Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises. It is one of four major business segments of the company, the other three being Consumer Products, Media Networks, and Studio Entertainment.

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 Resort

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 resort occupies 500 acres, listed below, and are divided into parks, shopping centers, and resorts:

Parks:
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure Park

Shopping centers:
Downtown Disney

Resorts:
Disneyland Hotel
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel


Walt Disney World Resort

The Walt Disney World Resort opened Oct. 1, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom (similar in layout to Disneyland) and three resort hotels in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The property is twice the size of Manhattan, with about a quarter of it having been developed to date. It has become the most popular tourist destination on Earth, with four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and entertainment complex, 20 resort hotels and eight golf courses. The resort is divided into parks, shopping centers, and resorts:

Parks:
Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Blizzard Beach
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon
Disney's Wide World of Sports

Shopping centers:
Downtown Disney

Resorts:
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Disney's Port Orleans Resort
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney's BoardWalk Resort
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Disney's Pop Century Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground


Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo Disney Resort, located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, opened April 15, 1983. On Sept. 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. Its properties, listed below, are divided into parks, shopping centers, and resorts:

Parks:
Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo DisneySea

Shopping centers:
Ikspiari shopping, dining and entertainment complex

Resorts:
Disney's Ambassador Hotel
Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel


Disneyland Resort Paris

Disneyland Resort 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 and a golf course, an entertainment complex and six Disney resort hotels. It is maintained and managed by Euro Disney S.C.A., a company partially owned by the Walt Disney Company whose stock is traded on Euronext. Its properties sit on 4,940 acres, listed below, and are divided into parks, shopping centers, and resorts:

Parks:
Disneyland Park
Walt Disney Studios Park
Golf Disneyland

Shopping centers:
Disney Village

Resorts:
Disneyland 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

Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney's fifth resort and its second in Asia, opened Sept. 12, 2005. The resort is located in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. Currently, the resort consists of one theme park and two 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. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort sits on 310 acres.

Parks:
Hong Kong Disneyland
Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre

Resorts:
Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
Disney's Hollywood Hotel


Disney Cruise Line

Though it is part of the Walt Disney World Resort venture, Disney Cruise Line is an altogether separate branch of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney Cruise Line was formed in 1995; its two ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, began operation in 1998 and 1999, respectively, and were designed in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering. Both ships offer three-, four- and seven-night Caribbean cruises, each with a stop at Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. The Disney Magic temporarily relocated to Los Angeles in 2005 to offer cruises along the Mexican Riviera in coordination with the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, and the ship will return to the West Coast in 2008 for similar itineraries. The Magic also offered several cruises in the Mediterranean in 2007.

Properties:
Disney Wonder
Disney Magic
Castaway Cay