We all know about Disneyland and Walt Disney World… but just how big is Disney World and the Disney Company? There’s a little something to give you a clue… just in case you didn’t know.
[Research Information via Wikipedia and other sources]
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter,voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O. Disney, he was co-founder of Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. Walt Disney holds the record for both the most Academy Award nominations (59) and the number of Oscars awarded (22). He also earned four honorary Oscars while his last competitive Academy Award was posthumous.
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (Disney Studios and Pixar), and today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Walt Disney Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Touchtone Pictures. Hollywood Records. Disney also owns and operates:
ABC broadcast television network ( less known fact: ABC helped Disney start/finance Disneyland in California)
Disney Channel
ESPN
A&E Television Networks
ABC Family
as well as publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions;
and owns 14 theme parks around the world
and 38 Resort Hotels
plus 4 Cruise Ships and Castaway Cay.
California: Disneyland Resort
Theme parks:
- Disneyland Park 1955
- Disney California Adventure Park 2001
Shopping, dining and entertainment complex:
- Downtown Disney
Lodging:
- Disneyland Hotel
- Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
- Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel
Walt Disney World Resort Florida
The Walt Disney World Resort opened Oct. 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom theme park and three resort hotels. Today it is the largest and most-visited vacation resort in the world, with four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, 23 resort hotels, eight golf courses and several additional recreational activities. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, approximately 21 miles southwest of Orlando, Florida, the resort covers an area of 30,080 acres (47.00 sq miles) and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels including a campground, two health spas and physical fitness centers, five golf courses, and other recreational venues and entertainment. To put the size into perspective… all of Disneyland in California would fit onto just the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom.
It opened on October 1, 1971 with only the Magic Kingdom theme park and has since added Epcot (October 1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (May 1, 1989) and Disney's Animal Kingdom (April 22, 1998). When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the site employed about 5,500 "cast members". Today it employs more than 66,000. The largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort has more than 3,700 job classifications.
Theme parks:
- Magic Kingdom 1971
- Epcot 1982
- Disney's Hollywood Studios 1989 (formally Disney-MGM Studios… changed after Disney bought/added Pixar Studios 2008)
- Disney's Animal Kingdom 1998
- Future Park still un-named between Magic Kingdom & Epcot 20XX?
Water parks:
- Disney's Blizzard Beach 1995
- Disney's Typhoon Lagoon 1989
Other parks:
- ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex 1997
- Disney Quest
Shopping, dining and entertainment complex:
- Downtown Disney - Marketplace 1975 - Pleasure Island Complex 1989 - and WestSide was added in 1997
Lodging: The Resorts Hotels are an attraction to themselves, so take a little time from the Parks and visit the hotels… some of my favorite “don’t miss” resorts are in “green”.
- Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge 2001
- Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 1988
- Disney's Contemporary Resort 1971
- Disney's Polynesian Resort 1971
- Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside 1992 (originally named Dixie Landings)
- Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter 1991
- Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa 2004
- Disney's Old Key West Resort 1992
- Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort 1988
- Disney's BoardWalk Resort 1996
- Disney's Beach Club Resort 1990
- Disney's Yacht Club Resort 1990
- Disney's Coronado Springs Resort 1997
- Disney's Pop Century Resort 2003
- Disney's All-Star Movies Resort 1999
- Disney's All-Star Music Resort 1995
- Disney's All-Star Sports Resort 1994
- Disney's Art of Animation Resort 2011
- Disney's Wilderness Lodge 1994
- Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground 1971
- Walt Disney World Swan - Operated By Westin Hotels 1990
- Walt Disney World Dolphin - Operated By Sheraton Hotels 1990
So how many rooms are actually on Disney World…
Disney's All Star Movie Resort: 1,920 Guest rooms
Disney's All Star Music Resort: 1,920 Guest rooms
Disney's All Star Sports Resort: 1,920 Guest rooms
Disney's Pop Century Resort: 5,760 Guest rooms
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort: 2,112 Guest rooms
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort: 1,967 Guest rooms
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter: 1,000 Guest rooms
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside: 2,048 Guest rooms
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge: 1,307 Guest rooms
Disney's Beach Club Resort: 583 Guest rooms
Disney's Boardwalk Inn: 378
Disney's Contemporary Resort: 500 Guest rooms
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort: 900 Guest rooms
Disney's Polynesian Resort: 847 Guest rooms
Disney's Wilderness Lodge: 728 Guest rooms
Disney's Yacht Club Resort: 630 Guest rooms
Walt Disney World Dolphin: 1,509 Guest rooms
Walt Disney World Swan: 758 Guest rooms
Shades of Green Resort: 586 Guest rooms
That's a total of 27,373 Guest rooms on Walt Disney World property. However, this doesn't include the number of villas at Disney's Vacation Club Resorts ( Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and Lodge villas…or the number of cabins and camp sites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground . All total over 30,000+ accommodations right on Disney property.
Tokyo Disney Resort
Parks:
- Tokyo Disneyland
- Tokyo DisneySea
Shopping, dining and entertainment complex:
- Ikspiari
Lodging:
- Disney's Ambassador Hotel
- Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta
- Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Paris
Parks:
- Disneyland Park
- Walt Disney Studios Park
Other parks:
- Golf Disneyland
Shopping, dining and entertainment complex:
- Disney Village
Lodging:
- Disneyland Paris Hotel
- Disney's Hotel New York
- Disney's Newport Bay Club
- Disney's Sequoia Lodge
- Disney's Hotel Cheyenne
- Disney's Hotel Santa Fe
- Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Park:
- Hong Kong Disneyland
Other park:
- Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre
Lodging:
- Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
- Disney's Hollywood Hotel
Shanghai Disney Resort
Park:
- Shanghai Disneyland Park
Disney Cruise Line
Fleet:
- Disney Magic
- Disney Wonder
- Disney Dream
- Disney Fantasy
Properties:
- Castaway Cay
Disney Ventures
- World of Disney retail stores and Disney Outlet Stores.
- Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program that includes several themed resorts within:
- Disneyland Resort
- Walt Disney World Resort
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort plus
- Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii
- Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort
- Disney's Vero Beach Resort
- Adventures by Disney, a program of all-inclusive, guided vacation tour packages offered at predominantly non-Disney sites all around the world.
So… there you have it… maybe you knew some of this, maybe most of it… but when you stop to think about it… it’s almost unimaginable how big The Disney Company really is. And it all started with a Mouse… and One Man’s Dream and Imagination. Thanks Walt!
Development timeline
1965
Walt Disney announces Florida Project
1967
Construction begins
1971
Magic Kingdom
Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
1974
Discovery Island
1975
Disney's Village Resort
Walt Disney Village Marketplace
1976
Disney's River Country
1980
Walt Disney World Conference Center
Disney's Village Resort — Club Lake Villas
1982
Epcot
1988
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
1989
Disney's Hollywood Studios (originally Disney-MGM Studios)
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon
Pleasure Island
1990
Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Dolphin
1991
Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter
Disney Vacation Club
Disney's Old Key West Resort
1992
Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside
Bonnet Creek Golf Club
1994
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Shades of Green Golf
1995
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's Blizzard Beach
Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding Pavilion
Walt Disney World Speedway
1996
Disney Institute
Disney's BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas
1997
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex
Downtown Disney West Side
1998
Disney's Animal Kingdom
DisneyQuest
1999
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
2000
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
2001
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
2002
Disney's Beach Club Villas
2003
Disney's Pop Century Resort
2004
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
2007
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
2009
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
Treehouse Villas
2011
Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort
2012
Disney's Art of Animation Resort
