney parks all over the globe.
Martin A. "Marty" Sklar was a scriptwriter and construction developer. He was The Walt Disney Company's international ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering, the subsidiary of the company which designs and constructs Disney theme parks and resorts across the world. He was formerly vice president of Concepts and Planning for the company, before being promoted to president, then vice chairman and principal creative executive before his final role. Disney honored him with a Disneyland window dedication ceremony on his date of retirement, July 17, 2009.
Hong Kong International Theme Parks Ltd.(HKITP) is an incorporated company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) and the Government of Hong Kong, founded in 1999. It owns and operates the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Stitch Encounter is an interactive show located in Walt Disney Studios Park, and in Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland Park. The first edition of the show at Hong Kong Disneyland was closed on May 2, 2016 to make room for Star Wars: Command Post.
Ed Grier is the dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. Before coming to VCU, he was an executive at The Walt Disney Company.
Meg Gilbert Crofton is an American businesswoman, who served as president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in the United States and France. She was named to the position on August 7, 2006, replacing Al Weiss, who had been promoted to president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in November 2005.
Shanghai Disney Resort is a themed resort in Pudong, Shanghai. It is the first Disney park resort in mainland China and the second in Greater China, after the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. The resort opened to the public on June 16, 2016.
Nick Franklin is the former Executive Vice President of Next Generation Experience at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. His duties include the development of new experiences at the Disney parks and resorts worldwide, and monitoring and enhancing user experience. Prior to that, Franklin was Executive Vice President of Global Development and directed operations of Walt Disney Attractions Japan and Disneyland International, supporting Disney's association with The Oriental Land Company, the third-party operator of Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan. Franklin was also responsible for the growth of new and existing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in particular Disney resorts in France, Hong Kong and Japan.
Djuan Rivers is the Vice President of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. He previously served as Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions at Disneyland Paris after having been General Manager of the Disney Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii.
George A. Kalogridis is an American businessman. Kalogridis is the President of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Steve Davison is Lead Creative Executive of Parades and Spectaculars for Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, and is responsible for the overall creative direction of daytime parades, firework displays, and nighttime spectaculars at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. He created such shows as Believe... There's Magic in the Stars, Wishes, World of Color, and Disney Dreams!.
