HeatherKieser

AmannamedWaltDisneyoncesaid,Laughteristimeless,imaginationhasnoage,and
dreamsareforever.Thismanstartedthecompanythatmakesdreamscometrueandimplantsa
magicalwonderinchildrenandadultsallaroundtheworld.TheWaltDisneyCompanyhas
grownintoahugeandextremelyfamouscompanythatdoesitall,frommoviesandtelevisionto
amusementparksandresorts.Allgreatthingsstartsmall,however,andIdontthinkWaltever
knewjusthowbighiscompanywouldbecome.
Itallstartedin1923whenbrothersWaltandRoyDisneyrentedasmallofficeinLos
Angeles.There,WaltandRoystartedtheDisneyBros.Studioandproducedtheirfirstseriesof
cartooncomediescalledTheAliceComedies.Thestudiogrewquickly,andin1925,theyhadto
moveandbuildanewstudioonHyperionAvenue.In1928,thelegendaryiconofTheWalt
DisneyCompanywasborn,MickeyMouse.Originally,WaltwantedtonamehimMortimer
Mouse,butchangedittoMickeyattheurgingofhiswife.Mickeyfirstappearedtothepublicin
thecartoonseriesSteamboatWilly.TheshowwasahugehitandledtotheDisneyBros.Studios
dominationoftheanimationmarketformanyyears.
ThecompanywasrenamedWaltDisneyProductionsin1929,andMickeyMouse
continuedtobeahugehitalongwithhisgang,DonaldDuck,Pluto,andGoofyintheirseries,
SillySymphonies.OneoftheSillySymphoniessentries,FlowersandTrees,wasthefirst
cartooninthreestriptechnicoloraswellasthefirstanimatedshortfilmtoreceiveanAcademy
Award.ThemostpopularoftheSillySymphonies,TheThreeLittlePigs,wonanOscarin1933.
WaltDisneythentookonproductionofhisfirstfulllengthfeaturefilm,SnowWhiteandthe

SevenDwarfs.Releasedin1934,itwasahugesensation,andrevolutionizedanimationofthe
time.
AfterthesuccessofSnowWhiteandtheSevenDwarfs,DisneybuiltastudioinBurbank,
California,wherethecurrentdayheadquartersarelocated.WorldWarIIthencamearoundand
startedatimeofdifficultyforthecompany.PinocchioandFantasiawerereleasedduringthe
war.Whiletheyweretechnicalwondersfortheirtime,theywereveryexpensivetoproduce,and
thecompanywaslosingmanyforeignmarketsasaresultofthewar.Afewothermovieswere
producedduringthewar,butmosteffortswereputintoproducingpropagandaandtrainingfilms
forthemilitary.
IttookawhilefortheWaltDisneyCompanytoregainallithadlostafterthewar.It
startedmovingforwardagainin1950withthereleaseoftheliveactionfilm,TreasureIsland,as
wellastheeverpopularanimatedfilm,Cinderella.In1954WaltstartedtheDisneyland
anthologytelevisionseries,whichhasbeenontheairformorethan50years.
Withhissuccessinthemotionpictureandtelevisionindustry,WaltDisneyfelttheneed
tobranchout,tocreateaplaceunlikeanyevercreatedbefore,whereparentsaswellaschildren
couldgoandhaveagoodtimetogether.Hence,theideaforawholenewkindofamusement
parkwasborn.ConstructionforDisneylandwasstarted,andtheparkopenedin1955.Itbecame
internationallyfamous,itsgrossincomegrowingfrom$6millionto$70millioninfiveyears.It
continuestobeanextremelypopularattractiontoday.Waltoncesaid,Disneylandwillneverbe
completed.Itwillcontinuetogrowaslongasthereisimaginationleftintheworld.andhewas
right,itcontinuestogrow,withnewattractionsbeingaddedregularly.

Aroundthatsametime,DisneyestablishedBuenaVistaProductionsdistribution
companyinordertohavecontrolofhisfilmsandtheirmarketing.Thecompanycontinuedto
createqualityfilmswithhugesuccess.MaryPoppinswasreleasedin1964andwasconsidered
bymanytobeoneofthebestfilmsfromthecompany,receivingfiveAcademyAwards.
In1965,WaltboughtlandincentralFloridaforhislargestprojectyet,WaltDisney
World.UnlikeinCalifornia,inFloridatherewastonsofopenspacewherehecouldbuild
resorts,shoppingvillages,andsomuchmoretomakeittheultimatevacationspot.In1966,Walt
diedandhisbrother,RoyDisney,tookonthecompanyaswellastheambitiousprojectof
DisneyWorld.Itopenedin1971,andisnowoneofthemostvisitedtouristattractionsinthe
entireworld,gettingover50millionvisitorsannually.
Today,thereareDisneyparksinTokyoandParis,Disneyresortsallaroundtheworld,as
wellasaDisneyCruiseLinecompany,DisneyMusicGroup,aDisneyVacationClub,anda
DisneyTheatricalGroup.TheyownABC,A+E,DisneyChannel,andESPNtelevision
networks.TheyalsopurchasedMarvelEntertainmentin2009.Theyhavecontinuedtoproduce
revolutionaryandextremelyhighgrossingmovies.
TheWaltDisneyCompanywasoriginallyincorporatedinCaliforniain1936,but
reincorporatedinDelawarein1995.Therehavebeenmanydifferentownersovertheyears,but
thecurrentCEOisRobertIger.Thereareroughly175,000employeesworkingforWaltDisney
Companycurrently.StockfortheWaltDisneyCompanyhasgrownquiterapidlyinthelastfive
years,andiscurrentlyaround92dollars.Disneysbiggestcompetitorsaretheotherlargemedia
conglomeratessuchas21stCenturyFoxInc.,TimeWarnerInc.,andDreamworksAnimation
SKG.

TherearemanyreasonstheWaltDisneyCompanyhasbeensosuccessful,onebeing
theirattentiontodetail.WaltDisneywasverydetailorientedandwasandwasanextreme
perfectionistineverythinghedid.Hewashisbiggestcritic,alwaysfindingwaystoexceed
customersexpectations.Waltoncesaid,Whateveryoudo,doitwell.Doitsowellthatwhen
peopleseeyoudoittheywillwanttocomebackandseeyoudoitagainandtheywillwantto
bringothersandshowthemhowwellyoudowhatyoudo.Disneyhascreatedalegacyof
wonderandimagination,andwillalwayshaveaspecialplaceintheheartsofpeopleallaround
theworld.