The address: France, the city of Marne-la-Valais 32 km from Paris
Park opening: April 12, 1992
Work mode: All year round
Attractions: 55 pcs.
Area: 1943 ha
Coordinates: 48 ° 52′29 ″ N 2 ° 46′35 ″ E
Short description
What could be better for children, and for their parents, than to get into a real fairy tale, especially when it comes to a Parisian fairy tale called Disneyland Paris?
To be extremely precise, the huge entertainment complex, which includes parks, hotels, residential complexes, and entire fabulous "republics" is not located in Paris itself, but 35 kilometers from it, in the small town of Marne-la-Valais. For those who do not know, it should be clarified that in France it is customary to calculate the distance from the capital of a country to any city from the heart of Paris of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Disneyland in Paris is considered one of the most visited places in the whole Old World. The average number of tourists coming to France to travel to a fairy tale is more than 12.5 million people a year. Only the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can compete with Disneyland in popularity.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
The world's first Disneyland was, of course, built in the homeland of its founder in the United States. However, Disneyland in Paris, which opened its doors to visitors in the spring of 1992, became much more popular than its "ancestor." There are many Disneylands in the world, but the most famous are located in the USA and in Paris. It is not surprising that every year such a huge number of travelers flock to the capital of France to get acquainted with its Disneyland. Magnificent rides, fabulous, luxurious parks are unique in their kind. They stand out favorably among other entertainment venues only because here really dreams come true and it is here that real miracles happen.
The area of \u200b\u200bDisneyland Paris is huge and amounts to almost 2 thousand hectares. In this territory you can always meet numerous groups of tourists, most of whom come here with children. A visit to Disneyland in Paris, according to almost all the travelers surveyed, remains in memory for a lifetime.
Captain Hook Pirate Ship
“Arriving here only once, you leave your heart in this fabulous place forever. The sea of \u200b\u200bimpressions and emotions beating over the edge force us to come back here whenever possible again and again. Even for two or three visits to Disneyland Paris, it is impossible to completely go around all its fabulous parks, ride all the rides and visit unique hotel rooms, ”the guests of Paris who visited his“ American ”fairy tale share their impressions. In these words, of course, there is a huge share of truth. It’s worth imagining how much time it will take to go around just one “Fantasy Land”, with its many attractions, which are lined up, seemingly endless, in line.
A walk through Disneyland Paris
As mentioned above, the grand opening of the Parisian fairytale city, where dreams come true, took place on April 12, 1992. Then Disneyland Park was opened. Ten years later, the construction of Walt Disney Studios Park was completed.
Attraction "Big Thunder Mountain"
In addition, an amusement park called Disney Village, a huge golf course, and even a whole residential quarter, which includes luxury hotels and a business center, was opened for visitors. Only Disney Village Square, which has a huge number of restaurants, cinemas, an ultra-modern disco, bowling centers, shops selling unique souvenirs for memory, exceeds an area of \u200b\u200b20 football fields.
Before you start your walk through the huge Parisian Disneyland, you should definitely purchase a special map and guide. You can get lost in a big fabulous city in just five minutes, because its total area is 1/5 of the total area of \u200b\u200bthe French capital! The creators of Disneyland in Paris for the convenience of its visitors divided the magical country into five "republics". It will be more correct to say in five countries: the country of discoveries, the country of fantasies, the wild west, the country of adventures and the US Highway.
Attraction "Space Mountain: Mission 2"
Upon entering Disneyland in Paris, the traveler immediately enters the US Highway. For the most part, there are only shops and restaurants on it. There is also a hairdresser where the guest can make a modern hairstyle. The style of this street makes one imagine that he miraculously ended up in the middle of the 19th century, and even in the United States of America. More precisely, in Missouri, in the small town of Marceline. For those who do not know, we will clarify that Disney was born in this city. On the main street you can see the railway station, from which the real steam locomotives send, they can make an exciting trip around a fabulous park. By the way, the “US Highway” at Disneyland Paris will lead his guest to Sleeping Beauty Castle. In addition, you can watch on it a real, enchanting Disney parade and a fantastic night light show. By the way, on the main road you can also witness a shortened version of the most expensive and most famous fireworks in the world, called Wishes.
Cartoon characters "Cars"
Disneyland Paris - Walt Disney Studio
Experienced tourists who have already visited Disneyland in Paris more than once are advised to turn off the US Highway into a park called Walt Disney Studio, which, as mentioned above, was opened in 2002. In this park, attractions, various facilities, shops and hotels are inextricably linked with the cinema. By the way, in this park is the most popular attraction to date, called "Rock’ n ’Roller Coaster." It is a legendary roller coaster on which visitors to the park ride to the music of the famous band Aerosmith. In addition to these mega-popular slides, new attractions were added later, which are also associated with the work of the Walt Disney film studio: “Cars”, “Finding Nemo” and others. Three times a day at Walt Disney Studio Park, a one-of-a-kind show of car stuntmen is on display. What professional drivers don’t do on their cars: after the end of the show, most cars almost completely crash. They are immediately repaired by highly qualified specialists. By the way, their filigree work can be seen through a glass partition.
Attraction "Haunted House"
Naturally, the sight is rather boring, but during it you can manage to take places on a special platform before the next show. It is worth noting that even in the off-season, you have to take seats on this platform in advance, since the show of auto stuntmen at Disneyland Paris is always popular.
Disneyland Paris - Adventure Country
The "Adventure Land" of Disneyland Paris attracts the attention of a large part of boys, youths and even their fathers. Special attention deserves a beautifully executed pirate ship, on which time flows unnoticed. The attraction called “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Danger”, as well as the large house, which is located ... on the branches of a giant tree, will be of great interest. This house is called "Robinson's Refuge." If you have free time, you should definitely visit the new adventure "Adventure Countries", named after the film "Pirates of the Caribbean". This ride will have to spend a really lot of time. This is due to long lines to him.
Attraction "Laser battle of Buzz"
True, they will have to stand in line not in the street under the open sky, but in a dark and terrible cave. As soon as the boat is free, the visitor will go on it on an exciting journey through the pirate grotto. This attraction will appeal to those who like to “tickle” their nerves: ghosts, skeletons, dead pirates constantly popping up from behind stones, will make you cry out in horror more than once. The tired guest of Disneyland Paris can take a break right in this cave and have a delicious lunch in the Blue Lagoon restaurant.
Disneyland Paris - "Country of Discoveries"
Visitors to the "Land of Discoveries" can surprisingly get into the future. In fairness, it is worth noting that you will not meet cyborgs and aliens there. Pictures of the future in the "Land of Discoveries" are reproduced for the most part as they were seen by science fiction writers who lived back in the 19th century. Naturally, in this country you can also find a lot of attractions: a roller coaster, which was updated in 2005 and is called "Mission 2".
Attraction "Circus Train Casey the Younger"
This attraction is also very popular due to the thrill that a person experiences when he has sat down in a seemingly unreliable trolley and pulled down at a speed of 14 meters per second. At the same time, the body of the "passenger carriage" experiences almost the same overload as the astronaut at the start of the spacecraft. It is worth noting immediately that this test is not for the faint of heart and for physically developed people who do not have health problems. In addition, in the "Land of Discoveries" you can see a laser show, test your skills on a flight simulator and ride a rather big track in karting.
Disneyland Paris - Fantasy Land
“Fantasy Land” at Disneyland Paris will be interesting for the most part to preschool children and children attending elementary grades. First of all, in this country it is worth paying attention to the castle of Sleeping Beauty.
Attraction "Tea Party at the Mad Hatter"
It is located in the very center of the park and it is to it that the US Highway leads. In the "Land of Fantasy" you can find out the story of Snow White, ride on a horror road designed for kids, as well as "fly" on a funicular called "Peter Pan’s Flight over London." In addition to the above attractions, children can in the "Land of Fantasy" in a fascinating way get acquainted with the culture of almost all the peoples of our vast planet. All tourists who arrived at Disneyland with small children immediately send this park. This suggests that the lines to the attractions here are simply huge. However there is a special offer from the creators of Disneyland Paris, it is called fast pass. Thanks to him, you can not stand in line, but come up at the specified time and take a ride on the attraction. However, you should not think that the number of fastpasses is unlimited, for many attractions you still have to stand in line.
Attraction "Country of fairy tales and fairies"
Disneyland Paris - Wild West
A country called the “Wild West” or, as it is also called the “Border Country,” refers by its area to the smallest “countries” of Disneyland. There you can feel the atmosphere that prevailed in North America during the confrontation between cowboys and Indians. At various attractions of the “Borderland Country” you can shoot at the enemy and take a walk around the playground, where the shows “Tarzana” and “Mickey Mouse” are regularly held. In the “Wild West” there is a small but extremely interesting zoo in which there is a unique opportunity to get in touch with nature.
Disneyland Paris Infrastructure
You can stay at Disneyland Paris for a few days: four hotels of various levels of service are at the disposal of tourists. In addition, a wealthy family is provided with a luxurious bungalow with a kitchen, a Jacuzzi and a comfortable bedroom. There is a huge golf course on Disneyland Paris. It can be played not only by professionals, but also by beginners.
Attraction "Autotopia"
For guests arriving at Disneyland with their own or rental car, multi-seat covered parking is available. It is worth noting that you can only come to Disneyland by train, departing from a station in Paris, or by car. Due to congestion on the A4 motorway, buses do not run to Disneyland.
Disneyland in Paris - a tourist guide
Before visiting Disneyland Paris, you should definitely calculate your free time. As already mentioned above in the material, almost all the attractions of the magic country are lined up daily in lines. In addition, you should take care of purchasing a ticket to Disneyland in advance. Three options are offered for its visitors: a one-day ticket, a two-day ticket and a three-day ticket.
A one-day ticket for an adult costs 40 euros, the same, but for a child - 30 euros. A two-day visit to Disneyland Paris will cost an adult 89 euros, and a child 69 euros. The maximum ticket price, which assumes a three-day stay at Disneyland in Paris, is 109 euros for an adult and 80 euros for a child.
Attraction "This little world"
It should be remembered that an adult ticket must be bought by a teenager who is already 12 years old. Children under 3 years old can enter Disneyland for free. The ticket price includes a visit to any attraction located in Disneyland Paris. True, you still have to pay for hotel accommodation, shopping in shops and dining at restaurants.
You can buy a ticket to Disneyland directly at its entrance, but again you will have to stand in a huge line for at least an hour to do this. The best solution would be to purchase a ticket directly in Paris, in one of the specialized stores. Before you go to Disneyland, you also need to know that the largest lines to the attractions line up in the "season" - in the summer. In winter, tourists are much less, however, in the cold season, not all attractions are available for visiting.
Attraction "Travel Pinocchio"
Russian-speaking tourists who do not speak French or English may have some difficulties with a card purchased at Disneyland. Therefore, before traveling to Paris, you can find and download a map and guide in Russian on the World Wide Web.
32 km east of Paris is the city of Marne-la-Valais, on the territory of which stands the Disneyland Paris, as well as other Disney parks consisting of several thematic zones. The park is listed in the 10 most visited places around the world. And this is not surprising, because in a year 12 million people manage to visit it. It consists of two theme parks Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, a place of entertainment - Disney Village and a huge golf course Golf Disneyland.
The history of the construction of Disneyland in Paris is very entertaining.
As soon as Disneyland Anaheim and Orlando gained steady success, ideas came up to create a European version of this amusement park. This was first thought of in 1975, nine years after the death of Walt Disney. At first, Britain, Spain, Italy and France were nominated as candidates for construction, but then Britain and Italy were removed from the list due to the impossibility of providing such a large piece of land.
Initially, it was decided to build Disneyland in Spain, in the Alicante area. The climate in these places is the same as in Florida, however, it had one significant drawback - the cold Mistral wind blowing from the north-west. Therefore, after much deliberation, nevertheless, a tiny provincial town in France Marne-la-Valais was chosen. The main advantages of which: near Paris; Central location in Western Europe.
The success of the new project was directly dependent on attendance. And this section was convenient in that 17 million people could arrive in less than 2 hours by car, and 300 million people in the same two hours could fly from a friend of countries and cities.
The first agreement with the socialist government of France was signed by Michael Eisner in December 1985, and already in the spring of 1986 the first contracts were concluded. Robert Fitzpatrick, the main organizer of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, was elected President of Euro Disney. After taking into account all the formalities on the territory of 2000 hectares in August 1988, they began construction.
In December 1990, the Euro Disney Information Center opened, where all curious people could learn about the progress of construction. On September 1, 1991, the Center for the Selection of Performers began work, and then they began to select actors who would subsequently start working on attractions.
The test opening of the park took place at the end of March 1992. The guests of this event were the main sponsors of the project and members of their families. Officially, the park was opened on April 12, 1992. It was planned that on this day the park will be visited by half a million visitors, but the figure barely raised to 50,000 people. It is assumed that this was caused by the discontent of local residents who were not satisfied with the fact that such a global amusement park was opened in their area. Of course, this beginning is extremely upset the organizers of Euro Disney.
Disney Euro Concerns
First, a theme park, a hotel complex and a golf course were built. For this first stage, more money was spent than planned, namely 22 billion French francs. And attendance over the next months did not change. That led to the fact that the stock price of Euro Disney began to fall and as a result lost almost a third of their original value.
By August 1992, all forecasts regarding attendance fell from 11 million to 9 million. And when the recession of the end of 1992 began, the value of real estate began to fall, in addition, the company had huge loans that had to be paid. This led to serious financial difficulties. Everything was only getting worse due to the fact that the cheap dollar had the advantage not to spend money in the euro zone and go on vacation to American amusement parks. A large number of built hotels also became out of work. The company had to close hotels during the winter time period.
In the summer of 1993, the Indiana Jones attraction appeared, in which there were ski jumps and slides. Just a couple of weeks after the opening, the safety safety brake worked, which caused injuries to the skaters. Naturally, he closed the hill to understand the causes of the incident.
By the beginning of 1994, the company had very serious financial difficulties, which attracted a huge number of negative rumors about the disastrous condition of Euro Disney, which was close to bankruptcy. The founders had to arrange a series of negotiations with banks and creditors.
So in March 1994, the Disney company put banks before a serious choice, more like an ultimatum: providing the necessary funding for the normal functioning of the park, provided that banks restructure the huge receivables generated during the construction and operation of the park. Otherwise, the Walt Disney company will end its existence, leave the European market, and what is most unpleasant, will leave a bankrupt amusement park with a lot of unnecessary real estate.
On March 15, a regular meeting of company shareholders was convened. Faced with the problem that Disneyworld will announce to its shareholder the near completion of its work, banks began to search for ways to refinance and restructure the gigantic debt. Therefore, already at this meeting, the banks surrendered and accepted an agreement on fulfilling all Disney conditions, in fact refusing to pay interest for the next few years and giving the company a three-year delay in repaying the loan. But Euro Disney did not remain in debt - $ 210 million for unsettled service accounts and $ 540 million for 49% of the price of the park, in addition, the company restructured its agreement on a loan of $ 210 million.
And finally, by August 1994, all Euro Disney hotels were filled with guests. And in October of the same year, it was renamed Disneyland Paris. This was done in order to forget about the poor reputation of the park with the original name and gain the same good reputation as the city on the Seine has.
So by the end of 1994 there was a positive trend to improve the situation. Only 200 million losses were recorded, compared with 650 million in 1993. Although attendance, nevertheless, fell by 10% due to troubles with financial insolvency.
By March 1995, the founders of Disneyland suggested that the park will be able to achieve operation without loss by the end of the same year. So began to open new attractions, such as Space Hill. And in August 1995, the amusement park finally earned £ 22 million in profit. And by November 1995, Disney World announced continuous profitable activities for the past year.
Disneyland Paris includes five entertainment areas:
Main Street
Main Street begins right at the entrance to Disneyland. It contains the bulk of shops and restaurants. Like in other parks
Disney, this street goes straight to the Sleeping Beauty Castle. From there, guests can go to other areas of the park. Main street is stylized as an American town of the late XIX - early XX centuries. Architectural features indicate that the style was written off from the city of Marceline, near which Walt Disney lived from 1906 to 1910. The main attractions are considered to be the railway (Disneyland Railroad - Main Street Station): in a cozy train you can drive around the entire park, Main Street Vehicles (antique cars of the early XX century carry guests). It is on this street that the daily Disney parades (Disney Parade and FANTILLUSION (night light parade), as well as Wishes (the shortest version of the most expensive and famous fireworks in the world, above Sleeping Beauty Castle) are held. In addition to all of the above, horse-drawn carriages go along the main street ( Horse-Drawn Streetcars).
Country of Discovery (Discoveryland)
In the middle of Discoveryland there are roller coasters (Space Mountain). After updating in 2005, when they had served for ten years, the attraction became known as Space Mountain: Mission 2. Visitors can take an exciting journey to the moon directly from the cannon, flying along dizzying slides and dead loops. Other attractions in this area: Journey by Car of Time to the Beginning of the Century (Le Visionarium), Flight to the Stars (Star Tours), Travel by Rocket in Orbit (Orbitron - Machines Volantes), Underwater World of Nautilus, (Les Mysteres du Nautilus), Karting track (Autopia).
Fantasyland
This area of \u200b\u200bthe park was created specifically for the smallest. All the rides are a stylization of well-known fairy tales with adapted plots. The most visited attractions: Flight on a flying ship over London with Peter Pan (Peter Pan "s Flight), Lancelot Carousel (Le Carrousel de Lancelot), Alice's Maze in Wonderland (Alice" s Curious Labyrinth), Trip on the flying elephant Dumbo ( Dumbo the Flying Elephant), Small World (it "sa small world) with dancing and singing dolls from all over the world, Cruise on a small boat (Le Pays des Contes de Fees).
World of Adventure (Adventureland)
The main attractions of the Adventure World: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Adventures of Indiana Jones ™ and the Temple of Peril, Robinson Crusoe's House in Tree Branches (La Cabane des Robinson), the mysterious caves of the adventure island ( Adventure Isle).
The Age of Colonization (Frontierland)
Frontierland is filled with the spirit of the colonization of the Wild West. Here visitors can take a trip on a small train along the Big Thunder Mountain, embark on old steamboats in the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing, sail far into the lake on the River Rogue Keelboats Indian canoe. And the main noteworthy feature of this area is the creepy ghost house (Phantom Manor), and on the playground of Pocahontas Indian Village, even adults will want to play Indians.
Walt Disney Film Studio Park
The Walt Disney Film Studio Park was conceived in 1996. And because of troubles with finances, these plans had to be postponed. So this zone remained at the initial stage of operation. But even after the park complex became profitable, the film studio zone was already put into operation on a significantly smaller scale. So in 2002, Walt Disney Studios Park was opened. Many of the activities are completely similar to Disney carousels in California, Florida, and Tokyo, but you can also find special ones. It is here that Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster's most visited roller coaster ride is built. Walt Disney Film Studio Park is divided into 4 parts: Film Set (Production Courtyard), Hollywood Boulevard (Front Lot), Animation World (Animation Courtyard), Behind the Scenes (Backlot).
Disneyland Paris has a great connection with two international airports in Paris. From Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Terminal 2) to Disneyland can be reached in 10 minutes by TGV high-speed trains (TGV - French network of high-speed electric trains).
You will have to make three transfers from Orly International Airport, because it is mainly designed for transportation within France. First you need to take the Paris metro line Orlyval to get to Antony station. Then, take the RER B line from Antony to the Chatelet-Les Halles to the regional express train, and finally, the RER A4 express train from Chatelet-Les Halles to Marne-la-Vallee Chessy.
You can still get there by using the direct route on the VEA bus from Orly Airport to Disneyland Paris.
Interesting facts about Disneyland in Paris:
Despite the sad performance of the past, Disneyland Paris has become one of the most visited places in Europe - 11 million visitors a year. According to 2009 data, 48% of Disneyland Paris guests were French citizens, 14% were UK, 14% were Benelux countries (Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg), 8% were Spain, 4% were Italy, 3% Germany, and 9% from other countries.
In total, the park has 53 Attractions in the territory of two theme parks. The park complex is a 35-minute drive east of Paris. It provides 56, 000 jobs. The huge hotel complex provides 5, 800 rooms, which are scattered across 7 hotels.
Disney Village, which occupies 30, 000 square meters, has become the second largest amusement park in France. It is fraught with many amazing entertainments: PanoraMagique (the world's largest balloon filled with helium), a multiplex cinema with the largest screen, Disney boutiques, bars and restaurants.
Each year, Disneyland Paris hosts 1,000 business events. Despite all the difficulties, since its opening in 1992, Disneyland Paris has helped to grow the local economy and improve the quality of transport infrastructure.
Thanks to 60 grant institutions, seriously ill children and their families can visit the park and live in Disneyland hotels. Kids are given VIP access to all the theme park attractions. Over the past 15 years, more than 8,000 children from all over Europe visited Disneyland in Paris for free.
Disneyland - the magical world of a fairy tale, where every child dreams of visiting. Yes there is a child, and most adults. We decided to tell you about the most interesting facts related to the park, which you hardly knew about.
There are five Disneylands in total: in California, Florida, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong. All these parks are united by a common theme and decorated with the main logo - Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is everywhere: in the bars of the fences, on the sidewalks and even small images on the walls.
Disneyland employees have very strict rules: there are no gloomy workers, even the cleaners of the territory should be joyful and happy. And beards are forbidden, except for actors who play characters with a beard. In this case, they must care for their beard. Untidy haircuts, long hair for men or bald shaven heads are also prohibited.
Actors should not leave the image: they are always smiling and ready for dialogue. True, conversations are always limited only to Disney tales, for them there is no other world: neither Harry Potter, nor Narnia. However, like the outside world: actors are forbidden to talk about politics, wars and events taking place in the country and beyond.
Actors are forbidden to drink in public, talk on the phone and even stop smiling. Everything is so strict that not everyone can withstand such a load, and the first Disneyland employees even nicknamed the Mausventum.
Each character has his own autograph. For this, the actors go through a special school to learn how to write the same way. So no matter how many Snow White there are, they all have the same signatures, it was made in 1987 or in 2017.
In the park, all workers are required to maintain cleanliness. Therefore, you can often see Mickey Mouse, who, in a playful jump, picks up a wrapper and throws it into an urn.
By the way, in the urn park almost every thirty steps, however, there are still those who do not bring garbage to them.
Sometimes visitors bring urns to ashes of relatives to Disneyland, as they asked to disperse them over the park. The park administration is actively fighting such incidents: it closes the rides, cleans them, writes bans, but still it does not decrease the number of people who wish to. The Haunted House attraction is especially popular for this.
In Disneyland, cats guard the area. There are about two hundred of them, but usually they go hunting at night. So the park fights with rodents.
On the Cup ride, the purple cup spins faster than anyone.
The Spray Mountain attraction is known for the fact that at the moment when the platform with visitors freezes before launching into the water, everyone is automatically photographed. Visitors at this moment raise their clothes, exposing their breasts. At one time, many similar photos leaked to the Internet, so the administration began to strictly monitor this. And if a person came and confessed to this compromising frame, then he will be allowed to ride on a hill again out of turn.
Attraction "Pirates of the Caribbean" is known for the use of real human bones in its scenery.
In the park, the air is specially flavored with vanilla, mint, citrus. There is even a special Christmas smell).
There are sockets on the wall of Sleeping Beauty Castle so that visitors can charge their phones.
Disneyland is full of secret places hidden from visitors, including underground: these are secret paths for employees, and a secret club where only selected visitors gather, and, of course, administrative buildings hidden from guests.
When the park was opened, a ticket to it cost $ 1. Now the ticket price is 99 dollars.
Since the opening of the park, more than 84 million Mickey Mouse ears have been sold, this is the most popular souvenir from Disneyland.
Disneyland has a secret Walt Disney apartment. There, a light still burns in the window today, symbolizing the presence of Walt.
In 1995, a time capsule was buried in front of the Castle of Sleeping Beauty. It will be opened in 50 years, in 2045 and a new one will be buried.
At the time of Disneyland's opening, 18 attractions were installed. 14 of them work today.
Mickey Mouse has 290 costumes. Minnie has 200 different outfits.
Throughout the park there are colored paths. But this is not just a decoration: light is reflected from them, so the photos are brighter.
At the entrance to Disneyland, you can buy one of the bricks that line the park's road. Therefore, for $ 150 you can become the owner of a small piece of the fairy world.
Disneyland has a No Sad Kids rule. This means that any crying child can make a small gift or, for example, replace the fallen ice cream with a new one.
Yesterday, July 28, 2017, Disneyland co-founder Marty Sklar died in his house on the Hollywood hills at the age of 83. He was well acquainted with the legendary Walt Disney, for a long time collaborated with him in the development and expansion of the amusement park network and personally attended the opening of each of them, including the latter, in Shanghai, built only last year. Marty Sklar retired eight years ago, and his name was immortalized on the window of the administration building of the very first Disneyland. He was called the "Disney legend."
In honor of the memory of the deceased creator of Disneyland, we suggest recalling only interesting facts about the largest and most famous amusement park in the world:
1. The first Disneyland in Anaheim was built very quickly - exactly one year passed from the moment the foundation was laid until the opening, or 365 days more precisely. Moreover, the total investment of Walt Disney at that time (1955) amounted to $ 17 million, which even by today's standards ($ 140 million) looks like a rather modest amount.
2. The progress of the construction was personally controlled by Walt Disney himself, watching the process from the window of the top floor of the fire station on the US Highway, settling in one of the rooms. It is said that after Disneyland opened, he continued to stay for the night in that favorite room, notifying visitors and employees about his presence with a lit light in the window.
3.Disneyland didn’t have an automatically assigned address, so Walt Disney himself could figure out what kind of soul he wanted. As a result, Disneyland is located at 1313 Harbor Boulevard. The creator of the world's largest amusement park did not even think about that a damn dozen could bring misfortune. The fact is that the address is encoded with the name of the favorite Disney cartoon hero - Mickey Mouse (M is the thirteenth letter in the alphabet).
4. The day of the discovery of Anaheim Disneyland turned out to be hot in every sense of the word. Firstly, the air temperature reached 37 degrees Celsius, and secondly, this solemn event coincided with a strike by plumbers, so Disney had to rack his brains over how to manage scarce water supplies in order to quench the thirst of visitors and provide drain tanks with contents.
5. Already a month after the opening, a million people visited Disneyland. This amusement park in California instantly became a sensation. Before the millennium, about six hundred million guests visited Disneyland, including seven US presidents and almost all world celebrities.
6. There are 34 restaurants on Disneyland so that visitors can quench their hunger, thirst and replenish their strength after hours of fun with children.
7. In Disneyland you can’t buy chewing gum anywhere, no types of it are simply sold there. The prohibition was initiated by Walt Disney himself, who was always an adherent of cleanliness and did not want guests to stick to chairs.
8.Today, the park has more than 20 thousand employees in more than 500 professions. All of them - from electricians to animators - are called
"Members of the troupe" of Disneyland.
9. It is interesting that for a long time, actor Steve Martin, known for the films “Otpetye scammers” and “Pink Panther”, was a member of the Disneyland troupe. He worked for the benefit of the park for eight years - from ten to eighteen. He went to work every day after school and during the summer holidays. First, he stood at the entrance and offered visitors guides, then he began to offer souvenir lassos on the Western Land attraction. Here, for the first time, Martin was able to truly reveal his acting talent, when after a while he was promoted to the seller of sets for young magicians, which had to be clearly demonstrated to customers.
10. One of the features of Anaheim Disneyland is its walking orchestra. Initially, according to the idea, he was supposed to exist after opening a couple of weeks, but stayed here forever. According to rough estimates, starting in 1955, musicians walked about thirty-five thousand miles, having won more than ninety thousand performances.
11. Plants in Tomorrowland and their fruits are edible. The fabulous landscapes of the thematic islands are considered a kind of farm here, where humanity can produce the necessary resources.
12. Despite the fact that it is illegal, every year several thousand people try to dispel the ashes of the deceased in the rides.
13. Right behind the Haunted Mansion is a pet cemetery. Among the rest of the graves there is even the tombstone of Mr. Toad.
14. At the time of Disneyland's opening in Anaheim, there were only 18 attractions. By the way, 14 of them are still functioning.
15. The urns in the amusement park are located at a distance of no more than thirty steps from each other. Remember, Walt Disney is a confident champion of cleanliness. Before opening his own park, he went to other similar establishments and watched how long people carry garbage with them before throwing it directly onto the ground. It turned out that the average distance is exactly thirty steps.