Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products

Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, Inc. is a business segment and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company consisting of its theme parks and resorts, cruise line, vacation club, hotels, stores, merchandising, publishing and digital media, games and interactive experiences and The Muppets Studio.

History
Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products was formed as part of The Walt Disney Company’s March 2018 strategic reorganization with the merging of the former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media segments. Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek was named chairman of this new segment, who also previously served as head of Disney Consumer Products. At the time, the Consumer Products chairman position was vacant, as its former holder, James Pitaro, had been recently appointed as the new head of ESPN and co-chair of Disney Media Networks. New Vacation Operations and Disney Cruise Line division was renamed Disney Signature Experiences along with a new president for the division. In March 2018, a Disney Parks West regional division was formed with Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney World in Florida, and Disneyland Paris under Catherine Powell, outgoing Disneyland Paris president. This mirrors the Disney Parks East regional division consisting of Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Attractions Japan and headed by Michael Colglazier.

Disney Signature Experiences
Disney Signature Experiences division, formerly called Disney Cruise Line & New Vacation Operations, holds newer non-theme park travel units under president Jeff Vahle.
 * Disney Cruise Line was formed in 1995. Its fleet comprises four ships: Disney Magic (launched 1998), Disney Wonder (1999), Disney Dream (2011), and Disney Fantasy (2012). Disney Cruise Line has order three new ships that will be completed in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Each ship was designed and built in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney Cruise Line serves the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, and Alaskan cruises market.
 * Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program that includes 14 themed hotels-resorts within Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort plus Disney's Aulani Resort, Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, and Disney's Vero Beach Resort. In the fall 2019, a 15th planned property Disney’s Riviera Resort is expected to open next to the Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World.
 * Adventures by Disney, a program of all-inclusive, guided vacation tour packages offered at predominantly non-Disney sites around the world.
 * Golden Oak Realty, Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort sales

Disney Sports Enterprises
Disney Sports Enterprises, formerly called Disney Sports Attractions, is the unit of Disney Parks and Resorts for Disney's sports functions and is made up of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the runDisney program.

DSE background
Disney Golf facilities date back to the opening of Disney World with two golf courses, the Palm and Magnolia courses. At the time, those courses started hosting the Walt Disney World Open Invitational, an annual PGA tour event.

In 1994, Disney held the Walt Disney World Marathon, its first road race added addition races later. Disneyland Marathon and 5K were run in 1995 three weeks after the LA Marathon on March 26, 1995.

In 1995, Disney World had IMS Events, Inc. build the Walt Disney World Speedway. Disney's Wide World of Sports opened in 1997 under executive Reggie Williams.

DSE history
By 1998, Williams was named Vice President of Disney Sports Attractions, overseeing a newly created sports & recreation division. The first 10K Disney Classic race on October 3, 1999, kicked off Disney World's 15-month Millennium Celebration. On March 30, 2003, Sports Attractions held the first Disney Inline Marathon.

On November 21, 2007, Reggie Williams retired as vice president of Disney Sports Attractions. His replacement was named on January 3, 2008, when Ken Potrock was promoted to Senior Vice President, Disney Sports Enterprises. On February 25, 2010, Disney's Wide World of Sports was renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with some upgrades and new facilities.

On September 25, 2011, Disney started its lease of its five Disney World golf courses (Palm, Magnolia, Lake Buena Vista, Osprey Ridge, and Oak Trail) to Arnold Palmer Golf Management to operate for 20 years while splitting the revenue. As part of the deal, Arnold Palmer would redesign the Palm course. The Orlando market for golf had a glut of course from the building boom then bust making profitability a challenge for any golf course. Disney hoped that Palmer's involvement and "Palmer Advantage" membership club would draw more attention to Disney's course. With the Osprey Ridge course sold to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to build a hotel, which was delayed until 2014, the golf management company would run the course until hotel construction begins. While another golf course, the Eagle Pines, was closed several years ago to make way for a residential housing subdivision development called Golden Oak being built in 2011.

In January 2013, Ken Petrock was promoted to Disney Vacation Club and Adventures by Disney Senior VP & GM while Tom Wolber, Disney Cruise Line Senior VP/Operations, was promoted to replace Petrock at Disney Sports. In late June 2015, the Walt Disney World Speedway was shut down. Senior Vice President of Disney Springs and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Maribeth Bisienere was promoted to Senior Vice President of Parks in early March 2018.