Disney Regional Entertainment was the subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts which developed and operated unique local entertainment concepts. It previously operated the

Club Disney Club Disney was a regional children's play center concept operated by Disney Regional Entertainment. The indoor centers were designed for families with children 9 and under with gift shops, various play areas and snack bars. The clubs were expec ...

, DisneyQuest, and

ESPN Zone ESPN Zone was a theme restaurant and entertainment center chain in the United States that included arcades, TV studios, and radio studios, operated by the Disney Regional Entertainment subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts using the Disne ...

chain entertainment concepts.

History

Disney Regional Entertainment was formed in 1996 to develop local based entertainment concepts. Soon after the purchase of Capital Cities/ABC Inc., which owns 80% of ESPN, Disney CEO Michael D. Eisner moved forward with his idea to having local entertainment based on Disney brands in metropolitan and suburban area. Eisner selected Art Levitt, who was previously Disney Parks and Resorts vice president of resorts and special projects then CEO of

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

International. As Disney Parks and Resorts vice president of resorts and special projects, Levitt was responsible for Pleasure Island, the Disney Village Marketplace and the Disney Village Resort and spearhead the initial plans for

ESPN Club Disney's BoardWalk Resort is a hotel and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. First opened in 1996, the BoardWalk Resort lies in the Epcot Resort Area, alongside Crescent La ...

, which was initial conceptually similar to ESPN Zone. Several concepts were placed in the planning stage.

was the first to be launched on February 21, 1997 at the Westlake Promenade in Thousand Oaks, California with another in Southern California opened later that year. On June 19, 1998, Disney Regional Entertainment opened its first DisneyQuest, a location-based entertainment venue, at Downtown Disney West Side in Walt Disney World. The company opened its first ESPN Zone on July 11, 1998 at Power Plant in the Inner Harbor, Baltimore. On August 28, 1998, Disney Regional announced an expansion for Club Disney for late 1998 and 1999. In December 1998, Disney Regional Entertainment was transferred with a couple of other units into Walt Disney Attractions. The first DisneyQuest outside of a resort was opened in Chicago on June 16, 1999 with plans for more locations worldwide. In October 1999, Disney announced that the Club chain would be shut down with their last day of operation being November 1, 1999. On September 4, 2001, the Chicago DisneyQuest closed leaving only the Disney World location left. ESPN Zone lasted longer than the other chains. As a chain it was closed down as of June 16, 2010 with five of its locations while two other continued operating by other companies, AEG and Zone Enterprises. With transfer of the remaining ESPN Zones to other companies, Disney Regional Entertainment shut down. On July 3, 2017, the final DisneyQuest closed down at Disney Springs and was demolished for the NBA Experience.

References

{{Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Regional Entertainment Hospitality companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Burbank, California Entertainment companies established in 1996 1996 establishments in California Entertainment companies disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in California

History

See also

References