Disneyland Park (Paris)

Disneyland Park
Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant
Theme	Magic Kingdom
Website	Disneyland Paris homepage
Operated By	Euro Disney SCA

Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Park Walt Disney Studios Park Disney Village
Resort hotels
Disneyland Hotel Disney's Hotel New York Disney's Newport Bay Club Disney's Sequoia Lodge Disney's Hotel Cheyenne Disney's Hotel Santa Fe Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch
Euro Disney S.C.A.

Disneyland Park (French: Parc Disneyland) is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992. Operated by the French company Euro Disney S.C.A., the park was designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering and the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Occupying 566,560 m² (140 acres), Disneyland Park is the largest Disney park based on the original in California.

In 2009, Disneyland Park saw 12,740,000 visitors, an increase of 0.4% since 2008, making it the most visited theme park in both France and Europe, and the fourth most visited theme park in the world.^[1]

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

In order for the fourth park to be based on the original (in Anaheim, California) modifications were made to the concepts and designs of the park. Amongst these changes was a shift from Tomorrowland to "Discoveryland", giving the area a retrofuturistic theme rather than futuristic. Other elements that were altered include the Haunted Mansion, which was redesigned as Phantom Manor, and Space Mountain. The park's location in Europe brought forth its own challenges. For instance, 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. This resulted in an image change in which the word "Euro" was phased out of several names, including Euro Disneyland.

• 

  Original layout of Euro Disneyland

Name changes

Disneyland Park has been subject to a number of name changes, initially an effort to overcome the negative publicity that followed the inception of the Euro Disney Resort.

1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Euro Disneyland1		Euro Disneyland Paris2	Disneyland Paris3							Disneyland Park (English)/Parc Disneyland (French)4

¹until May 1994
²June 1994 until September
³October 1994 until February 2002
⁴March 2002

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 of Disneyland Park

The park map lists forty-nine attractions in five themed "lands". 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 (0.57 km²) of Disneyland Park and lead to these five lands.^[4] The Disneyland Railroad runs along the perimeter of the park and stops in Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street USA

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

• City Hall
• Liberty Arcade (Sheltered and Covered walkway)
• Discovery Arcade (Sheltered and Covered walkway)
• Dapper Dan's Hair Cuts
• Horse-Drawn Streetcars
• Main Street Vehicles
• Disneyland Railroad - Main Street Station

Frontierland

Frontierland

Main article: Frontierland

• Legends of the Wild West
• Big Thunder Mountain
• Phantom Manor
• Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing
• River Rogue Keel Boats
• Rustler Roundup Shooting Gallery
• Pocahontas Indian Village
• Woody's Roundup Village
  

  Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril
• Chaparral Theatre
• Disneyland Railroad - Frontierland Depot

Adventureland

Main article: Adventureland (Disney)

• Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin (Aladdin's Enchanted Passage)
• Adventure Isle
• La Cabane des Robinson - (Swiss Family Treehouse)
• La Plage des Pirates (Pirates Beach)
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril)

Fantasyland

Main article: Fantasyland

• Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty's Castle)
• La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty's Gallery)
• La Tanière du Dragon (The Dragon's Lair)
• Le Théâtre du Château (The Castle Stage)
• Le Carrousel de Lancelot (Lancelot's Carousel)
  

  Sleeping Beauty Castle
• Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
• Les Voyages de Pinocchio (Pinocchio's Fantastic Journey)
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Alice's Curious Labyrinth
• Mad Hatter's Tea Cups
• It's a Small World
• Le Pays de Contes de Fées (Storybook Land Canal Boats)
• Casey Jr. - Le Petit Train du Cirque (Casey Jr. Circus Train)
• Fantasy Festival Stage
• Disneyland Railroad - Fantasyland Station

Orbitron and Space Mountain

Discoveryland

Main article: Discoveryland

• Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
• Orbitron - Machines Volantes
• Autopia
• Videopolis
• Arcade Alpha & Arcade Bêta
• Les Mystères du Nautilus
• Space Mountain: Mission 2
• Star Tours
• L'Astroport Services Interstellaires
• Captain EO
• Disneyland Railroad - Discoveryland Station

Gallery

• 

  Phantom Manor

• 

  Adventureland Bazaar

Seasonal and special events

Different seasons offer different park opening hours and different entertainment offerings.^[5]

• Magical Moments Festival - April 2011 - ?

• New Generation Festival - 2 April 2010 to 13 March 2011

• Summer Time at Disneyland Paris - 3 July to 29 August 2010

• Disney's Halloween Festival - 2 October to 1 November 2010
  • Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - 8th, 15th, 22 and 26 October 2010
  • Disney's Halloween Party - 31 October 2010

• Mickey's Magical Fireworks & Bonfire - 3rd, 5 and 8 November 2010

• Disney Enchanted Christmas - 7 November 2010 to 6 January 2011

• St David's Welsh Festival - 4 to 6 March 2011

• St Patrick's Day - 17 March 2011

Entertainment and parades

Disneyland Park hosts a range of daytime and nighttime entertainment throughout the year, although the nighttime entertainment is seasonal.^[6]

Entertainment

• Mickey's Magical Celebration*
• Following the leader with Peter Pan*
• Disney Dance Express*
• The Enchanted Fireworks (Summer season only)

Parades

• Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade
• Disney's Fantillusion (Summer and Winter seasons)
• Stars'n'cars (Studio Disney only)

* denotes part of the Magical Moments Festival

Studio Disney

Lots of rides, shows and parades.

References

1. ^ TEA. "2009 Theme Index. The Global Attractions Attendance Report". Themed Entertainment Association. http://www.themeit.com/etea/2009report.pdf. Retrieved 26 April 2010. ^{[dead link]}
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". google.com. http://google.com/search?q=cache:-uFIMZUo3usJ:www.angelfire.com/alt/dansnyder/InternationalMarketing.PDF. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
4. ^ http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guidebook/disneyland-park/map/ |Disneyland Park Map, DLRP Magic
5. ^ Season Dates - DLRP Magic
6. ^ Disneyland Park Entertainment Schedule

External links

• Disneyland Paris Official Website
• Google Maps (Satellite Image)

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