Impact of Stock Options/Rights and Restricted Stock Units on Income (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2012	Oct. 01, 2011	Oct. 02, 2010
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization of previously capitalized equity-based compensation	$ 59	$ 57	$ 131

Amortization of previously capitalized stock-based compensation.

No definition available.

Name:	dis_AmortizationStockBasedCompensation
Namespace Prefix:	dis_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration