Disneyland News » Fact Sheets

Disneyland Resort Fact Sheet

Jim Ames — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:59:38 +0000

When Walt Disney opened Disneyland, the original Disney theme park, on July 17, 1955, he said he hoped it would be “a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” He famously observed: “Disneyland will never be completed…as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

Since 1955, the Disneyland Resort has welcomed more than 600 million guests. It has expanded to become an approximately 500-acre, world-class, multi-day, family resort destination, complete with two renowned Disney theme parks, three hotels and the exciting shopping, dining and entertainment district known as the Downtown Disney District.

With the completion in June 2012 of the Disney California Adventure park expansion, the parks of the Disneyland Resort offer guests more classic characters, more storytelling, more attractions and more of the unique Disney heritage that gives Disney theme parks their special personality.

Disneyland park - Upon its opening on July 17, 1955, Disneyland introduced a new concept in family entertainment and launched the theme park industry. Disneyland presented 18 major attractions on its Opening Day including the Mad Tea Party, the Jungle Cruise, Autopia and the Mark Twain Riverboat, and it featured five themed lands: Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Frontierland and Main Street, U.S.A. Today, Disneyland is an evolving 85-acre American institution featuring more than 60 adventures and attractions in eight themed lands, having added New Orleans Square in 1966, Critter Country (originally Bear County) in 1972 and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993. Favorite attractions include Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, “it’s a small world,” Indiana Jones Adventure and the mountain range of thrill rides: Matterhorn Bobsleds, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.

Disney California Adventure park - Since its opening in 2001 with such popular attractions as Soarin’ Over California, California Screamin’ and Grizzly River Run, Disney California Adventure has been bringing adventure and fun to life with Disney storytelling magic. The extremely popular Twilight Zone™Tower of Terror attraction debuted in 2004. On June 15, 2012 three new attractions opened in the new Cars Land, based on the Disney•Pixar movie “Cars,” along with an all new park entry, Buena Vista Street, highlighted by the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge.

With the completion of a multiyear expansion project in 2012, Disney California Adventure grew from its original three themed lands – Golden State, Paradise Pier and Hollywood Pictures Backlot – to a total of eight lands including the new 12-acre Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, “a bug’s land” (which opened in 2002), a renamed Hollywood Land, Condor Flats, Grizzly Peak and Pacific Wharf (all formerly parts of the Golden State area) and Paradise Pier.

The expansion of Disney California Adventure (announced in 2007) launched with the 2008 opening of Toy Story Midway Mania!, an interactive, ride-through attraction where guests enter into a 4-D carnival midway hosted by the “Toy Story” characters. In 2010, the expansion continued with the debut of World of Color, an award-winning, nighttime water spectacular featuring nearly 1,200 fountains that bring Disney animation to life. In 2011, Disney opened The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, a “dark ride” that transports guests “under the sea” to experience scenes and beloved songs from the Little Mermaid film.

In addition, several attractions in Disney California Adventure received new Disney themes during the park’s expansion. The Paradise Pier district now features Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Silly Symphony Swings, Goofy’s Sky School and Disney-themed Games of the Boardwalk.

With the addition of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, the park features more than 35 adventures and attractions plus distinctive entertainment and dining. Cars Land offers three attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Luigi’s Flying Tires and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.

Downtown Disney District -This lively, colorful, admission-free esplanade of exciting restaurants, shops and nightclubs is centrally located between the Disneyland Resort theme parks and hotels. The 20-acre, 300,000 square-foot avenue features approximately 50 distinct venues including AMC_® Theatres, Catal Restaurant, ESPN_® Zone, House of Blues_®, La Brea Bakery Café, Rainforest Café_®, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Tortilla Jo’s, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, WonderGround Gallery and, of course, the World of Disney store. Earl of Sandwich is now open in the Downtown Disney District.

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa -1600 S. Disneyland Drive, (714) 635-2300
Featuring 948 rooms and 50 Disney Vacation Club villas, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel is the flagship hotel of the Disneyland Resort. The design of this AAA Four-Diamond, award-winning luxury property is inspired by the turn-of-the-century California Craftsman movement. In 2009 the hotel became home to the first Disney Vacation Club units on the West Coast. It’s also the first hotel in the United States to be built inside a Disney park (Disney California Adventure).

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel offers suites, a large convention facility, swimming pools, Mandara Spa and two restaurants: Storytellers Café and the award-winning Napa Rose. With approximately 35 sommeliers, including several advanced sommeliers, Napa Rose boasts the most certified wine experts under one roof anywhere in the U.S.

Disneyland Hotel -1150 West Magic Way, (714) 778-6600
Significant new enhancements at the iconic Disneyland Hotel include re-imagined guest rooms, Disney-themed suites, a new restaurant and bar – Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar – and a water play area with Monorail-inspired water slides. Other distinctive restaurants at the hotel include Goofy’s Kitchen and the award-winning Steakhouse 55. This AAA Four-Diamond hotel features 969 rooms, including some specially themed Disney character suites, and one of the largest contiguous convention spaces in the Western United States with 136,000 square feet.

Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel -1717 S. Disneyland Drive, (714) 999-0990
A casually elegant 481-room hotel themed to the colorful “day at the beach” California seaside culture of fun, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel features the whimsical Disney’s PCH Grill restaurant, a pool deck with cabanas and water slide, and 30,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.

Disneyland Resort Facts & Firsts

Opening Date: July 17, 1955
25,000 cast members, making Disneyland Resort the largest single-site employer in Orange County
The Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world when it opened in 1959, and it set the standard for modern-day roller-coaster design.
Disneyland created the first daily operating monorail in the western hemisphere.
The nighttime water spectacular “World of Color” uses a submersible platform that’s bigger than a football field, with more than 18,000 points of control and revolutionary lighting that infuses nearly 1,200 fountains with color — making it one of the largest show systems ever built.
More than 800 species of plants, native to 40 different countries, grow at Disneyland Resort.
The landscape surrounding the Jungle Cruise has evolved into its own ecosystem since the attraction opened in 1955. The trees have created a canopy that allows species of ground plants to grow that otherwise wouldn’t in Southern California.
Through the years, a virtual “Who’s Who” of the 20th and early 21st centuries has visited the Disneyland Resort, including U.S. presidents (dating to Harry S. Truman), numerous heads of state and countless athletes, artists, authors and celebrities.
The Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa are the only AAA Four Diamond Hotels in Anaheim.
Disney California Adventure park opened in 2001. It celebrated the completion of a five-year expansion in June 2012, with eight themed lands, including the new Cars Land.
Buena Vista Street, the new road into Disney California Adventure, invites guests to step into Los Angeles of the 1920s and ’30s, experiencing the sights and sounds Walt Disney may have discovered when he stepped off the train in California in 1923.
At 280,000 square feet and 125 feet tall at its peak, The Ornament Valley Mountain Range in Cars Land is the largest rock structure in any domestic Disney theme park.
More than 30 different languages are spoken among Disneyland Resort cast members.
Disneyland Resort costuming cast members maintain more than a thousand different costumes for use in the parks and hotels.
Approximately 50 certified scuba divers work on the Disneyland Resort Facilities team, which maintains such attractions as “World of Color,” “Fantasmic!” and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

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Disneyland Resort Dining: Fun Facts

Jim Ames — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:43:50 +0000

It’s a Jolly Holiday: The décor of the Jolly Holiday Bakery Café is inspired by the song ”Jolly Holiday,” from “Mary Poppins.” The café on Main Street, U.S.A. has whimsical touches from the film throughout the building and outdoor seating area, including stained-glass images of penguins on the entry windows. The menu offers sandwiches, salads and bakery items, including a cupcake of the day, flourless chocolate cake, fruit tarts and Mickey-shaped desserts.

Award winners . . . Both Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55 have won the Golden Bacchus Wine Award, the highest honor awarded by the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association for exceptional wine cellars. In addition, each restaurant has received a coveted Five («««««) Star rating and Golden Sceptre Award for outstanding culinary achievement.

Healthy options . . . Fifty-five percent of all kids entrees at table-service restaurants are healthy-option choices.

Hot diggity dog . . . Refreshment Corner, better known as Coke Corner on Main Street, U.S.A., in Disneyland Park sells enough hot dogs in one year to circle DisneylandPark 36 times.

A mountain sweets . . . The Disneyland Resort Central Bakery produces more than 3,000 celebration cakes per year for birthdays, anniversaries and other special celebrations. The bakery also creates nearly 250 wedding cakes a year.

How many bottles? . . . Napa Rose at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa offers a selection of nearly 70 wines by the glass from an award-winning list of more than 450 international wines (80 percent Californian) and a 16,000-bottle wine cellar.

Royal Street Veranda . . . Check out the wrought-iron balustrade above the Royal Street Veranda restaurant in New Orleans Square in Disneyland Park. The initials at the center are those of brothers Roy and Walt Disney. The balcony belonged to an apartment being constructed for Walt before he died (now the Disneyland Dream Suite).

“Oscar’s Choice” . . . There’s just one dish named after a Resort cast member, and it’s “Oscar’s Choice” at Carnation Cafe on Main Street, U.S.A, in Disneyland Park. Oscar was hired at Disneyland in 1956 and has been on the team at Carnation Cafe since 1967. He has more years of continuous service than any other cast member at Disneyland Resort. The breakfast creation is scrambled eggs with melted cheddar cheese, potatoes, bacon or sausage, a croissant and fresh fruit.

The most wedding proposals . . . Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square competes for this honor with the Wishing Well in the park’s Fantasyland.

That’s a lot of chowda . . . Guests consume 14,000 bowls a year of the signature Charred Nebraska Corn Chowder at Storyteller’s Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

Not your classic Caesar . . . On the menu at Rancho del Zocalo, located in Frontierland at Disneyland Park, is Hacienda Chicken Caesar Salad. The Caesar is Mexican in origin, not Italian, says Disneyland Chef Jesse Tiscareno. It originated at the Caesar’s Palace Hotel on Revolution Avenue in Tijuana.

Pop-pop-pop . . . If cast members stacked every kernel of popcorn popped in Disney California Adventure park every two days, it would reach 200 feet high – as tall as the tallest fountain in the “World of Color” show.

Get your Cotton Candy here! . . . Disney California Adventure spins enough cotton candy in one year to blanket the entire Paradise Pier Lagoon

Media Contact:
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Goofy’s Sky School: Fun Facts

arianna — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:10:41 +0000

Goofy’s Sky School – Joining the fun along Paradise Pier July 1, this coaster attraction invites guests to enroll in Goofy’s Sky School, a hilarious adventure filled with zany dips, twists and family thrills. Inspired by the classic Goofy “How-to” shorts of the 1940s and 1950s as well as the cartoon short, “Goofy’s Glider,” the attraction takes “novice pilots” on a flying lesson through the wild, blue yonder. Zipping over and through the clouds, the flight path rises three stories high with plenty of wacky antics and instruction from Goofy via whimsically animated billboards.

The attraction is inspired by the classic Goofy “how-to” short films of the 1940s and 1950s as well as the cartoon short, “Goofy’s Glider.”
The flight instructor’s motto is on the entrance sign: “Fly the Goofy Way.”
The attraction tells the story of Goofy’s decision to launch a flight academy following a failed attempt as an egg farmer on his California farmland.
Residents of the egg farm-turned-flight school still linger on the premises, making this wacky flight school even more thrilling.
Guests will enjoy unexpected turns on this “flight,” which features several “switchback” sections over 1,200 feet of track.
Attraction vehicles will hold four guests per car.
Guests must be 42 inches tall to ride, and FastPass is available for Goofy’s Sky School.

The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure: Fun Facts

arianna — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:00:51 +0000

The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure opens to guests on June 3, 2011, at Disney California Adventure park. This whimsical underwater adventure begins when guests board pastel-colored clamshell vehicles and head “under the sea” to visit Ariel and her friends in a musical retelling of the classic motion picture. During this immersive experience, guests will see the Little Mermaid falling in love, getting her legs, losing her voice and winning the prince as the best-loved musical numbers bring the attraction to life all around them.

This is the first Disney ride-through attraction that takes you “under the sea” with Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian and Ursula, with music and scenes from “The Little Mermaid” film.
Nearly 200 Audio-Animatronics figures perform in the attraction. The Under the Sea scene alone has 128 figures, including 50 spinning starfish.
Ursula is the largest Audio-Animatronics figure in the show at 7½-feet tall and 12-feet wide. She also has a squash-and-stretch function in her torso and flexible materials so she can bounce along with the music.
An 86-foot long, hand-painted mural greets guests in the loading area of the attraction. The mural depicts many of the characters guests will see within the attraction including Prince Eric, King Triton, Sebastian, Flounder and, of course, Ariel.
The attraction was created by a team of talented Imagineers and consultants including Senior Show Producer Lisa Girolami, Creative Director/Show Designer Larry Nikolai, and Frank Antonides, director of project management – all from Walt Disney Imagineering – along with Chris Crump, production and show designer, and Danny Troob, musical arranger and orchestrator.
The attraction building was inspired by the Dragon Gorge scenic railway at the long-gone Ocean Park amusement zone in Southern California.
The building’s façade features a statue of King Triton and relief carvings of six frolicking mermaids. The mermaids are Ariel’s older sisters: Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, and Alana.
The Palace of Fine Arts rotunda, originally the entrance to the former “Golden Dreams” attraction, has been incorporated into The Little Mermaid attraction architecture and is now part of the entrance façade.
A special skin technology had to be incorporated into the Audio-Animatronics figures for Ariel, King Triton and Ursula since they have so much skin exposed.
The attraction features an Omnimover ride system pioneered by Walt Disney Imagineers in the 1960s and used for the “Doom Buggies” of the Haunted Mansion, as well as in Adventures Through Inner Space, formerly in Tomorrowland.
Attraction vehicles are sculpted multi-colored, pastel clamshells.
The attraction experience is approximately 5½ minutes from the time guests load the clamshell to the time they exit the clamshell.
Music in the queue features an orchestral medley of songs from the film.
Songs from the original film written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are featured in the attraction: “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” and the Academy Award winning “Under the Sea.” Guests will recognize the voices of Jodi Benson (Ariel) and Pat Carroll (Ursula).
The Little Mermaid feature film debuted November 15, 1989, and the film won Academy Awards for Best Song, “Under the Sea,” and Best Original Score.
The Little Mermaid was the first Disney film based on a classic fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty three decades earlier.
Imagineers working on the attraction consulted with Ariel’s animator in the film, Glen Keane, who recommended that her hair be treated as a character all its own.
Each scene of the attraction was first built as a one-quarter-inch scale model and then as a one‑inch scale model, so Imagineers could “ride” through the attraction scene-by-scene before full construction began.
The attraction concludes with a surprise ending that takes us beyond the ending of the film.
A similar version of the attraction is scheduled to open in the new Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

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Mickey’s Soundsational Parade: Fun Facts

Jim Ames — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:00:41 +0000

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mickey Mouse will lead a bevy of Disney characters on a musical journey that has a whole new beat this summer. “Mickey’s Soundsational Parade” debuts May 27 at Disneyland park, expressing the timeless tales of Diasney music in a variety of rhythms and styles.

Nine themed floats carry the characters down Main Street, U.S.A.
Characters and performers become part of the parade units in “Mickey’s Soundsational Parade.”
Goofy lends his musical “expertise,” performing on an oversized drum.
The cymbal dancers in the Aladdin sequence create rhythm using hand cymbals.
The Three Cabarellos sequence features Piñata dancers in folkloric-style costumes, and flower dancers costumed to look like traditional Mexican paper flowers.
The Jungle Book unit features King Louie (The Jungle Book) and Terk (Tarzan) dancing with four monkey companions.
“The Princess and the Frog” unit includes New Orleans-inspired jazz, and Tiana’s riverboat is made of musical instruments including a clarinet smokestack and tambourine paddle wheel.
Tinker Bell plays the mushrooms of Pixie Hollow, part of the Never Land unit, using her wand as a drumstick.
The grand finale Mary Poppins drum unit is pulled, in part, by a giant huntsman (from the movie’s Jolly Holiday sequence) pedaling a large bicycle.
The Mary Poppins drum unit also features a moving carousel complete with kites flying overhead, penguins riding carrousel horses, and piano keys that appear to “play.”
Eleven Mary Poppins chimney sweeps perform a dance to the song “Step In Time,” using their brooms as percussive.

Media Contacts:
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Star Tours – The Adventures Continue: Fun Facts

arianna — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:00:11 +0000

Overview: The power of the Force and the magic of Disney have combined to create “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue,” a new 3-D attraction set to open at Disneyland park With an eye-popping digital presentation leveraging Dolby 3-D to deliver a vivid and realistic experience, a dramatic musical score and motion simulator-based technology, guests will be immersed in the Star Wars galaxy like never before on a theme park attraction. More than 50 story combinations are possible for guests to experience aboard Star Tours, so guests can enjoy the attraction multiple times without experiencing the same adventure. In fact they never know where the Force will take them!

Opening Dates:
June 3, 2011 (Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif.)
May 20, 2011 (Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla)

Attraction Locations:
Disneyland Resort: Tomorrowland, inside Disneyland park
Walt Disney World Resort: Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park

Attraction Experience Time:
Approximately 7 minutes (including boarding at Starspeeder gate)
Actual show is approximately 5 minutes.

Height Requirement:
40 inches (102 cm) or taller

Attraction Designers, Writers and Creators:
Walt Disney Imagineering, working with Lucasfilm Ltd. and Industrial Light & Magic

Some famous Star Wars film characters guests can encounter (depending on which story they experience):
R2-D2
C-3PO
Darth Vader
Boba Fett
Yoda
Sebulba
Admiral Ackbar
Chewbacca
Jar Jar Binks
Princess Leia

Some famous Star Wars film planets and destinations guests can encounter (depending on which story they experience):
Kashyyyk
Hoth
Naboo
Coruscant
Tatooine
The Death Star (above the planet Geonosis)

Media Contacts: Disneyland Resort Public Relations
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Cars Land ‘Topping Out’: Fun Facts

arianna — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:00:02 +0000

Topping Out is a long-standing tradition among construction workers and engineers. It customarily takes place when the highest piece of steel is installed on the frame of building. The final beam is painted white and signed by the ironworkers, steel design engineer and construction management. It’s said that the tradition dates back to an ancient Viking custom in which, upon completion of a construction, they would hoist an evergreen to the top in celebration. The evergreen, which is still part of the tradition, is said to signify growth and bring good luck. Today’s ceremony takes place in “Ornament Valley,” under development in Cars Land.

Opening to Disney California Adventure guests in 2012 and inspired by the Disney•Pixar blockbuster “Cars,” the 12-acre Cars Land will invite guests to “take the off-ramp” and literally step into the movie’s Radiator Springs setting. It will feature three new attractions, including the E-ticket thrill ride Radiator Springs Racers - taking guests zooming through the Cars Land landscape. Other Cars Land attractions will include Luigi’s Flying Tires (striking a chord with anyone who remembers the Flying Saucers in Tomorrowland) and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, a swinging square dance featuring baby tractors pulling Mater’s junkyard trailers.

Some interesting facts about Cars Land and the Cadillac Mountain Range under construction:

From both a creative and a structural standpoint, the Cadillac Range is one-of-a-kind, built to an unusual level of complexity with very few 90-degree angles.

Walt Disney Imagineers devoted more than 28,000 hours to designing the structural steel system for the rockwork and Radiator Springs Racers show building.

When topped out, the range will reach approximately 125 feet at its peak.

Because of the unique shape of the Cadillac Range, this Topping Out will not be the last piece of steel to go up, but it is the highest and most prominent. It will be part of the Pinnacle of the Cadillac Range, representing a 1959 Cadillac, whose tail fin was also known as the Pinnacle.

Cars Land construction began in July 2009. Steel installation started in March 2010.

At 280,000 square feet, the Cadillac Range is the largest rockwork job in any domestic Disney theme park – larger that the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain or, in Florida, Expedition Everest.

More than 4,000 tons of steel will be erected by the time the rockwork and Radiator Springs Racers are completed.

In addition to the attractions, Cars Land will be home to food and merchandise locations inspired by the Radiator Springs landmarks in the movie: Flo’s V8 Café, Radiator Springs Curios, Cozy Cone Motel, etc.

Media Contacts:

Disneyland Resort Public Relations

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‘World of Color’: Fun Facts

arianna — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:11:05 +0000

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney

ANAHEIM, Calif. — “World of Color” bursts with the imagination and technology of the 21^st century, while it draws on the decades-old Disney tradition of creative storytelling. The show is infused with Walt Disney’s special gift for conjuring tales full of magic, excitement and heart, and the ingenuity of today’s Imagineers.

History

Initial planning for “World of Color” began in July 2005. Even before the ambitious expansion plan was announced for Disney California Adventure park, the Disneyland Resort leadership wanted to add a one-of-a-kind, new attraction to the Disney California Adventure experience.

It was a five-year process, from planning to launch. A variety of concepts – rides as well as shows – were considered for the Paradise Bay lagoon during the initial brainstorming.

“World of Color” was conceived as a kind of “living ‘Fantasia,’” using music, animation, color, light and water to involve the audience in an exciting, whimsical and moving journey of storytelling.

The “World of Color” creative team, led by Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, believed it was important to execute the show on a massive scale. After looking at existing fountain/water shows – many of them very spectacular – the cast members concluded that, in the words of Walt Disney, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

Team members were told they couldn’t have fountains with multiple heads or moving heads. They created them.

Team members were told they couldn’t create color and light in fountains. They found ways.

Team members were told they couldn’t project images on water if it was not a water screen. They went beyond creating a “movie screen” on water – developing a show in which water, light and color become the characters, on a screen so versatile that it might be 100 feet, 200 feet or 380 feet wide at any given time.

Some “World of Color” Facts and Figures

The man-made Paradise Bay lagoon is 3.5 acres with 15 million gallons of water.

When preparations for “World of Color” began, the Disneyland Resort collaborated with the Orange County Water District to conserve the water in Paradise Bay. Instead of draining the lagoon to the ocean, the water was sent through the Water District’s state-of-the-art Groundwater Replenishment System. After being purified, the water was stored in the county’s underground water basin, which added to the overall water reserves. When the time was right, the purified water was used to refill Paradise Bay. For these efforts, along with other Resort-wide environmental practices, Disneyland Resort was recognized with California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor: the 2009 Governor’s Environmental & Economic Leadership Award.

The “stage” for “World of Color” is a platform composed of nearly 1 full acre of engineered superstructure, longer than a football field and capable of settling on three levels – one for the performance, one under the water surface and one for maintenance.

The show features nearly 1,200 powerful and programmable fountains, and a vast underwater grid with more than 18,000 points of control. Each fountain has multiple points of control for lighting, color intensity, water angle, height and more.

The fountains in “World of Color” can send water to heights ranging from 30 feet to 200 feet (by way of comparison, Mickey’s Fun Wheel reaches a height of 150 feet, some of it below the edge of the lagoon).
“World of Color” employs 28 high-definition projectors (14 of them, submersible).

Inspired by “Your Host, Walt Disney“

The Emmy Award-winning “Wonderful World of Color” (1961-1969) was Walt Disney’s first color television series, an extension of his previous “Disneyland” and “Walt Disney Presents” anthology series. Like those earlier shows, it entertained audiences with both classic storytelling and innovative artistry.

The television show premiered with an all-new theme song composed by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. (The Sherman Brothers received the highest Disneyland honor – their names on a Main Street, U.S.A. window – on March 11, 2010.)

The music and kaleidoscopic images of Walt Disney’s pioneering TV show inspired the colorful, ever-changing experience that immerses guests in the new “World of Color” spectacular in Disney California Adventure park.

For information on “World of Color,” other Disneyland Resort attractions, or to plan a celebration or vacation at Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com, call 866/60-DISNEY or contact local travel agents. To explore the expansion plans for Disney California Adventure, visit www.DisneyCaliforniaAdventure.com.

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Media Contacts

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WOC HISTORY, TRIVIA /6-6-10

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: Fun Facts

arianna — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:00:09 +0000

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln was originally created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, where it appeared in the State of Illinois Pavilion. The show featured one of the world’s first fully animated human Audio-Animatronics figures.

The show proved so popular that a duplicate version opened in the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland on July 18, 1965, while the original show was still running. Thus, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln became the first Disney attraction to perform simultaneously on both coasts.

Prior to the Disneyland premiere of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Main Street Opera House displayed an exhibit of sets from the then-recently-opened Disney musical film “Babes in Toyland.” The Opera House façade concealed a multi-purpose building that, among other uses, had served as a lumber storage facility for Disneyland.

In 1984, Walt Disney Imagineers re-programmed the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show, a major enhancement that included the most up-to-date Audio-Animatronics technology at that time.

In the original Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Abraham Lincoln figure delivered a speech composed of highlights from several speeches made by Lincoln during his lifetime. When an entirely new Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opened in July 2001, guests donned earphones to hear a dramatic Civil War presentation in state-of-the-art binaural or “3-D audio” technology, followed by the figure of Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address.

From 2005 until early 2009, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln took a vacation from the Main Street Opera House. During that time, the feature presentation – in honor of the 50^th Anniversary of Disneyland – was “Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years” hosted by Steve Martin and Donald Duck.

The Disneyland Story, now on view in the lobby of the Main Street Opera House, is the latest version of the history presentation which most recently celebrated the 50^th anniversary of Disneyland.

For the 2009 version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, guests will enter the pre-show through the Main Street Opera House. The pre-show includes a bronze replica of the original 1964 sculpt of Lincoln’s head, created for the first Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson.

In the auditorium, guests will see the most lifelike and expressive Lincoln figure yet. Walt Disney Imagineers have provided the 16^th President with the very latest in Audio-Animatronics technology and surrounded him with a presentation that preserves and enriches many elements of the original 1964 show.

Lincoln’s words in previous versions of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (except the 2001 update) were recorded in the early 1960s by actor Royal Dano. For the latest show, a new delivery of the speech was assembled using the original Royal Dano recordings now augmented by the latest audio technology.

Royal Dano had previously portrayed Lincoln on television in “Mr. Lincoln,” a five-part series on the “Omnibus” dramatic anthology show. A portion of “Mr. Lincoln” is now screened in the pre-show area outside the entrance to the auditorium of the Main Street Opera House.

Hutch Dano, who plays Zeke in the Disney Channel series “Zeke and Luther,” is the grandson of Royal Dano.

Another familiar voice in the new Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is the narrator, Paul Frees. Frees was known for his extensive voice work in cartoons, radio and commercials. His is the voice of the “Ghost Host” in the Haunted Mansion and several buccaneers in Pirates of the Caribbean. His original Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln voice recordings, like those of Royal Dano, have been preserved and enhanced with modern audio technology for the new show. Guests will also hear narration by Frees that was never before heard outside of The Walt Disney Company.

Before Mr. Lincoln appears on the stage, guests will now view a historical presentation presented in digital video. Many of the sounds and images are preserved from the original show, enhanced with digital technology. These include artwork created for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln in the 1960s by Disney Imagineers Sam McKim and Herb Ryman, and by Oscar-winning art director John DeCuir. Guests will see these pieces presented as never before, in high-definition digital video.

The historical presentation also includes new, specially commissioned artwork by animator John Pomeroy (“Pocahontas”). It’s a Civil War painting that draws on Pomeroy’s expertise as a Civil War history buff. The artwork is also on display in the pre-show lobby.

Music from the new Lincoln show includes classic versions of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the Civil War ballad “Two Brothers” from the 1984 Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show, along with “America the Beautiful,” from the Disneyland Circle-Vision film of the same name, and “Golden Dream” from the American Adventure attraction in Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort.

As guests exit the auditorium, following the President’s stirring discourse, they will pass through a gallery of distinguished Americans, a tribute to individuals representing the Spirits of America in these categories: Achievement, Celebration, Giving, Imagination, Inspiration, Perseverance and Tolerance.

LINCOLNFUNFACTS09/12-16-09

Customize Your Asian Rice Bowl! Guests Select Ingredients at New Lucky Fortune Cookery in Disney’s California Adventure

disneyland — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:19:46 +0000

The colorful new Lucky Fortune Cookery, debuting Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, is the newest addition to the variety of dining options at Disney’s California Adventure park. Located in the Pacific Wharf section of the park, Lucky Fortune Cookery offers guests the opportunity to create their own Asian Rice Bowl meals and enjoy them in an outdoor plaza.

Lucky Fortune Cookery can be found in the location previously occupied by Cocina Cucamonga, which has relocated directly across the Pacific Wharf outdoor dining plaza

The quick-service restaurant features colorful décor, paper lanterns, oversized pots filled with bamboo and iconic dragon designs.

Guests are served at the quick-service windows of Lucky Fortune Cookery and they dine at tables under festive umbrellas in the outdoor plaza at Pacific Wharf. The environment allows for a pleasant and flavorful break in the day at Disneyland Resort.

The Menu: Customized Asian Rice Bowls are the specialty of Lucky Fortune Cookery. It starts with a bowl of steamed white and brown rice and seared Asian vegetables. Guests select chicken, beef or tofu, plus a sauce of their choice: Mandarin orange, spicy Korean, Thai coconut curry or teriyaki.

The spicy Korean sauce is actually based on an old family recipe provided by Gloria Tae, chef de cuisine at the award-winning Napa Rose restaurant in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. All the sauce options were researched and taste-tested by Disney chefs as well as by cast members from diverse cultural backgrounds so that the final products would appeal to the broad variety of guests dining at Lucky Fortune Cookery.

The Price: Each customized Asian Rice Bowl, regardless of ingredients, will cost $9.49. A kid’s meal of teriyaki chicken and rice, including fruit cup and choice of beverage, is available for guests age 9 and under for $6.49.

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[For additional information, contact Disneyland Public Relations at 714/781-4500 or go to www.disneylandnews.com.]

LUCKYFORTUNECOOKERY9-09/9-3-09