Walt Disney Productions (which was originally founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and later operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions) is now known not just as a leader in the American animation industry, but also in television and live-action films. Their immense studio division now not only includes Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, but also: Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios.
In recent decades, they have also branched into live-theatre productions of some of their most successful animated films, which have included the Broadway musicals The Lion King and Frozen. They also currently own and operate the Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney (which offers unique adventure tours around the world), the Disney Vacation Club (with resort time shares in popular destinations such as Key West, Hawaii, and Hilton Head), and the Disney Store. Additionally, Disney operates about a dozen theme parks world-wide on three continents (most of which are listed below):
- Orlando, Florida:
- Animal Kingdom
- Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios)
- Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney)
- Celebration, Florida (formerly Disney Village)
- Anaheim, California:
- Chicago, Illinois:
- Paris, France:
- Disneyland Paris (formerly Paris Disney)
- Tokyo, Japan:
Inspirations for Disneyland:
- Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark)
- Neuschwanstein Castle (Bavaria, Germany)
Traces of Places 