The Walt Disney Company Disney Media Networks, and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A&E Networks, and Freeform; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a group of 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 and is the signature mascot and emblem for Disney and one of the world's most recognizable characters. On December 14, 2017, Disney announced an agreement to acquire 21st Century
Criticism of The Walt Disney Company 1990s, often writes about a perceived decline in value and quality at Disney's theme parks, chiefly Disneyland and the neighboring park that opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure Park. Much of his criticism was directed at Paul Pressler, the one-time president of Disneyland who later was named chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Cynthia Harriss, Pressler's successor as Disneyland's president. From 1996-2002, Lutz maintained a set of sarcastic Web pages called "Promote Paul Pressler!", whose stated goal was "getting current Disneyland Resort President Paul Pressler promoted to a new job "somewhere else" within The Walt Disney Company!" Lutz's