The Disney Wilderness Preserve is a 11,500-acre nature reserve near Kissimmee, Florida . It was created through an agreement between The Walt Disney Company , The Nature Conservancy , and the state of Florida . It is located fifteen miles south of Walt Disney World .
152-441: Walt Disney World was seeking permits for the expansion of Celebration in the early 1990s. There was considerable environmentalist push-back, as further development would lead to the destruction of wetlands . In a form of mitigation banking , Disney secured the purchase of the 8,500 acre Walker Ranch in 1991. The ranch, located adjacent to Walt Disney World, was active in the 1940s and had been extensively logged and grazed. The goal
304-540: A Golden Globe for Best Picture , and it received 6 Academy Award nominations, becoming the first animation nominated for Best Picture; it won Best Score, Best Sound , and Best Song. The film was critically acclaimed, with some critics considering it to be the best Disney film. To coincide with the 1992 release of The Mighty Ducks , Disney founded the National Hockey League team The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Disney's next animated feature Aladdin
456-645: A 12-week goodwill visit to South America, funded by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs . During the trip, the animators began plotting films, taking inspiration from the local environments and music. As a result of the strike, federal mediators compelled the studio to recognize the Screen Cartoonist's Guild and several animators left, leaving it with 694 employees. To recover from their financial losses, Disney rushed into production
608-441: A 26% growth in revenue. Los Angeles Times called Disney's recovery "a real rarity in the corporate world". On May 1, 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios, its third amusement park at Walt Disney World, and later became Hollywood Studios . The new park demonstrated to visitors the movie-making process, until 2008, when it was changed to make guests feel they are in movies. Following the opening of Disney-MGM Studios, Disney opened
760-442: A Kansas City advertising firm, to run Disney's merchandising; Kamen agreed and transformed Disney's merchandising. Within a year, Kamen had 40 licenses for Mickey Mouse and within two years, had made $ 35 million worth of sales. In 1934, Disney said he made more money from the merchandising of Mickey Mouse than from the character's films. The Waterbury Clock Company created a Mickey Mouse watch, which became so popular it saved
912-692: A choir from the US Army marched down Main Street. The icon of the park was the Cinderella Castle . On Thanksgiving Day, cars traveling to the Magic Kingdom caused traffic jams along interstate roads. On December 21, 1971, Roy died of cerebral hemorrhage at St. Joseph Hospital. Donn Tatum , a senior executive and former president of Disney, became the first non-Disney-family-member to become CEO and chairman. Card Walker , who had been with
1064-521: A clubhouse consisting of a pool, gym, and restaurant. Celebration hosts many celebrations every year, including community-wide yard sales, an art show, an exotic car festival, an annual Radio Disney Holiday concert, an Oktoberfest Celebration, the "Great American Pie Festival" (televised on The Food Network ), a "Posh Pooch" festival, and downtown events for the Fall and Christmas seasons when autumn leaves and "snow" (small-scale soap flakes) are released into
1216-402: A contract dispute, with Disney asking for a larger fee, while Mintz sought to reduce the price. Disney discovered Universal Pictures owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald, and Mintz threatened to produce the shorts without him if he did not accept the reduction in payment. Disney declined and Mintz signed 4 of Walt Disney Studio's primary animators to start his own studio; Iwerks was
1368-458: A contract with Winkler for $ 1,500, to create six series of Alice Comedies , with an option for two more six-episode series. Walt and Roy Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923, to produce the films. In January 1926, the Disneys moved into a new studio on Hyperion Street and the studio's name was changed to Walt Disney Studio . After producing Alice films over
1520-687: A deal in which all parties would obtain 27% equity in streaming service Hulu , and Disney added ABC Family and Disney Channel to the streaming service. On December 16, Roy E. Disney died of stomach cancer ; he was the last member of the Disney family to work for Disney. In March 2010, Haim Saban reacquired from Disney the Power Rangers franchise, including its 700-episode library, for around $ 100 million. Shortly after, Disney sold Miramax Films to an investment group headed by Ronald Tutor for $ 660 million. During that time, Disney released
1672-576: A dual role as the twins in The Parent Trap (1961). Another child actor, Kevin Corcoran , was prominent in many Disney live-action films, first appearing in a serial for The Mickey Mouse Club, where he would play a boy named Moochie. He worked alongside Mills in Pollyanna , and starred in features such as Old Yeller (1957), Toby Tyler (1960), and Swiss Family Robinson . In 1964,
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#17327651497201824-416: A golf course, and 6 hotels. In 1988, Disney's 27th animated film Oliver & Company was released the same day as that of former Disney animator Don Bluth's The Land Before Time . Oliver & Company out-competed The Land Before Time , becoming the first animated film to gross over $ 100 million in its initial release, and the highest-grossing animated film in its initial run. Disney became
1976-606: A joint venture with Infoseek in January 1999, Disney acquired the rest of Infoseek later that year. After unsuccessful negotiations with cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean International , in 1994, Disney announced it would start its own cruise-line operation in 1998. The first two ships of the Disney Cruise Line were named Disney Magic and Disney Wonder , and built by Fincantieri in Italy. To accompany
2128-421: A major success by the early 1940s, Disney diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. However, following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation division , began to decline. In 1984, Disney's shareholders voted Michael Eisner as CEO, who led a reversal of the company's decline through a combination of international theme park expansion and
2280-599: A medical school in the building. The Osceola Library System operates the West Osceola Branch Library in Celebration. In 2011, 91% of residents who work outside their homes drove to work. The two main roads going through the center of the Celebration's downtown area are Market Street and Front Street. Other streets in Celebration include: The only hospital in Celebration is the non-profit hospital AdventHealth Celebration . The hospital
2432-480: A merchandising division named Walt Disney Enterprises , and subsidiaries called Disney Film Recording Company, Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company; the latter of which managed real estate holdings. Walt Disney and his wife held 60% (6,000 shares) of the company, and Roy Disney owned 40%. The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuted on January 13, 1930, in New York Daily Mirror and by 1931,
2584-501: A park called Disney World , which included Magic Kingdom —a larger version of Disneyland—and the City of Tomorrow, at the park's center. By 1967, the company had made expansions to Disneyland, and more rides were added in 1966 and 1967, at a cost of $ 20 million. The new rides included Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room , which was the first attraction to use Audio-Animatronics ; Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress , which debuted at
2736-472: A series of car accidents involving a retention pond adjacent to World Drive which required the addition of more safety structures. Disney attempted numerous efforts to encourage economic and ethnic diversity among residents in the early days of development. The company placed advertisements in newspapers and magazines that catered to African-American and Hispanic demographics, printed brochures featuring racial minorities, and hired African-American workers in
2888-503: A small lake where one can find a multitude of ducks, alligators, and the occasional river otter. South Village houses the Spring Park Loop estate homes and Heritage Hall. Additionally, Siena Condos complete the outer edge of South Village by Celebration Blvd. Mirasol includes condos with concierge service and a day spa. Artisan Park is at the end of Celebration Ave and houses condos, townhomes, single-family residences as well as
3040-752: A talking duck that would be the studio's new gag character. Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen . Though he did not become popular as quickly as Mickey had, Donald Duck had a featured role in Donald and Pluto (1936), and was given his own series. After a disagreement with Columbia Pictures about the Silly Symphony cartoons, Disney signed a distribution contract with United Artists from 1932 to 1937 to distribute them. In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in color until
3192-494: A ten-year contract to make five films, with Disney as distributor. They would share the cost, profits, and logo credits, calling the films Disney-Pixar productions. During the Disney Renaissance, film division Touchstone also saw success with film such as Pretty Woman (1990), which has the highest number of ticket sales in the U.S. for a romantic comedy and grossed $ 432 million; Sister Act (1992), which
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#17327651497203344-841: A theme song for the television series Zorro . The company hired them as exclusive staff songwriters, an arrangement that lasted 10 years. They wrote many songs for Disney's films and theme parks, and several were commercial hits. In the late 1950s, Disney ventured into comedy with the live-action films The Shaggy Dog (1959), which became the highest-grossing film in the US and Canada for Disney at over $ 9 million, and The Absent Minded Professor (1961), both starring Fred MacMurray . Disney also made live-action films based on children's books including Pollyanna (1960) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Child actor Hayley Mills starred in Pollyanna , for which she won an Academy Juvenile Award . Mills starred in 5 other Disney films, including
3496-464: A tremendous success, with WALL-E winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. After acquiring most of Jetix Europe through the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, Disney bought the remainder of the company in 2008 for $ 318 million. Iger introduced D23 in 2009 as Disney's official fan club. In February, Disney announced a deal with DreamWorks Pictures to distribute 30 of their films over
3648-720: A two-year tour of ice shows featuring Disney charters, made its premiere at the Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena after Disney licensed its characters to Feld Entertainment . The same month, Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound was released and became the highest-grossing animated film to that point at $ 40 million. It was the first film that did not involve Walt and the last major work done by Disney's Nine Old Men, who were replaced with younger animators. As profits started to decline, on October 1, 1982, Epcot, then known as EPCOT Center, opened as
3800-556: A venture with The Nature Conservancy , Disney purchased 8,500 acres (3,439 ha) of Everglades headwaters in Florida to protect native animals and plant species, establishing the Disney Wilderness Preserve . On April 3, 1994, Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash; he, Eisner, and Katzenberg helped the company's market value go from $ 2 billion to $ 22 billion since taking office in 1984. On June 15
3952-540: A visit to Griffith Park with his daughters. He said he watched them ride a carousel and thought there "should be ... some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together". Initially planning the construction of an eight-acre (3.2 ha) Mickey Mouse Park near the Burbank studio, Walt changed the planned amusement park's name to Disneylandia, then to Disneyland . A new company, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering ),
4104-561: A vote of 2,819 (52.4%) to 2,520 (46.8%). 43 votes (0.8%) went to third-party candidates. In the Attorney General election , Republican Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Aramis Ayala in Celebration by a vote of 2,962 (55.6%) to 2,362 (44.4%). In the Chief Financial Officer election , Republican Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat Adam Hattersley in Celebration by a vote of 2,887 (54.6%) to 2,403 (45.4%). In
4256-730: A vote of 3,310 (57.0%) to 2,291 (39.5%). 202 votes (3.5%) went to third-party candidates. Republican Mitt Romney defeated incumbent Democrat Barack Obama by a wide margin in Celebration, with a vote of 2,803 (61.6%) to 1,751 (38.4%). Republican John McCain handily carried the town of Celebration, defeating Democrat Barack Obama by a vote of 2,285 (57.3%) to 1,668 (41.8%). 38 votes (1.0%) went to third-party candidates. Celebration Town Center contains shops, restaurants, and other commercial establishments, as well as 106 residences. Celebration has six Christian churches, one Jewish congregation, and one hospital ministry. There are now more than 500 registered companies listed as doing business in
4408-400: Is affiliated with AdventHealth Orlando . With its Mediterranean-style and proximity to Walt Disney World , the hospital attracts patients from around the world . In April 2024, AdventHealth announced it will add a 44,966-square-foot five story patient tower to the campus, with three operating rooms and 80 beds (increasing the number of hospital beds to 427). The hospital would be one of
4560-555: Is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios , which includes Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios , Pixar , Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , 20th Century Studios , 20th Century Animation , and Searchlight Pictures . Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates
4712-568: Is one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world and was ranked number 48 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the United States by revenue. In 2023, the company's seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 87. Since its founding, the company has won 135 Academy Awards , 26 of which were awarded to Walt . The company has been said to have produced some of the greatest films of all time , as well as revolutionizing
Disney Wilderness Preserve - Misplaced Pages Continue
4864-554: Is still routinely maintained through controlled burning. The site is dominated by flatwoods , Florida scrub , and cypress dome ecosystems. Over 1,000 species of plant and animals inhabit the preserve. This includes 70 species of butterfly, 80 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 151 species of bird. The National Audubon Society considers the Disney Wilderness Preserve an Important Bird Area . Florida black bears and Florida panthers have been sighted in
5016-524: Is water. Celebration is under USPS ZIP code 34747, sometimes known as Kissimmee . This is due to the city being unincorporated , as Celebration is not a subdivision and is still considered an unincorporated town. Celebration is well known by Orlando Area residents for its town center, luxury houses, and walkability , which includes the Celebration Nature Trails. Celebration has over 23 miles (37 km) of nature trails connecting
5168-512: The 1964 New York World's Fair before moving to Disneyland in 1967; and Dumbo the Flying Elephant . On November 20, 1964, Walt sold most of WED Enterprise to Walt Disney Productions for $ 3.8 million after being persuaded by Roy, who thought Walt having his own company would cause legal problems. Walt formed a new company called Retlaw to handle his personal business, primarily Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail . When
5320-453: The ABC television network ; cable television networks such as Disney Channel , ESPN , Freeform , FX , and National Geographic ; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+ , ESPN+ , Hulu , and Hotstar ; and Disney Experiences , which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. Disney
5472-496: The Congressional race , Republican Scotty Moore defeated Democratic incumbent Darren Soto in Celebration by a vote of 2,735 (51.4%) to 2,590 (48.6%). However, Soto won the district as a whole, and therefore, the election. Democrat Joe Biden narrowly carried the town of Celebration, defeating incumbent Republican Donald Trump by a vote of 3,286 (49.9%) to 3,252 (49.4%). 88 votes (1.3%) went to third-party candidates. This
5624-626: The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park . That year, the company earned a gross total of $ 24.5 million compared to the $ 11 million the previous year. Disney continued to delegate much of the animation work to the studio's top animators, known as the Nine Old Men . The company produced an average of five films per year throughout the 1950s and 60s. Animated features of this period included Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and The Sword in
5776-625: The Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company for $ 75 million, founding Muppets Holding Company, LLC . Following the success of Disney-Pixar films Finding Nemo (2003), which became the second highest-grossing animated film of all time at $ 936 million, and The Incredibles (2004), Pixar looked for a new distributor once its deal with Disney ended in 2004. Disney sold the loss-making Disney Stores chain of 313 stores to Children's Place on October 20. Disney also sold
5928-596: The National Ecological Observatory Network conduct ecological research within the Disney Wilderness Preserve. Celebration, Florida Celebration is a master-planned community (MPC) and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County , Florida , United States . A suburb of Orlando , Celebration is located near Walt Disney World Resort and was originally developed by The Walt Disney Company . Its population
6080-484: The Senate race , Republican Rick Scott defeated incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson in Celebration by a vote of 2,906 (52.1%) to 2,505 (47.9%). Republican Donald Trump narrowly carried the town of Celebration, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by a vote of 2,906 (49.3%) to 2,696 (45.7%). 293 votes (5.0%) went to third-party candidates. Incumbent Senator Marco Rubio , a Republican, defeated Democrat Patrick Murphy by
6232-592: The Tree of Life at its center. Receiving positive reviews, Disney's next animated films Mulan and Disney-Pixar film A Bug's Life were released on June 5 and November 20, 1998. Mulan became the year's sixth-highest-grossing film at $ 304 million, and A Bug's Life was the year's fifth-highest at $ 363 million. In a $ 770-million transaction, on June 18, Disney bought a 43% stake of Internet search engine Infoseek for $ 70 million, also giving it Infoseek-acquired Starwave . Starting web portal Go.com in
Disney Wilderness Preserve - Misplaced Pages Continue
6384-574: The 1930s, and became one of the best-known Disney songs. Other Silly Symphonies films won the Best Cartoon award from 1931 to 1939, except for 1938, when another Disney film, Ferdinand the Bull , won it. In 1934, Walt Disney announced a feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . It would be the first cel animated feature and the first animated feature produced in
6536-442: The 1950s, Disney returned to producing full-length animated feature films, beginning with Cinderella (1950), its first feature in eight years. A critical and commercial success, Cinderella saved Disney after the financial pitfalls of the wartime era; it was its most financially successful film since Snow White , making $ 8 million in its first year. Walt began to reduce his involvement with animation, focusing his attention on
6688-505: The 1960s", starred in 10 Disney films, including That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), and The Love Bug (1968). Disney's last child actor of the 1960s was Kurt Russell , who had signed a ten-year contract. He featured in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) alongside Dean Jones, The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Strongest Man in
6840-535: The 2020 presidential election, Celebration flipped back to the Republican party for every race in the 2022 midterm elections. In the Governor's race , Republican Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist in Celebration by a vote of 2,858 (53.0%) to 2,505 (46.5%). 28 votes (0.5%) went to third-party candidates. In the Senate race , Republican Marco Rubio defeated Democrat Val Demings in Celebration by
6992-606: The CDP was 91.0% white (with 81.9% of the population non-Hispanic white ), 1.5% black , 3.2% Asian , 2.2% from two or more races and 0.26% Native American . Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 11.2% of the population. There were 3,063 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no married spouse present, and 35.0% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who
7144-420: The Disney Wilderness Preserve is to restore and manage wetland ecosystems. As of 2013, 3,222 acres of wetlands and 300 acres of uplands had been restored within the boundaries of the preserve. Wet conditions were reintroduced to the former pastureland through the removal of invasive grasses, such as bahiagrass , using herbicide treatments and prescribed burns . Agricultural ditches also had to be removed. The site
7296-484: The Lucky Rabbit and 26 cartoons featuring the character. On February 6, the company announced it would be merging its ABC Radio networks and 22 stations with Citadel Broadcasting in a $ 2.7 billion deal, though which Disney acquired 52% of television broadcasting company Citadel Communications . The Disney Channel movie High School Musical aired and its soundtrack was certified triple platinum , becoming
7448-471: The Mickey Mouse series, which was made using synchronized sound , becoming the first post-produced sound cartoon. The sound was created using Powers' Cinephone system, which used Lee de Forest 's Phonofilm system. Pat Powers ' company distributed Steamboat Willie , which was an immediate hit. In 1929, the company successfully re-released the two earlier films with synchronized sound. After
7600-509: The NHL team Mighty Ducks in 2005. Roy E. Disney decided to rejoin the company and was given the role of consultant with the title "Director Emeritus". In March 2005, Bob Iger, president of the company, became CEO after Eisner's retirement in September; Iger was officially named head of the company on October 1. Disney's eleventh theme park Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12, costing
7752-876: The San Francisco firm EDAW (now AECOM ). Urban Design Associates , of Pittsburgh, developed design guidelines, called a Pattern Book , as a tool for the design of new architecture within the community. Celebration is planned in an early 20th-century architectural style and is not zoned for high-density residences. Celebration was named the "New Community of the Year" in 2001 by the Urban Land Institute . Disney hired graphic designer Michael Beirut to design community elements including street signs, retail signage, manhole covers, fountains, golf course graphics, park trail markers, as well as home sales brochures. The first phase of residential development occurred in
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#17327651497207904-540: The South (1946) which would become one of Disney's most controversial films. As a result of its financial problems, Disney began re-releasing its feature films in 1944. In 1948, it began premiering the nature documentary series, True-Life Adventures , which ran until 1960, winning 8 Academy Awards. In 1949, the Walt Disney Music Company was founded to help with profits for merchandising. In
8056-584: The Stone (1963). Sleeping Beauty was a financial loss for the company, and at $ 6 million, had the highest production costs up to that point. One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced an animation technique using the xerography process to electromagnetically transfer the drawings to animation cels , resulting in a transformed art style for the studio's animated films. In 1956, the Sherman Brothers , Robert and Richard , were asked to produce
8208-611: The Town Center Foundation, a controlling entity under sole direction of Lexin Capital, "which took control of part of Celebration in 2004, to pay for upward of $ 15 million to $ 20 million in repairs" which were deferred over ten years. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 10.7 square miles (28 km ), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10 km ), or 0.28%,
8360-691: The Town Center. The community also hosts a large Independence Day fireworks celebration. The town events are organized on the Internet by the Community Calendar. The School District of Osceola County, Florida , operates public schools in Celebration. Celebration is zoned to the Celebration School for K-8. Celebration High School , located in the city, serves Celebration for grades 9–12. There are free classes offered at
8512-559: The US, Tokyo Disneyland , opened in Urayasu . Costing around $ 1.4 billion, construction started in 1979 when Disney and The Oriental Land Company agreed to build a park together. Within its first ten years, the park had over 140 million visitors. After an investment of $ 100 million, on April 18, Disney started a pay-to-watch cable television channel called Disney Channel , a 16-hours-a-day service showing Disney films, twelve programs, and two magazines shows for adults. Although it
8664-526: The US. Its novelty made it a risky venture; Roy tried to persuade Walt not to produce it, arguing it would bankrupt the studio, and while widely anticipated by the public, it was referred to by some critics as "Disney's Folly". Walt directed the animators to take a realistic approach, creating scenes as though they were live action. While making the film, the company created the multiplane camera , consisting of pieces of glass upon which drawings were placed at different distances to create an illusion of depth in
8816-584: The Walt Disney Company, stating the old name only referred to the film industry. With Disney's animation industry declining, the animation department needed its next movie The Great Mouse Detective to be a success. It grossed $ 25 million at the box office, becoming a much-needed financial success. To generate more revenue from merchandising, the company opened its first retail store Disney Store in Glendale in 1987. Because of its success,
8968-613: The Wind ". Pixar's and Disney's first co-release was the first-ever fully computer-generated film Toy Story , which was released on November 19, 1995, to critical acclaim and an end-run gross total of $ 361 million. The film won the Special Achievement Academy Award and was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay . In 1995, Disney announced the $ 19 billion acquisition of television network Capital Cities/ABC Inc., which
9120-526: The World (1975). In late 1959, Walt had an idea to build another park in Palm Beach, Florida , called the City of Tomorrow, a city that would be full of technological improvements. In 1964, the company chose land southwest of Orlando, Florida to build the park and acquired 27,000 acres (10,927 ha). On November 15, 1965, Walt, along with Roy and Florida's governor Haydon Burns , announced plans for
9272-436: The animated film The Jungle Book , which was Disney's most successful film for the next two decades, and the live-action musical The Happiest Millionaire . After Walt's death, the company largely abandoned animation, but made several live-action films. Its animation staff declined from 500 to 125 employees, with the company only hiring 21 people from 1970 to 1977. Disney's first post-Walt animated film The Aristocats
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#17327651497209424-716: The assumption of $ 2.3 billion in debt. The deal included a 76% stake in Fox Kids Europe , Latin American channel Fox Kids , more than 6,500 episodes from Saban Entertainment 's programming library, and Fox Family Channel . In 2001, Disney's operations had a net loss of $ 158 million after a decline in viewership of the ABC television network, as well as decreased tourism due to the September 11 attacks . Disney earnings in fiscal 2001 were $ 120 million compared with
9576-418: The backgrounds. After United Artists attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts, Walt signed a distribution contract with RKO Radio Pictures on March 2, 1936. Walt Disney Productions exceeded its original budget of $ 150,000 for Snow White by ten times; its production eventually cost the company $ 1.5 million. Snow White took 3 years to make, premiering on December 12, 1937. It
9728-723: The box office. Later, as products of the South American trip, Disney released the features Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944). This was a new strategy of releasing package films , collections of short cartoons grouped to make feature films. Both performed poorly. Disney released more package films through the rest of the decade, including Make Mine Music (1946) , Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), to try to recover from its financial losses. Disney began producing less-expensive live-action films mixed with animation, beginning with Song of
9880-505: The box office; it won two Academy Awards; Best Original Score and Best Original Song for " Under the Sea ". During the Disney Renaissance, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several Disney songs until Ashman died in 1991. Together they wrote 6 songs nominated for Academy Awards; with two winning songs—"Under the Sea" and " Beauty and the Beast ". To produce music geared for
10032-416: The box-office-leading Hollywood studio for the first time, with films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Three Men and a Baby (1987) , and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). The company's gross revenue went from $ 165 million in 1983 to $ 876 million in 1987, and operating income went from −$ 33 million in 1983 to +130 million in 1987. The studio's net income rose by 66%, along with
10184-409: The community center by clubs for cooking, gardening, art, writing, and technology. There are private education options provided by The Montessori Academy of Celebration (K-8). Private graduate education was once offered at Stetson University Celebration Campus. The Stetson Celebration campus was sold in 2018 with plans to convert it into offices. It was purchased again in 2021 with intent to open
10336-457: The community's sales office. In addition, the owners of the first 350 houses and 123 apartments were chosen by a lottery in an effort to prevent racial discrimination against homebuyers. However, by 2000, it was revealed that the racial makeup of the community was 88% white, compared to the surrounding county's 59% white population. Demographers partially blamed the lack of diversity on Disney's decision to forego building subsidized housing inside
10488-531: The community, instead opting to donate $ 900,000 to Osceola County to help area residents buy houses under $ 80,000, below the market value of most housing in Celebration. In 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Celebration Town Center condominium owners "are battling leaky roofs, balconies that have become separated from the sides of buildings and mold spreading in their walls. Their properties have become so dilapidated, they say, they're having trouble selling them." An April 2016 civil suit seeks to force
10640-557: The company $ 3.5 billion to construct. On January 24, 2006, Disney began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for $ 7.4 billion, and Iger appointed Pixar chief creative officer (CCO) John Lasseter and president Edwin Catmull the heads of the Walt Disney Animation Studios . A week later, Disney traded ABC Sports commentator Al Michaels to NBCUniversal , in exchange for the rights to Oswald
10792-407: The company after Eisner refused to promote him to president. After leaving, he co-founded film studio DreamWorks SKG . Wells was later replaced with one of Eisner's friends Michael Ovitz on August 13, 1995. In 1994, Disney wanted to buy one of the major U.S. television networks ABC, NBC, or CBS, which would give the company guaranteed distribution for its programming. Eisner planned to buy NBC but
10944-528: The company from bankruptcy during the Great Depression . During a promotional event at Macy's, 11,000 Mickey Mouse watches sold in one day; and within two years, two-and-a-half million watches were sold. As Mickey Mouse become a heroic character rather than a mischievous one, Disney needed another character that could produce gags . Disney invited radio presenter Clarence Nash to the animation studio; Disney wanted to use Nash to play Donald Duck ,
11096-519: The company had been doing. To help with the film division, the company started making Saturday-morning cartoons to create new Disney characters for merchandising, and produced films through Touchstone. Under Eisner, Disney became more involved with television, creating Touchstone Television and producing the television sitcom The Golden Girls , which was a hit. The company spent $ 15 million promoting its theme parks, raising visitor numbers by 10%. In 1984, Disney produced The Black Cauldron , then
11248-458: The company is still headquartered. In April 1940, Disney Productions had its initial public offering , with the common stock remaining with Disney and his family. Disney did not want to go public but the company needed the money. Shortly before Snow White's release, work began on the company's next features, Pinocchio and Bambi . Pinocchio was released in February 1940 while Bambi
11400-624: The company opened two more in California, and by 1990, it had 215 throughout the US In 1989, the company garnered $ 411 million in revenue and made a profit of $ 187 million. In 1987, the company signed an agreement with the Government of France to build a resort named Euro Disneyland in Paris; it would consist of two theme parks named Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park ,
11552-766: The company since 1938, became its president. By June 30, 1973, Disney had over 23,000 employees and a gross revenue of $ 257,751,000 over a nine-month period, compared to the year before when it made $ 220,026,000. In November, Disney released the animated film Robin Hood (1973), which became Disney's biggest international-grossing movie at $ 18 million. Throughout the 1970s, Disney released live-action films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes ' sequel Now You See Him, Now You Don't ; The Love Bug sequels Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977); Escape to Witch Mountain (1975); and Freaky Friday (1976). In 1976, Card Walker became CEO of
11704-405: The company started looking for a sponsor for the project, Walt renamed the City of Tomorrow, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow ( Epcot ). Walt, who had been a heavy smoker since World War I, fell very sick and he died on December 15, 1966, aged 65, of lung cancer , at St. Joseph Hospital across the street from the studio. In 1967, the last two films Walt had worked on were released;
11856-406: The company was being run, calling on Eisner to retire; the same week, board member Stanley Gold retired for the same reasons. Gold and Disney formed the "Save Disney" campaign. In 2004, at the company's annual meeting, the shareholders in a 43% vote voted Eisner out as chairman. On March 4, George J. Mitchell , who was a member of the board, was named as replacement. In April, Disney purchased
12008-489: The company's attention. Disney, which since 1996 had owned a 25% stake in the Major League Baseball team California Angels , bought out the team in 1998 for $ 110 million, renamed it Anaheim Angels and renovated the stadium for $ 100 million. Hercules (1997) was released on June 13, and underperformed compared to earlier films, grossing $ 252 million. On February 24, Disney and Pixar signed
12160-466: The company's next animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released, grossing $ 325 million at the box office. Because Ovitz's management style was different from Eisner's, Ovitz was fired as the company's president in 1996. Disney lost a $ 10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour Marsupilami cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved
12312-454: The company's profits were from its theme parks; in 1982, there were 12 million visitors to Walt Disney World, a figure that declined by 5% the following June. On July 9, 1982, Disney released Tron , one of the first films to extensively use computer-generated imagery (CGI). It was a big influence on other CGI movies, though it received mixed reviews. In 1982, the company lost $ 27 million. On April 15, 1983, Disney's first park outside
12464-403: The company, with Tatum remaining chairman until 1980, when Walker replaced him. In 1977, Roy E. Disney , Roy O. Disney's son and the only Disney working for the company, resigned as an executive because of disagreements with company decisions. In 1977, Disney released the successful animated film The Rescuers , which grossed $ 48 million. The live-acton/animated musical Pete's Dragon
12616-620: The cruises, Disney bought Gorda Cay as the line's private island, and spent $ 25 million remodeling it and renaming it Castaway Cay. On July 30, 1998, Disney Magic set sail as the line's first voyage. Marking the end of the Disney Renaissance, Tarzan (1999) was released on June 12, garnering $ 448 million at the box office and critical acclaim; it claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Phil Collins ' " You'll Be in My Heart ". Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 2
12768-526: The deal was canceled because General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake. In 1994, Disney's annual revenue reached $ 10 billion, 48% coming from film, 34% from theme parks, and 18% from merchandising. Disney's total net income was up 25% from the previous year at $ 1.1 billion. Grossing over $ 346 million, Pocahontas was released on June 16, garnering the Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score and Best Song for " Colors of
12920-491: The deal was completed, resulting in the companies terminating merger negotiations. On November 17, 1989, Disney released The Little Mermaid , which was the start of the Disney Renaissance , a period in which the company released hugely successful and critically acclaimed animated films. The Little Mermaid became the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run and garnered $ 233 million at
13072-526: The design of buildings in Celebration. Downtown Celebration's post office was designed by Michael Graves , the adjacent Welcome Center by Philip Johnson , and the Celebration Health building by Robert A. M. Stern . Other well-known architects who have designed nearby buildings include Charles Moore (Preview Center), Graham Gund (Bohemian Hotel), Cesar Pelli (movie theater), and Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (SunTrust Bank). In
13224-775: The early 1990s, the Disney Development Company (DDC) established the Celebration Company to spearhead its development within about 4,900 acres (20 km ) of land in the southern portion of the Reedy Creek Improvement District . Total investment for the project is estimated at US$ 2.5 billion. The master plan was developed by two Driehaus Prize winning architects, Jacquelin T. Robertson of Cooper, Robertson & Partners and Robert A. M. Stern . The extensive landscape, parks, trails and pathways were designed by
13376-626: The end of 1935, beginning with the Silly Symphony short Flowers and Trees (1932). The film was the first full-color cartoon and won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. In 1933, The Three Little Pigs , another popular Silly Symphony short, was released and also won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. The song from the film " Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? ", which was composed by Frank Churchill —who wrote other Silly Symphonies songs—became popular and remained so throughout
13528-521: The entire neighborhood. The nature trails give residents and visitors the chance to take in some of Central Florida's finest scenery and wildlife. The trails can be enjoyed either on foot or by bike. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,427 people, 3,063 households, and 716 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 704.9 people per square mile (272.2 people/km ). There were 4,566 housing units at an average density of 102.4 units per square mile (39.5 units/km ). The racial makeup of
13680-419: The executives at Disney Development Company to "make history" and develop a town worthy of the Disney brand and legacy that extended to Walt Disney's vision of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). DDC executives collaborated extensively with leaders in education, health, and technology in addition to planners and architects to create the vision and operating policies for the town. There were
13832-500: The first Disney Channel film to do so. Disney's 2006 live-action film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was Disney's biggest hit to that date and the third-highest-grossing film ever, making $ 1 billion at the box office. On June 28, the company announced it was replacing George Mitchell as chairman with a board members and former CEO of P&G John E. Pepper Jr. . The sequel High School Musical 2
13984-437: The first commercial film to be shown in stereo . However, Fantasia similarly performed poorly at the box office. In 1941, the company experienced a major setback when 300 of its 800 animators, led by one of the top animators Art Babbitt , went on strike for 5 weeks for unionization and higher pay. Walt Disney publicly accused the strikers of being party to a communist conspiracy, and fired many of them, including some of
14136-470: The first one being Toy Story . Dow Jones & Company , wanting to replace 3 companies in its industrial average , chose to add Disney in May 1991, stating Disney "reflects the importance of entertainment and leisure activities in the economy". Disney's next animated film Beauty and the Beast was released on November 13, 1991, and grossed nearly $ 430 million. It was the first animated film to win
14288-583: The first season, over ten million children and five million adults watched it daily; and two million Mickey Mouse ears, which the cast wore, were sold. In December 1954, the five-part miniseries Davy Crockett , premiered as part of Disneyland , starring Fess Parker . According to writer Neal Gabler , "[It] became an overnight national sensation", selling 10 million Crockett coonskin caps. The show's theme song " The Ballad of Davy Crockett " became part of American pop culture, selling 10 million records. Los Angeles Times called it "the greatest merchandising fad
14440-433: The highly successful Disney Renaissance period of animation in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger , the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar , Marvel Entertainment , Lucasfilm , and 21st Century Fox . In 2020, Bob Chapek became the head of Disney after Iger's retirement. However, Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO. The company
14592-510: The largest hospitals in Osceola County . Notes The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company , commonly referred to as simply Disney , is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California . Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio ; it also operated under
14744-561: The live action/animation musical film Mary Poppins was released to major commercial success and rapturous critical acclaim, becoming the year's highest-grossing film and winning five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews as Poppins and Best Song for the Sherman Brothers, who also won Best Score for the film's " Chim Chim Cher-ee ". Throughout the 1960s, Dean Jones , whom The Guardian called "the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in
14896-545: The live-action Alice in Wonderland and the Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 3 , both of which grossed a little over $ 1 billion, making them the sixth-and-seventh films to do so; and Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to make over $ 1 billion and the highest-grossing animated film. That year, Disney became the first studio to release two $ 1-billion-dollar-earning films in one calendar year. In 2010,
15048-587: The mainstream, including music for movie soundtracks, Disney founded the recording label Hollywood Records on January 1, 1990. In September 1990, Disney arranged for financing of up to $ 200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners , which replaced the Silver Screen Partnership series as the company's movie studios' primary source of funding. Disney's first animated sequel The Rescuers Down Under
15200-462: The most-expensive animated movie at $ 40 million, their first animated film to feature computer-generated imagery, and their first PG-rated animation because of its adult themes. The film was a box-office failure, leading the company to move the animation department from the studio in Burbank to a warehouse in Glendale, California . The film-financing partnership Silver Screen Partners II, which
15352-603: The most-watched live broadcast to that date. While the park's opening day was disastrous (restaurants ran out of food, the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink, other rides malfunctioned, and the drinking fountains were not working in the 100 °F. (38 °C) heat), the park became a success with 161,657 visitors in its first week and 20,000 visitors a day in its first month. After its first year, 3.6 million people had visited, and after its second year, four million more guests came, making it more popular than
15504-407: The names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to its current name in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie . The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse , who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon. After becoming
15656-445: The next 4 years, Winkler handed the role of distributing the studio's shorts to her husband, Charles Mintz . In 1927, Mintz asked for a new series, and Disney created his first series of fully animated shorts, starring a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . The series was produced by Winkler Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures . The Walt Disney Studios completed 26 Oswald shorts. In 1928, Disney and Mintz entered into
15808-610: The next five years through Touchstone Pictures, with Disney getting 10% of the gross. The 2009 film Up garnered Disney $ 735 million at the box office, and the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Later that year, Disney launched a television channel named Disney XD , aimed at older children. The company bought Marvel Entertainment and its assets for $ 4 billion in August, adding Marvel's comic-book characters to its merchandising line-up. In September, Disney partnered with News Corporation and NBCUniversal in
15960-434: The only top animator to remain with the Disney brothers. Disney and Iwerks replaced Oswald with a mouse character originally named Mortimer Mouse , before Disney's wife urged him to change the name to Mickey Mouse . In May 1928, Mickey Mouse debuted in test screenings of the shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho . Later that year, the studio produced Steamboat Willie , its first sound film and third short in
16112-404: The park, whose construction costs totaled $ 17 million. In October, with the success of Disneyland, ABC allowed Disney to produce The Mickey Mouse Club , a variety show for children; the show included a daily Disney cartoon, a children's newsreel, and a talent show. It was presented by a host, and talented children and adults called "Mousketeers" and "Mooseketeers", respectively. After
16264-663: The park. Construction began in July 1954. To finance the construction of Disneyland, Disney sold his home at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs and the company promoted it with a television series of the same name aired on ABC . The Disneyland television series, which would be the first in a long-running series of successful anthology television programs for the company, was a success and garnered over 50% of viewers in its time slot, along with praise from critics. In August, Walt formed another company Disneyland, Inc. to finance
16416-556: The preserve, Disney retained private ownership of the parcel. The land is similarly managed for wetland conservation . The Disney Wilderness Preserve is located on the headwaters of the Greater Everglades watershed . It is bordered by Lake Russell to the north, Lake Hatchineha to the south, Reedy Creek to the east, and privately owned land to the west. It is seasonally wet and flooded, receiving an average of 1150 mm of precipitation annually. The principal goal of
16568-403: The preserve. On November 11, 1999, the Disney Wilderness Preserve opened to the public. The park offers an educational center and 7 miles of trails. The Nature Conservancy is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on an initiative to reintroduce the red-cockaded woodpecker to the longleaf pine habitat found in the Disney Wilderness Preserve. The University of Central Florida and
16720-537: The previous year's $ 920 million. To help reduce costs, Disney announced it would lay off 4,000 employees and close 300–400 Disney stores. After winning the World Series in 2002 , Disney sold the Anaheim Angels for $ 180 million in 2003. In 2003, Disney became the first studio to garner $ 3 billion in a year at the box office. The same year, Roy Disney announced his retirement because of how
16872-455: The project. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority added 3,000 acres to the preserve in 1995 to offset the expansion of Orlando International Airport . In 2014, Walt Disney World purchased a 3,000 acre failed resort development called Mira Lago. The parcel is adjacent to the Disney Wilderness Preserve, located in Poinciana . Although it was speculated that the land would be integrated in
17024-730: The release of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York, Mickey Mouse became an immensely popular character. Disney Brothers Studio made several cartoons featuring Mickey and other characters. In August 1929, the company began making the Silly Symphony series with Columbia Pictures as the distributor, because the Disney brothers felt they were not receiving their share of profits from Powers. Powers ended his contract with Iwerks, who later started his own studio. Carl W. Stalling played an important role in starting
17176-472: The same year, The Lion King was released and was a massive success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with a gross total of $ 969 million. It was critically praised and garnered two Academy Awards—Best Score and Best Song for " Can You Feel the Love Tonight ". Soon after its release, Katzenberg left
17328-605: The second theme park in Walt Disney World, with around 10,000 people in attendance during the opening. The park cost over $ 900 million to construct, and consisted of the Future World pavilion and World Showcase representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, the UK, and Canada; Morocco and Norway were added in 1984 and 1988, respectively. The animation industry continued to decline and 69% of
17480-465: The series, and composed the music for early films but left the company after Iwerks' departure. In September, theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club at his theater the Fox Dome to boost attendance. Disney agreed, but David E. Dow started the first-such club at Elsinore Theatre before Woodin could start his. On December 21, the first meeting at Elsinore Theatre
17632-432: The shares, forced out CEO Miller and replaced him with Michael Eisner , a former president of Paramount Pictures , and appointed Frank Wells as president. Eisner's first act was to make it a major film studio, which at the time it was not considered. Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and Roy E. Disney as head of animation. Eisner wanted to produce an animated film every 18 months rather than four years, as
17784-695: The shopping plazas, small office complexes, and the Disney World office building park. This community holds the only Class A office buildings in Osceola County . Celebration is separated into areas referred to as "villages." The main village, closest to downtown, is where the first homes were constructed. North Village, closest to US-192, houses the Georgetown Condos as well as Acadia Estate Homes. East Village includes Roseville Corner and Aquila Loop. Lake Evalyn, generally considered its own area of Celebration but not quite its own village, includes
17936-500: The stocks. He offered to buy 49% for $ 1.3 billion or the entire company for $ 2.75 billion. Disney, which had less than $ 10 million, rejected Steinberg's offer and offered to buy all of his stock for $ 326 million. Steinberg agreed, and Disney paid it all with part of a $ 1.3 billion bank loan, putting the company $ 866 million in debt. In 1984, shareholders Roy E. Disney, Sid Bass , Lillian and Diane Disney , and Irwin L. Jacobs —who together owned about 36% of
18088-405: The strip was published in 60 newspapers in the US, and in 20 other countries. After realizing releasing merchandise based on the characters would generate more revenue, a man in New York offered Disney $ 300 for license to put Mickey Mouse on writing tablets he was manufacturing. Disney accepted and Mickey Mouse became the first licensed character. In 1933, Disney asked Kay Kamen , the owner of
18240-579: The studio's 4th animated feature Dumbo (1941) on a cheaper budget, which performed well at the box office, infusing the studio with much needed cash. After US entry into World War II, many of the company's animators were drafted into the army. 500 United States Army soldiers occupied the studio for 8 months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant. While they were there, the soldiers fixed equipment in large soundstages and converted storage sheds into ammunition depots. The United States Navy asked Disney to produce propaganda films to gain support for
18392-432: The studio's best. Roy unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the company's main distributors to invest in the studio, which could no longer afford to offset production costs with employee layoffs. The anthology film The Reluctant Dragon (1941), ran $ 100,000 short of its production cost, contributing to the studio's financial woes. While negotiations to end the strike were underway, Walt and studio animators embarked on
18544-402: The studio's increasingly diverse portfolio of projects, including live-action films (of which Treasure Island was the studio's first), television and amusement parks . In 1950 the company made its first foray into television when NBC aired " One Hour in Wonderland ", a promotional program for Disney's next animated film, Alice in Wonderland (1951), and sponsored by Coca-Cola . Alice
18696-567: The studio. The final one, in 1923, was entitled Alice's Wonderland and depicted child actress Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters. While Laugh-O-Gram's shorts were popular in Kansas City, the studio went bankrupt in 1923 and Disney moved to Los Angeles, to join his brother Roy O. Disney , who was recovering from tuberculosis . Shortly after Walt's move, New York film distributor Margaret J. Winkler purchased Alice's Wonderland , which began to gain popularity. Disney signed
18848-479: The summer of 1996 with Celebration Village, West Village, and Lake Evalyn; this was followed by the North Village, South Village, East Village and Aquila Reserve and the final Artisan Park phases. Later phases included construction by a number of developers, including David Waronker. Disney CEO Michael Eisner took an especially keen interest in the development of the new town in the early days, encouraging
19000-763: The theme park industry. The company, which has been public since 1940, trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with ticker symbol DIS and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. In August 2020, about two-thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions. The company celebrated their 100th anniversary on October 16, 2023. In 1921, American animators Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks founded Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri . Iwerks and Disney went on to create short films at
19152-428: The war, and with the studio badly in need of profits, Disney agreed, signing a contract for 20 war-related shorts for $ 90,000. Most of the company's employees worked on the project, which spawned films such as Victory Through Air Power , and others which included some of the company's characters. In August 1942, Disney released its fifth feature film, Bambi, after five years in development, and performed poorly at
19304-564: The water park Typhoon Lagoon in June 1989; in 2022 it had 1.9 million visitors and was the most popular water park in the world. Also in 1989, Disney signed an agreement-in-principle to acquire The Jim Henson Company from its founder. The deal included Henson's programming library and Muppet characters —excluding the Muppets created for Sesame Street —as well as Henson's personal creative services. Henson, however, died in May 1990 before
19456-454: The world had ever seen". In June 1955, Disney's 15th animated film Lady and the Tramp was released and performed better at the box office than any other Disney films since Snow White . Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955; it was a major media event, broadcast live on ABC with actors Art Linkletter , Bob Cummings , and Ronald Reagan hosting. It garnered over 90 million viewers, becoming
19608-469: Was $ 74,231, and the median income for a family was $ 92,334. Males had a median income of $ 51,250 versus $ 46,650 for females. The per-capita income for the CDP was $ 39,521, and 4.1% of the population lived below the poverty line . The area is organized under state law as a community development district . As a result, voting is restricted to local landowners. The largest landowners are entities controlled by The Walt Disney Company . For decades Celebration
19760-403: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96. The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males in that age range. The median income for a household in the CDP
19912-412: Was Walt's dream. EPCOT became less the City of Tomorrow, and more another amusement park. After 18 months of construction at a cost of around $ 400 million, Walt Disney World's first park the Magic Kingdom, along with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort , opened on October 1, 1971, with 10,400 visitors. A parade with over 1,000 band members, 4,000 Disney entertainers, and
20064-559: Was a flip towards the Democratic Party from the previous presidential election. In the Governor's race , Republican Ron DeSantis narrowly defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum in Celebration by a vote of 2,667 (51.0%) to 2,509 (47.9%). 58 votes (1.1%) went to third-party candidates. In the Attorney General election , Republican Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Sean Shaw in Celebration by a vote of 2,807 (54.2%) to 2,299 (44.4%). 75 votes (1.5%) went to third-party candidates. In
20216-491: Was a response to other Science fiction films of the era. In September, 12 animators, which was over 15% of the department, resigned. Led by Don Bluth , they left because of a conflict with the training program and the atmosphere, and started their own company Don Bluth Productions . In 1981, Disney released Dumbo to VHS and Alice in Wonderland the following year, leading Disney to eventually release all its films on home media. On July 24, Walt Disney's World on Ice ,
20368-436: Was an immediate critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film up to that point, grossing $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 169,555,556 in 2023 dollars); after re-releases, it grossed a total of $ 998,440,000 in the US adjusted for inflation. Using the profits from Snow White , Disney financed the construction of a new 51-acre studio complex in Burbank , which the company fully moved into in 1940 and where
20520-549: Was attended by around 1,200 children. On July 24, 1930, Joseph Conley, president of King Features Syndicate , wrote to the Disney studio and asked the company to produce a Mickey Mouse comic strip; production started in November and samples were sent to King Features. On December 16, 1930, the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name Walt Disney Productions, Limited, which had
20672-470: Was expected to do well, the company lost $ 48 million after its first year, with around 916,000 subscribers. In 1983, Walt's son-in-law Ron W. Miller , who had been president since 1978, became its CEO, and Raymond Watson became chairman. Miller wanted the studio to produce more content for mature audiences, and Disney founded film distribution label Touchstone Pictures to produce movies geared toward adults and teenagers in 1984. Splash (1984)
20824-411: Was financially unsuccessful, falling $ 1 million short of the production budget. In February 1953, Disney's next animated film Peter Pan was released to financial success; it was the last Disney film distributed by RKO after Disney ended its contract and created its own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution . According to Walt, he first had the idea of building an amusement park during
20976-598: Was formed in 1952 to design and construct the park. Drawing inspiration from amusement parks in the US and Europe, Walt approached the design of Disneyland with an emphasis on thematic storytelling and cleanliness, innovative approaches for amusement parks of the time. The plan to build the park in Burbank was abandoned when Walt realized 8 acres would not be enough to accomplish his vision. Disney acquired 160 acres (65 ha) of orange groves in Anaheim , southeast of LA in neighboring Orange County , at $ 6,200 per acre to build
21128-459: Was one of the financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $ 231 million; action film Con Air (1997), which grossed $ 224 million; and the highest-grossing film of 1998 at $ 553 million Armageddon . At Disney World, the company opened Disney's Animal Kingdom , the largest theme park in the world covering 580 acres (230 ha) on Earth Day , April 22, 1998. It had six animal-themed lands, over 2,000 animals, and
21280-402: Was organized in 1985, financed films for Disney with $ 193 million. In January 1987, Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with $ 300 million raised by E.F. Hutton , the largest amount raised for a film-financing limited partnership. Silver Screen IV was also set up to finance Disney's studios. In 1986, the company changed its name from Walt Disney Productions to
21432-460: Was postponed. Despite Pinocchio 's critical acclaim (it won the Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score and was lauded for groundbreaking achievements in animation), the film performed poorly at the box office, due to World War II affecting the international box office. The company's third feature Fantasia (1940) introduced groundbreaking advancements in cinema technology, chiefly Fantasound , an early surround sound system making it
21584-484: Was recorded as 11,178 in the 2020 census . After founding Celebration, Disney followed its plans to divest most of its control of the town. Several Disney business units continue to occupy the town's office buildings. The town itself is connected to the Walt Disney World resorts via one of its primary streets, World Drive, which begins near the Magic Kingdom . Various New Classical architects participated in
21736-664: Was released in 1970; according to Dave Kehr of Chicago Tribune , "the absence of his [Walt's] hand is evident". The following year, the anti-fascist musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released and won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects . At the time of Walt's death, Roy was ready to retire but wanted to keep Walt's legacy alive; he became the first CEO and chairman of the company. In May 1967, Roy had legislation passed by Florida's legislatures to grant Disney World its own quasi-government agency in an area called Reedy Creek Improvement District . Roy changed Disney World's name to Walt Disney World to remind people it
21888-422: Was released in 1977, grossing $ 16 million in the US and Canada, but was a disappointment to the company. In 1979, Disney's first PG-rated film and most expensive film to that point at $ 26 million The Black Hole was released, showing Disney could use special effects. It grossed $ 35 million, a disappointment to the company, which thought it would be a hit like Star Wars (1977). The Black Hole
22040-650: Was released in 2007 on Disney Channel and broke several cable rating records. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed the Muppets Studios to relaunch the division. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End became the highest-grossing film of 2007 at $ 960 million. Disney-Pixar films Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008) were
22192-583: Was released on November 11, 1992, and grossed $ 504 million, becoming the highest-grossing animated film to that point, and the first animated film to gross a half-billion dollars. It won two Academy Awards—Best Song for " A Whole New World " and Best Score; and "A Whole New World" was the first-and-only Disney song to win the Grammy for Song of the Year . For $ 60 million, Disney broadened its range of mature-audience films by acquiring independent film distributor Miramax Films in 1993. The same year, in
22344-469: Was released on November 13, garnering praise and $ 511 million at the box office. To replace Ovitz, Eisner named ABC network chief Bob Iger Disney's president and chief operating officer in January 2000. In November, Disney sold DIC Entertainment back to Andy Heyward . Disney had another huge success with Pixar when they released Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Later, Disney bought children's cable network Fox Family Worldwide for $ 3 billion and
22496-432: Was released on November 16, 1990, and created using Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), digital software developed by Disney and Pixar —the computer division of Lucasfilm —becoming the first feature film to be entirely created digitally. Although the film struggled in the box office, grossing $ 47 million, it received positive reviews. In 1991, Disney and Pixar agreed to a deal to make three films together,
22648-547: Was the first film released under the label, and a much-needed success, grossing over $ 6 million in its first week. Disney's first R-rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) was released and was another hit, grossing $ 62 million. The following year, Disney's first PG-13 rated film Adventures in Babysitting was released. In 1984, Saul Steinberg attempted to buy out the company, holding 11% of
22800-722: Was then the 2nd-largest corporate takeover in US history. Through the deal, Disney would obtain broadcast network ABC, an 80% majority stake in sports networks ESPN and ESPN 2 , 50% in Lifetime Television , a majority stake of DIC Entertainment , and a 38% minority stake in A&;E Television Networks . Following the deal, the company started Radio Disney , a youth-focused radio program on ABC Radio Network , on November 18, 1996. The Walt Disney Company launched its official website disney.com on February 22, 1996, mainly to promote its theme parks and merchandise. On June 19,
22952-581: Was to restore portions of the pastureland into a native wetland ecosystem to compensate for future expansion at Walt Disney World. The Disney Wilderness Preserve was formed from the Walker Ranch parcel and was officially established in April 1993. It was thereafter owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Walt Disney Company provided additional funds for landscape rehabilitation and wildlife monitoring. As of 2003, Disney committed almost $ 40 million to
23104-612: Was very politically conservative, but has become more competitive. Celebration is entirely within Florida's 9th congressional district and is represented by Democrat Darren Soto in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the legislature, Celebration is represented by Democrat Victor M. Torres Jr. in the State Senate and Republican Carolina Amesty in the State House of Representatives. After voting for Democrat Joe Biden in
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