Aulani

Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa is a beachside hotel, resort and vacation destination offering complimentary children's activities and programs at the Ko Olina Resort & Marina in Kapolei on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Part of the Disney Vacation Club, it is the third Disney Vacation Club Resort located outside of a Disney theme park property. The resort opened on August 29, 2011.

Background

Initially announced in October 2007, Disney unveiled the resort's name in January 2010. The project was estimated to cost $800 million and eventually generate about 1,000 jobs at the resort. The project is managed by Disney Vice-President Djuan Rivers, who said he was committed to integrating environmentally friendly initiatives into the resort. The Aulani features an artificial lagoon which is called Rainbow Reef and an open air lobby, named Maka'ala, which was inspired by a traditional Hawaiian canoe house. This kind of architecture is said to connect families or guests to the sea and beyond. The Aulani resort is designed with the Hawaiian local culture in mind. The Walt Disney team has done extensive research on Hawaii to help workers understand Hawaiian customs and traditions. Hawaiian cultural programs are also incorporated into the resort; including music, dance, history, and arts and crafts.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., also known informally as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts or Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's four major business segments and a subsidiary. Originally known as Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division then Walt Disney Attractions, it is responsible for the conception, building, and managing of the company's theme parks and vacation resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises. It was founded in 1971, after the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, joining the original Disneyland in California, which opened in 1955. In 2014, the company's theme parks hosted approximately 134 million guests, making Disney Parks the world's most visited theme park company, ahead of the second-most visited rival Merlin Entertainments. It is by far the largest Disney business segment by employee headcount, with about 130,000 of Disney's total number of 180,000 employees as of 2015.

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversifiedmultinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world's second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue, after Comcast. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. The company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio, then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, and online media.

In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, The Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best-known studios in American cinema. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, music, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. An early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, Mickey Mouse, is a primary symbol of The Walt Disney Company.

Hawaii

Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639

Hawaii (English pronunciation: ⁱ/həˈwaɪʲi/ hə-WY-(y)ee; locally, [həˈwɐ(ɪ)ʔi]; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi]) is the 50th and most recent state of the United States of America, receiving statehood on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania and the only one composed entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean. Hawaii is the only U.S. state not located in the Americas. The state does not observe daylight saving time.

The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest island in the group; it is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.