As kids, we read stories about princesses, princes, kings, queens, and vast kingdoms. The fairytale world we dreamt about was brought to life by none other than Walt Disney. The production house uses such magical characters and engrossing stories that the audience has no choice but to indulge themselves in the magical world displayed in the animated movies. Disney movies create an entire world of castles, spot-on attires, and singing animals. I’m sure fairytale movies have been a part of everyone’s childhood and have influenced them in some ways. I’m sure they still have a special part in one’s life, don’t they?
Walt Disney-better known as Disney- has been around for over 80 years. The company started in 1923 in the back of a small office in Los Angeles. The owners of the company were two brothers, Walter Elias Disney and Roy O. Disney would pay a mere rent of $10 for the office. Four months later, they moved to a larger facility and named their company, “Disney Bros. Studio”. In 1925, Disney moved to a new studio in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. In the next 14 years, the beloved Mickey Mouse and his adorable dog Pluto were brought to life along with the rest of the Disney gang.
In 1937, Disney released its first classic animated movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, which earned enormous success worldwide. The profits earned from the movie were used to expand the studio. A deposit for a land of 55 acres in Burbank was made through the earnings.
Disney, himself, was involved in every aspect of the studio to make sure everything was perfect and functioned smoothly. They connected some buildings through underground tunnels so that the factory could operate even during foul weather. This tunnel connected the animation building to the ink and camera buildings. The tunnel eventually turned into a storage space and was later named the “Tunnel Of Love”. The secret rendezvous between lovers in the tunnel led towards the birth of this name. Disney would occasionally go down so he could catch them red-handed.
In the 1940s and 1950s, many leading and well-known films were released including “Alice in Wonderland”, “Peter Pan”, and “Bambi”. The studio was not only becoming remarkably successful but also expanded over the years.
Disney wanted to build a place called “Mickey Mouse Park” since the character is the face of Disney. The plan was to have lifelike statues of Mickey and Donald along with a train ride around the park so that adults and kids could enjoy the experience of being around their favorite characters. He quickly realized that he needed more land, so he purchased 200 acres of orange groves in Anaheim, California. These groves became the site of what we now know as the happiest place on earth: “Disneyland”.
The company now has parks in 30 countries and it uses over 16,000 employees. The Disney channel is also available in 133 countries. Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most popular destination as it provides a magical and memorable experience for children and their families. Disney showcases its brand, mainly, through its theme parks, movies, and plays.
Disney partially and completely owns many brands that are involved in the media and film industry– like, ABC, Marvel, and Pixar. In brands, the company owns many of ABC’s popular entertainment shows, for example, “Grey’s Anatomy”. Furthermore, the popular movie series, Star Wars, is also owned by Disney. The company even bought Fox in March 2019 after closing a $71 billion acquisition deal, gaining rights to not only Fox film studios, but also several TV networks such as the National Geographic Channel and FX. Due to this deal many famous shows like, “The Simpsons”, “American Horror Story”, and “Family Guy”, came under Disney. In the movie industry, Disney gained rights to popular favorites like, “Home Alone”, “Deadpool”, and “Die Hard”.
Disney is a diverse company that promotes its brand through unique methods; online and physical (through their theme parks). In November 2019, they started a streaming service known as “Disney+” which now has almost 54.5 million users. The network allows users to stream shows and movies from Disney franchises (as mentioned above). They also have originals they release because of their take over on Fox.
The streaming network allowed users to stream the movies and shows that had already been released. Later, they started giving their subscribers perks by releasing movies earlier than their release date, for example, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Frozen 2” were both streamed three months earlier. Furthermore, a Disney plus membership also provides an Amazon Prime membership.
Filming industries have been shut down all over the world due to the pandemic and this is causing the company trouble as it would be difficult to add shows and movies on the network to keep their subscribers interested. Nonetheless, they have a variety of shows and movies from Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, and many more.
Currently, in its second quarter, the company generated less than $2.54 billion in revenue. This loss was due to the coronavirus outbreak because theme parks and the film industries had to shut down. Even though Disney plus has had a revenue of $4.1 billion, it also brought with it a loss of $812 million, giving them a total revenue of $18 billion. The lockdown has caused serious trouble for the business.
The company plans to recover by increasing its prices when the park reopens on July 23rd of 2020. The park will be open from 10 am to 8 pm. The Simba parking lot will be open and guests will be checked for their temperature. Disneyland has taken measures to provide hand sanitizers and handwashing stations all over the park, guests should enter wearing masks, and there will be ground markings to indicate social distancing. Furthermore, there will be a limit as to how many guests can enter the park.
As far as the prices go, parking fees and pass prices will increase so that the company can recover. Passes will be sold at the expensive price of $1,195 (Platinum Pass for non-Florida residents) and $899 (Platinum Pass for Florida residents). Prices may vary depending on location.
Overall, Walt Disney was an excellent entrepreneur with an amazing idea for his film industry. He was involved in the process thoroughly and created a firm base for his business. He was fascinated by trains and this is reflected in Disneyland as the theme park has its own railroad. He was nominated for 59 Oscars and won 22 of them, thus holding the record for most individual oscar wins. Even though the firm is in trouble right now due to the lockdown, it may make a strong comeback because of the diverse franchises that it is involved in.
Walt Disney is an old company that started in the 1920s and has lived on for generations, making its place in our hearts over the years. The classic princesses; Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty’s- Aurora, and many more, will always be a magical memory in the hearts and minds of many. Mickey Mouse will always be our favourite mouse as Disney continues its tradition of making many more experiences through its industry for many to enjoy.
