Comparing every Tomorrowland

1. DISNEYLAND

TOMORROWLAND - OPENED: JULY 17, 1955

The quadrant to the right of the hub is Tomorrowland, intended to be a blueprint of the future. Of all the lands of Disneyland, this one was the most ambitious and the most difficult to conceive. It features the least relatable buildings for it is set in the future, thus there is no comparison and thereby it depends the most on the imagination of its creators. A big problem with ‘the future’ is that it becomes ‘the present’ at some point, making the land redundant. Therefore, compared to the other Disneyland realms, this one has undergone the most changes.

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Initially Tomorrowland represented a utopian future in the year 1986. Due to a strict budget, it was not finished upon opening day, but did feature some interesting attractions like Rocket to the Moon, a flight to the moon ride before it actually happened. Walt Disney wanted this to be accurate and was advised by space scientists. The eyecatcher was the rocket ship TWA Moonliner at the entrance of the attraction. It was designed by John Hench and was the highest building of Disneyland. Autopia is this land’s only opening day attraction still operating today. Although intended as a futuristic view of the American highway, today it is a rather nostalgic attraction. Another attraction was Circle-Vision 360° (opened as Circarama), in which guests could see a film on a 360° continuous screen inside a circular theatre.

The biggest part of Tomorrowland featured show buildings in simple geometric shapes and unused open spaces. It lacked the detail of the other lands, although the minimalistic approach could be seen as futuristic. The earliest features were exhibits and showcases sponsored by American companies and not rides. Many attractions were added or replaced later on. In 1957 Monsanto House of the Future opened, a cruciform fiberglass structure exhibiting the possibilities of living in the future.

The first major expansion of Disneyland happened in 1959 when 3 new attractions opened simultaneously in the northern part of Tomorrowland, adjacent Fantasyland. These were: Submarine Voyage, Disneyland Monorail, and Matterhorn Bobsleds. All 3 were quite groundbreaking. Submarine Voyage was an underwater ride (although the vessels did not submerge fully). The Monorail was the first of its kind in America and a realistic futuristic transportation option. And Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first thrill ride in Disneyland and the first ever roller coaster using cylindrical rails and urethane wheels. These materials have become the standard for roller coasters afterwards.

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Even after these and other additions, it became clear that the corporate fueled exhibits and overall theme was getting outdated. In 1967 a completely new Tomorrowland opened. Many of the sober show buildings were rebuilt from scratch and attractions were added to fit the new theme called World on the Move. These attractions included: PeopleMover, a ride introducing an innovative new transportation system; Carousel of Progress, a show in a rotating theater that debuted on the 1964 New York World’s Fair; and Adventures Thru Inner Space, the first Disneyland attraction to use the Omnimover ride system. This system also debuted in a prototype version at the New York World's Fair for Ford's Magic Skyway pavilion. The simple but brilliant idea: a constantly moving chain of vehicles that doesn’t stop moving forward, on which each individual vehicle is able to swivel 360 degrees. Other attractions were updated like Flight to the Moon, the new version of Rocket to the Moon and the Circle-Vision 360° theatre was remodeled and featured a new film: America the Beautiful, a Disney attraction that premiered at the Brussels World Fair of 1958. Aesthetically New Tomorrowland was more appealing with its circular buildings interconnected by the smooth PeopleMover track. The dominant color was white, making the yellow, blue, red, and green PeopleMover vehicles and the multicolored flower beds stand out. For the first time every attraction fitted the theme, and the land was finally in line with the rest of the park, maybe even superior to it.

The land stayed more or less the same for a decade. In 1977 Space Mountain opened, a down-scaled version of Magic Kingdom’s version, with a different layout using a single track rather than two. Another decade later, in 1985, Disney announced a collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. to bring a Star Wars based attraction, called Star Tours, to Disneyland. It opened in 1987 and was the first attraction based on a non-Disney owned IP. Captain EO, another attraction produced by George Lucas (founder of Lucasfilm Ltd.) opened even earlier in 1896. This 3D film starred Michael Jackson and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Since special effects were used in the theatre, this attraction is regarded as one of the first 4D films.

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In the early nineties, a major makeover was announced called Tomorrowland 2055, themed as an intergalactic spaceport with ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter as one of its signature attractions. Due to the financial struggles of the Euro Disney Resort this plan was scrapped, but a less costly makeover did happen. Tomorrowland’s 3^rd incarnation opened in 1998 and used the same color palette as Discoveryland in Paris. The Astro Orbitor, now placed at the entrance of the land, was a replica of the one in Paris. 3 new attractions opened: Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, replacing Captain EO; Innoventions, based on a similar Epcot attraction; and the infamous Rocket Rods. The latter high-speed ride used the same track as the previous much slower PeopleMover. Due to the many technical problems, it was closed more often than not, resulting in its permanent closure only 16 months after opening.

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In 2005 the colors were altered again, this time matching Magic Kingdom’s palette and the same year marked the introduction of Pixar based attractions with the opening of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. 2 years later, Submarine Voyage was re-themed as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. On top of that, the Star Wars franchise was taking over Tomorrowland too, with the interactive Jedi Training Academy show in 2006; an updated Star Tours in 2011; and Star Wars Launch Bay in 2015. Even the classic Space Mountain got a Star Wars overlay known as Hyperspace Mountain.

Today Tomorrowland is a mix of futuristic Disneyland nostalgia and blockbuster franchises, not really creating a coherent land of tomorrow.

 

 

2. MAGIC KINGDOM

TOMORROWLAND - OPENED: OCTOBER 1, 1971

Like in Disneyland, Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland was unfinished upon opening. It featured only 2 attractions: Grand Prix Raceway and Skyway to Fantasyland. Soon after, Flight to the Moon was added and a circle-vision 360° theatre featuring America the Beautiful. These early attractions were based on Disneyland’s versions. The initial design featured large white show buildings, eye-catching signs and tall geometric shapes including the imposing twin waterfalls at the entrance of the land. Its style was a mix of L.A.’s googie architecture, the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and Disneyland’s 1967 version of Tomorrowland.

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In 1972 If I Had Wings, an Omnimover dark ride was added and in 1974 Star Jets. The beloved Carousel of Progress was relocated from Disneyland to Magic Kingdom in 1975. The same year PeopleMover and Space Mountain, a double tracked indoor roller-coaster underneath a massive white canopy, opened. Instantly the latter became Tomorrowland’s signature attraction.

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After 2 decades the 1970’s scientific based theme was up for a complete makeover called New Tomorrowland - The Future That Never Was, premiering in 1994. It became an intergalactic spaceport, like Disneyland’s unbuilt Tomorrowland 2055. The design is partly influenced by Paris’ retro-futuristic Discoveryland, Art Deco architecture, and 1930’s science-fiction films and comic strips like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. The glue to keep it all together is the omnipresent use of the vibrant Factory Pomo aesthetics for the signs and logos. The result is a tongue in cheek futuristic fantasy-science world with an overall energetic metallic look and lots of bright colored neon lights, best experienced after sunset. The Star Jets attraction was changed into Astro Orbiter, fitting the theme well and a new entrance gate was built. Two attractions were added: The Timekeeper, borrowed from Paris’ Discoveryland and ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Magic Kingdom’s New Tomorrowland was much more appealing than the 1998 Disneyland re-theme.

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The ‘toonification’ began in 1998 with the opening of Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Then in 2004 Stitch's Great Escape! replaced ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Although the latter was a fantastic attraction, it was considered too scary for a family theme park. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor was added in 2007 replacing The Timekeeper.

In 2019 Tomorrowland received a new color scheme and the somewhat eclectic entrance gate was replaced by a more purified white version, going back to the googie style and stepping away from the 1994 New Tomorrowland design. In 2023, the long-awaited TRON Lightcycle / Run from Shanghai’s Tomorrowland opened, adding another fantastic ride to a land already filled with great attractions. The modern freeform canopy blends less smoothly with its surroundings here than the original in Shanghai.

Nevertheless, Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland is more coherent than Disneyland’s counterpart. It features the least Star Wars/ Pixar based attractions of all and is the most faithful to its theme. On top of that, this version holds an impressive array of experiences.

 

 

3. TOKYO DISNEYLAND

TOMORROWLAND - OPENED: APRIL 15, 1983

Unlike the previous versions, Tokyo’s Tomorrowland opened as a full-scale land with no less than 6 attractions, including the typical Star Jets, Grand Circuit Raceway, Circle-Vision 360°, Skyway to Fantasyland, Space Mountain, and Meet the World. The latter was one of the few attractions that wasn’t a clone, but a unique ride for Tokyo Disneyland focusing on the relation of Japan towards the rest of the world. It functioned like Carousel of Progress in a rotating theatre. In fact, this attraction was originally developed for the Japan Pavilion in Epcot Center that was under construction at the same time in Florida. Because of technical problems with the building (and time and money running out), the attraction never opened there.

The overall design of the land looks a lot like Magic Kingdom’s 1975 version. It is significantly scaled down though without the PeopleMover track and with a smaller Space Mountain. The dominant colors here are white and blue. Over the years, clones from popular attractions were added like Captain EO in 1987 and Star Tours in 1989. The latter houses in a unique building with a more industrial look. The adjacent shop and restaurants have a similar design, creating a nice little sub area. Other popular attractions followed like The Timekeeper in 1993 and MicroAdventure! in 1997. The latter was known as Honey, I Shrunk the Audience in the American parks. Its title was changed to be easier understood, and conveniently the new title fits the theme better.

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In the late 1990’s a complete makeover of the land called Sci-Fi City was designed by Imagineer Eddie Sotto. Its theme was based on the sitcom The Jetsons and the movie The Rocketeer as well as the aforementioned 1930’s comic strips. It looked amazing but was unfortunately scrapped due to the high costs of Tokyo DisneySea (Tokyo’s 2^nd park) that was in development at that time.

Toonification happened in every park and Tokyo was no exception with Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters opening in 2004 and Stitch Encounter, an interactive show copied from Hong Kong’s Tomorrowland in 2005. In 2009 a new and exclusive dark ride opened: Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek replacing Meet the World. The show building is based on the factory from the movie, and actually fits well next to the industrial looking Star Tours, the beige color is quite different though from the rest of Tomorrowland, making it stand out.

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More recently 2 classic rides: Star Jets and Grand Circuit Raceway closed to make way for a massive makeover of the entire north-western part of the park. These attractions were replaced by a mini Beauty and the Beast land (which is considered a part of Fantasyland) and The Happy Ride With Baymax in Tomorrowland. In 2022 OLC announced a complete makeover of the classic Space Mountain, once again stepping away from the cloned attractions of the early years.

Overall, Tokyo’s Tomorrowland has a solid attraction line-up, but many are based on Disney/ Pixar movies, not fitting the theme or the nostalgic 1970’s look. It is yet to be seen how the makeover of Space Mountain, scheduled to open in 2027 will change the land.

 

 

4. DISNEYLAND PARIS

DISCOVERYLAND - OPENED: APRIL 12, 1992

To once and for all solve ‘the Tomorrowland problem’ where the future catches up with the present at some point, this version was not set in the future but in the past. Imagineers created this land as a vision of the future through the eyes of the late 1900’s storytellers like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne and visionary Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. This completely new approach was also chosen to be a European rather than an American vision of the future. It was partly inspired by Discovery Bay, a never executed realm for Disneyland, with similar elements.

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Discoveryland’s design is mostly steampunk, with some googie influences. Some parts are based on drawings by Jules Verne and the visions of the future from the comic strips Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. The colors of this land are warmer than the previous versions with copper, bronze, dark red and green dominating the palette. For the first time neon lights were used, making the land ‘shine’ at nighttime. Imagineer Tim Delaney was show producer for the land.

Autopia and Orbitron (an attraction like Star Jets), were both adapted to fit the theme. Le Visionarium, was a key attraction featuring Timekeeper as narrating audio-animatronic for a new 360° film starring Jules Verne. It was the first of the 360° films with an actual narrative, and it was duplicated as The Timekeeper in Florida and Tokyo. The huge Videopolis, includes a restaurant and an auditorium. It is based on an earlier design for Discovery Bay by Tony Baxter. In the large entrance gate to Videopolis hangs a hot air balloon called Hyperion from Disney’s film The Island at the Top of the World.

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2 other opening day attractions, Captain EO and Star Tours, were impossible to adapt to the 1900’s. To solve this issue, the creator George Lucas was included in the storytelling of the land. The clever design of the showbuilding is less elaborate than the rest of the land and situated in the back of the land underneath the Discoveryland Train Station.

Space Mountain did not open in 1992 and was in fact not planned at first. Instead, an even bigger canopy was envisioned called Discovery Mountain, placed in the heart of the land including among other things: a drop tower ride themed to Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, a replica of the Nautilus, an underwater Jules Verne themed restaurant, and access to Videopolis, Star Tours, and other attractions. The huge project was scaled down and instead a Space Mountain like attraction based on Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon opened in 1995. The walkthrough attraction Nautilus got a place outside the canopy. As centerpiece weenie, the green and copper colored dome of Space Mountain, including a giant cannon called Columbiad, completed the lay-out of this unique land. A decade after its opening, Space Mountain: From the Earth to the Moon got an update called Space Mountain Mission 2, travelling beyond the moon this time.

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The success of Pixar based attractions in other parks inevitably led to the closing of Le Visionarium in favor of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, that opened in 2006. After that, it took more than a decade before any adaptations were made. Then in 2017 Space Mountain was re-themed once again, now as the Star Wars based Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours was updated too. One year later Mickey’s PhilharMagic, a 3-D show usually found in Fantasyland, opened in the Discoveryland Theatre.

When Space Mountain: From the Earth to the Moon was added in 1995, this was probably the best themed land of all the futuristic lands. But today, Pixar, Star Wars, and even Mickey Mouse overlays are quite odd in an otherwise lavish and originally designed environment.

 

 

5. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

TOMORROWLAND - OPENED: SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

Early artwork shows a land that is heavily inspired by Tokyo's unbuilt Sci-Fi City, but Hong Kong’s final version was designed as a Spaceport. This idea was not new either, it was going to be the theme for Anaheim's unbuilt Tomorrowland 2055, but Hong Kong's design is quite different and more small-scale. Space Mountain, an opening day attraction here, is not very different than Disneyland’s and fits the theme by nature. The new version of Orbitron is themed accordingly too, featuring a grand planet in its center with flying saucers instead of rocket jets around it. It is situated as usual in the heart of the land. The central planet is painted so that it reflects its surroundings, creating a nice dramatic effect. Its restaurants Comet Café and Starliner Diner, featuring a huge rocket ship at its entrance, are themed in a similar space-travel theme.

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The land had a unique atmosphere unlike previous Tomorrowlands. The main buildings here have curved wave-like forms. Planets and spacecrafts play an important role, and the color scheme is brighter than any of the previous versions, mainly chosen to compensate for the grey Hong Kong skies. It contributes to the cartoonish vibe of this land. This and the prominence of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters as the 3^rd opening day attraction. It is a copy of Disneyland’s, but it fits Hong Kong’s theme better.

With only 3 attractions, it was quite a small land, and during the first summer season 3 additional attractions opened: Autopia, Stitch Encounter and UFO Zone, all in the same Spaceport theme. UFO Zone was the only unique attraction. It was a water playground, with big bright colored robots.

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In 2016, the land received a small Star Wars overlay resulting in a Space Mountain redesign as Hyperspace Mountain and the adjacent Stitch Encounter transformed to a meet and greet area called Star Wars Command Post. Finally, UFO Zone made way for the interactive show Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. Autopia also closed the same year. This large area will be used for a future attraction based on the Avengers franchise, set to open in 2024.

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The latter will be part of a new land known as Stark Expo, a Marvel themed land similar to the Avengers Campus lands in Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios, in Anaheim and Paris respectively. The Marvel franchise was already introduced in Hong Kong in 2017 with the opening of Iron Man Experience, a flight simulator like Star Tours. 2 years later, the adjacent Buzz Lightyear attraction received an overlay too and became Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! Both will become part of Stark Expo once the new attraction opens, inevitably making Tomorrowland even smaller than on its opening day, featuring only the Spaceport themed restaurants, Orbitron, and the Star Wars based section with Hyperspace Mountain as main attraction.

Currently the whole comes across as a joyful and colorful land, incongruously mixed with 2 big franchises: Star Wars and Marvel.

 

 

6. SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND

TOMORROWLAND - OPENED: JUNE 16, 2016

Of all Shanghai’s realms, Tomorrowland has probably the most drastically unique design. Imagineer Scot Drake was Lead Designer for this land, which comes across as the High-Tech version of Tomorrowland using modern materials like ETFE (a fluorine-based plastic). This new approach features a multi-leveled land without the iconic Space Mountain dome (present in all previous lands). Instead, the landscape is dominated by a wavy freeform canopy designed by Britain-based Grimshaw Architects for the attraction: TRON Lightcycle Power Run. This roller-coaster takes guests on an adventure into the futuristic world of Tron.

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The other attractions are rather uninspired Disney/ Pixar based copies of previous attractions like Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, using an updated technique though, and Stitch Encounter. The ‘classic’ Tomorrowland attraction Astro Orbitor is called Jet Packs here. It features new floorless 2-person vehicles but looks rather simplistic. Finally, adjacent to the roller-coaster sits TRON Realm, an interactive experience expanding the Tron universe. The attractions are found on different levels which are interconnected by curved ramps and stairways.

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The overall design, including the impressive canopy and the different levels definitely create a new vision of Tomorrowland. The attractions on the other hand are all franchise-based, lacking interconnection. Visually this is the most innovative land but thematically it’s the least immersive.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Disneyland’s original Tomorrowland had undergone many drastic changes. The current version features some great attractions but lacks an overall vision.

Hong Kong’s has some unique attractions within a colorful and playful setting. There is little interconnection between the themes: Spaceport, Marvel, and Star Wars though.

Currently Tokyo’s 1970’s retro look has a nostalgic rather than a futuristic vibe. This land will receive a future update that will make it more unique than it is today.

Magic Kingdom’s attraction line-up stands out. This version has the most coherent overall design, faithful to the vision of Tomorrowland.

The retro approach of Paris was probably near perfection in 1995, today it misses an overall story and comes across as a mishmash.

The impressive architecture of Shanghai’s version is unique and overwhelming. Thematically it is less interesting, with only IP driven attractions.

BEST TOMORROWLAND: Magic Kingdom

 

 

Comparing the 6 Castle Parks - part 1

GENERAL COMPARISON OF THE PARKS

1. DISNEYLAND

OPENED: JULY 17, 1955

Creating a place where adults and children could have fun together. This was Walt Disney’s initial idea, eventually becoming Disneyland. The first plan was a much smaller park adjacent the Disney Studios in Burbank called Mickey Mouse Park. At first the Burbank City Council voted in favor of this park, but as the idea grew bigger, the final proposal was rejected in 1952. The council did not want a dirty amusement park attracting ‘the wrong kind of people’. (After the war, many amusement parks were left neglected like Coney Island for example). So, Walt set out to find a new location and purchased the affordable 160-acre orange tree orchard in Anaheim. At the time, few people believed Disneyland would be successful. It was difficult to convince people that his park would not be an amusement park, but a completely new type of experience: a theme park. It did not help that his park was situated in the middle of nowhere. As was often the case, Walt was right, his park would become a success and it would be the first of many Disney parks around the globe.

Disneyland’s easy-to-understand wheel and spoke lay-out is one of the most genius theme park design elements Walt came up with. Any guest can easily return to the hub at any given time to get orientated and decide which one of the five lands to visit next: Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland or Tomorrowland. The names are chosen to be clear and simple so guests can assume what is to be found inside each land. In the earliest drawings, the park featured more lands including Holiday Land and Lilliputian Land, but these were scrapped. Holiday Land did open in 1957 and closed 4 years later in 1961.

Over the years four additional lands opened: New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972 (renamed Critter Country in 1988), Mickey’s Toontown in 1993 and finally the Star Wars based Galaxy’s Edge in 2019. Today, Disneyland has 9 themed lands, featuring over 60 attractions, more than any of the other Disney parks.

 

2. MAGIC KINGDOM

OPENED: OCTOBER 1, 1971

When Walt Disney unveiled plans for what was known as “The Florida Project” by insiders, his initial goal was to create a real living city with transportation and design elements way ahead of its time, known as EPCOT: the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. But after his death in 1966 the Disney company was struggling to create this massive project. Finally, it was Roy Disney, Walt’s brother who led the company to create Walt’s biggest dream anyway. Instead of taking the risk of opening the enormous and expensive EPCOT, they chose to open Magic Kingdom, a safer choice since it was based of the highly successful Disneyland.

The biggest issue was space. Walt was frustrated that he could purchase only 160 acres of land in Anaheim and to his dismay his park became boxed in with cheap hotels and retail spaces popping up around it. That is why The Disney Company secretly bought a total of 27000 acres of land in Florida. This time the surroundings would be filled with Disney’s own choice. A theme park surrounded by themed hotels, recreational areas, lakes and so on. Assured nothing unforeseen might pop, they also kept open spaces or natural elements in-between each location. The theme park itself would also be bigger. The innovative design of Disneyland was perfected in Florida for Magic Kingdom is designed to handle more crowds, with bigger walking paths and more open space. And there would be plenty of room left for expansion.

In the earliest drafts the park featured seven themed lands. The five Disneyland originals: Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. With Liberty Square, a replacement for New Orleans Square, and Holiday Land added. The latter would be dropped and so Magic Kingdom opened with six themed lands. In 1988, to celebrate Mickey’s 60 Birthday, a special temporary land was added: Mickey’s Birthdayland. Because of its success it became a permanent land, it was renamed Mickey’s Starland in 1990 and Mickey’s Toontown Fair in 1996. It closed eventually in 2011 to make place for the area Storybook Circus in the New Fantasyland, that opened in 2012.

Magic Kingdom opened as a part of the Walt Disney World Resort, together with two hotels, two golf courses and the monorail. Later that year a campground and some key attractions in the park like Peter Pan’s Flight, Submarine Voyage and Flight to the Moon opened.

3. TOKYO DISNEYLAND

OPENED: APRIL 15, 1983

Tokyo Disneyland was the first Disney park to be constructed outside the US and the first to be owned by another company: The Oriental Land Company (OLC), licensing the themes from The Walt Disney Company. It was the OLC that came to Disney with a proposal to build a theme park in Japan. Disney was intrigued and at the same time worried. They questioned the weather and how to adapt the park to the Japanese guests. Furthermore, being occupied with the construction of EPCOT in Florida they said no at first. OLC proved persistent and convinced Disney by assuring the weather would not be a problem if the park was done properly. They also assured that no cultural adaptations were needed, people would come for the simple fact that it was so American. The OLC would finance everything, while Disney would be in control creatively. The deal was signed eventually, and construction began in 1979.

One inspirational painting by Herbert Ryman showed Space Mountain to the left of the castle rather than the typical right side. Interestingly, an early lay-out of the park showed Tomorrowland indeed on this spot and Adventureland and Frontierland on the other side. This plan also introduced a sixth land: International Land, a miniature version Epcot’s World Showcase, not to be confused with World Bazaar. The latter would be a contemporary international shopping and dining street, much bigger than the current version, including entertainment facilities, designed to be able to operate independently of the other lands. For they would close if the weather was bad. Although, these ideas may seem interesting and renewing, OLC made it clear to copy as much as possible from the existing Disneyland and Magic Kingdom parks. The result was a park with clones from the best attractions of both parks. The total cost of the project ran up to 180 billion yen against a budgeted 100 billion yen. OLC’s President Takahashi made it clear to build the real thing without compromises.

The biggest difference in lay-out is the huge hub and the large walking paths throughout the park. There is open space to be found everywhere. This was chosen as a striking difference between the density of Japan, and Tokyo in particular. Guest come to the park for leisure, it had to have a relaxed atmosphere.

On opening day, Tokyo Disneyland consisted of five themed lands: Adventureland, including a small New Orleans area, Westernland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and World Bazaar. The latter resembling Main Street U.S.A., but with a giant canopy over it. Disneyland clones of Critter Country and Toontown were added in 1992 and 1996 respectively.

A change of strategy occurred most notably with the opening of the resort’s second gate: Tokyo DisneySea, a completely unique and extremely detailed park, featuring no cloned attractions whatsoever. Tokyo Disneyland too, would welcome some original attractions and additions including the unique Beauty and the Beast themed expansion of Fantasyland in 2020.

 

4. DISNEYLAND PARIS (opened as EURO DISNEYLAND)

OPENED: APRIL 12, 1992

Remark: although 'Disneyland Park' is the official name of this park and 'Disneyland Paris' is the name of the resort, I will use 'Disneyland Paris' as name of this park to avoid confusion with the original Disneyland Park in Anaheim. 

Disney was interested in opening a park in Europe as early as the seventies. But it was not until the proven success of Tokyo Disneyland and under new management of CEO Michael Eisner, concrete plans were realized. Many countries were considered, but the location near Paris in France was chosen because it was so central in Europe. Some argued Spain would be a better choice for the climate, but Eisner argued that weather was not a problem, given the success of Tokyo even in the rainy winter season. 

Quite opposite to the agreement in Japan, the European agreement stated that the park had to have some tributes to European culture in general and French civilization specifically. Tony Baxter, senior vice president of creative development for the project, said this was certainly a challenge. Disneyland needed to be redefined here for in America there was nothing to compare with, there was no competition. In France, there was history, art, and a landscape that defines ‘charming’ and ‘pastoral’. The park needed to fit in, it had to be typically Disney but mixed with European artistry and heritage.      

Not just the park but the whole complex would be adapted for the European market. Research pointed out that Europeans travelling to the USA showed the most interest in New York, Disneyland, and the western states. The themed hotels: Hotel New York, Hotel Cheyenne, Hotel Santa Fe, Sequoia Lodge, and off course Disneyland Hotel, reflect this interest. On top, a permanent Wild West Show was added in the entertainment complex, Festival Disney.

Euro Disneyland opened with five themed lands, keeping four traditional lands: Main Street U.S.A., Frontierland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland. Discoveryland, was chosen as a replacement for Tomorrowland, it was going to be very French and very European at the same time. The park featured many attractions upon opening, including the ones that were added little by little in the previous parks. The advantage here was that they could be fitted in from scratch, making the overall design of the park quite brilliant.

The park opened with almost 40 attractions, more than any other Disney park on opening day. With 6 hotels, a campground, a golf course and an entertainment complex, the Euro Disney Resort was the biggest of any Disney Resorts upon opening too.

 

5. HONG KONG DISNEYLAND

OPENED: SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

Since Hong Kong has proven to be a good steppingstone for businesses to launch into China and given the ongoing success of the first Asian park in Tokyo, Disney grabbed the opportunity to open a new theme park here. It sits on quite a unique location with beautiful mountains as a natural backdrop for the park and a great view over the South China Sea and the Hong Kong Skyline from the hotels.

Just like in Paris, Disney made sure to build the park respecting the local culture. Therefore, a local Feng Shui master was contacted. His advice was used to adapt the overall masterplan, namely the location and orientation of every structure including the orientation of the park in general. Throughout the park and the hotels many elements are slightly adapted to fit the Feng Shui rules including the use of certain colors and numbers and the implication of the five elements: fire, water, earth, wood and metal. Finally, four symbolic creatures, namely Tortoise, White Tiger, Phoenix and Dragon located in the four cardinal directions in the topiary gardens in front of the park were added.

After the financial struggles of the European park, Disney made sure not to make the mistake again of opening too much too soon. Designed as a homage to the original Disneyland in California, the park opened with only four lands: Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. The typical Frontierland was dropped, although it appeared in an early presentation which also included Toontown. Being small, the park lacked many classic rides, especially thrill rides. Many new lands and attractions were added over the years. In 2011 Toy Story Land was added, followed in 2012 by Grizzly Gulch, as an alternative for Frontierland, and finally Mystic Point opened in 2013 as a completely unique land. With these expansions, the park now consists of seven themed lands and two more lands under construction. The first is World of Frozen, opening later this year and the second is Stark Expo set to open in 2024.

Alternative additional lands like a Pirate Land or a land called Glacier Bay were proposed but rejected by the Hong Kong Government who owns the majority of the park.

Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12^th, 2005, a Feng Shui lucky date. On top of that, it opened to coincide with the 50^th birthday of the original Disneyland in Anaheim. On opening day, the resort included two hotels. A third hotel was added later in 2017.

6. SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND

OPENED: JUNE 16, 2016

Opening a Disney theme park on mainland China was a challenge Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, took personal. China is after all the second largest economy of the world, after the U.S.A. To please the Shendi Group, the state-owned Chinese partners, adapting the park and adding as much of the Chinese culture as possible was more than ever a necessity. Disney even invented the slogan: ‘Authentically Disney, Distinctly Chinese’, to underline this.

This park was going to be different, more than just a copy with cultural adaptations, like Paris or Hong Kong, they redesigned the park from scratch. First: The American lands Main Street U.S.A. and Frontierland were left out. Instead, you enter the park through Mickey Avenue, a land with the same function as Main Street, but with a different theme. Frontierland, with all its beloved attractions, was dropped in favor of Treasure Cove, a pirate themed land. Adventureland was renamed Adventure Isle, featuring completely different attractions. Finally, the hub was replaced by an entire new land: Gardens of Imagination. This land features a handful of classic rides in a Chinese looking environment. This implicated the hub-and-spoke design to be scrapped too. It is replaced by a big circular boulevard around the Gardens. Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are the only ‘classic’ lands that remained. Tomorrowland taking the spot on the left side rather than the typical right side of the hub, is one notable change though. Since Paris does not have a Tomorrowland, Fantasyland is the only land present in all of the 6 castle parks.

Instead of an overall circular lay-out, like all previous parks, Shanghai looks more like a Venn diagram. This makes the distances from one land to the other longer but creates calm open spaces. Something missing most notably in the original Disneyland. 

Shanghai features the most unique range of attractions too for many stalwarts were scrapped such as Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and It’s a Small World. Again, this was done to avoid any hint at cultural imperialism. Other classic rides were altered completely. Tomorrowland was designed by Britain-based Grimshaw Architects, making it look entirely different from any previous version. It features a multi leveled land with a freeform canopy over its key attraction: Tron Lightcycle coaster, instead of the classic Space Mountain.

With its 963 acres, the park was marketed as the biggest of any Disney park. One important detail here is that this consists of the entire resort rather than just the park. There exists no official acreage of the park and this is confusing. Some sources state that it is more than 11 times the size of the original Disneyland in Anaheim. A simple measurement of the occupied land proves the theme park by itself is actually quite similar in size.

With its 6 lands Shanghai Disneyland opened on June 16^th, 2016. Simultaneously 2 hotels and an entertainment complex known as Disneytown opened. It featured the Mandarin version of the Broadway musical The Lion King. In 2018 Toy Story Land was added as the 7^th themed land. City of Zootopia is currently under construction as the park’s 8^th land.

(click image to enlarge)