Disney Theme Parks: Difference between revisions

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[[File:cinderellas_castle_6793.jpg|frame|[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]] Castle, as seen at Walt Disney World.]]

{{quote|''HERE YOU LEAVE TODAY AND ENTER THE WORLD OF YESTERDAY, TOMORROW AND FANTASY''|'''Plaque over the entrance tunnels into Disneyland'''}}

The ~~five (soon{{when}} to be~~ six) [[Theme Park]] resorts owned and operated by the [[Disney]] Company. Their best known attractions include state-of-the-art rides and shows based upon [[Disney Animated Canon|the Disney films]], as well as spectacular parades, fireworks and other live performances. You want to make sure [[I'm Going to Disney World|everyone knows you're going there.]]

The six [[Theme Park]] resorts owned and operated by the [[Disney]] Company. Their best known attractions include state-of-the-art rides and shows based upon [[Disney Animated Canon|the Disney films]], as well as spectacular parades, fireworks and other live performances. You want to make sure [[I'm Going to Disney World|everyone knows you're going there.]]

[[Walt Disney]] came up with the idea for his original park when he took his children to a park and noticed the parents just hanging off to the side while the children played. He decided to build a place where the entire family could have fun and enjoy themselves. While the idea was met with some skepticism, the execution was resoundingly successful.

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* '''Walt Disney World''': The largest and most popular of the resorts opened in 1971. Includes four parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT (opened in 1982), Disney's <s>MGM</s> Hollywood Studios (1989) and Animal Kingdom (1998), as well as two (formerly three<ref>The original, ''River Country'' opened in 1976 but eventually became very outdated compared to its sister parks and closed permanently in 2001</ref>) water parks: Typhoon Lagoon (1989) and Blizzard Beach (1995). Fans constantly debate which of the four parks is the best, whether they were better in the old days, and so on. Disney World also includes many hotels, an all-purpose sports complex, golf courses, and a few shopping/dining/entertainment complexes like Downtown Disney. The actual "Reedy Creek" property upon which Disney World sits is '''huge''', and many guests are surprised to learn that it consists mostly of wildlife preserves and undeveloped natural Florida habitat. This "breathing space" is deliberate, as Walt Disney was particularly upset when the popularity of Disneyland sparked a development frenzy back in Anaheim. (Disney couldn't do this in Anaheim because other businesses got to the surrounding land first) The property on which the resort sits on was bought by Roy O. Disney, Walt's older brother. Fittingly, there is a statue of him sitting with Minnie Mouse just past the entrance of the Magic Kingdom, to complement the famous "Partners' statue at the main hub.

* '''Tokyo Disney Resort''': Opened in 1983 and run by the Oriental Land Company rather than Disney itself. Some recent additions such as Pooh's Honey Hunt and the Tokyo DisneySea park have become some of Disney Imagineering's most lavishly praised creations.

* '''Disneyland Resort Paris''' (formerly known as Euro Disney Resort): Opened in 1992, and going for an even more elaborate look (as well as [[Darker and Edgier]] for some attractions). [[Urban Legend]] has it that this park was planned and built because Michael Eisner's wife, Jane, liked to shop in Paris and wanted someplace she could stay without paying for it. It bombed spectacularly at first, though it eventually gained some legs~~. Recently, though, its ticket sales have been cannibalized by nearby Walt Disney Studios Paris~~. Both parks are [[The Scrappy|hated by the French people]], who oppose the poor (by French standards, anyway) working conditions there and view them as examples of [[Eagleland Osmosis|American cultural imperialism]]. Still has some of the largest attendance numbers for a European tourist attraction though.

* '''Disneyland Resort Paris''' (formerly known as Euro Disney Resort): Opened in 1992, and going for an even more elaborate look (as well as [[Darker and Edgier]] for some attractions). [[Urban Legend]] has it that this park was planned and built because Michael Eisner's wife, Jane, liked to shop in Paris and wanted someplace she could stay without paying for it. It bombed spectacularly at first, though it eventually gained some legs. Both parks are [[The Scrappy|hated by the French people]], who oppose the poor (by French standards, anyway) working conditions there and view them as examples of [[Eagleland Osmosis|American cultural imperialism]]. Still has some of the largest attendance numbers for a European tourist attraction though.

* '''Hong Kong Disneyland''': ~~The newest of the resorts, opened~~ in 2005. It's very close in design to the original Disneyland, though it's much smaller and only has a few of the iconic Disney attractions. Nonetheless, it's gained notoriety for, in essence, having the exact ''opposite'' problems that Euro-Disney did. However, Disney has announced plans for a large expansion that brings unique attractions to the park, some being new twists on old favorites.

* '''Hong Kong Disneyland''': Opened in 2005. It's very close in design to the original Disneyland, though it's much smaller and only has a few of the iconic Disney attractions. Nonetheless, it's gained notoriety for, in essence, having the exact ''opposite'' problems that Euro-Disney did. However, Disney has announced plans for a large expansion that brings unique attractions to the park, some being new twists on old favorites.

* '''Shanghai Disneyland''': ~~After years of planning for a resort~~ in ~~mainland China~~, ~~the~~ ~~project was approved by the Chinese government in November 2009. Ground was broken in April 2011 and~~ is ~~currently scheduled to open in [[Schedule Slip|2016]]. The resort will be~~ 2-3 times the size of the Hong Kong Resort with room for up to 3 parks. ~~The~~ ~~first~~ of ~~which~~ ~~will~~ of ~~course~~ be a version of the Magic Kingdom ~~with~~ the other two expected to be ports of EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

* '''Shanghai Disneyland''': Opened in 2016, Shanghai Disneyland is 2-3 times the size of the Hong Kong Resort with room for up to 3 parks. As of 2018, the only open attraction is a Chinese-flavored version of the Magic Kingdom; the other two parks are expected to be ports of EPCOT and Animal Kingdom, but no formal announcement has yet been made regarding them or the schedule on which they might be built.

Some attractions have so many tropes, they have their own pages:

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A rich well of [[Affectionate Parody|Affectionate]] (or not) [[Snark Bait|Parody Fuel]], often in the form of [[Souvenir Land]]. Some of the most popular attractions have been adapted into movies, with ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' being the most successful of them, but also including ''[[Tower of Terror]]'', ''[[The Haunted Mansion (film)|The Haunted Mansion]]'', and ''[[The Country Bears]]''. There's also ''[[Kingdom Keepers]]'', a series of books by Ridley Pearson, that take place at Walt Disney World; and the Wasteland of the ''[[Epic Mickey]]'' video game is based on the "Magic Kingdom" parks. Also, two DVD sets in the ''Walt Disney Treasures'' line have been dedicated to the parks: "Disneyland, USA" and "Disneyland: Secrets, Stories, and Magic".

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== The Theme Parks are the [[Trope Namer]] for ==

* [[Adventurers Club]]

* [[Adventurers' Club]]

* [[Beware of Hitch-Hiking Ghosts]]

* [[I'm Going to Disney World]]