Blog #1 October 2023

Happy 100th Anniversary to The Walt Disney Company!

For my first blog, it seemed right to share I know a lot about Disney. I have been a super fan of Disney since like forever. For people who know me, Disney is my passion. I talk about Disney all the time. Disney has been there for me like a comfy blanket in the good, the bad, and the ugly in my life. I daily partake in something Disney including; reading Disney magazines and books; listening to Disney soundtracks and podcasts; watching Disney movies and shows; and many more. My bedroom is decorated with Disney Posters and my bathroom is decorated with Mickey and Friends wall stickers.

I am a Gold Member of D23, the official Disney fan club. Last night I attended an event called: Disney 100 D23 Royal Anniversary Ball at The Walt Disney Studios Lot. They teased about this event back in March and I always wanted to go to California, so I planned my trip around this special event. This event was the most special Disney experience I have ever encountered. They decorated the studio lot in platinum and purple decor including a purple carpet. There was dancing, pictures, food, drinks, and gift shops. They also had a showing on a loop of the new Disney Animation short called, “Once Upon a Studio”, which showed many Disney characters arriving for a group photo at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. 

The same night for everyone else, ABC showed the short during “The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration”. Hosted by Kelly Ripa with the broadcast premiere of Disney’s Encanto and a sneak peek of Disney’s Wish. The new animated movie will be a love letter to multiple styles of animation and will be showing in theaters this Thanksgiving.

The next page will show most of The Walt Disney Company’s properties in the order of foundation and how old they are today. It will also show when Disney purchased some of them and how recent they were purchased. They recently restructured the company into three main segments: (1) Disney Entertainment 

(2) Disney Parks, Experiences, & Products (3) ESPN. The future of each segment is having (1) Hulu merge with Disney+, (2) Parks will be expanding & spatial computing experiences arriving for Apple Vision Pro and (3) ESPN will have a standalone streaming service of all their channels. 

It was so fun writing about Disney and share I know a lot of Disney. I can’t wait for the next blog. Until next time, keep your days open for more knowledge. Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.

Disney Entertainment

Walt Disney Animation Studios (Founded October 16, 1923; 100 years)

20th Century Studios (Founded May 31, 1935; 88 years 4 months 16 days) 

(Purchased by Disney from 21st Century Fox March 20, 2019; 4 years 6 months 26 days)

ABC (Founded May 15, 1943; 80 years 5 months 1 day) 

(Purchased by Disney February 9, 1996; 27 years 8 months 7 days)

Walt Disney Pictures [Live-Action Division] (Started July 22, 1950; 73 years 2 months 24 days)

Lucasfilm [Star Wars, Indiana Jones] (Founded December 10, 1971; 51 years 10 months 6 days) 

(Purchased by Disney from George Lucas October 30, 2012; 10 years 11 months 16 days)

Freeform (Founded April 29, 1977; 46 years 5 months 17 days)

(Purchased by Disney July 23, 2001; 22 years 2 months 23 days)

Disney Branded Television [Disney Channel/XD/Junior] (Founded July 15, 1982; 41 years 3 months 1 day)

A+E Networks [A+E/History/Lifetime] (Founded February 1, 1984; 39 years 8 months 15 days)

(Owns 50% from purchase of ABC)

Pixar Animation Studios (Founded February 3, 1986; 37 years 8 months 13 days) 

(Purchased by Disney from Steve Jobs May 5, 2006; 17 years 5 months 11 days)

Marvel Studios (Founded December 7, 1993; 29 years 10 months 9 days)

(Purchased by Disney from Marvel Entertainment December 31, 2009; 13 years 9 months 16 days)

FX Networks (Founded June 1, 1994; 29 years 4 months 15 days)

(Owns from purchase of 20th Century Studios)

Disney Music Group [Disney/Hollywood Records] (Founded March 1, 1998; 25 years 7 months 15 days)

Disney Theatrical Group [On Broadway/On Ice] (Founded November 23, 1999; 23 years 10 months 23 days)

National Geographic Networks (Founded January 7, 2001; 22 years 9 months 9 days)

(Owns 73% from purchase of 20th Century Studios)

Hulu (Founded March 12, 2008; 15 years 7 months 4 days)

(Stakeholder April 30, 2009; 14 years 5 months 16 days)

(Owns 67% from purchase of 20th Century Studios)

(Pending 33% purchase from NBC)

Disney+ (Founded November 12, 2019; 3 years 11 months 4 days)

Onyx Collective (Founded May 17, 2021; 2 years 4 months 29 days)

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

Disneyland [California] (Opened July 17, 1955; 68 years 2 months 29 days)

Walt Disney World [Florida] (Opened October 1, 1971; 52 years 15 days)

Disney Store (Founded March 28, 1987; 36 years 6 months 18 days)

Disney Publishing (Founded May 23, 1991; 32 years 4 months 23 days)

Disney Vacation Club (Founded December 20, 1991; 31 years 9 months 26 days)

Disney Cruise Line (Founded May 3, 1995; 28 years 5 months 13 days)

Disney Interactive [Games] (Founded August 23, 1995; 28 years 1 month 23 days)

Adventures by Disney (Founded May 5, 2005; 18 years 5 months 11 days)

Storyliving by Disney (Founded February 16, 2022; 1 year 8 months)

ESPN

(Founded September 7, 1979; 44 years 1 month 9 days) 

(Owns 80% from purchase of ABC)

ESPN+ (Founded April 12, 2018; 5 years 5 months 25 days)