Disney is letting shareholders pay for two years of
gold card membership at the discounted price of $58.00 instead of the regular fee of $50.00 for one year.
REPORTED: Dark Light 04 FEB 96
The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923, so our 50th anniversary would
have been in 1973. Next year will be the 75th anniversary.
REPORTED: Walt Disney Archives 22 MAY 97
Retlaw was Walt's own personal
company which took in his income for the rights to his name, stock income and
other income paid to him, hence the name "Retlaw" - "Walter" spelled backwards. It was never a subsidiary
of the Disney corporation. As most people know, Walt was an avid train buff,
and when he built Disneyland, he wanted complete control over the steam
trains, so that he could take them out when ever he wanted. Thus, he placed
the steam trains, and then later the monorails under the ownership of Retlaw
and leased them back to the park. In 1982, the family decided to sell the
assets of Retlaw, including the rights to Walt's likeness and name to the
Disney Company, and a holding company, Walt Disney Incorporated was formed.
Eventually, the steam trains and monorails became "officially" Disneyland's
property.
REPORTED: Kevin Lee 21 SEP 97
Retlaw was not a Disney subsidiary, which was disbanded after Walt's death. It was a personal company of Walt Disney's, unaffiliated with Walt Disney Productions (aka The Walt Disney Company). Founded in 1953, it licensed the rights to Walt Disney's name and likeness, and owned the steam train and monorail operations at Disneyland. Walt Disney Productions purchased the name, likeness, and the train/monorail operations from Retlaw in the early 1980's. Retlaw still continues to thrive, as the owner of radio and television stations, among other properties.
CONFIRMED: Randy Ballier 22 SEP 97
CONFIRMED: Doug Davis 01 OCT 97
CONFIRMED: Marty 18 NOV 98
Walt Disney World has 215 busses some of which are 20 years old and have travelled 1 million miles.
REPORTED: Tom & Renée Shaw 28 DEC 98
Where to next?