Disneyland Park (Paris)

Disneyland Park
Location Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, Paris, France
Coordinates 48°52′21″N 2°46′36″E / 48.872608°N 2.776747°E
Theme Fairy tales, Disney characters, The Wild West, The Future, Jungles
Owner Euro Disney S.C.A.
Operated by Euro Disney S.C.A.
Opened 12 April 1992
Previous names Euro Disneyland
Website Official website

Disneyland Park (French: Parc Disneyland), originally Euro Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, opened on 12 April 1992. Designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering, its layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California and Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. Spanning 56.656 ha (140 acres) (the largest Disney park based on the original), it is dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters. In 2013, the park hosted approximately 10.43 million visitors, making it the most-visited theme park in Europe, and the sixth-most visited theme park in the world.[1]

The park is represented by Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, a replica of the fairy tale castle seen in Sleeping Beauty.

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 lands that inspired it. Euro Disneyland is dedicated to the young, and the young at heart... with a hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration for all the world.
—Michael D. Eisner, 12 April 1992

History

Original layout of Disneyland Park.

In order for the fourth park to be based on the original, modifications were made to the park's concepts and designs. Among the changes was the change of Tomorrowland to Discoveryland, giving the area a retrofuturistic theme rather than futuristic. Other altered elements include the Haunted Mansion, which was redesigned as Phantom Manor, and Space Mountain. The park's location brought forth its own challenges. Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant is said by its designers to have been necessarily reevaluated for a continent on which authentic castles stand.[2] Modifications to the park were made to protect against changes in weather in the Parisian climate. Covered walkways were added, though these are described as "Arcades" and not covered walkways, and Michael Eisner ordered the installation of 35 fireplaces in hotels and restaurants.

The park, as well as its surrounding complex, initially failed to meet financial expectations resulting in an image change in which the word "Euro" was phased out of several names, including Euro Disneyland. The park was known as Euro Disneyland until May 1994, Euro Disneyland Paris until September 1994, Disneyland Paris until February 2002, and Disneyland Park (English) and Parc Disneyland (French) since March 2002.

As Michael Eisner noted, "As Americans, the word ‘Euro’ is believed to mean glamorous or exciting. For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency, and commerce. Renaming the park ‘Disneyland Paris’ was a way of identifying it with one of the most romantic and exciting cities in the world."[3]

Lands

Disneyland Park is divided into five themed "lands", which house 49 attractions. Designed like a wheel with the hub on Central Plaza before Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, pathways spoke out across the 140 acres (57 ha) of the park and lead to the lands.[4] The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Disneyland Railroad runs along the perimeter of the park and stops in Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland.

Themed Land Picture Notes
Main Street, U.S.A. Serves as the main entrance boulevard into the park and is themed after early-20th-century small-town America complete with a train station and Victorian architecture. The street terminates at the central hub of the park with Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Frontierland Themed after a mining town of the American Old West from the 19th-century. Features include desert and wilderness landscaping, large rock formations, a river, and frontier architecture.
Adventureland
(land entrance)		 Adventureland is themed to recreate the feel of exotic locales of places such as the Caribbean, Middle-East, Africa, and Asia. Lush landscaping is abundant throughout the land to give visitors the impression of being in a remote jungle.
Fantasyland
(Sleeping Beauty Castle)		 Sleeping Beauty Castle serves as the main entrance to this land themed after a storybook village taking many architectural traits from various European villages.
Discoveryland
(Space Mountain)		 Discoveryland is themed after the visions of famed European thinkers and explorers such as Leonardo da Vinci, HG Wells, or Jules Verne.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main article: Main Street, U.S.A.

Frontierland

Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing
Main article: Frontierland

Adventureland

Fantasyland

Main article: Fantasyland

Discoveryland

Attendance

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Worldwide rank
12,688,000[6] 12,740,000[7] 10,500,000[8] 10,990,000[9] 11,500,000[10] 10,430,000[1] 6

Seasonal and special events

Different seasons offer different park opening hours and different entertainment offerings.[11]

Entertainment and parades

Disneyland Park hosts a range of daytime and nighttime entertainment throughout the year, although the nighttime entertainment is seasonal.[12]

Current Shows & Parades

Seasonal & Retired Shows & Parades

Gallery

Main gallery: Disneyland Park Paris at Wikicommons

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "TEA/AECOM 2013 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Imagineers (1998). Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look At Making the Magic Real. Disney Editions. ISBN 978-0-7868-8372-1.
  3. ↑ daniels. "Individual Term Paper International Marketing, Dan Snyder 30 April 2002" (PDF). google.com. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  4. ↑ "Disneyland Park Map". DLRP Magic.
  5. ↑ Zeitschrift Blickpunkt Straßenbahn (Tram Focus Magazine) – Trams of the World 2013
  6. ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2008 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  7. ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2009 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  8. ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2010 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  9. ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2011 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ "TEA/AECOM 2012 Global Attractions Report" (PDF). Themed Entertainment Association. 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Season Dates". DLRP Magic. 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  12. ↑ "Disneyland Park Entertainment Schedule" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-09-10.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Disneyland Paris.

Coordinates: 48°52′21″N 2°46′36″E / 48.8726083°N 2.7767472°E