Midway to Main Street | Walt Disney's Name Was Sold For $42 Million @MidwaytoMainStreet | Uploaded January 2018 | Updated October 2024, 18 hours ago.
The Walt Disney Company was formed almost 100 years ago and in that time since it has become an entertainment behemoth that has undoubtedly changed the face of American media and culture. With an impact like that you could say that the Walt Disney name is priceless. Except there was a price, and Disney paid it.
Building A Company by Bob Thomas
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As much as we all love Disneyland today, the idea wasnât always widely accepted. When Walt tried to originally purchase land for a Disney themed amusement park in the early 1950s, Disney stockholders sued to stop the purchase and won. They felt that Walt Disney Productions was in the film and animation industry, not the amusement park industry. To buy land for an amusement park would be a misuse of company money.
So to avoid letting shareholders block his plans again and seeking the funding he would need for this Disneyland, Walt formed a new separate company and so on December 16th, 1952 he formed WED Enterprises.
Now today we largely remember WED for their work on some of the most memorable theme park attractions in the world. However there was also a âpersonal servicesâ branch of the company, and it would be not only the key to WED working, but a source of tension between Walt and Roy for years.
You see, Walt granted WED his own naming rights, and in turn WED licensed the Walt Disney name to Walt Disney Productions for a 10% royalty of all merch, and up to a 15% share of every Disney project that he chose to invest in, which happened pretty often.
Walt argued that this move would ultimately be a good one for everyone involved. Walt would get the funding for his Disneyland project, without having to worry about Disney Production shareholders. He would also secure a financial future for his family after he was gone. In return, with WED licensing Waltâs name, it would ensure that Walt Disney Productions would be able to continue to use the name long after he died, without the mess of estate rights and stuff like that.
Roy however was not pleased. With the ownership of WED being split between Walt and his two daughters, Walt and his immediate family was now about to financially benefit from the Disney name in a way Roy and his family couldnât. Beyond that there was a question as to whether the move was ethical. The formation of the company was only approved by the Walt Disney Productions board of directors, and so none of the companyâs shareholders had any say in the costly fees Disney would now have to start paying Walt.
As most of us know, WED would go on to develop Disneyland, and despite a rocky opening day the theme park would go on to be massive success and change the amusement park industry forever. That success is why, in 1963, Walt Disney Productions felt it was time to revisit the Disney/WED deal. With the company growing there was more risk than ever that a shareholder would sue the company over the questionable formation of WED Enterprises.
The negotiations lasted over a year and oftentimes got heated. On February 5th, 1965 however, Walt Disney Productions would buy the design and architecture portion of WED Enterprises. Walt would get a ten year extension on ownership of the Disneyland Railroad and Monorail, and he would also get to keep his naming royalty contract.
Since Walt Disney Productions now owned WED Enterprises, the remaining business dealings would operate under a new name: Retlaw Enterprises, which was Walter spelled backwards. WED would continue to operate at Walt Disney Productions until 1986 when it was renamed to its current name: Walt Disney Imagineering.
The deal would remain for the following seventeen years, and in early 1982 Retlaw Enterprises, at that point owned by Waltâs wife, Lillian, and his two daughters Diane and Sharon, would sell Waltâs naming rights and rights to the Disneyland Railroad and Monorail to The Walt Disney Company. The price? 818,461 shares of Disney stock, which at the time were worth $42.6 million. Today those shares, after three splits, would be worth over $1.1 billion.
Retlaw would actually continue to operate through the 80s, 90s and early 00âs. While their ties to the Disney company were severed, the company had purchased numerous television stations and pieces of real estate over the years. In 1999 Retlaw sold itâs television stations, and in 2005 what was left of Retlaw Enterprises was folded into the Walt Disney Family Foundation.
Retlaw is an often overlooked piece of Disneyâs history, but itâs an important one. It was the foundation upon which Disneyland was built, it both caused a rift within his family and secured itâs financial future at the same time, and it even put a price on the Walt Disney name.
The Walt Disney Company was formed almost 100 years ago and in that time since it has become an entertainment behemoth that has undoubtedly changed the face of American media and culture. With an impact like that you could say that the Walt Disney name is priceless. Except there was a price, and Disney paid it.
Building A Company by Bob Thomas
đamzn.to/2D82WDh
New here? Be sure to subscribe!
đ·goo.gl/x17zTL
My Patreon!
â€patreon.com/RobPlays
My Disney Podcast!
đ§ttapodcast.com
Follow me on Twitter!
đ±Twitter.com/RobPlays
As much as we all love Disneyland today, the idea wasnât always widely accepted. When Walt tried to originally purchase land for a Disney themed amusement park in the early 1950s, Disney stockholders sued to stop the purchase and won. They felt that Walt Disney Productions was in the film and animation industry, not the amusement park industry. To buy land for an amusement park would be a misuse of company money.
So to avoid letting shareholders block his plans again and seeking the funding he would need for this Disneyland, Walt formed a new separate company and so on December 16th, 1952 he formed WED Enterprises.
Now today we largely remember WED for their work on some of the most memorable theme park attractions in the world. However there was also a âpersonal servicesâ branch of the company, and it would be not only the key to WED working, but a source of tension between Walt and Roy for years.
You see, Walt granted WED his own naming rights, and in turn WED licensed the Walt Disney name to Walt Disney Productions for a 10% royalty of all merch, and up to a 15% share of every Disney project that he chose to invest in, which happened pretty often.
Walt argued that this move would ultimately be a good one for everyone involved. Walt would get the funding for his Disneyland project, without having to worry about Disney Production shareholders. He would also secure a financial future for his family after he was gone. In return, with WED licensing Waltâs name, it would ensure that Walt Disney Productions would be able to continue to use the name long after he died, without the mess of estate rights and stuff like that.
Roy however was not pleased. With the ownership of WED being split between Walt and his two daughters, Walt and his immediate family was now about to financially benefit from the Disney name in a way Roy and his family couldnât. Beyond that there was a question as to whether the move was ethical. The formation of the company was only approved by the Walt Disney Productions board of directors, and so none of the companyâs shareholders had any say in the costly fees Disney would now have to start paying Walt.
As most of us know, WED would go on to develop Disneyland, and despite a rocky opening day the theme park would go on to be massive success and change the amusement park industry forever. That success is why, in 1963, Walt Disney Productions felt it was time to revisit the Disney/WED deal. With the company growing there was more risk than ever that a shareholder would sue the company over the questionable formation of WED Enterprises.
The negotiations lasted over a year and oftentimes got heated. On February 5th, 1965 however, Walt Disney Productions would buy the design and architecture portion of WED Enterprises. Walt would get a ten year extension on ownership of the Disneyland Railroad and Monorail, and he would also get to keep his naming royalty contract.
Since Walt Disney Productions now owned WED Enterprises, the remaining business dealings would operate under a new name: Retlaw Enterprises, which was Walter spelled backwards. WED would continue to operate at Walt Disney Productions until 1986 when it was renamed to its current name: Walt Disney Imagineering.
The deal would remain for the following seventeen years, and in early 1982 Retlaw Enterprises, at that point owned by Waltâs wife, Lillian, and his two daughters Diane and Sharon, would sell Waltâs naming rights and rights to the Disneyland Railroad and Monorail to The Walt Disney Company. The price? 818,461 shares of Disney stock, which at the time were worth $42.6 million. Today those shares, after three splits, would be worth over $1.1 billion.
Retlaw would actually continue to operate through the 80s, 90s and early 00âs. While their ties to the Disney company were severed, the company had purchased numerous television stations and pieces of real estate over the years. In 1999 Retlaw sold itâs television stations, and in 2005 what was left of Retlaw Enterprises was folded into the Walt Disney Family Foundation.
Retlaw is an often overlooked piece of Disneyâs history, but itâs an important one. It was the foundation upon which Disneyland was built, it both caused a rift within his family and secured itâs financial future at the same time, and it even put a price on the Walt Disney name.
