Borrowings - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2010 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Disneyland Paris borrowings USD ($)	Sep. 01, 2012 Disneyland Paris borrowings USD ($)	Sep. 01, 2012 Disneyland Paris borrowings EUR (€)	Oct. 01, 2011 Disneyland Paris borrowings USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2011 Disneyland Paris borrowings EUR (€)	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings USD ($)		Oct. 01, 2011 Commercial paper borrowings USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Minimum	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Maximum	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Letters Of Credit under Revolving Credit Facility Expiring In 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Replaced Revolving Credit Facility USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Revolving Credit Facility Expiring In 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Commercial paper borrowings Revolving Credit Facility Expiring In 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings USD ($)		Sep. 29, 2012 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings HKD		Oct. 01, 2011 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings Interest Rates until March, 2014	Sep. 29, 2012 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings Interest Rates until March, 2022	Sep. 29, 2012 Senior and Other Borrowings Hong Kong Disneyland borrowings Interest Rates until September, 2030	Sep. 29, 2012 U.S. medium-term notes USD ($)		Oct. 01, 2011 U.S. medium-term notes USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 U.S. medium-term notes Minimum	Sep. 29, 2012 U.S. medium-term notes Maximum	Sep. 29, 2012 European medium-term notes USD ($)		Oct. 01, 2011 European medium-term notes USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt USD ($)		Oct. 01, 2011 Other foreign currency denominated debt USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Loan Facility USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Loan Facility INR	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Credit Facility USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Credit Facility INR	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Canadian Dollar USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Canadian Dollar CAD	Jul. 31, 2007 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Canadian Dollar	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Japanese Yen USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Japanese Yen JPY (¥)	Jul. 31, 2008 Other foreign currency denominated debt Currency, Japanese Yen	Sep. 29, 2012 Capital Cities/ABC debt USD ($)		Oct. 01, 2011 Capital Cities/ABC debt USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2011 Caisse des Depots et Consignations Loans Disneyland Paris borrowings USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2011 Caisse des Depots et Consignations Loans Disneyland Paris borrowings EUR (€)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Borrowing	$ 14,311,000,000	$ 13,977,000,000							$ 2,050,000,000		$ 1,583,000,000							$ 267,000,000		2,100,000,000		$ 330,000,000				$ 10,117,000,000		$ 8,400,000,000			$ 90,000,000		$ 91,000,000	$ 1,225,000,000		$ 1,020,000,000					$ 334,000,000	328,000,000		$ 696,000,000	¥ 54,000,000,000		$ 112,000,000		$ 114,000,000	$ 1,440,000,000
Spread above LIBOR/Canadian Dealer Offered Rate												0.26%	1.93%																														0.83%			0.42%
Credit facility, borrowing capacity														800,000,000	2,250,000,000	2,250,000,000	2,250,000,000																				177,000,000	9,400,000,000	191,000,000	10,100,000,000
Borrowings facilities, interest rate description														These bank facilities allow for borrowings at LIBOR-based rates plus a spread depending on the credit default swap spread applicable to the Company's debt, subject to a cap and floor that vary with the Company's public rating. The spread above LIBOR can range from 0.26% to 1.93%.
Credit facility, amount outstanding									258,000,000
Debt maturity period																													1 year	81 years
Stated interest rate, minimum																										0.15%											9.15%	9.15%
Stated interest rate, maximum																										7.55%											10.15%	10.15%
Borrowing capacity																															4,000,000,000
Remaining borrowing capacity																															3,900,000,000
Debt maturity, year							2028	2028																							2013						2015	2015	2013	2013	2017	2017		2013	2013		2021
Stated interest rate							4.60%	4.60%	0.15%	[1]								3.25%	[1]	3.25%	[1]		6.75%	7.625%	8.50%	3.80%	[1]				1.65%	[1]		2.53%	[1]						2.12%	2.12%		0.61%	0.61%		8.75%	[1]
Senior subordinate debt																																																		1,400,000,000	1,100,000,000
Advances from third parties							541,000,000	398,000,000
Loans to subsidiaries					1,700,000,000	1,300,000,000
Transaction cost, debt repayment	(24,000,000)			(24,000,000)
Debt, maturity date																		Sep. 12, 2030		Sep. 12, 2030
Interest capitalized	92,000,000	91,000,000	82,000,000
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest	$ 472,000,000	$ 435,000,000	$ 456,000,000

[1] The stated interest rate represents the weighted-average coupon rate for each category of borrowings. For floating rate borrowings, interest rates are based upon the rates at September 29, 2012; these rates are not necessarily an indication of future interest rates.