Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences
Division overseeing Warner Bros. consumer products and themed entertainment.
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, a key division of its parent company, came into being in September 2018 when Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment were combined. Two years later, in April 2022, the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. led to Warner Bros. Global Brands and Franchises joining with Discovery Global Enterprises, uniting the theme park and consumer goods arms of both firms.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 13 September 2018, 13 December 2022 (merger with Discovery Global Enterprises)
- Headquarters
- Burbank, California
- Country
- United States
- Services
- Consumer products
- theme parks
- attractions
- publishing
- recreation
- and hospitality
- Subsidiaries
- DC Comics
Facts from the source article.
History
Warner Bros. Consumer Products was founded in 1984 by Dan Romanelli to handle licensing of the studio’s library for merchandise. Its profile rose sharply during production of the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film, which sparked the largest merchandising campaign ever tied to a feature film. Licensing Batman rights alone brought in more than $500 million in revenue. In 1998, after Warner Bros. sold its 49% stake in Six Flags, the division began licensing characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Batman, and Superman for use in those parks. Under Romanelli, the operation grew from a small licensing outfit into a broad business encompassing Warner Bros. Worldwide Licensing, Warner Bros. Studio Stores, wbstore.com, Worldwide Publishing, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Kids' WB! Music, Warner Bros. Toys, and a Live Events department. Romanelli stepped down on June 20, 2006, and was replaced by Brad Globe, who had joined as Executive Vice President in February 2005. Globe announced his departure on August 28, 2015, with Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, serving as interim leader. In January 2016, Pam Lifford was named President. The themed entertainment side of the company began in the early 1970s with Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat, a 1,000-acre wildlife preserve and drive-through safari park in West Milford, New Jersey, that opened on July 19, 1972. Under President Rafael De La Sierra, the park welcomed over 500,000 visitors in its first year.
Warner Resorts
Warner Bros. first tried its hand at running a theme park with Jungle Habitat in New Jersey, which opened in 1972. The park did well at first but could not get visitors to come back, and after the city rejected a plan to expand it, Warner Bros. shut it down in 1976. The company later joined forces with Village Roadshow Theme Parks in 1989 to create a new park concept. That park, Warner Bros. Movie World, was designed by C. V. Wood and opened on June 3, 1991, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was meant to celebrate the movie industry, letting guests act out scenes from films and see how blockbusters are made behind the scenes. In 2006, TimeWarner sold its shares in the park to Village Roadshow Theme Parks, giving up ownership. Another park, originally called Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid, opened on April 5, 2002, as a partnership between Warner Bros. Recreational Enterprises and Six Flags. The community of Madrid owned the largest share at 40%, while SixFlags ran the park and held a 5% stake. When SixFlags sold its European parks to Palamon Capital Partners in 2004, this park was not included, and SixFlags' operating contract ended in November of that year. Park management took over, and Warner Bros. bought SixFlags' stake. The park was renamed Parque Warner Madrid in 2006, and Parques Reunidos took over ownership and operations in 2007, with Warner Bros. keeping a minority stake. A water park called Parque Warner Beach opened there in 2014. Warner Bros. World, the fourth Warner Bros.-branded theme park outside the United States, opened on July 25, 2018, on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It has six themed areas and planned to open its first hotel, The WB Abu Dhabi, in 2021. Warner Bros. does not own this park; instead, it licenses the Warner Bros. name and characters through Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment. It is the second Warner Bros.-named theme park outside the U.S. that the company does not own.
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