Economic aspect of Walt Disney World

The field in figures

When the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort employed approximately 5  500 Cast members . Today it employs more 52  000 Cast members, spending more than 1,1 billion dollars in wages and releasing 478 million dollars benefit each year. It is the largest employer on only one site of the the United States, with more 3  000 trades.

In order to manage the employees, several buildings were built of which the TEAM Disney Building 280 meters length accommodating a Sundial of 40 m, or the Casting Center crossed in the length by a driving ascending corridor with the reception located at the other end.

The March 30th 2004, in an article of the Orlando Sentinel, the president of Walt Disney World , Al Weiss, gave some revelations on the maintenance of the parks:

More 5  000 cast members are dedicated to maintenance, including 650 horticulturists and 600 peintres.
The complex of Disney World spends more than 100 million dollars each year in maintenance for the Magic Kingdom. In 2003, 6 million $ was spent for the restoration of the Crystal De luxe hotel , a restaurant on the central place makes glass. 90% of the visitors declare that the cleanliness and the state of the Magic Kingdom are excellent or very bien.
The ways in the parks are cleaned with the vapor all the nuits.
cast members are permanently assigned to repaint the carousel of horses with true sheets of or.
The park has a reserve of trees on the site. Thus if it is necessary to replace a too old tree but without denaturing the effect which it had in a park, a younger tree (30 years old) is ready to succeed to him.

The price of the complex

Walt Disney World is an immense complex which cost the Disney company amazing sums. Here some prices:

  • 5 million dollars for the purchase of the grounds.
  • 700 million dollars for phase I: earthworks, irrigations, roads, Magic Kingdom and two hotels.
  • 800 million dollars for EPCOT in Phase II. But some advance the figure of 1,2 billion because of the additional costs not directly dependant as those for Vista United Telecommunication which had to increase its network and to pass it out of fiberoptic. It is more probably the cost of the totality of phase II.
  • between 350 and 400 million for the park Disney-MGM Studios.
  • 760 million dollars for the park Disney' S Animal Kingdom in phase IV.

But it is necessary to add to that the costs of the attractions added after the opening of the parks, thus Mission: Space, one of the last innovations of EPCOT (open in August 2003) cost 150 million dollars.
The price range of great attractions is currently from 50 to 150 million dollars.

And it is necessary to add the many hotels, the centers of entertainments…. The total is very difficult to quantify because of " the opacité" (relative) of the Walt Disney Company on its accounts.

Economic impact

Before the opening of the complex the area depended only on the incomes of cotton, the cattle and citrus fruits. It is in 1956 that the first heavy industry opens with the factory Martin-Marietta, from where rumors of Boeing in the years of land acquisitions. This presence of an heavy industry pushed with the creation of the University of Florida.

The population of the area towards 1960 was of approximately 395  000 inhabitants. But towards 1980 the figure of 805  000 was exceeded to reach 1,6 million in 2001.

With the opening the park was not able to provide correctly for its needs which were gigantic ( Voir the section on the logistic with the opening ). The Disney company had to make come from the people qualified to compensate for the lack of labor specialized in the area.

After its opening in October 1971 the park exceeded the 11 million visitors only in 1976. It is the opening of the international airport of Orlando, under the pressure of Walt Disney Company, which allowed the customers of the park of " envoler". It made it possible to bring more visitors of all the the United States and world. In the beginning Walt Disney had even planned to build its own airport to fill the lack.

The crowd of visitors attracted other companies of parks with topic (Universal, SeaWorld,…) and an incalculable number of hotels. This important hotel offer made it possible to mainly develop tourism of business with several centers of congress in the hotels.

The presence of many business men attracted the companies of high technology which could find labor and also outlets in tourism. Walt Disney World and the hotels of the area are in war since many years to offer the " better confort" with their customers. (See the innovations of Vista United Telecommunication). Let us not forget also the proximity of Cap Canaveral, celebrates space port of NASA.

In 2002, 42 million visitors comes annually in the area and generates for 19,7 billion dollars of incomes. They can thus benefit from 90 attractions, 102  000 hotel rooms, 150 courses of golf and 3  800 restaurants listed in 2002.

The complex of Disney World alone recruiting an important share of the active population. The cast members were with the 5  number; 500 in 1971 but more 51  500 in 2001. It would be the first employer of Florida. The activities of the complex would have generated 130  000 indirect employment and the construction of 40  000 apartments or dwelling house (figures of 1996, source Encyclopedia Universalis).

The highway network of the area is not in remainder, more than three highways were especially built between the city, its airport located at south-east in extreme cases of the city and the complex of Walt Disney World in south-west. Disney World was served into 1971 only by I-4. The latter became a true tourist corridor. This zone accommodates the majority of attractions and the hotels. And spaces it included/understood between Disney World and the airport saw pushing many residential zones to lodge the employees. The agglomeration really developed in direction of the complex of Disney.

A little further the harbor-basin from Port Canaveral became a true tourist port because of its proximity with the airport of Orlando and the important customers which passes in the area. At the origin it was used only seldom for the space center Kennedy of which it is used as southern entry.

The air crisis post- September 11th

Unfortunately the air crisis post- September 11th, strongly reduced tourism of mass and the number of visitors fell. Walt Disney World modified its vast plan of hotel restoration launched at the end of the Années 1990 in order to occupy the free rooms of the other hotels of its complex. New attractions started to be built in order to attract the visitors again.

According to the figures of 2004 tourism would start to leave this crisis. But the financial results of the complex are not exactly any more like front. Walt Disney World was regarded as a " cow with lait" for the Walt Disney Company but since 2002 it is the cabled branch television and especially chains which bring back money to him. The complex of Florida was overdrawn during a few years. It would have returned in the positive one at the last quarters 2004.

Data

Here two tables presenting the evolution since 1971 of the number of visitors and the tariffs of Walt Disney World.

On that of the visitors one can notice the reduction due to the crisis post- September 11th, 2001.

It is interesting to note that only the opening of the second park really made increase the frequentation of the complex, by doubling it almost. It is since the opening in 1989 of the third park and many hotels that the frequentation of the complex started to climb slowly. For information it is the agglomeration of Orlando and the motels which absorbed the increase in the visitors in 1982, from where the answer of Disney starting from 1988 with the opening of more than 20 hotels in 15 years.

NB :

  • the figures of 1971 to 1996 are estimates (except 1983) based on the " étapes" crossed by Disney:
    • March 1976: 50 millionth visitor
    • October 1979: 100 millionth visitor
    • July 1987: 250 millionth visitor
    • August 1992: 400 millionth visitor
    • October 13rd, 1995: 500 millionth visitor
    • June 24th, 1998: 600 millionth visitor

  • 1983, source Disney Enterprises

  • For 1997,1998 and 2004, Source American Business Magazine
  • Of 1999 to 2003 Source Orlando Sentinel

One can notice that the entrance fee of the complex always increased and this regularly. It is however comparable with those practiced with Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Resort Paris. The tariffs increase mainly in January because of the changes of values of the federal taxes and very often in June or September to see both. Thus in 1986 there be three increases but none between 1975 and 1977.
It as should be noted as in 1981 and 2005 the tariffing system was completely re-examined. Before 1981 an import duty was perceived then it was necessary to buy tickets available in notebook to reach attractions: has for smallest and E for more grandes.
After 1981 a complete ticket of entry (except the sets of arcades and shooting ranges) gave access all attractions while a fixed price from 4 to 7 days made it possible to visit the whole of the parks over the duration désirée.
Since 2005 the fixed prices are more flexible and go from 1 to 10 days.

the http://allearsnet.com/ site details the history of all the tickets with illustrations for almost all.

Partnerships

Disney signed many partnership agreements for many activities within the complex. Thus the two hotels Walt Disney World Dolphin & Swan are managed by Starwood under the marks Sheraton and Westin.

The company Landry' S Restoring Inc manages of sound with dimensions the two restaurants Rainforest Cafe of Downtown Disney Marketplace and Disney' S Animal Kingdom, the Fulton' S Crab House of Downtown Disney Pleasure Island, in addition to Rainforest Cafe of Downtown Disney California.

Directors

  • 1977 to 1987: President?? , Vice-president Bob Allen

  • 1994 to 1996: President?? , Vice-president Al Weiss
  • 1996 to 2006: President Al Weiss, Vice-president
  • 2006 with?? : President Meg Crofton, Vice-president

August 1st

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