The Oriental Land Company, Limited, also known as Oriental Land[3] (株式会社オリエンタルランド, Kabushiki gaisha Orientaru Rando) is a Japanese leisure and tourism subsidiary of the Keisei Electric Railway Company, headquartered in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan where it also owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort. The company operates in three segments, divided as theme parks, hotels, and other business.[1] It is a component of the TOPIX Large70 index.
Oriental Land pays licenses and royalties to The Walt Disney Company for use of their intellectual properties, while Disney provides consultation and their Imagineering division to design and build Oriental Land's theme parks and attractions at the resort. The Oriental Land Company is the only Disney resort company that has no capital relationship with Disney.
History
The Oriental Land Company was founded in 1960.[1] The company was developing Maihama, an area of land in Urayasu that was created through land reclamation.[4] Two years later, the company contacted Disney about building a theme park.[5] OLC was also building a few shopping centers in Chiba Prefecture.[4]
In 1979, Oriental and Disney agreed to build the theme park.[5]Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15, 1983 on 200 acres in Maihama.[4][6] The company borrowed $1.4 billion for Disneyland which they paid off in three years.[7]
Disney announced in November 1995 the building of Tokyo DisneySea to be owned by Oriental next to the Tokyo Disneyland.[6] Oriental and Disney signed the DisneySea licensing agreement in November 1997 with the theme park to open in 2001 at a cost of $2.6 billion.[8] In May 1999, the company sold two sets of bonds, $200 million in quake bonds and $406 million of bonds to fund DisneySea.[9][10] DisneySea opened on September 4, 2001 at only $200 million over budget.[11]
In 2000, OLC formed Ikspiari Co., Ltd. to run Ikspiari.[12]
Even though the Disney Stores maintained strong sales, mounting cost of sales and operation and the loss of key executives who had driven the Disney Stores to success led The Walt Disney Company to convert the Disney Stores into a licensed operation. The Japanese stores were sold to the company in April 2002 and placed into Retail Networks Co., Ltd. subsidiary.[13][14]
In October 2008, Oriental Land Company announced that it and Disney had shelved plans for a new Disney complex in a major Japanese city. The company and Disney had spent more than a year studying an urban-style amusement facility for 2010 or later, but ended planning due to low profits expected versus the investment. The firm said it would continue to explore possibilities for a new business, which might not involve Disney.[15]
The Oriental Land Company announced an agreement that it would sell Retail Networks Co., Ltd., its Japanese Disney Stores, back to The Walt Disney Company. Disney took over beginning on March 31, 2010, Retail Networks Co., Ltd., Oriental Land Company subsidiary owning the Disney Stores in Japan.[13] OLC's hotel subsidiary, Milial Resort Hotels Co., Ltd. purchased on March 29, 2013 the Brighton Corporation, another hotel company.[16]
On August 31, 2015, Create Restaurants Holdings Inc. fully acquired RC Japan Co., Ltd. from Oriental Land Co., Ltd. for 65 million yen.[17]
IKSPIARI Co., Ltd., operates Ikspiari, an entertainment complex near the theme parks that has 9 themed zones with more than 100 shops and a 16-screen cinema.[19]
Maihama Resort Line Co., Ltd. operates Disney Resort Line, a monorail service
affiliate transportation companies under shared ownership with Keisei Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
