Expanding Horizons: The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is a mass media and entertainment organization. We are one of the principal film, television, and theme park producers in the world. We also own and operate ABC, the Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family, as well as distribute merchandise, music, and theatre productions. In recent history, we have undergone vast expansion and added so much to our company. First we have added to our theme park division. Since 2001, Disney has opened four new parks: Disney California Adventure, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios, and Hong Kong Disneyland. We also created Adventures by Disney, which provide guided vacations all over the world. Next, we have enlarged our media and studio divisions. In 2001, Disney acquired

One of the most recent examples is in their movie Frozen. We needed snow that would be fluid yet still chunk up. To accomplish this, we worked with researchers at the University of California to create a snow simulator called Matterhorn. This method was able to handle millions of particles, creating realistic snow, superior to anything that had come before. At our parks, we have also developed new technologies to help make the experience more fun and relaxing. Magic Bands, which are colorful wristbands, are devices that associate all different parts of a vacation in one. They are used to enter the park, unlock your room, access a ride or restaurant reservation, and even by food and souvenirs in the park. To help make our park experience better, we have developed a device called the Dish, to test future rides and experiences. The Dish is a ten-thousand cubic foot virtual reality room, that uses the latest graphic and audio equipment, as well as uses a superfast networked computer system to update 3-D scenery sixty times per second. Currently, this technology is too expensive and bulky to use in a park, but one more innovation takes place, this ride could be in every Disney park around the world. Technology is definitely something we care about at Disney. Sheryl Sandberg, who is the chief operating officer of Facebook and a member of Disney 's board of directors said, “There are a lot of companies

In terms of theme parks, Universal is Disney’s main competitor, and is a formidable opponent. But Disney clearly gives the better service and sends people home happier. Our use of technology, such as Magic Bands, gives vacationers a more stress free and relaxing vacation. It eliminates the need for split second, stressful decision, and the anxiety of having everything needed, at all moments of a trip. Fast Passes, which are stored on your Magic Band, allow guests to skip most of a line for three rides a day. This allows a more joyful day in the park, without waiting in line for hours, something Universal cannot compete with. Beth Kassab from the Orlando Sentinel wrote, “[The Fast pass System] is better than Universal’s pay-to-play system...now that I’ve gotten a bigger taste of the Disney tech juggernaut, it has the makings of a superior system in terms of how easy it is to use and its value.” Disney also is first-rate in their media outlets. Disney holds the record for the most individual Academy Awards won, and the most Academy Award nominations. Pixar, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company which produces animated movies, is also the leader in their field. Jason Dietz, from Metacritic, put together a comparison of Pixar and DreamWorks and the results are staggering. The average Metascore is 2.2 points higher for Pixar than Dreamworks and the average user score is 1.3