As an object of my future economic research, I have chosen Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (WDP&R). It is a subsidiary company of a larger corporation, The Walt Disney Company.
Type of Industry
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts operates in the amusement park industry and is closely connected with tourism as well. The organization is responsible for the conception, creation, and management of the theme parks, construction of vacation resorts, hotels and various other attractions related to the family entertainment.
Company’s Projects and Services
The organization was founded in 1971, two decades after the first Walt Disney’s creation, called the Magic Kingdom, opened its doors to the visitors. Now, the company owns 11 different theme parks in the US, Europe, and Asia, among which are the original Disneyland Park in California, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris (or Euro Disneyland as it was called from the very beginning), and Shanghai Disneyland Park, which is presently under construction (About Disney, n.d., par. 5).
Apart from the theme parks, WDP&R has 47 resorts and manages the Disney Cruise Line – four fleets that provide families with unforgettable cruises in the Bahamas, Caribbean, and on the Mexican Riviera (About Disney, n.d., par. 5).
Analysis of Geographical Location
It is evident that the future analysis should not be limited to a particular state or a region within the United States, as well as it should not be limited to the US at all. The theme parks of WDP&R are located worldwide: in the US, Europe, and Asia. Therefore, I should analyze the company’s activity in all of those areas in general.
Several Sources to Begin the Research
The first thing I need to do is to describe the company, provide the historical information and some background details. For that purpose, I have chosen a brief article, which I have already cited above. It says about the company’s activity, the number of its theme parks, resorts, ships, and so on (About Disney, n.d., par. 5).
Then, I have to analyze the industry, in which WDP&R operates. To do this, I have chosen an article provided by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. It gives the statistics regarding the number of amusement parks in different parts of the world and the number of guests annually, economic benefits, which theme parks provide, employment information and the results of various surveys in this field (IAAPA, 2015). The article by Hetter published on CNN site can tell, which place in that industry Disney’s parks take (Hetter, 2015).
As Samuelson and Yegoiants (2001) state, “contrary to popular belief, Walt Disney did not invent the theme park” (p. 145). Indeed, even though Disney’s parks are extremely popular, they still have many competitors. This book gives plenty of information about them.
Finally, all points mentioned above are the parts of external analysis. To start with internal one, I will have to conduct the SWOT analysis (Walt Disney World Resort, 2015). I can also take the additional information from the case study by Mackenzie Wolter, where the Porter’s Five Forces Analysis can be found (Wolter, 2012).
Admittedly, that is only some of the basic knowledge, and I will need much more information. Still, that is a good start since it provides me with the direction for the future research.
References
About Disney: Company Overview.
Hetter, K. (2015). The world’s most popular amusement park is…
IAAPA. (2015). Amusement Parks and Attractions Industry Statistics. Web.
Samuelson, D., & Yegoiants, W. (2001). The American Amusement Park. Saint Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company.
Walt Disney World Resort. (2015). Web.
Wolter, M. (2012). Case Study: Disney. Web.