Walt Disney was known for his power of imagination. But he would be amazed at what has happened, two decades after his death, to the entertainment empire he started.
Today, the Disney Studios' big attractions are not Bambi and Dumbo but stars like Bette Midler and Tom Cruise. The Disney Channel is one of the most successful cable-television programing services. The company has gone global with a theme park in Tokyo, a Disneyland planned for France and an agreement to supply cartoons for television in the People's Republic of China. Even more astonishing is the fact that 75 percent of the company's revenues now come from theme parks and real-estate development.
Now, to help finance ambitious development plans for the thousands of acres it owns at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., the company is considering an ambitious restructuring plan in which its $400 million Arvida real-estate unit would be spun off as a limited partnership.
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