Walt Disney

:For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. For other uses, see Walt Disney (disambiguation).

1967-present: Legacy

The Epcot theme park

When the second phase of the Walt Disney World theme park was built, EPCOT was translated by Walt Disney's successors into EPCOT Center (now simply called Epcot), which opened in 1982. As it currently exists, Epcot is essentially a living world's fair, a far cry from the actual functional city that Disney had envisioned. In 1992 Walt Disney Imagineering took the step closer to Walt?s vision and dedicated Celebration, Florida, a town built by the Walt Disney Company adjacent to Walt Disney World, harkens back to the spirit of EPCOT.

Related Topics:
Theme park - EPCOT - 1982 - World's fair - Celebration, Florida

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The Disney entertainment empire

Today, Walt Disney's animation/motion picture studios and theme park have developed into a multi-billion dollar television, motion picture, vacation destination and media corporation that carries his name. The Walt Disney Company today owns, among other assets, five vacation resorts, eleven theme parks, two water parks, thirty-nine hotels, eight motion picture studios, six record labels, eleven cable television networks, and one terrestrial television network.

Related Topics:
The Walt Disney Company - Vacation - Resort - Water park - Hotel - Record label - Cable television - Network - Terrestrial television

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Disney theme parks today

Today, what was known as the Florida Project is now the largest and most popular private-run tourist destination on the planet, but the Walt Disney shine is still there. From the 'Partners' statue at the Magic Kingdom to the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney is still remembered and his vision is still continued. His fascination with mass transportation lives in the Walt Disney World Monorail which runs through two theme parks and four hotels, and his dreams of the future live on at Epcot in ahead-of-their-time attractions and technological breakthroughs.

Related Topics:
Florida Project - Magic Kingdom - Animal Kingdom - Walt Disney World Monorail

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Disneyland has developed from a cramped theme park to an open resort of two theme parks, three hotels and a large shopping complex. Walt Disney World is a popular destination for vacations by tourists worldwide, and Tokyo Disneyland is the most visited theme park in the world (its sister park Tokyo DisneySea is the second). In September 2005, The Walt Disney Company will open Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in China.

Related Topics:
Disneyland - Tokyo Disneyland - Tokyo DisneySea - September - 2005 - Hong Kong Disneyland Resort - China

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On May 5, 2005, The Walt Disney Company opened the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration in front of Walt's Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, celebrating fifty years of the world's most famous theme park. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are renowned over the world for their attentions to detail, hygiene and standards, all set by Walt Disney at Disneyland.

Related Topics:
May 5 - 2005 - The Walt Disney Company - Happiest Homecoming on Earth - Sleeping Beauty Castle - Disneyland - Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

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Disney Animation today

Traditional hand-drawn animation, with which Walt Disney built the success of his company, no longer continues at the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio. After a stream of financially unsuccessful traditionally-animated features in the late-1990s and early 2000s, the two satellite studios in Paris and Orlando were closed, and the main studio in Burbank was converted to a computer animation production facility. In 2004, Disney released their final traditionally animated feature film for the foreseeable future, Home on the Range. The DisneyToons studio in Australia, which produced lower-budget traditionally animated films, at first appeared to survive the purge, but its closing was announced in July 2005.

Related Topics:
Traditional hand-drawn animation - Walt Disney Feature Animation - 1990s - 2000s - Paris - Orlando - Burbank - 2004 - Home on the Range - DisneyToons - Australia

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CalArts

Disney devoted substantial time in his later years funding The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), which was formed in 1961 through a merger of the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute, which had helped in the training of the animation staff during the 1930s. When he died, one fourth of his estate went towards CalArts, which greatly helped the building of its campus. Walt also donated 38 acres (154,000 m²) of the Golden Oaks ranch in Valencia for the school to be built on. CalArts moved onto the Valencia campus in 1971.

Related Topics:
The California Institute of the Arts - 1961 - 1930s - Valencia - 1971

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Lillian Disney devoted a lot of her time after Walt died to pursuing CalArts and organized hundreds of fund raising events for the university in her late husband's honor (as well as funding the Walt Disney Symphony Hall). After Lillian's passing, the legacy continued with daughter Diane and husband Ron continuing the tradition. CalArts is today one of the largest independent universities in California today, mostly because of the contributions of the Disneys.

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