Walt Disney was an American animator and producer who helped build the modern animation industry. In 1928 he and Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse, his first big hit, and he soon pushed the medium forward with synchronized sound, full-colour Technicolor and feature-length animation such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). After World War II he expanded into theme parks, opening Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1955 and funding it partly through television. He won 22 Academy Awards, the most of any individual, and died in 1966 before Walt Disney World was completed.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.