The Walt Disney Company

Janet Waskos the author of “understanding Disney: The manufacture of fantasy” this book uncovers many truths about the business of Disney and their motives behind the company. In order for Waskos to provide her readers with a deep understanding of Disney’s invisible motives behind their actions, she investigates ways in which Disney constructs society. Waskos first provides the audience with an analysis of Disney and synergy. She then focuses on how Disney promotes the idea of capitalism. Waskos supports this notion by using examples, such as, Disney theme parks, the concept of mass production and mass merchandising. In addition, Waskos outlines ways in which Disney fails to meet reality, and inflicts social norms on society. Janet

Disneyland was Walt Disney’s dream of a theme park that would be, in his words, “The Happiest Place on Earth”. Walt understood too well that the people that were hired would need to be taught how to create that elusive atmosphere. He called on Van France to assist him in creating what has become a world renowned training program. This program taught their employees, or “cast members”, to achieve the ultimate result, a “good show”.

Historically, the film, music and theme park powerhouse encompassed by the Disney Corporation has enjoyed massive success in exporting its brand, identity and products internationally. And on a domestic scale, Disney's theme parks and resorts have achieved a level of success fully unparalleled in the tourism amusement industry. However, success on a similar scale remains quite elusive where the international theme park industry is concerned. Just as Disney has struggled to gain a foothold with its Paris-based theme park, so too has its Hong Kong destination manifested more challenges than victories.

“Walt wanted to create an amusement park in which his cartoon characters could come to life and interact with the visitors.” A place where both parent and child could have fun. So in 1955 Walt purchased 160 acres of land in California and began the $17-million-dollar project to construct Disneyland. His vision of how he wanted to construct Disneyland was unpretentious. He wanted the entrance to embody a euphoric restoration of the conventional American main street. The goal was that people would walk down “Main Street, USA” and want to discover more by going to the other 4 different “dream lands,” he had creted: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland. Fantasyland was created to be more child orientated, where all of Disney’s

The Disney order and how their structural barriers, surveillance and constant instructions can avert deviation through many features that tourist may appear to be too negligible to notice due to it not being apparent. These incorporate distinguishability, a constant company instructing you what to do at all times. Shearing and Stenning (1987) revealed how this urban space control structures introduced in every characteristic of it design and supervision. From promoting comfort, security and familiarity between customers and to ease their control. Both authors define the stages people have to go through from the moment they arrive and leave the park. Inoffensive structural barriers such as the flowerbeds, pool features and fountains therefore

“Disneyland will never be completed, it will continue to grow as long as there is imagination in the world.”-Walt Disney. Imagineering, imagining and engineering put together.

And now, nearly four decades after his death, the maker of said creations, Walt Disney, is not nearly as recognized as he should be. Not only are his works and other projects intriguing, his morals and techniques personally behind them are as well. And yet they weren’t just his morals, they were shared by the country’s people who so desired an example of good principles. Perhaps the most significant scheme of all was his creation of his very own amusement park in 1955, Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California.

1.Which authors discuss Disney parks as conveying a “movie” or cinematic experience? What aspects of the parks do they discuss for making their argument? How is this movie-like experience expressed in park elements?

The author’s purpose for writing the book is to let the readers see the creative genius that Walt Disney was and to provide and insight on how he founded a powerful and profitable empire and helped establish American popular culture as the dominant culture in the world. The author shows us that hard work, determination, and the will to fulfill our dreams in life can come true not only by inheriting wealth but by putting forth the effort to succeed by the common people in America and other countries. The author’s interest in writing and his curiosity of how a person could create such a gigantic empire that began with a dream to be an artist and cartoonist could transform the entire film and entertainment industry into a world-wide phenomenal

Disney’s $17 million Disneyland theme park opened on July 17th, 1955 in Anaheim, California. After an interesting opening day involving several mishaps (including the distribution of thousands of counterfeit invitations), the site became known as a place where children and their families could explore, enjoy rides and meet the Disney characters. In a very short time, the park had increased its investment tenfold, and was entertaining tourists from around the world. With the original site having some attendance ups and downs over the years, Disneyland has expanded its rides over time and branched out globally with parks in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.

The selected company that I have chosen is The Walt Disney Company, it was founded October 16 1923; 92 years ago, in Los Angeles, California by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney. They have grown since then and have 11 parks in the world; five business segments which are media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Their main competitors being, Viacom Inc. (VIAB), Time Warner Inc. (TWX), Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA), CBS (CBS), and Comcast (CMCSA). Their mission is, “The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”

The swamp lands of Orlando, Florida seemed like useless space to the common eye, but to Walt Disney it was the perfect place for an enchanting kingdom. “Turning Florida’s swamp land into a Magic Kingdom was nothing short of a miracle” (Behind the Scenes). Disney slowly started purchasing small sections of the land a little at a time. His top Imagineers helped with the purchasing of the land in order to keep the new park a secret. “It was one of the world’s largest private construction projects. He had enough land and space to make and grow on whatever he wanted” (Behind the Scenes). Walt’s imagination saw worthless swamp land, as a place worthy for his next amusement park. Walt once said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Brad Aldridge Productions). And this

A basic of Disney theme park is the Main Street USA zone. This section features highly in all of the parks, usually coming right after the entrance. Key services like Guest Relations are located in this section, inside the "City Hall" (HK Disney Source, 2014) . There are a number of elements of the Main Street USA exhibit, and these will be discussed along with the history of Main Street USA in this paper. In particular, how the different elements of Main Street USA work together are covered. The concept has proven to be ultimate, even across cultures, because of its magical portrayal of idealized American life, which draws heavily on Walt Disney's own childhood experiences.

Strong product portfolio. Walt Disney’s products include broadcast television network ABC and cable networks such as Disney Channel or ESPN, which is one of the most watched cable networks

Walt Disney Company is famed for its creativity, strong global brand, and uncanny ability to take service and experience businesses to higher levels. In the early 1990s, then-CEO Michael Eisner looked to the fast-food industry as a way to draw additional attention to the Disney presence outside of its theme parks - its retail chain was highly successful and growing rapidly.