Euro Disneyland Project Overview
Project Overview from the Euro Disneyland 1989 Annual Report
One of the oldest Disneyland Paris souvenirs I have is the Euro Disneyland 1989 Annual Report: a 48-page glossy white brochure published in February 1990. It’s significant because, as far as I’m aware, it was the first document to detail the lands and attractions of Disneyland Park, and show photos of WDI’s models.
So, to preserve this piece of history, I decided to type up some of the text and scan some of the photos. In a previous article I covered the President’s Message. In this one I’m covering pages 8 to 13: Project Overview.
Euro Disneyland, scheduled to open in 1992, will bring the best of the Disney experience to Europe.
This unique project will continue the highly successful theme park and resort concept developed over the past 35 years by The Walt Disney Company in the United States and Japan.
Its scope is truly unparalleled in Europe. The 1,943 hectare site is approximately one-fifth the size of Paris and will constitute the largest theme park and resort development in Europe.
Eleven million guest visits are projected for the first year of operation.
Centrally located in Marne-la-Vallée within Europe’s transportation network, the Euro Disneyland site will by linked to Paris by the RER (Regional Express Metro Network) and to the rest of France and Europe by the A4 expressway, and, in 1994, by the high-speed TGV train network. The site is located between two international airports: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly.
The first phase constitutes the most significant part of the project and includes the Magic Kingdom theme park, six themed hotels, a campground, shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities, and a championship golf course.
The Magic Kingdom
The park will be the centrepiece of this vast destination resort. While it shares the basic design of other Disney theme parks, the newest Magic Kingdom will reflect the influence of its geographic and cultural setting, giving prominence to European traditions and cultures and providing extensive weather protection.
The Magic Kingdom at the Euro Disneyland Resort will reflect Walt Disney’s original design concept of themed lands radiating from a central plaza, with the castle serving as the focal point. The five themed lands of the Magic Kingdom will be Main Street U.S.A., Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland.
Main Street U.S.A. will serve as the gateway to the Magic Kingdom. Here, guests will find themselves in a turn-of-the-century American town where horse-drawn streetcars will travel down a bustling street lined with boutiques and restaurants.
Frontierland will recreate the pioneer ambiance inspired by the legends and folklore of America’s western frontier. Mississippi-style riverboats will circle Big Thunder Mountain, the island site of a high-speed train ride. Across the river will loom the ominous Phantom Manor, an animated haunted mansion.
Tropical Adventureland will provide an exotic setting for attractions inspired by the Disney films Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island and Peter Pan, as well as one of Disney’s most popular attractions — Pirates of the Caribbean.
Fantasyland will lie at the the very heart of the Magic Kingdom. Forming a magnificent entrance will be Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, inspired by Sleeping Beauty and such historic French illustrations as Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Many Fantasyland attractions will be based on Walt Disney’s film classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Inspired by Jules Verne, Leonardo da Vinci, H.G. Wells and other visionaries, Discoveryland will acknowledge man’s achievements and contemplate the possibilities for the future. This land will feature Star Tours, an attraction jointly developed by Disney and George Lucas, which will take visitors on a Star Wars space voyage using flight simulators.
Other attractions will include a 3-D film and a 360-degree Circle-Vision film based on the theme “France, Europe and the Future”.
Drawing on the experience at Tokyo Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom will feature many covered guest areas so the park can be enjoyed regardless of the weather.
As with the existing Disney parks and resorts, Euro Disneyland will operate year-round.
Resorts
The Euro Disneyland Resort development strategy for the first phase includes plans for six themed hotels providing 5,200 rooms designed to appeal to a wide range of family tastes and budgets.
The Magic Kingdom Hotel, reflecting the charm and elegance of Victorian architecture, will be situated at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, near the RER and TGV stations. This 500-room, luxury hotel will contain shops, restaurants and conference rooms and will also house the reception hall and ticket complex for Park guests.
The Vice-President of Real Estate Development works in close collaboration with the Vice-President of Resorts to assure smooth operation of the project.
The other five themed hotels — Hotel New York, Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, Cheyenne Hotel, and Hotel Santa Fe — will reflect a diversity of American themes.
Modelled on the campgrounds in U.S. national parks and on Fort Wilderness at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Euro Disneyland campground will offer 300 trailers and 295 campsites.
Also scheduled to open in 1992 is a championship golf course and the initial 18,000 square meters of an entertainment centre offering restaurants, shopping and evening entertainment.
Euro Disneyland will be more than a resort and a theme park. Like each project that carries the Disney name, it will be a unique experience — an experience to be cherished and relived time and time again.
