Park #3: EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States
Opened: October 1, 1982
Dedication: "To all who come to this place of Joy, Hope and
Friendship - Welcome. EPCOT is inspired by Walt Disney's
creative vision. Here, human achievements are celebrated
through imagination, wonders of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all. May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere." - E. Cardon Walker, October 24, 1982
Park #2: Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States
Opened: October 1, 1971
Dedication: "Walt Disney World is tribute to the philosophy
and life of Walter Elias Disney ... and to the talents, the dedication,
and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn - together."
- Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971
A GREAT BIG WORLD OF DISNEY PARKS
Park #1: Disneyland
Location: Anaheim, California, United States
Opened: July 17, 1955
Dedication: "To all who come to this happy place – welcome.
Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of
the past and here youth may savor the challenge and
promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, dreams and the hard facts that have created America … with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." - Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955
Park #4: Tokyo Disneyland
Location: Urayasu, Chiba, Japan (near Tokyo)
Opened: April 15, 1983
Dedication: "To all who come to this happy place,
welcome. Here you will discover enchanted lands of
Fantasy and Adventure, Yesterday and Tomorrow.
May Tokyo Disneyland be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the peoples of the world. And may this magical kingdom be an enduring symbol of the spirit of cooperation and friendship between the great nations of Japan and the United States of America." - E. Cardon Walker, April 15, 1983
Park #5: Disney-MGM Studios
Today known as Disney's Hollywood Studios *
at Walt Disney World
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States
Opened: May 1, 1989 (as Disney-MGM Studios)
Dedication: "The World you have entered was created by
The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood -
not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was - and always will be."
- Michael Eisner, May 1, 1989
* On January 7, 2008 Disney-MGM was renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Park #6: Euro Disney / Disneyland Paris *
Location: Marne-la-Vallée, in the suburbs of Paris, France
Opened: April 12, 1992
Dedication: "To all who come to this happy place, welcome.
Once upon a time ... a master storyteller, Walt Disney, inspired by Europe's best loved tales, used his own special gifts to share them with the world. He envisioned a Magic Kingdom where these stories would come to life, and called it Disneyland. Now his dream returns to the land that inspired it. Euro Disneyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart ... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration for all the world." - Michael Eisner, April 12, 1992
* The resort officially opened as Euro Disney Resort on April 12 1992, but was later renamed Disneyland Paris on October 1, 1994
Park #7: Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States
Opened: April 22, 1998
Dedication: "Welcome to a kingdom of animals ... real, ancient
and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons;
a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we
enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the
drama, and learn." - Michael Eisner, April 22, 1998
Park #8: Disney's California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort
Location: Anaheim, California, United States
Opened: February 8, 2001
Dedication: "To all who believe in the power of dreams... welcome. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past ... The native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow ... From the silver screen to the computer screen ... From the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California ... Its land, its people, its spirit and, above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire." - Michael Eisner, February 8, 2001
Park #10: Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris
Location: Marne-la-Vallée, in the suburbs of Paris, France
Opened: March 16, 2002
Dedication: "To all who enter the studio of dreams, welcome.
The Walt Disney Studios is dedicated to our timeless fascination
and affection for cinema and for television. Here we celebrate
the art and the artistry of storytelling from Europe and around
the world to create the magic in a special place through our own memories of the past and our dreams of the future."
- Michael D. Eisner, March 16, 2002
Park #9: Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disneyland
Location: Urayasu, Chiba, Japan (near Tokyo)
Opened: September 4, 2001
Dedication: "Welcome one and all to a world where Imagination and Adventure set sail. Tokyo DisneySea is dedicated to the spirit of exploration that lives in each of us. Here we charter a course for Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Fun and journey to exotic and fanciful Ports of Call. May Tokyo DisneySea inspire the hearts and mind of all of us who share the water planet, Earth."
- Michael Eisner, September 4, 2001
Park #11: Hong Kong Disneyland
Location: overlooking the water of Penny's Bay on Lantau Island,
Hong Kong
Opened: September 12, 2005
Dedication: "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Many
years ago, Walt Disney introduced the world to enchanted realms of fantasy and adventure, yesterday and tomorrow, in a magical placed called Disneyland. Today that spirit of imagination and discovery comes to life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart - with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration, and an enduring symbol of the cooperation, friendship and understanding between the people of Hong Kong and the United States of America."
- Michael Eisner & Donald Tsang, September 12, 2005
A Great
Big World
of
Disney Parks
THIS SITE MADE IN THE USA
The very first Disney park, Disneyland holds the distinction of being the only theme park to be designed, built, opened, and operated by Walt Disney himself. The park is divided into realms, which radiate like the four cardinal points of the compass from Central Plaza. When opened in 1955, the park consisted of 5 themed areas -
Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. The park's iconic fairytale centerpiece is the Sleeping Beauty Castle (standing 77 feet tall). Today it is part of the Disneyland Resort.
The first park built at Disney World, construction began on the Magic Kingdom a year after the death of Walt Disney (although he was very involved in the planning of the resort). A larger version of the original Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom opened with similar themed lands with the addition of Liberty Square and Mickey's Toontown Fair.
The Magic Kingdom's fairytale centerpiece is the Cinderella Castle (reaching a height of 189 feet). More than twice the size of Sleeping Beauty Castle, forced perspective makes Cinderella Castle appear even larger than it actually is.
The second theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort, Epcot (originally called EPCOT Center until 1994) is dedicated
to international culture and technological innovation. The name Epcot derives from the acronym EPCOT (Experimental
Prototype Community of Tomorrow), a utopian city of the future dreamed up by Walt Disney even before Disney World
was built. The park consists of two sections - Future World and World Showcase - laid out in an hourglass shape. Both
sections are patterned after exhibits usually found at World's Fair type of events. Future World consists of a variety of
pavilions that explore innovative aspects and applications of technology. World Showcase features pavilions
representing countries from around the world. Unlike other Disney parks, Epcot's iconic symbol is not a castle but an
18-story geodesic sphere called Spaceship Earth.
The first Disney park to be built outside of the United States, Tokyo Disneyland was constructed in the same style as
Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Like its sister parks, Tokyo Disneyland also has themed areas,
although instead of a Main Street USA, this park features World Bazaar. Tokyo Disneyland's iconic structure is also the
Cinderella Castle (generally considered to be a carbon copy of the Magic Kingdom's castle). Interestingly, the park is not
owned by Disney but by The Oriental Land Company - who license the theme from The Walt Disney Company.
The Disney-MGM Studios (today called Disney's Hollywood Studios) draws inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The third park built at Walt Disney World, it consists of six themed areas - but unlike the other Walt Disney World parks, Disney's Hollywood Studios does not have a defined layout. The park features a mass of streets and buildings that blend into each other, much like a real motion picture studio would. The park's original icon was the Earful Tower, but today the park is represented by The Sorcerer's Hat, a stylized version of the magical hat from Fantasia.
Disneyland Paris is the second Disney resort to open outside the United States (following Tokyo Disney Resort) and the first to be owned and operated by Disney (Euro Disney S.C.A.). Following the success of Disneyland in California and the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, plans to build a similar theme park in Europe first emerged back in 1972. Often a subject of controversy during the periods of negotiation and construction in the late 1980s and early '90s, the park originally opened as Euro Disney. Its design is based on a formula pioneered by Disneyland and further employed at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. The park's iconic structure is the Sleeping Beauty Castle (often referred to as the most beautfiul of all the Disney castles).
The fourth park to be built at Walt Disney World, Disney's Animal Kingdom is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than 500 acres. It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely around animal conservation (the park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums - meaning they have met and exceeded the standards in Education, Conservation and Research). The park is made up of themed areas and its iconic structure is not a castle but The Tree of Life. A massive 14-story tall artificial tree, The Tree of Life is located in the center of Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Disney's California Adventure Park (today known as simply Disney California Adventure) adjacent to the original Disneyland, is part of what is today called the Disneyland Resort. In 1991, Disney announced a plan to build a second gate in Anaheim called WestCOT, a west coast version of Epcot. Plans were cancelled and instead DCA was constructed as part of a major expansion that transformed the Disneyland area and its hotels into the Disneyland Resort. Paying tribute to California, DCA is also split up into themed areas with names like - Sunshine Plaza (serving as the main entrance), Hollywood Pictures Backlot, The Golden State, A Bug's Land and Paradise Pier. Grizzly Peak, the park's icon, is a man-made mountain in the shape of a grizzly bear, which represents California's state animal. It houses Grizzly River Run, a large rapids ride located in the
Grizzly Peak Recreation Area.
Tokyo DisneySea is the second theme park to open at the Tokyo Disney Resort and the most expensive theme park ever built. With an overall nautical exploration theme featuring unique "ports of call," Tokyo DisneySea has become one of the most popular Disney Parks in the world. Unlike other parks, DisneySea has two iconic symbols - a water fountain with a large model of the earth called DisneySea AquaSphere and gigantic volcano called Mount Prometheus (which is exactly the same height as Tokyo Disneyland's Cinderella Castle).
Originally planned as Disney-MGM Studios Europe, Walt Disney Studios Park is the second theme park of Disneyland Resort Paris. Considered a sister park to Disney's Hollywood Studios (in Florida), it too features a show business theme with areas called Front Lot, Toon Studio, Production Courtyard, and Backlot. Walt Disney Studios Park's icon is The Earffel Tower, a water-tower structure similar to the one originally used at the Florida theme park.
Hong Kong Disneyland is the first theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (which is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks - an incorporated company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and the Government of Hong Kong). The fifth Disneyland style park, it consists of similar themed lands - Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. The theme park's cast members speak English and Chinese, including Cantonese and Mandarin dialects. Hong Kong Disneyland's icon is of course a castle - modeled after the original 1955 Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.
The 5 Disney Resorts (Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland) are made up of 11 theme parks in all:
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Park #12: Shanghai Disneyland Park
Location: Pudong, Shanghai, China
Opened: June 16, 2016
Dedication: "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Shanghai Disneyland is your land. Here you leave today and discover imaginative worlds of fantasy, romance and adventure that ignite the magical dreams within us all. Shanghai Disneyland is authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese. It was created for everyone, bringing to life timeless characters and stories in a magical place that will be a source of joy, inspiration, and memories for generations to come."
— Robert A. Iger, June 16, 2016
Part of the Shanghai Disney Resort, the park is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Shanghai Shendi Group, through a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Shendi. Upon the company's promise that the Shanghai resort would be "authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese," Chinese architects and designers and teams of researchers were hired to find ways to incorporate Chinese cultural elements. Many usual Disney park features have been redesigned or are absent from Shanghai Disneyland Park to cater for Chinese visitors' penchants. The park does not feature a steam railroad surrounding the park's perimeter and has no earthen berm to obscure the outside world from guest view.
