Walt Disney Corporation: Timeline, Facts, and Resources
For more than eight decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the field of family entertainment. From the beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today’s global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world.
Timeline of The Disney Corporation
1923: Walt Disney signed a contract with M.J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies, beginning the Disney company under its original name Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, with brothers Walt and Roy Disney, as equal partners.
1926: Company changed name to The Walt Disney Studio shortly after moving into the new studio on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district.
1928: Mickey Mouse debuts in Plane Crazy Steamboat Willie
1929: On December 16, the original partnership formed in 1923 is replaced by Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. Three other companies, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company, are also forme
1930: Distribution moved to Columbia Pictures
1932: Distribution moved from Columbia Pictures to United Artists.
1936: Distribution moved from United Artists to RKO Radio Pictures.
1937: The landmark Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released to wild critical and commercial glory.
1938: On September 29, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company are merged into Walt Disney Productions.
1940: Studio moves to Burbank, California. Company goes public.
1941: A bitter animators’ strike occurs. The studio begins making morale-boosting propaganda films for the United States during WW2.
1944: The company is short on money; a theatrical re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs generates much-needed revenue and begins a reissue pattern for the animated feature films.
1948: The True-Life Adventures nature film series begins; it lasts until 1960. Melody Time.
1949: The studio begins production on its first all-live action feature, Treasure Island.
1952: WED Enterprises is formed to design what would become Disneyland.
1953: Retlaw Enterprises is formed to control the rights to “Disney”. It will later own and operate several attractions inside Disneyland, including the Disneyland Monorail System and the Disneyland Railroad.
1954 October 27: Beginning of the Disneyland TV program on ABC. The studio ends its distribution deal with RKO Radio Pictures and founds Buena Vista Distribution Company to distribute its feature films. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California
1961: The studio purchases the film rights to A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, which are a huge source of revenue to this day.
1964: Mary Poppins the first Disney film to receive a Best Picture Academy Award nomination
1965: Disney News Begins Publication
1966: September Walt Disney is diagnosed with lung cancer; he dies on December 15.
1967: Construction begins on Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.
1971: The Walt Disney World Resort opens
1972: Richard Rich joins Disney
1974: Richard Rich catches the attention of the Disney executive when he gives piano lessons during the lunch hour and is assigned as assistant director on over 14 motion pictures
1977: Walt’s nephew Roy E. Disney, resigns from the company citing a decline in overall product quality and issues with manager.
1979: Don Bluth and 12 fellow animators leave Disney to found their own studio.
1980: Walt Disney Home Entertainment releases its first videotapes.
1981: Plans for a cable network are announced. The Fox and the Hound. Dumbo is the first animated Disney home video release
1982: Walt’s son-in-law Ron W. Miller succeeds Card Walker as CEO. Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (EPCOT) Center opens at Walt Disney World Resort
1983: Disney Channel begins, while the anthology series ends. Tokyo Disneyland opens in Japan
1984: The Touchstone Films lable is created to produce films aimed towards more mature audiences and releases its first film Splash.
1985: In a reversal of a three-decade studio policy, the studio begins making cartoons for television beginning with Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears and The Wuzzles. The home video release of Pinocchio becomes a best-seller.
1986 February 2: The anthology series is revived on ABC. February 6: The company’s name is changed from Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company.
Flight of the Navigator. The Great Mouse Detective
1987: First Disney Store opens in Glendale, California. The company and the French government sign an agreement for the creation of the first Disney Resort in Europe: the Euro Disney project starts.
1989: Disney offers a deal to buy Jim Henson’s Muppets and have the famed puppeteer work with Disney resources. Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World.
1990: Jim Henson’s death sours the deal to buy his holdings. The anthology series is canceled for the second time. Disney Adventures Magazine Begins Publication.
1991: Beauty and the Beast, first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
1992: The company is granted permission for a National Hockey League expansion franchise. The team is named the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to coincide with the release of The Mighty Ducks.
1993: Disney acquires independent film distributor Miramax Films. Winnie-the-Pooh merchandise outsells Mickey Mouse merchandise for the first time.
1994: Frank Wells is killed in a helicopter crash. Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns to co-found his own studio, DreamWorks SKG.Euro Disneyland is renamed Disneyland Paris.
1995: In October, the company hires Hollywood super agent Michael Ovitz to be president. Disney purchases DIC Entertainment, and acquires the rights to its shows, including Inspector Gadget.
1996: The company takes on the Disney Enterprises name and acquires the Capital Cities/ABC group, renaming it ABC, Inc.
1997: Disney takes control of the Major League Baseball franchise the California Angels of the American League, renaming the team the Anaheim Angels in order to coincide with Disney’s hockey team the Mighty Ducks and to draw more tourism to Anaheim and nearby Disneyland.
1998: Disney Cruise Line sets sail with its first ship, the Disney Magic. Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens.
1999: Disney Cruise Line ship Disney Wonder sets sail.
2000: Robert Iger becomes president. Disney-owned TV channels including, owned-and-operated ABC stations, are pulled from Time Warner Cable briefly during a dispute over carriage fees.
2001: Disney buys Fox Family Network for $3 billion in July, giving Disney programming and cable network reaching 81 million homes. Disney’s California Adventure Park opens on February 8. Tokyo DisneySea opens on September 4.
2002: Miramax acquires the USA rights to the Pokémon movies starting with the fourth movie. Disney teams up with famous video game company Squaresoft to release their first ever role-playing game with various Disney characters, Kingdom Hearts. Walt Disney Studios Park opens.
2003: Roy E. Disney resigns as the chairman of Feature Animation and from the board of directors. Talks to extend distribution agreement with Pixar break down, and Pixar announces plans to seek a new distribution partner. Disney sells the Angels to billboard magnate Arturo Moreno.
2004: Comcast makes an unsuccessful and hostile $54.1-billion bid in stock for the company, plus the assumption of $11.9 billion in Disney debt, $66 billion in total. Eisner is replaced by George J. Mitchell as chairman of the board after a 43% vote of no confidence.
2005: Disney signs the Cheetah Girls on as a recording act. Disney sells the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to Henry Samueli of Broadcom, who changes the team name to Anaheim Ducks. Bob Iger replaces Michael Eisner as CEO. Hong Kong Disneyland opens.
2006: Disney acquires Pixar Animation Studios. Disney re-acquires the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBC Universal, in exchange for ABC letting commentator Al Michaels work on NBC Sunday Night Football Wondertime magazine begins publication.
2007: Acquires New Horizon Interactive along with Club Penguin. ABC Radio Networks along with 22 non-Radio Disney and ESPN Radio affiliates are sold to Citadel Broadcasting. Disney Adventures magazine ceases publication.
2008: Disney Store chain is reacquired from The Children’s Place.
2009 December 31: Disney acquires Marvel Entertainment.
March 12, 2010: Disney sells the Power Rangers franchise to Saban Brands for USD $100 million. Disney sells Miramax to Filmyard Holdings, LLC for $660 million.
List of Disney Characters and Their Debut Dates
- 1924 Alice (of The Alice Comedies, a series of 56 silent cartoons)
- 1927 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (star of 26 silent cartoons
- 1928 Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, in Steamboat Willie
- 1929 Peg-Leg Pete, in The Barn Dance
- 1929 Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar, in The Plow Boy
- 1930 Pluto (AKA “Rover”), in The Chain Gang
- 1932 Goofy (AKA “Dippy Dawg,” “George Geef”), in Mickey’s Revue
- 1934 Donald Fauntleroy Duck, in The Wise Little Hen
- 1937 Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, in the Donald Duck Sunday comics
- 1937 Daisy Duck (AKA “Donna Duck”), in Don Donald
- 1943 Chip ‘n’ Dale, in Private Pluto
- 1937 Snow White, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- 1940 Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, in Pinocchio
- 1941 Dumbo, in Dumbo
- 1942 Bambi, in Bambi
- 1950 Cinderella, in Cinderella
- 1951 Alice and the White Rabbit, in Alice in Wonderland
- 1953 Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, in Peter Pan
- 1955 Lady and Tramp, in Lady and the Tramp
- 1959 Aurora, in Sleeping Beauty
- 1961 Pongo, Perdita, and the pups, in 101 Dalmatians
- 1967 Mowgli and Baloo, in The Jungle Book
- 1974 Robin Hood and Maid Marian, in Robin Hood
- 1986 Basil, in The Great Mouse Detective
- 1989 Ariel, in The Little Mermaid
- 1991 Belle and Beast, in Beauty and the Beast
- 1992 Jasmine and Aladdin, in Aladdin
- 1994 Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa, in The Lion King
- 1995 Buzz Lightyear and Woody, in Toy Story
- 1995 Pocahontas, in Pocahontas
- 1996 Esmerelda, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- 1998 Hercules and Megara, in Hercules
- 1998 Mulan and Mushu, in Mulan
- 2001 Milo Thatch, in Atlantis: The Lost Empire
- 2001 Lilo and Stitch, in Lilo And Stitch
- 2002 Sulley, in Monsters, Inc.
- 2003 Nemo, in Finding Nemo
- 2004 The Parrs, in The Incredibles
- 2006 Lightning McQueen, in Cars
- 2007 Remy, in Ratatouille
- 2008 Wall-E, in Wall-E
Resources about The Walt Disney Corporation
Official website of the Walt Disney Corporation
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