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they plan what they want to put around the theme park

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they plan what they want to put around the theme park

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they plan what floats they are going to use and make

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they plan what floats they are going to use and make

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they plan where to to parades and where they are going to go and stop in them

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they plan where to to parades and where they are going to go and stop in them

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in Halloween guests get candy trails to go trick or treating on. Also since Disney goes all out guests get a great Halloween experience.  

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in Halloween guests get candy trails to go trick or treating on. Also since Disney goes all out guests get a great Halloween experience.  

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they plan where to put the candy stations

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they plan where to put the candy stations

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they plan out what they have to do for Halloween

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they plan out what they have to do for Halloween

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they have to find people that want to dress up as different people from movies

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they have to find people that want to dress up as different people from movies

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they will have to plan out everybody´s costume

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they will have to plan out everybody´s costume

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they will make different merchandise they also make specail bags to put candy in if someone has allergies or something like that. also they have different parts of the park where you can get candy

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what makes halloween so good at disney is they make it not so scary so kids can enjoy

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they scare the pants of off off and you probably punch them

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they scare the pants of off off and you probably punch them

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they make diffrent sugary foods on halloween.

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In disney's not so scary halloween every goes not for the fright but for the talent and funnest adenture ever they will make there rides halloween based and the restaruants to

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they plan out what people they are going to need to do certain jobs

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they plan out what people they are going to need to do certain jobs

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They HAVE to clean the rooms more importantly during Corona Virus

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Like in the "Field trip" song people shouldn't play pranks/tricks that can result in an accident or someone getting hurt so everyone can have the best experience possible, also for safety reasons

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I feel like in a theme park you could make like gift bags for a welcome to a on-site resort or the theme park

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Trained and good chef's so people will go to the restaurant and they will make money to invest into more restaurants

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For customer service and guest experience they could have ID cards with there group of people and phone umber for ages 3-10 or 3-9

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For kids that go on feild trips we can have tags that say the kids names and parent phone number and the school info so that the kid can not get lost 

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For kids that go on feild trips we can have tags that say the kids names and parent phone number and the school info so that the kid can not get lost 

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They have a performance stage for a lot of different places with the theme

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some imagineers there make art to put up in resorts the parks and merchendice

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some imagineers there make art to put up in resorts the parks and merchendice

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they planned to have trash cans everywhere

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they planned to have trash cans everywhere

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they planned out a way to get rid of the trash

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they planned out a way to get rid of the trash

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Imagineers in pursuit of an emotional experience that forges a deeper level of connection to a beloved story.

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Imagineers in pursuit of an emotional experience that forges a deeper level of connection to a beloved story.

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And with my idea at the top,

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they have to plan what to do if a animatrionic breaks

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they have to plan what to do if a animatrionic breaks

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The ultimate goal of any Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is to immerse guests in a world they’ve never experienced before. So, beyond technological innovation, emotion is king. Every element — from sound and music to the ride system, and from visual effects to the smell of a cannon blast.

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The ultimate goal of any Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is to immerse guests in a world they’ve never experienced before. So, beyond technological innovation, emotion is king. Every element — from sound and music to the ride system, and from visual effects to the smell of a cannon blast.

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they have to plan out what they are going to do for the rides

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they have to plan out what they are going to do for the rides

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There could be a Rapunzel's cookies and cake shop

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There could be a Rapunzel's cookies and cake shop

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and there could be pascal cupcakes, and Rapun

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There is a lot of planning required to see the best of Disney World.

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There is a lot of planning required to see the best of Disney World.

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Imagineers control guest viewpoints and effectively extend already large set pieces infinitely into the distance.

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Imagineers control guest viewpoints and effectively extend already large set pieces infinitely into the distance.

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Innovative ride vehicles conceal systems that control position, orientation and speed to give guests not just the feeling of plunging down a waterfall, but also that of being raised from the bottom of the ocean and tossed around in the wake of massive ships.

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Innovative ride vehicles conceal systems that control position, orientation and speed to give guests not just the feeling of plunging down a waterfall, but also that of being raised from the bottom of the ocean and tossed around in the wake of massive ships.

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Not only you get great discounts and but you don't have to worry about all the planning including the restaurant reservations, resort bookings .

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Not only you get great discounts and but you don't have to worry about all the planning including the restaurant reservations, resort bookings .

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we made a French restaurant  to go with Ratatouille

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Imagineers applied the core DNA of Pirates of the Caribbean to an experience that focuses the action directly on our guests.

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Imagineers applied the core DNA of Pirates of the Caribbean to an experience that focuses the action directly on our guests.

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Disney's Magic Kingdom alone record more than 18,588,000 visitors annually. Heavy footfalls are recorded in summer months and holiday times like Christmas and Thanksgiving. So if you want to avoid long queues, it is better to plan a trip in off seasons with a plan they have called a fast pass

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Disney's Magic Kingdom alone record more than 18,588,000 visitors annually. Heavy footfalls are recorded in summer months and holiday times like Christmas and Thanksgiving. So if you want to avoid long queues, it is better to plan a trip in off seasons with a plan they have called a fast pass

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This is a site about the imagineers

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Pioneering Entertainment
"We dare ourselves to think beyond what's possible. To defy imagination. And to do things that have never been done. That fearless creativity is in our DNA, and directs the incredible, immersive experiences we create around the world."
- Bob Weis, President of Walt Disney Imagineering

Founded by Walt Disney in 1952, Walt Disney Imagineering is the creative force behind the memorable Disney experiences that connect and inspire across generations and borders. And we are proud our experiences continue to set the bar in an industry Walt's "Imagineers" pioneered.

Walt Disney Imagineering embodies a world-class design firm, premier development company, extraordinary storytelling studio, and cutting-edge innovation lab - all rolled into one. Home to an overwhelming breadth of expert talent from around the globe, Imagineers partner closely with colleagues from across The Walt Disney Company to bring the most awe-inspiring new worlds and cherished characters to life.

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MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE. Where imagination and engineering combine to bring Disney stories, characters and worlds to life. Founded by Walt Disney in 1952, Walt Disney Imagineering is the creative force behind the memorable Disney experiences that connect and inspire across generations and borders.

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Imagineers bring some core ideas to Shanghai Disneyland in a way that would be authentic and brand new

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Imagineers bring some core ideas to Shanghai Disneyland in a way that would be authentic and brand new

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It is not possible to cover the entire amusement park in a single visit so they have a plan to give you a map

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It is not possible to cover the entire amusement park in a single visit so they have a plan to give you a map

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Disney comes to life for families and fans every day around the world.

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Disney comes to life for families and fans every day around the world.

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If you leave unhappy then they have a plan to make you enjoy it

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If you leave unhappy then they have a plan to make you enjoy it

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they dont just use animatronics for the parks

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they dont just use animatronics for the parks

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they also use them in movies

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They always go above and beyond with anything

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peoples fav thing in chef mickeys is when micky,minnie ,donald,pluto and goofy come by to give you a hug

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peoples fav thing in chef mickeys is when micky,minnie ,donald,pluto and goofy come by to give you a hug

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The restaurants all are designed well with help

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they have to make sure that they sanitize and make sure that the food is safe for people who want to eat there

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they have to make sure that they sanitize and make sure that the food is safe for people who want to eat there

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the crystal palace flying fish the boat houseSatu'li Canteen

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the crystal palace flying fish the boat houseSatu'li Canteen

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The food has to be good to open a public restaurant at Walt Disney World

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they have the best food to make sure that they like the food and want to come back

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they have the best food to make sure that they like the food and want to come back

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They design the interior and exterior to go along with the theme

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They can sometimes produce a show depending on what restaurant you are at

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They make food that goes along with that theme

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Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop

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Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop

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there is 7 parks at disney world including:
kingdom
epcot
disney hollywood studios
animal kingdom
plus disneys:
blizzard beach
typhoon lagoon

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they always keep the height under 200 ft for safety

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30 of the key steps that were taken during the design and construction process

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30 of the key steps that were taken during the design and construction process

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The creation of the Walt Disney World Resort remains one of the most impressive features of engineering, construction and artistry ever attempted. Whether or not you are a fan of Disney's brand of entertainment, you can't help but be impressed by the sheer scale of what the company pulled off - managing to transform 25,000 barren acres of Florida swampland into the world's most popular theme park resort. It was Walt Disney who hoped to establish a mega-resort in Central Florida, but it was his successors at the company that actually managed to pull it off. They may not have followed through on Walt's dream to build an experimental, futuristic city - but what did they succeed in accomplishing is arguably just as impressive. It's impossible to cover the entire creation of Walt Disney World in a single article. Indeed, there are whole books decidated to the subject that barely scratch the surface. But, still, we can get an impression of the scale of the task by looking at 30 of the key steps that were taken during the design and construction process (some of which, of course, took place concurrently).

1. Searching for a location

The success of Disneyland following its debut in 1955 inevitably led to calls for Disney to open a second theme park elsewhere. Hundreds of suitors approached the company with proposals to construct a Disneyland in their region, with Walt once saying: "We had them from all over. Even from all over the world. They wanted us to do one in Egypt. They wanted us to do one in Japan. They wanted us to do one in Brazil - at the capital there." These proposals received short shrift from Walt, who hated to repeat himself and was completely uninterested in cloning Disneyland elsewhere. Eventually, after the success of the attractions that Disney designed for the New York World's Fair in 1964/65, Walt was convinced that a second park could work on the East Coast (although he hoped to build much more than just a theme park). He entered (and exited) talks about various potential locations, including New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Following a flight from New Orleans to Burbank, California on November 22, 1963, Walt Disney declared: "Well, that's the place - Florida." On the same day, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Several further visits to the state followed as Walt hunted for the perfect site, eventually settling on a huge plot near Orlando.

2. Buying the land

If Disney simply steamed in announced plans to buy tens of thousands of acres in Central Florida, the price would have sky-rocketed. Instead, the company set up a number of front firms, using these to buy the land at much lower prices than would otherwise have been possible. Disney managed to acquire some 27,443 acres, eventually being outed as the firm behind the transcations by an Orlando Sentinel reporter. A press conference was held with Walt Disney, Roy Disney and Governor Hayden Burns on November 15, 1965 to confirm plans for a new theme park near Orlando.

3. The death of Walt Disney...

On December 15, 1966, Walt Disney passed away. His brother Roy Disney, who had been hoping to retire, decided to stay on and complete the construction of the Florida resort in his honor - renaming it from "Disney World" to "Walt Disney World".

4. ...and his EPCOT dream

In a video recorded less than two months before his death, Walt Disney described his plans for the Florida project. As well as a second Disneyland-style theme park, a key element was to be the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), a working city in which future technologies would be developed and tested. The film was shown to members of the Florida legislature at the Park East Theatre in Winter Haven on February 2, 1967. However, Roy parked plans for EPCOT indefinitely, choosing instead to focus on building the Magic Kingdom theme park and surrounding hotels first. He was able to secure legislation that granted Disney the right to effectively set up its own government, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, ensuring that construction could proceed largely unhindered by bureaucracy.

5. Draining the land

Walt Disney World is located on acre after acre of wet, boggy swampland. When construction began in April 1969, the Reedy Creek Improvement District's initial challenge was how to make this land suitable for a gigantic theme park resort without utterly destroying the local environment. As Central Florida essentially floats on fresh water, any drainage systems implemented at Walt Disney World could potentially have an impact elsewhere. To manage the issue, more than 50 miles of canals and levees were constructed. Watergates help to control levels by floating open when the water reaches certain levels, and closing again when they subside. The canals are designed to look like natural streams, curving through the landscape rather than flowing down a straight channel.

6. Creating the Seven Seas Lagoon

When Disney acquired the property, the only natural body of water was the dirty, ugly Bay Lake. Early on, it was decided to build a man-made lagoon next to it, creating an attractive place for water recreation right in front of the Magic Kingdom. More than seven million cubic yards of earth were dug up to create the lagoon. Bay Lake itself was not to be abandoned, however. It was drained using massive pumps, with the unsightly layer of mud at the bottom then being scooped out. Underneath it, Disney discovered pristine white sand, which was used to line four-and-a-half miles of beaches around the Seven Seas Lagoon, before the lagoon and Bay Lake were refilled with water and stocked with tens of thousands of fish.

7. Building the Utilidors

Walt Disney planned to locate many of the roads and utilities at EPCOT below ground, to avoid its residents having to deal with typical urban problems such as traffic and smog. After Walt died, Disney incorporated elements of EPCOT into the design of Walt Disney World - including the creation of the utilidors at the Magic Kingdom. The utilidors were among the first elements of the park to be constructed, and are actually located at ground level (placing them lower would have caused many issues, due to the water table in the Orlando region). They were covered over using the seven million cubic yards of earth that was excavated during the creation of the Seven Seas Lagoon. The underground tunnels cover an incredible 392,040 square feet.

8. Installing utilities

The Reedy Creek Improvement District was responsible for installing and maintaining many of the essential utilities required to run a resort on Walt Disney World's scale. This includes water, gas, power and trash-handling facilities. The district installed its own gas-fired power plant, which still supplies 25 percent of the resort's needs. A huge transmission system was installed, including hundreds of miles of underground cables. It also built an enormous wastewater tratment plant, which is so effective that the resulting water is actually safe to drink. Instead of serving it up to customers, Disney instead opted to use it to irrigate landscaped areas, such as lawns and flowerbeds.

9. Establishing the nursery and tree farm

Landscaping the resort would be a major challenge, given Florida's hot and humid climate. A few miles away from the wastewater treatment plant, Disney built a nursery and tree farm. It then began to import plant species from all over the world, testing which could and couldn't adapt. Some species required three years of acclimation to the Florida soil before being planted "on-stage".

10. Installing monitoring systems

The Reedy Creek Fire Department - which can be alerted in case of an emergency.Image: Wikimapia

Walt Disney World was designed to be on the cutting-edge of technology, just as Walt had envisioned. One element of this was the advanced computer system that was installed in the power plant to monitor the distribution of power across the resort, which was capable of diagnosing problems in the Magic Kingdom or hotels. A second monitoring system was designed to detect smoke, fire or floods, with thousands of monitoring points around the property and the ability to automatically alert response teams.

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The 30 Big Steps That Created the Walt Disney World Resort | Theme Park Tourist

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The creation of the Walt Disney World Resort remains one of the most impressive features of engineering, construction and artistry ever attempted. Whether or not you are a fan of Disney's brand of entertainment, you can't help but be impressed by the sheer scale of what the company pulled off - managing to transform 25,000 barren acres of Florida swampland into the world's most popular theme park resort.

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7. Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards:

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7. Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards:

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Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards: Once construction is complete, the attraction is opened for Guests (including Cast Member previews, Soft Openings, and finally a Grand Opening). In addition, once in operation, the attraction is periodically evaluated to ensure that it maintains a level of quality and that the original Creative Intent of the attraction is intact.

The goal of the Epilogue is to present your project to your audience, allow them to experience it, and evaluate its success and effectiveness over time.

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Models: At each main stage in the process, the Imagineers build models of various sizes and scales to help identify and solve potential design challenges.

The goal of creating models and prototypes is test and validate your design at each stage to help solve and/or prevent problems that may arise during the design and construction process.

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Construction: The last major stage of the process involves the actual physical construction of the project, including land development and fabrication.

The goal of the Construction stage is to build the actual project, based on the design developed in the previous stages.

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Design: The Design stage is where detailed design documents and specifications are created that will guide the physical construction of the project. These can include architectural documents (blue prints, plans, elevations, etc.) but also more Imagineering-specific documents such as Show Information Guides (documents that outline the story behind the attraction).

The goal of the Design stage is develop the plans and documents that describe and explain how your vision will be brought to life.

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Concept Development: Once a concept born from the Blue Sky stage has been selected for development, it undergoes a period of concept development where the idea is more fully fleshed out and realized.

The goal of the Concept Development stage is to develop and flesh-out your vision with enough additional detail to explain what needs to be designed and built.

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Blue Sky: The initial stage of any Imagineering project is the Blue Sky stage, where initial ideas and concepts are created through a combination of brainstorming and concept design.

The goal of the Blue Sky stage is to create a vision with enough detail to be able to explain, present, and sell it to others.

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There are seven pieces or stages in the process. Five stages form the core of the process, while the other two serve as its Prologue and Epilogue.

Prologue: Needs, Requirements, and Constraints: Before the process actually begins, you must identify the project’s specific Needs, Requirements, and Constraints. These form the core parameters of your project.

The goal of the Prologue is to define your overall objective, including what you can do, can’t do, and must do when developing and building your project.

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The Magic of Engineering

Written by Lyndsey Lewis. Photos courtesy of The Walt Disney Company.
If you've vacationed at a Disney park over the past two decades, you've probably already seen Trevor Larsen's work.

Remember when your kids talked you into riding Space Mountain? Larsen developed parts for your car. That time you screamed your way through the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror? Larsen was one of its designers.

Now he's senior vice president for facilities and operations services at Walt Disney World Resort, meaning he influences engineering all over the Orlando property. His past work at Disney has led him to glamorous cities, like Paris and Hong Kong, in the name of one Mickey Mouse.

But it all began, as many careers do, on North Avenue.

Trevor Larsen - engineer, executive, Disney cast member - is a two-time College of Engineering alumnus. He earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, the only university he ever applied to.

"I was convinced that Georgia Tech was the very best engineering college for me," he says, "and that's where I wanted to study."

Since finishing his education, he's spent his entire career at Disney, where he climbed from "Imagineer," in company parlance, to the leadership role he holds now. Creations and designs from his earliest days at Disney are still in use today.

If you think Larsen is living an engineer's dream, well, you're exactly right.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Trevor Larsen honed his engineering skills at Central Shops, Disney World's main manufacturing and maintenance site.

To Space Mountain and Beyond

Tucked in a quiet corner of Walt Disney World, there's a warehouse whose bland exterior belies the treasures within. This is Central Shops, Disney World's main manufacturing and maintenance site. Explore its departments and you'll find everything from ride vehicle construction to figure painting and sculpting. It's a Disneyphile's dream, and it's where Larsen came up as an engineer in the early '90s.

In his current job, he has responsibility for this factory as well as others scattered across Disney World's property. But in his earliest days with the company, Larsen was working here himself as a ride engineer, providing ride support for the manufacturing and maintenance teams.

"As I walk through the shops, it's like a little trip down memory lane," Larsen says now.

In one section of the warehouse are a few pieces from Space Mountain. There's a carbon fiber tub, which serves as the bottom to one of the ride's cars, as well as a tow bar that Larsen himself designed during those first days at the company. Space Mountain has seen a lot of changes since then - including a cosmetic revamp in 2009 - but that tow bar is still in use on the attraction today.

Which doesn't mean Disney engineers rest on their laurels. Like all engineers, they seek ways to improve their work and boost efficiency. Larsen's resume also includes work on Spaceship Earth (the attraction housed in Epcot's famous silver sphere), where he helped design better wheels for the ride's vehicles.

"Walt Disney used engineering and technology as a core medium to his storytelling," Larsen says. "Even the name Imagineering embodies the essence of how engineering fits into Disney's culture."

The Space Mountain posting, though, was formative for Larsen's career. He was assigned to its cycle program, an important part of any Disney attraction but especially high-intensity ones. It works like this: After a car has been through a certain number of "cycles," its nuts and bolts are removed and replaced, and the vehicle undergoes testing to ensure it's safe and functioning properly.

This is no small feat. Larsen points out that in a decade of use, a regular automobile door may go through 25,000 "cycles," measured in openings and closings. A door on a Twilight Zone Tower of Terror car, meanwhile, will see more cycles than that in less than two weeks.

Stakes are high for Disney engineers, and in his earliest years, Larsen says, he was grateful to work with and learn from the more seasoned engineers around him. He was also glad for a job that melded both the theoretical and hands-on sides of engineering.

Larsen has spent his entire working life at Disney now, but his enthusiasm for Disney and engineering itself remains undimmed. He speaks of the company's namesake, Walt Disney himself, like an old friend, and frequently mentions Disney's philosophies to illustrate his own relationship to his work.

"Walt Disney used engineering and technology as a core medium to his storytelling," Larsen says. "Even the name Imagineering embodies the essence of how engineering fits into Disney's culture."

Left: Space Mountain, the space-themed indoor steel roller coaster in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Opened on May 27, 1977, it was the second of five versions of Space Mountain built by The Walt Disney Company. (Photo: Alton - Public Domain) Right: Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland is the fifth version of the ride, and was opened on September 12, 2005. (Photo: Matanya - Public Domain)

Engineering Roots

When his elementary school classmates fantasized about becoming police officers and firefighters, Trevor Larsen was already telling teachers he hoped to be an engineer.

His roots in the field run deep: His grandfather was a tool-and-die designer, his uncle is a millwright and machinist, and his father is a mechanical engineer.

"I grew up in a household where my curiosity and creativity were encouraged," he says.

Disney figured into his childhood, too. His first exposure to it was through a TV show, "The Wonderful World of Disney."

"What captivated me then, and what continues as one of our core elements today, was Walt Disney's ability to tell stories," Larsen says. His first time in one of Disney's parks was as a youngster celebrating his father's graduation with a mechanical engineering degree.

"Seeing things first hand, in the field, is very important in our business and to every engineer," Larsen says.

At Georgia Tech's College of Engineering, Larsen focused on work but found time for extracurricular activities. He was a member of the Barbell Club and a founding member of Georgia Tech's rowing club. When he began considering graduate school, the College of Engineering quickly became an enticing option.

Offering generous scholarships, Georgia Tech's mechanical engineering program allowed him to take upper-level classes that counted toward both Larsen's degrees.

"Having both a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech," he says, "made me extremely competitive when it came time to interview for fulltime positions."

His path to Disney wasn't particularly unusual or glamorous. The company attended a Georgia Tech career fair, and Larsen stopped by. He spoke with Disney's director of engineering, which led to a subsequent interview and then a job offer - a full quarter before Larsen's graduation.

"These types of early job offers are quite common at Georgia Tech," he says, "because companies realize how demanding the program is."

These days, his life looks very different from when he entered the workforce. Larsen has had a part in some of Disney's marquee attractions: He was a designer for Test Track Presented by Chevrolet at Epcot, and he served on the opening team for Disney's Animal Kingdom.

But some things have stayed the same. He believes in staying in touch with the "guest experience" and so he takes strolls through Disney parks and resorts to see things from a visitor's point of view.

"Seeing things first hand, in the field, is very important in our business and to every engineer," he says.

Larsen and an unidentified co-worker at Central Shops, Disney World's main manufacturing and maintenance site.

Nothing but Blue Skies

Every attraction at Disney begins with a story. The first step in developing a new ride is called the blue sky phase. At this stage, only the story is real, and it will create the foundation for everything that comes after.

Larsen stresses the value of "show" at Disney parks and the idea that an attraction is more than mechanics. It's a well-planned, meticulously detailed piece of entertainment - a show infused with magic.

At Central Shops, Larsen's old stomping grounds, the commitment to show is visible in every department. Scattered across the warehouse are bits and pieces of a new roller coaster. Bound for the Magic Kingdom, these pieces will eventually become part of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (which opened in May).

What Larsen talks up aren't the workings of the ride itself, but character details and artistic touches. For example, the ride's vehicles - its "mine trains" - were crafted to appear authentically wooden.

"Everything we design, build, operate, and maintain," Larsen says, "is done with a focus on excellence."

In another part of the warehouse, an artist is hand-painting the bottom half of a small, stout figure that will be one of the ride's namesake dwarfs. Larsen asks the artist which character he's working on.

It's Happy, of course.

Disney, Larsen says, is "a company you can really have a career with." Through the twists and turns of his own career there, he's found guidance in Disney principles.

At Test Track, the Epcot attraction Larsen helped design, riders are rocketed through a course at up to 65 miles an hour. It's one of the most popular rides at Epcot, and Larsen is proud of the rigorous safety checks it undergoes.

As Disney's former vice president for worldwide safety, he's an expert on them. The Test Track garage, its dedicated maintenance facility at Epcot, is open 24 hours a day. Larsen references the philosophies of Walt Disney again when he talks about it, explaining that while show was one of Disney's core values, his No. 1 priority was always safety.

"Everything we design, build, operate, and maintain," Larsen says, "is done with a focus on excellence."

This is one of the fundamental challenges of Disney: how to fuse the creative vision its reputation is built on with the needs of millions of visitors and a constant vigilance for safety.

It's a challenge best suited, of course, for an engineer.
This story originally appeared in the Summer/Fall 2014 issue of "Georgia Tech Engineers" magazine More Feature Stories

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Written by Lyndsey Lewis. Photos courtesy of The Walt Disney Company. If you've vacationed at a Disney park over the past two decades, you've probably already seen Trevor Larsen's work. Remember when your kids talked you into riding Space Mountain? Larsen developed parts for your car.

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Disney Engineering: Role Spotlight | Design & Engineering

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Disney Engineering: Role Spotlight | Design & Engineering

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"It's about providing an amazing experience for the guests." -Claire, Design & Engineering

Meet Danielle, Claire, and Alicia, engineers at Walt Disney World Resort!

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Disney Engineering: Role Spotlight | Design & Engineering

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Work with cutting-edge technology as a member of our team!  From electricians and attractions mechanics to HVAC technicians and Supply and Distribution Drivers, our Facilities and Operations Services cast members support the operation of our theme parks and resort hotels.

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Facilities and Operations Services | Disney Parks and Resorts

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Here's a look into all the different things that happen at night while there are no visitors in the park.

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Among the three minor attractions that just opened at Epcot is a short film that creates a Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along. It's only 14 minutes long and doesn't introduce any new characters.

But this twisted tale - LaFou is the hero of this version - is one of the first projects to be completed in a makeover that signals a new direction for Disney World's second oldest park.

The makeover itself is extensive - "the largest transformation of any park we have ever undertaken," says Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

And it's timely: Long the second-place Disney World park in terms of attendance, behind Magic Kingdom, it was overtaken by Animal Kingdom in 2018 with the opening of Pandora - The World of Avatar, and it could be bumped into last place by the 2019 opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios.

Many of the changes are to be completed by Oct. 1, 2021, the 50th anniversary of the opening of Disney World, but if not, there's always the 40th anniversary of Epcot - Oct. 1, 2022 - to shoot for.

While some major attractions are being added, the biggest change will be to the tenor of the park. Fictional characters and settings from Disney movies will play a much greater role at the new Epcot. That's a big switch in a park that historically has featured the cultures and customs of other countries in World Showcase and rides that emphasize discovery and adventure in Future World.

Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is undergoing a historic transformation with a number of new attractions and experiences. Epcot will be divided into four neighborhoods and the iconic globe Spaceship Earth will get an upgrade.

Put another way, Epcot has mostly been a venue for nonfiction and adventure, while Disney World's three other parks focus on fiction and intellectual properties like Star Wars, Donald Duck and Mary Poppins. Putting Beauty and the Beast in the France Pavilion is not the first step in that change, but it demonstrates the Walt Disney Co.'s enthusiasm about bringing fiction to Epcot in a big way.

New attractions will include both. Among intellectual properties are the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster and Ratatouille dark ride, which are already under construction; and a Mary Poppins attraction that Disney has not revealed details about.

On the education/discovery side are a walk-through trail, Journey of Water, inspired by the movie Moana; a pavilion that will be the new center of Epcot's popular festivals; and a play pavilion, which Disney describes as "an interactive city bursting with games, activities and experiences."

When Chapek announced the Ratatouille and Guardians of the Galaxy rides 2 ½ years ago, he said they were part of changes that would make Epcot "more timeless, more relevant, more family friendly, and more Disney." Disney executives have been using that line to describe the new Epcot ever since.

The newest application of that phrase is to Future World, which Disney announced last year will be reorganized into three lands themed as nature, discovery and celebration.

If you stood at the Future World entrance, facing in, World Nature would be on your right, featuring the natural world, including Soarin' Around the World, the Seas with Nemo & Friends and the future Journey of Water attraction.

To the left would be World Discovery, which will bring science, technology and intergalactic adventure to life. It will include Mission: Space, the new Space 220 restaurant, Test Track, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster and the play pavilion.

And in the center is World Celebration, "which will offer new experiences that connect guests to one another and the world around them." It includes Spaceship Earth, which will be significantly upgraded; a three-level pavilion that will be home base for Epcot's festivals; and a revamped entrance and plaza.

Completion dates for some of the projects haven't been announced, especially those tied to the reorganization of Future World. Here's what we know about the timeline for the makeover:

JANUARY

Three films debuted Jan. 17, which was also opening day of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts:

Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along in the France pavilion is a short, twisted version of the 1991 film and will lead guests through five songs from the movie's score. It will alternate with a second film in the France theater, Impressions de France. "Given the success of the Frozen Sing-Along at Hollywood Studios, we wanted to do something unique," Tom Fitzgerald of Walt Disney Imagineering told a group of journalists who got a sneak peek at the film last month. One of the biggest challenges, he said, was "How do you take this story that is so beloved" and pare it down to a short story? Don Hahn, producer of the 1991 film, also produced the 14-minute film, which combines new animation with old. The story still revolves around a beautiful girl and a hideous beast who fall in love and break a spell, with narration by Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury). The twist? In this version, LaFou brings together Belle and the Beast.

Awesome Planet, which is about Earth, replaces Circle of Life in the pavilion called the Land.

Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 is an updated version of the previous O Canada film with new scenes, a new musical score and new narration. It appears in the Canada pavilion.

FEBRUARY

The opening of Space 220, a space-themed restaurant next to Mission: Space, has been delayed and now is scheduled for an unspecified date in February. The restaurant, supposedly set on a space station 220 miles above Earth, will have panoramic views of space. It is accessed by an elevator with a view down its center that shows Epcot getting smaller as the elevator rises. It is billed as offering modern American cuisine.

In this artist concept rendering, guests travel in a space elevator 220 miles above Earth to dine at Space 220, the new restaurant opening this winter in Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista.

EARLY 2020

Spaceship Earth is to be refurbished and is to get new scenes, new narration and a new musical score that will involve temporarily closing the attraction. A news release says guests will follow a magical "story light" that brings the entire experience to life in dynamic ways, giving each scene energy and beauty that tie the entire journey together.

Disney has not said when it will close or for how long, but park watchers say it's likely to start the first quarter of this year and take two years or longer.

Liberty Inn in the American Adventure pavilion is being replaced by a barbecue restaurant, the Regal Eagle Smokehouse, inspired by Sam the Eagle, the Muppet known for his patriotism and strict sense of duty. An opening date has not been announced, only that it will be this winter.

MAY 2020

Epcot's long-running light and music show, "Illuminations," closed last fall and was replaced by a temporary new show, "Epcot Forever." That show is slated to end and a permanent new show, "HarmonioUS," will open in May at the World Showcase Lagoon. With technology 20 years newer than "Illuminations" had and closer to "Rivers of Light" in Animal Kingdom, "HarmonioUS" will feature large floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, kites with special effects, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers, according to Disney.

SUMMER 2020

The construction going on at the France pavilion will more than double its size, with the addition of the new ride, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and a new restaurant, La Creperie de Paris.

Guests will ride in bewhiskered mouse-shaped cars on a trackless course. Disney pixie dust will shrink riders to the size of a rat, and they'll see Gusteau's Restaurant from a rat's-eye point of view. As they skid along the floor in trackless vehicles, the same technology used for the escape in Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy's Edge, riders will see giant food - 7-ton hams and 25-foot fish hanging from the ceiling, giant apples and oranges and enormous containers of olive oil.

"We're trying to tell the story of Remy cooking for guests," said Mike Davie, an Imagineer. "It is one of the most immersive environments I can think of."

FUTURE OPENINGS

Disney hasn't announced debut dates for the other attractions underway at Epcot, but here's what's in the works.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: This roller coaster is promised by the 50th anniversary of Magic Kingdom in 2021. It will be the first of its kind and will feature cars that can turn up to 360 degrees to bring riders face to face with the action. It's a dark ride that runs through the former Universe of Energy pavilion as well as a new 12-story building that is well along. Disneyland in California has a completely different Guardians ride that took over that park's version of Tower of Terror. In Orlando, Tower of Terror is untouched.

Mary Poppins: Disney hasn't said what this new attraction will be, only that it will be on Cherry Tree Lane, which will be added to the United Kingdom pavilion. Guests will enter the attraction - we don't know if it will be a ride or something else - through the Banks family home at No. 17. Although the original Mary Poppins movie premiered 55 years ago, this will be the first Mary Poppins-inspired attraction at any Disney Park. There hasn't been a hint of an opening date, but since it involves construction of a new building or buildings, it's likely to take at least two years.

Epcot's United Kingdom pavilion will welcome the first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins. Guests will step in time down Cherry Tree Lane past Admiral Boom's house, then enter No. 17, home of the Banks family, where their adventure will begin.

Journey of Water: A new attraction to be built in the World Nature section is "inspired by Moana," a 2016 animated film set in the Polynesian islands. A Disney release described the attraction as a lush exploration trail where guests can play with water and learn about its importance. It appears that ground clearing for Journey has begun by the Seas pavilion.

Play pavilion: This celebration of play, as yet unnamed, will go in the former Wonders of Life pavilion in World Discovery. Among the activities will be opportunities to interact with characters. For example, guests will be able to help Edna Mode, the eccentric fashion designer from the superhero film The Incredibles, rid the world of uninspired design, or get in a water balloon fight with Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby.

Festival pavilion: With Epcot's festivals running more than 35 weeks a year, it might be time for them to have their own pavilion. This one will be near the new exit from Spaceship Earth and will have three levels, with a park on the top tier.

China film: The China pavilion is getting a new CircleVision 360 movie, to be named Wondrous China, replacing Reflections of China.

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Epcot's makeover: Here's the latest on new attractions

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Among the three minor attractions that just opened at Epcot is a short film that creates a Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along. It's only 14 minutes long and doesn't introduce any new characters.

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Historic Construction Projects

Disneyland and Walt Disney World

Constuction of Disneyland and Walt Disney World

Up until the 1940s, the American amusment park was limited to merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels and carnival games. All that changed when Walt Disney envisioned a new amusement park called a Theme Park. Disney's innovations re-entergized amusement parks in this county and creating an entirely new approach to the real estate development and commercial construction of theme parks and the areas surrounding those attractions.

Disneyland - A New Kind of Amusement Park

Later in life, Walt Disney told inquirers that he first had the idea for a new kind of amusement park when he took his young daughters out for the weekend and found that, "...existing kids' parks and fairs were often dirty, sleazy, money-grubbing places."

In spite of the fact he had never developed real estate or managed a large-scale construction project, Disney nourished his notions of a new kind of amusement park throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. His idea for displaying Disney characters in a fantasy setting was a bold departure from present-day amusement parks and carnivals that offered rides, games, and inexpensive food. Instead Disneyland was conceived as an extension of the Disney brand, and would be the first "theme park" built in the United States.

The people at Disney Studios, even his brother Roy, were less than enthusiastic about Walt's plan. Walt, confident of his own vision, sidestepped the studio and began to gather funds by borrowing on his life insurance and selling vacation property in southern California. He assembled a staff of designers, planners and artists and formed WED Enterprises - the letters were his initials - as a personal corporation to house them. The WED group began a long process of creative brainstorming. Its members conceptualized, designed and reworked Walt's broad ideas. They visited other amusement attractions around the country to gather data and impressions and flesh out development plans, and with the help of commercial contractors created a rough construction timetable.

By 1953 major large hurdles - obtaining financing and securing a location - still blocked the launching of the park's construction. In July of that year, Walt recognized his need to obtain guidance from commercial real estate development experts and solicited a pair of marketing studies from the Stanford Research Institute: one would examine the economic prospects of developing Disneyland, and the other would seek the ideal location for construction companies to build the park.

After determining the facility could be profitable, the Stanford group closely examined a host of factors - demographic statistics, urban growth trends, population concentrations, traffic patterns, freeway construction, availability of experienced commercial contractors, weather conditions - before recommending a site in Anaheim, a rapidly growing town just southeast of Los Angeles.

Disney had struggled to find additional financing; as he later recalled, he was told by bankers that "the outdoor amusement business was a cultural anachronism that had already declined into senility." A few months later, the financial breakthrough came with a long-term agreement with ABC which brought the television network in as a major investor. (ABC agreed to carry Disney television programming, marking Mickey Mouse's first network appearance and the start of a tremendously profitable partnership for both companies. ABC also agreed to help publicize Disneyland in return for an ownership stake in the property.)

Construction of Disneyland Begins

With financing in place and a location secured, the construction companies began in the summer of 1953. Commercial contractors and construction companies fell under the overall leadership of Joe Fowler, an engineer and retired navy admiral who became construction supervisor, and later park manager for ten years.

Disneyland was designed in a wheel-shaped configuration. The idea was to provide a fun entrance area with a long walkway where visitors would wander through, led by a grand visual attraction, to the park's center. From there, visitors could branch off to the rest of the park on paths that radiated outward like spokes on a wheel.

This became the design for Disneyland. Visitors entered the park through Mainstreet U.S.A. and made their way to the center hub of the wheel, where they found the park's majestic centerpiece, Sleeping Beauty's Castle and Fantasyland. Winding "spokes" led from the castle through the rest of the park, guiding visitors to other different themed "lands", including Adventureland, Frontierland and Tomorrowland. This wheel design layout with an iconic centerpiece has become the standard approach for designing theme parks and has been adopted by the majority of theme parks constructed since that time.

Construction for Disneyland began on July 21, 1954, just 12 months before the park was scheduled to open. Construction companies worked frantically to meet the tight schedule and completed the project on time. Disneyland was formally opened a year later, on July 18, 1955, to glowing reviews. Unlike other amusement parks of the day, Disneyland was developed and constructed to be instantly recognizable as an extension of the Disney brand and the Disney philosophy. The rides used an array of Disney motifs, costumed Disney characters roamed the park, and Sleeping Beauty Castle, the looming attraction at the heart of the park, was instantly recognizable to millions of people since it was seen every Sunday night on ABC television. Disneyland became, in a sense, the capstone of Walt Disney's career.

The capstone of his career also quickly became the cornerstone of an empire. In its first six months, one million people visited the Disneyland; in its first full year, three million people passed through its gates. The park quickly generated capital to finance a vast expansion, and in subsequent years, each time the park expanded its capacity, revenues increased more than proportionately to the added capital. In spite of his lack of real estate development experience, Disney had created park plans that allowed for expansion and resulting construction that would not interfere with ongoing park operations.

Lessons Learned and Incorporated into the Planning and Construction of Disney World

One thing that Walt Disney learned from the development of Disneyland was the need for space - lots of it. He saw that his parks would become a destination for vacationers, and he wanted the control over the surrounding area for restaurants and hotels that would further the Disney brand. Unfortunately, Disney did not own the the land around Disneyland, and his park soon became surrounded by low-end motels and other business that detracted from the fantasy-like image he wanted to present. Disney also had more visions for his theme park to appeal to visitors of all ages and to incorporate a wider variety of subjects than just his cartoon characters. He quickly recognized that the 160 acres for Disneyland would not be nearly enough to meet his vision.

In 1963, Disney set out to find a site for a new Disney theme park that would give him the room he needed to create multiple theme parks, hotels, restaurants and more. His team (called Imagineers) scoured the country to find the right place to host a theme park on a much grander scale than Disneyland. His Imagineers chose the undeveloped lands around Orlando as the location for his new park.

Disney knew the importance of getting as much land as possible and was well aware of how prices would escalate if people found out what he was doing. He formed fictitious corporations with names like Tomahawk Properties, Latin American Development and Retlaw Enterprises (Retlaw is Walter spelled backwards) to acquire the land discreetly. By the time Disney announced the project on November 15, 1965, the company had acquired 27,443 acres (43 square miles) for $5 million. (This has expanded over the years to more than 30,000 acres, or almost 47 square miles). As Disney predicted, within days of this announcement land values for property surrounding the Disney site sky-rocketed from $180 per acre to as much as $80,000 per acre.

Construction Companies Break Ground on a New Kingdom

Tragically, Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966, before construction companies could begin building his Disney World. Roy Disney stepped into Walt's place and led the construction of the first theme park in Disney World, the Magic Kingdom, as well as on two hotels and a campground. Construction began in April, 1969.

Given that central Florida is primarily a wetlands region, construction companies faced a variety of challenges with relocating water while not affecting the local environment. Construction crews built more than 50 miles of levees and canals around the property to maintain levels and quality of the local fresh water while draining areas where construction would take place. This control system, which functions automatically based on water levels and without electricity, helps to minimize flooding without removing water from the area. Even bodies of water that would remain on the site needed to be cleaned and made safer for recreational use. Bay Lake was drained of its water and cleaned of muck. Construction workers removed more than seven million cubic yards of dirt from an adjacent area to create a man-made lagoon, named Seven Seas Lagoon. Sand from beneath the removed muck was used to create beaches around the lagoon. Once Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon had been filled with water, the surrounding areas served as the setting for one of the hotels, the Polynesian Village Resort.

The dirt removed for the creation of the lagoon became the earthen foundation for the Magic Kingdom theme park. Visitors to the Magic Kingdom rarely realize that they are actually on the second floor of the park. The construction company in charge of this phase of the project created a nine-acre ground-level floor which is comprised of corridors and massive rooms. These corridors are called "utilidors" as they provide housing and access to the park's utility systems and the incredible network center that controls virtually every automated aspect of the park, right down to the gift shops' cash registers. The visible part of the Magic Kingdom is built on top of that ground floor, hiding it from view. Cinderella's Castle at the center of the Magic Kingdom is further elevated by several more feet to make it visible from miles around.

The Magic Kingdom was designed in the same wheel-shaped configuration first employed at Disneyland; at the center hub of the wheel stood Cinderella's Castle. Winding "spokes" meandered from the castle through the rest of the park, leading visitors to six different themed "lands", including: Main Street, USA; Adventureland; Frontierland; Liberty Square; Fantasyland; and Tomorrowland.

Cinderella's Castle is a masterpiece of design and construction. Standing 189 feet tall, the Castle is made of fiberglass veneer crafted around a 600-ton steel framework. It features ten spires; portions of the castle are finished to look like solid granite and other parts look like brick. The facade bricks nearer the top of the Castle are actually smaller than the ones closer to the ground. This technique of designing higher features to be disproportionately small makes the Castle look taller than it actually is; several buildings throughout the Magic Kingdom were constructed with smaller windows, balconies and doors on their second and third floors to employ this same design technique. Many believe the Castle was designed to be disassembled in the event of a hurricane. While this is not the case, Cinderella's Castle was built to withstand hurricane force winds. One of the Castle's towers includes an unfinished apartment. This apartment was to be used by Walt Disney and his family when they visited the park. Because Disney died before the building was constructed, the room was never used for this purpose. It has been left largely unused, although for some time it served as home for a Disney call center.

By the time the Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, more than 9,000 construction workers had labored for 18 months to build the park, which cost approximately $400 million to create.

Building the City of the Future

In 1975, Disney's Imagineers entered a new phase of Disney World's development with the planning of two new concepts that Walt Disney had envisioned more than a decade before. The first was a World Showcase, capturing the cultures of different countries around the world. The second was an amazing and daring vision of what the city of the future would be. Initially, Imagineers planned these two attractions as separate parks, or as attractions within Magic Kingdom. They finally chose to put the two concepts together into a single new theme park called EPCOT, short for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.

In 1979 Disney's Imagineers began construction on EPCOT. EPCOT's skyline was to be dominated by one of the most creative buildings ever constructed, known as Spaceship Earth. Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury assisted on the design of Spaceship Earth and Disney served as its design firm with its WED Enterprises Group. One of the most recognizable buildings in America, Spaceship Earth was the world's first geodesic sphere building. The building, standing 18 feet above the ground on massive steel pylons, is 180 feet tall and weighs more than 15 million pounds. So massive is the building that construction crews drove its pylon legs 120 - 180 feet into the ground to provide sufficient stability. The sphere's external surface is covered by an intricate faceting of 11,324 alucobond triangles. The building surface is covered with gutters between the triangle facets; rainwater is captured in these gutters and channeled to a nearby lagoon to eliminate run-off from the building and conserve water resources. Inside, a steel skeleton forms the building's shape, an interior sphere skin provides the interior "walls" for the ride and attractions. A second sphere, the exterior skin, is mounted to the skeleton two feet away from the interior skin with smaller framework pieces.

EPCOT proved to be a much more challenging project than Magic Kingdom. With advancements in technology, designers and builders were able to incorporate five times more special effects into EPCOT than were built into Magic Kingdom. More than 10,000 construction workers labored for 26 months to create the 300-acre, $1.4 billion park in time for the grand opening on October 1, 1982; at the time, EPCOT was the largest commercial construction project on earth.

Construction Continues Through the 1980s and 1990s

Since EPCOT opened its gates in 1982, Disney World has continued to expand with new construction of theme parks, hotels, shopping areas and more.

In 1989, construction was completed on Disney-MGM Studios, a combination theme park / working movie studio. Using the template established with the Magic Kingdom, Disney-MGM Studios was designed with the wheel layout. Initially, a replica of Hollywood's Chinese Theater was the icon at the park's center hub. Construction crews worked from the original Mann's Chinese Theater plans and recreated the lobby precisely, then included stars on a walk of fame around the building for added effect. In 2001 Disney added a 122-foot tall Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat as the new centerpiece for the park. Constructed of fiberglass with a concrete foundation, the 156-ton hat was designed after the cap worn by Mickey Mouse in the movie Fantasia. Winding paths lead from the park's center hub to five themed areas, including: Hollywood Boulevard, Echo Lake, Streets of America, Mickey Avenue, Animation Courtyard and Sunset Boulevard. To capture the Golden Hollywood theme for the park, construction crews built painstaking replicas of California real estate icons like Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Hills Amphitheater, as well as more mundane tinseltown scenes like a 50's diner, old fashioned theaters and other symbols of the community. Old time movie studios typically had a water tower and Disney continued this tradition with a 130 tower in the backlot area, complete with 5,000 pound Mickey ears that were lifted in place with a crane during construction.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Disney continued to add more hotels and resorts to the property - no less than 23 different resorts now offer lodging on Disney property that ranges from the most luxurious suites to camping sites.

The expansion of new attractions continued with the debut of Disney World's first water park, Typhoon Lagoon, in 1989. Also that year, an entertainment complex called Pleasure Island debuted. Pleasure Island ultimately became a major section of Downtown Disney, a 120-acre shopping, entertainment and restaurant area outside of the theme parks. In 1992 the Bonnett Creek Golf Courses opened, featuring two courses: Eagle Pines and Osprey Ridge. A second water park, Blizzard Beach, was completed in 1995. In 1996 construction was complete on the Disney World Speedway 200 race track.

In 1995 Disney broke ground on the fourth of its theme parks at Disney World, Animal Kingdom. This theme park, the largest of all the Disney parks, is dedicated to the conservation of our planet's wildlife. True to form, Animal Kingdom is designed in the wheel configuration. The center of the park, Discovery Island, features the massive Tree of Life as its icon. The Tree of Life stands fourteen stories tall and is built around a refitted oil platform. Paths leave Discovery Island and lead visitors to the other themed areas of the park, which include Oasis, Camp Minnie-Mickey, Africa, Rafiki's Planet Watch, Asia and DinoLand USA.

Construction crews worked on the Animal Kingdom for three years, opening the 500-acre, $800 million park on April 22, 1998.

A Simple Experience Leads to a New Paradigm in the Construction of Amusement Parks

From Walt Disney's unpleasant experience as a father taking his daughters to an amusement park has emerged the multi-billion dollar industry of modern theme parks. Disney's theme parks now dominate tourism on both coasts, as well as in Paris and in Tokyo. Disney's diversification from cartoons and movies into vacation environments now includes a Disney cruise line as well. In fact, Disneyland and Disney World signaled a major shift in amusement and theme park development and construction. Almost every major amusement park in the U.S. today is a descendant of and aspires to the Disney model: a focus on convenience, a superior guest experience, development planning allowing easy and seamless expansion, innovative construction techniques and most importantly a "theme" that gives a park a sense of identity and uniqueness. While Walt Disney is best remembered for creating ageless cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck, his impact on commercial real estate development and the construction of major entertainment venues is just as historically significant for the entertainment AND the construction industries.

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Historic Construction: Building Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Disney World

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Historic Construction Projects Disneyland and Walt Disney World Up until the 1940s, the American amusment park was limited to merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels and carnival games. All that changed when Walt Disney envisioned a new amusement park called a Theme Park.

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Ever since Walt Disney World, in Florida, welcomed its first visitors in 1971, it's embedded itself in the American consciousness in ways few other institutions ever have. But Disney's success was no accident. The park struck big because of its unrelenting emphasis on its visitors and their experiences-and maybe just a tiny bit of pixie dust.

Still, when your resort welcomes millions of guests each year, there are a whole bunch of experiences to manage. And naturally, there's a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes. From its hidden underground tunnels that only a select few will ever see to its 30,000 guest rooms that would take 68 years to stay in, Disney World has a lot going on that most guests never see-or know about.

Read on for 35 amazing facts about America's favorite theme park. Oh, and if you're worried: We promise, no matter how much you know, it won't ruin the magic.

If you added up the number of employees at every other Disney property worldwide-Disneyland Resort in California, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and Shanghai Disney Resort-you'd still fall around 5,000 people short of the 70,000 folks who work at Walt Disney World in Florida.

What's more, each of the park's employees-from its costumed princesses to its front-desk clerks-are lovingly referred to as "cast members." And with that many people putting on the show each day, Walt Disney World is the largest single-site employer in the United States.

The Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom each stand exactly 199-feet tall. That's no coincidence, either. Buildings taller than 200-feet are required to flash aviation lights. And, of course, that would ruin some of the magic.

When Disney's Magic Kingdom first opened in October 1971, admission set guests back just $3.50-the price of a bottle of Dasani at Disney today. (Adjusted for inflation, that's about $21.) Unfortunately, prices have skyrocketed, and a one-day pass now costs around $109.

To remove trash from the park, the Magic Kingdom uses an automated vacuum collection (AVAC) system that functions in the park's vast underground utilidors, or underground tunnels. To use the system, custodians remove trash and dump it into special processors. From there, it's brought underground and pushed along at 60 miles per hour to a central location where it is processed, compressed, and transferred to a landfill or recycling center.

In addition to the AVAC system, Disney's utilidors are also home to a mammoth network of underground tunnels that help cast members navigate the park. The tunnel walls are color-coded so cast members can easily know where they are. And if they take a wrong turn, that's fine, as most of them get around on golf cart-like battery-operated vehicles (although an ambulance could drive through the utilidor system in case of an emergency). Guests on the Keys to the Kingdom tour are the only ones permitted in the tunnels.

The Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom offers a great photo opp-but it's also worth noting that it's a functional steam-powered train that carries 1.5 million passengers each year. The four trains were originally built between 1916 and 1928 and have been restored to run in tip-top shape.

Walt Disney had big plans for Disney World, and one of them was to create a controlled community at Epcot, which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. The seemingly dystopian plan was to select 20,000 people to live in the city, which would have shopping areas, residential properties, theaters, restaurants, and-most questionably-a climate-controlled setting. After Disney died, the project was deemed unrealistic, and it was scrapped.

Because real American flags must follow the national flag code, such as flying at half-mast during times of mourning, the ones at Disney were purposefully made to be missing a stripe or a star. That means the park doesn't have to worry about flag etiquette-because its flags are technically pennants.

Epcot's iconic Spaceship Earth was designed so that when it rains, no water ever pours off the 16-million-ton sphere. Instead, the water travels through a passage in the ball and is funneled into the park's World Showcase Lagoon. How's that for recycling?

The fountain at Epcot Innoventions Plaza can shoot water 150 feet in the air. Keep in mind that the tallest fountain in the world, located in Busan, South Korea, shoots just 30-feet higher. If the Innoventions fountain released all of its shooters at once, it would emit 2,000 gallons of water.

There's no doubt that Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom is breathtaking. But looks can be deceiving-this castle is more like a fortress. Although the exterior appears to be made of stone, the shell of the building is actually made of fiberglass. That's because the dreamy home was built to withstand hurricanes, and can fend off winds up to 125 miles per hour.

Disney really did think of everything-including how annoying it is to have to carry around garbage. To keep guests happy and the parks clean, each space was designed so that visitors are never more than 30 steps away from a trash can.

Even at a rate of one guest room per night, it would take 68 years to stay in each of the 30,000 rooms at all of the Disney World hotels and resorts.

Ever the style icon, Mickey Mouse has more in his closet than a bunch of red shorts and yellow shoes. In fact, he owns around 136 different outfits, including a tuxedo and a scuba suit. Minnie's collection is slightly smaller; she has just around 100 outfits.

On average, around 210 pairs of sunglasses are turned in at the Disney World lost and found each day. The lost and found also collects around 6,000 cell phones, 3,500 cameras, and 18,000 hats each year.

Each year, guests purchase more than 75 million Coca-Cola beverages. That's compared to just 13 million bottles of water. Hydration is key, people!

Not all of the creatures in Disney's Animal Kingdom love the daytime. To see the park's nocturnal animals in their element, visitors can go on a thrilling nighttime safari. In addition to a trek through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve after hours, the experience also includes a meal of African-inspired dishes paired with regional beer and wine.

If you're looking for a more rugged Disney experience, The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort have you covered. For around $55, visitors can pitch a tent on the park's 750 acres of forest. If you're lucky, you might spot some deer, rabbits, ducks, or armadillos.

Disney's Magic Kingdom spans 142 acres, while Disneyland in Anaheim, California, covers just 85 acres. Both sound teeny tiny when you consider that Disney World as a whole is some 25,600 acres-or the size of two Manhattan islands.

You might have thought Disney World was located in the City of Orlando, but it's actually a part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing district that acts with the same authority and responsibility as a county government. Disney helped organize the district himself, so he could leverage more control over the areas surrounding his theme park. And technically, Reedy Creek is comprised of two cities of its own, the City of Bay Lake and the City of Lake Buena Vista. The district has its own contracts for fire, law, and traffic protection, and boasts just a few dozen full-time residents-all of whom work for Disney.

The 130-year-old live oak tree was found on Disney property in 1990 and transferred eight miles to Disney's Magic Kingdom. The tree weighs 38 tons and was only able to be relocated by drilling holes through the trunk, inserting steel pins, and lifting it with a crane. The process took months.

The man-made tree was built over a retrofitted 14-story oil rig. The 145-foot creation is covered with more than 100,000 leaves that are each more than a foot long. The tree's trunk is made of concrete, not wood.

There's nothing like feeling the warm sand under your feet at the beach. And at Stormalong Bay at Disney's Beach Club Resort, you can feel like you're really there. Its 750,000-gallon sand-lined pool is the largest in the world.

In order to protect the park from unsightly globs of gum, Disney World stopped selling the stuff. It isn't banned, but if guests want a piece, they'll have to bring their own.

If you're going to meet your favorite Disney characters, you might as well document the experience with an autograph. And as it turns out, Disney sells so many autograph books a year that if you stacked them on top of one another, the pile would be about 4,000-feet tall-the same height as 200 Cinderella Castles.

In 1975, Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain attraction officially welcomed visitors. Although the ride can't actually take you to space, astronauts Scott Carpenter of Mercury 7, Gordon Cooper of Mercury 9 and Gemini 5, and Jim Irwin of Apollo 15 all attended the grand opening to commemorate the space-themed ride.

Disney World isn't only about rides and restaurants. In fact, more than 12 percent of the park, or 4,000 acres, is taken up by gardens and other maintained landscapes. That's around 3,000 football fields of greenery. To keep things fresh, each year horticulturalists plant some three million annual plants.

The 18-minute safari ride in Animal Kingdom allows visitors the chance to get up close and personal with animals that are seemingly roaming free. But have no fear, these creatures can't run up and get you-or each other. Barriers such as water features and moats are added to the reserve to keep the animals in specific areas.

The sights at Pandora-The World of Avatar-which opened in May of 2017, are so magical they might not seem real. In fact, there are 500 real trees and 10,000 shrubs included in the landscape. To add to the experience, there are glow-in-the-dark paths that are charged during the daytime and glow at night.

Each year, Disney visitors consume seven million hamburgers, a half-million pounds of mac and cheese, one million pounds of watermelon, and two million pounds of ketchup. It takes 350 chefs to keep up with the demand.

At DinoLand U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom, you can find Dino-Sue, an exact replica of the largest T-Rex skeleton ever found, a 13-foot tall, 40-foot long creature discovered in South Dakota by archaeologist Sue Hendrickson. You can pose for a picture, but don't expect to get all of Dino-Sue in the frame-after all, she's the length of a four-story building!

Keeping thousands of cast members squeaky clean takes work-and most of it is done by the folks at the Disney World Laundry. Each day, cast members there do around 285,000 pounds of laundry. If you broke that down to one load of laundry a day, it'd take you 52 years to get through.

The Disney Imagineers took the historical accuracy of the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square seriously. To maintain the essence of the colonial time period, Liberty Square was built without any restrooms. (Magic Kingdom itself boasts 23 though!) However, a sneaky loophole allowed for bathrooms to be installed at the Columbia Harbour House and the Liberty Tree Tavern, since they are technically not located in Liberty Square.

Whether you're a first-time park visitor, it's your birthday, or you're celebrating another special event at Disney, you can get a complimentary celebration button if you put in the effort. All you have to do is stop by guest services or at the front desk at any of the Walt Disney Resorts to pick one up. Expect extra-special attention from cast members when you wear your button!

Worldwide, Disney World Parks draw an estimated 150 million people each year, making them some of the most vacationed spots in the world. And with nearly 21 million visitors in 2018, Disney World's Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world. And for some great family vacations outside of Disney, check out the 15 Summer Family Trips Your Teenage Children Won't Hate.

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35 Amazing Facts About Disney World Only Insiders Know | Best Life

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Ever since Walt Disney World, in Florida, welcomed its first visitors in 1971, it's embedded itself in the American consciousness in ways few other institutions ever have. But Disney's success was no accident. The park struck big because of its unrelenting emphasis on its visitors and their experiences-and maybe just a tiny bit of pixie dust.

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As kids we hugged them, took pictures with them, and collected their autographs. But what's it like to be an adult earning your living by pretending to be Mickey Mouse, or Cinderella, or Winnie the Pooh? To find out, we spoke with several current and former Disneyland and Disney World staffers about the reality of life inside the costume.

1. They have their own jargon.

Disney divides their character performers into two main categories: fur characters and face characters. Being a fur character involves putting on a giant, fuzzy costume and communicating only through gestures, or "animation." Also called look-alikes, face characters include mermaids, fairies, and other human or human-like characters.

One important note: According to employees, no performer actually "plays" Disney characters. In order to preserve that Disney magic, performers won't usually admit to portraying Aladdin or Jasmine-instead, they're simply "friends with" them.

2. You must be this tall to wear the costume ...

From shift to shift, multiple performers need to be able to share a costume, and look exactly the same wearing it, so casting agents evaluate aspiring performers on height before even considering their acting abilities. "The audition process is pretty rigorous," says LuannAlgoso, whoworked as a fur character at Disneyland for about a year, beginning in 2008 . "The first cut is made within the first 15 minutes in regard to your height. If you don't fit the height requirement for any of the characters they're hiring for, then you get cut immediately."

After being hired, though, performers have a chance to play multiple characters in the same height range. Algoso wore the giant heads of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Lilo and Stitch, and Meeko, the raccoon from Pocahontas. An anonymous performer currently working at Walt Disney World told us she's played "Too many [fur characters] to count," including Chip and Dale, Winnie the Pooh, and six of Snow White's seven dwarfs.

3. ... And this "slender" to show midriff.

Face characters are also selected based on height. Male face roles require tall performers: audition announcements for Tarzan, Gaston from from . Characters who are supposed to be children, such as Wendy from , however, are taller and more imperious: Maleficent can be between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet, and Cinderella's stepmother and the Evil Queen from Beauty and the Beast, and Kristoff Frozen request actors between 6-foot and 6-foot 3-inches. Princesses, on the other hand, usually occupy the short-to-medium range-Elsa and Anna from Peter Pan and Alice from Snow White are expected to be between 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. Alice in Wonderland, are more petite, and a casting call for Tinker Bell requests actresses be 4 feet 11 inches to 5 feet 2 inches. Villainesses Frozen, Rapunzel, and Jasmine are all listed at 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 7 inches

Certain parts of the look matter more than others. Hair color and eye color aren't very important, at least for women, since all the female characters (and some of the male characters) wear wigs, and colored contacts can easily change blue eyes to brown. But a pretty face and a slim figure are non-negotiable-every female character described on the Disney auditions website, from princesses to villainesses, requires a "slender build." Jasmine, thanks to her midriff-baring costume, also requires a "toned mid-section." As for the men, the ideal Kristoff has an "athletic build," while Gaston boasts a "strong, athletic build" and Tarzan needs a "strong, athletic, muscular build, and very toned physique."

4. Auditions are intense.

A recruiter for the Disney College Program advises hopefuls to "plan on spending one to six hours at an audition." At a fur characters audition, the casting agents make their first cut based purely on height. Then comes a series of "animation" exercises, which involve silently improvising based on imaginary scenarios. "I was asked to pretend to be Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh, and even to pretend to be a pregnant cheerleader," Algoso s ays. Casting officials make a series of cuts throughout the rounds of improvisation, then the remaining performers put on costumes and perform more improv in character. After a final round of cuts, selected performers receive job offers.

Before would-be "face characters" can even proceed to the tough stuff, though, they're asked to line up. According to Kristen Sotakoun , who scored a spot as Pocahontas, "If you attend a look-alike audition, you literally stand there in a line, [and] they look at you." During the audition, casting managers evaluate the performers individually, asking each to smile. After this process, called the "type out," the hiring managers release anyone who doesn't fit the look they want. A former Snow White said, "They look at about 50 people at a time and go through rows of 10 to decide who gets cut for look alone. It's the biggest cut of the day." While about 700 people attended her audition, she recalled, "After the 'type out' there were only about 150 left."

Face character auditions can last up to two days and involve as many as a thousand hopefuls. In addition to the "type out," the multi-step audition process includes a movement portion, in which auditioners learn a combination of dance steps, as well as an "animation" segment. Performers who make it past this stage get sent to hair and makeup, where they try on wigs, have their makeup done, and put on the costume of the character they're being considered for. Dressed to impress, each hopeful receives coaching on what her character should sound like, then does a brief cold reading imitating that voice and dialect. After taking pictures in costume, auditioners wait for casting agents to make their decisions.

5. Everyone starts out as a fur character.

Even the Little Mermaid has to pay her dues playing Winnie the Pooh. Performers hired for face roles are first trained to portray fully costumed characters, then spend several weeks greeting kids while wearing giant furry suits. After this probation period, face characters train for their human roles.

6. Performers do their own makeup ...

All character performers get paid for one hour of dressing and preparation. During training, performers with face roles l earn how to create a specific character look with makeup. Disney provides the makeup products to ensure a uniform look from performer to performer. After makeup, face characters put on their wigs and costumes and make final adjustments.

7. ... And even learn to write like their characters.

During the training process, performers watch their characters' movies in order to practice moving and speaking like them. They also learn their autographs. Each character has a specific signature that performers must replicate, so that park visitors who collect autographs see consistency from year to year-regardless of who's playing Belle or Goofy at the moment.

8. There's no talking (or singing) allowed.

Mickey, Minnie, and their ilk can't speak, only gesture effusively. But while face characters talk to guests, they're still not supposed to sing. A different set of performers sing for the on-site shows, but these musical performers are considered a separate category of employee and are often represented by the Actors' Equity Association.

9. They have to be able to think on their feet.

Face characters deal with all kinds of challenges, from curious kids demanding answers to tough questions, to snarky guests who attempt to get a performer to break character. Sotakoun notes that playing a historical character is particularly tricky. Some kids find it confusing to talk to "Pocahontas" when their teachers have taught them the real Pocahontas is dead. During one meet-and-greet as the Native American princess last year, a young British boy came up to her and announced, "My class visited your grave last year!"

10. The costumes can take a toll on performers' bodies.

The travails of one former fur character involved getting punched, being put in a choke hold, having her shoulder partly dislocated, and earning three bruised finger bones. This performer eventually went to physical therapy for her shoulder and needed knee surgery thanks to the weight of her costume. Fur character costumes can weigh as much as 47 pounds, and in 2005-the last year for which comprehensive data is available-they were blamed for 282 injuries. That year, character performers across the four parks that make up Walt Disney World reported 773 injuries total; 49 reports cited the heavy costume heads as the cause of injury. Algoso can relate: She once had to go on temporary disability leave after a guest picked her up and shook her when she was playing Minnie Mouse, giving her whiplash from the weight of her cartoon head.

Though she says over-enthusiastic guests sometimes hug "too hard or too aggressively," Algoso believes most do so unintentionally. The anonymous fur character agrees that, while certain kids find it hilarious to punch them in the torso, most painful moments happen because guests "forget sometimes that what they are doing could hurt us," as when a parent slaps her forcefully on the back and knocks the wind out of her. Of the 773 injuries reported in 2005, 107 pointed to pushing, pulling, and other aggressive behaviors from guests (both adults and children) as the cause of their injuries.

11. It's hot.

The anonymous Walt Disney World fur character says the worst part of the job is "always feeling hot, hot, hot!" (Performers at Southern California's Disneyland contend with similarly unpleasant temperatures.) Disney does warn auditioners about this aspect of the job, noting in casting calls that "all performers" experience "exposure to hot and humid weather." (Contrary to popular belief, fur costumes don't come equipped with fans.)

For this reason, there are strict rules about how long characters' sets can last. Indoors, fur characters perform for 30 to 45 minutes before they get a 30- to 45-minute break. Outside, set lengths depend on the heat index, per employee contracts and OSHA regulations. If it's under 94°F, performers spend about 30 minutes outside, then 30 minutes inside relaxing. If the heat reaches 95°F or higher, characters work shorter sets, about 20 minutes-and the hotter it gets, the less time characters can spend greeting guests. According to their union contract, Walt Disney World character performers should spend at least as much time resting as they do performing-and more if they're working outside.

Since they're not laboring inside giant fuzzy suits, face characters can spend a bit more time doing meet-and-greets, but even in cool weather, they don't spend more than 60 minutes outside at a time. Most outside sets last about 45 minutes.

To avoid long stretches without a beloved character-and to ensure there are enough Mickeys and Elsas spread throughout the parks-there are usually a few performers playing the same parts during a given shift.

12. You can check out the backstage area-but you probably won't want to.

Of the set-up behind the scenes, a former Walt Disney World fur character quipped in her Reddit AMA, "Ever seen the back of a shopping center? It looks kind of like that." In Orlando, the Magic Kingdom does have a network of service tunnels-called "utildors" rather than simply "corridors"-under the park, used for glamorous activities such as making deliveries and transporting garbage. Disneyland has no such tunnels.

Cast member-only spaces include dressing rooms, hallways, a cafeteria, and break rooms with televisions. Again, these areas are fairly boring by cast accounts. If you still desperately want to see where they store Mickey's heads, Walt Disney World offers a five-hour backstage tour called "Keys to the Kingdom." A former fur character warns, "It's a tour for ages 16 and over, because you have a high likelihood of seeing partially-dressed characters. I've been wearing Piglet's legs and feet and had to tell the Blue Fairy where to go when seen [by guests], I've even been in almost full costume (I was carrying Minnie's head by the chin) when guests have stopped to look at me." She calls the tour "Murder the Magic." You've been warned.

13. Performers have to reaudition at least once a year.

Character supervisors reevaluate face character performers every six months or so to "make sure your silhouette hasn't changed." During these "re-looks," managers check performers' body shape, skin, and general appearance to make sure they still fit into the costumes and still have the right look for their characters. The union contract governing the employment of Walt Disney World character performers mentions explicitly that character performers must attend at least one audition each year to certify they're still suited for their roles.

14. Face characters make more than fur characters.

In 2014, Walt Disney World fur characters made between $10.10 and $14.66 an hour, depending on how long they've held their jobs. Face characters, however, receive $3.25 more an hour, a "face premium" that presumably serves as compensation for continually having to come up with responses to guests' odd questions.

Thanks to negotiations between Disney and the performers' union in 2014, all Walt Disney World characters received a 35 to 50 cent raise in May 2015, and they'll receive another in July 2016. Wages for Disneyland characters are comparable to those of their Orlando counterparts.

15. The stress, and the rules, and the heat are worth it.

Everyone we spoke to seemed to agree: Making children smile is the best part of the job. A former Alice noted that children who really believe they are meeting these characters are "what made [the job] special." The anonymous current fur character admits she has bad days, but "sometimes all it takes is that one cute kid" to turn it around.

Current and former character performers also often cite experiences with Make-A-Wish participants and other ill or disabled children as some of their most meaningful interactions. Algoso remembered one event for a child with cancer facilitated by Make-A-Wish. She did a special meet-and-greet as Princess Minnie Mouse and notes, "I'm just glad I had a head over my face because at the end of that shift, I was crying bucket loads of tears."

Another former fur character reflected, "I also once had a little boy in a wheelchair zoom up to me, stop short, look up at me, and say 'Mickey, Mom and Dad asked me what I wanted before I go meet Jesus, and I said I wanted to meet you!'" She expresses what so many character performers report feeling: "When I questioned why I was sweating my ass off, eyes burning because a drop of sweat hit my contact, I thought of kids like this."

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Behind the Magic: 15 Secrets of Disney Park Characters

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As kids we hugged them, took pictures with them, and collected their autographs. But what's it like to be an adult earning your living by pretending to be Mickey Mouse, or Cinderella, or Winnie the Pooh? To find out, we spoke with several current and former Disneyland and Disney World staffers about the reality of life inside the costume.

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Disney values feedback. The company views negative feedback as an opportunity to improve. In addition, they recognize employees who go above and beyond the minimum expectations and always try to promote from within, rather than hiring from the outside.

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Disney values feedback. The company views negative feedback as an opportunity to improve. In addition, they recognize employees who go above and beyond the minimum expectations and always try to promote from within, rather than hiring from the outside.

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Employees are trained to fix a problem if they can. For example, if a child buys a Dole Whip, walks a few feet away, and drops it, employees are trained to replace the dessert free-of-charge. Small gestures such as these lead to guest loyalty to the Disney brand.

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Employees are trained to fix a problem if they can. For example, if a child buys a Dole Whip, walks a few feet away, and drops it, employees are trained to replace the dessert free-of-charge. Small gestures such as these lead to guest loyalty to the Disney brand.

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Employees are also expected to pick up any piece of trash they see on the grounds, no matter how small. A cast member should never pass by a gum wrapper or a napkin.

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Employees are also expected to pick up any piece of trash they see on the grounds, no matter how small. A cast member should never pass by a gum wrapper or a napkin.

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During the interview process, potential employees are told that Disney is a storytelling organization. Employees are expected to pretend they are always “on stage” while working. This means they must maintain a happy, helpful, and cheerful attitude at all times. Employees must be dedicated to making each guest feel special. Little girls are often called “princess” when spoken to by a cast member. They are told to never point with one finger. Instead, they must use their entire hands to indicate a certain direction, which is considered less threatening. Employees are expected to smile constantly. As a matter of fact, all backstage areas of the Magic Kingdom have mirrors beside the doors that lead into the park. Employees are encouraged to “check their smiles” before entering the park.

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-The level of service at Disney is planned, purposeful, and consistent.
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The Walt Disney Company, commonly nicknamed Disney, is one of the largest entertainment and media companies in the world. This studio is famous for their family movies. It was started in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Oliver Disney, as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. It had the name of Walt Disney Productions from 1937 to 1985.

Disney Enterprises Inc. is a subsidiary of the company; the name is found in many of its franchises.

The current chairman and CEO is Bob Iger since 2005.

The company's main units are Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Media Networks and Consumer Products.

Studio Entertainment

This unit, also called the Walt Disney Studios, is headed by Chairman Dick Cook. It consists of:

One of the Studios' largest assets lies in Walt Disney Feature Animation, which has made a successful string of animated movies for almost seven decades. Because of failures with most of their recent additions, it has changed its focus from traditional hand-drawn to CGI movies. Pixar, also owned by Disney, is one of the first studios to create CGI movies. Recently, Disney has acquired 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios, a big movie production studio, as well as other assets of 21st Century Fox, for $52 billion USD.

Parks and Resorts

Worldwide, Disney has eleven theme parks (as of October 2020):

Disney once owned the sports teams, the Angels ( baseball) and the Mighty Ducks ( ice hockey), both based in Anaheim, California. They are now the property of other people.

Media Networks

The ABC television network, which Disney bought in 1996, serves as the centre of this unit. Cable television channels within it include Disney Channel, Toon Disney, ABC Family, ESPN and SOAPnet.It also partly owns Lifetime, A&E and E!.

Buena Vista Television, responsible for the syndication of many Disney series, produces some of its own as well: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Ebert & Roeper.

Consumer Products

Merchandising and licensing within the company are overseen in this division. Disney Publishing Worldwide, part of this unit, has Disney Press, Disney Editions and Hyperion Books as its brands.

It once owned the Disney Store shopping chain until 2004. Jim Henson's Muppets have taken its place since then.

Acquisition of Fox

In November 6, 2017 - Disney tries to buy Fox.

In December 14, 2017 - Disney buys Fox for 52.4 billion US dollars, distributed studio of Fox owned by Disney.

In January 11, 2019 - Disney decided to sell Fox between February to March 2019.

1925: First appearance of Pegleg Pete cartoons, Alice Solves the Puzzle

1928: First appearance of Minnie Mouse cartoons, Plane Crazy

1928: First Mickey Mouse episode, Plane Crazy

1929: Start of the Silly Symphonies: The Skeleton Dance

1929: First Silly Symphony episode, The Skeleton Dance

1930: First appearance of Pluto cartoon, The Chain Gang

1932: First full-colour cartoon, Flowers and Trees

1933: First appearance of Fifi the Peke cartoons, Puppy Love

1933: First Donald Duck Theme Music #1, The Steeplechase

1933: First Pluto's Devil cartoons, Mickey's Pal Pluto

1933: First Pluto's Angel cartoons, Mickey's Pal Pluto

1934: First Walt Disney segment, The Hot Choco-Late Soldiers

1937: First Daisy Duck cartoons, Don Donald

1937: First Donald Duck episode, Don Donald

1937: First Pluto, Jr. cartoons. Pluto's Quin-Puplets

1937: First full-length animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1938: First Huey, Dewey and Louie cartoons, Donald's Nephews

1939: First Goofy episode, Goofy and Wilbur

1939: First Mickey Mouse Theme #1, The Standard Parade

1940: First Disney movie failed at the box office, Pinocchio

1940: First Pluto episode, Bone Trouble

1940: First Donald Duck Theme #2, Window Cleaners

1940: First Goofy Theme #1, Goofy's Glider

1940: First Pluto #1, Private Parate

1940: Studio moves to Burbank, California

1940: Fantasia's debut

1941: Dumbo's debut

1942: Bambi's debut

1942: First P.J. cartoons, Bellboy Donald

1943: First Scrooge McDuck cartoons, The Spirit of '43

1943: First Chip 'n' Dale cartoons, Private Pluto

1944: First Pluto Theme #2, Springtime for Pluto

1945: First Dutch cartoons, Canine Casanova

1947: First Pluto Theme #3, Pluto's Housewarming

1947: First Donald Duck Theme #3, Donald's Dilemma

1947: First Mickey Mouse #2, Mickey's Delayed Date

1950: First Goofy Theme #2, Motor Mania

1954: Walt Disney anthology series starts

1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California

1964: Mary Poppins becomes the first Disney movie to be nominated for Best Picture

1966: Walt Disney dies; his brother Roy takes over

1967: Last animated movie from producer Walt Disney, The Jungle Book

1971: Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida

1979: Don Bluth and friends leave the studio

1979: The Black Hole, Disney's first PG movie, is a failure with critics

1981: Disney's last traditionally animated movie: The Fox and the Hound

1983: Disney Channel is launched

1984: Touchstone Pictures starts with Splash

1984: Michael Eisner became the CEO of Disney

1985: Disney's first animated movie that has rated PG: The Black Cauldron

1988: Who framed Roger Rabbit's debut

1989: The Little Mermaid brings new life in the animation division as well as the genre; studio gets its first Oscar in eighteen years for this movie

1990: Hollywood Pictures starts with Arachnophobia

1991: Beauty and the Beast becomes the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture

1993: The Nightmare Before Christmas's debut

1994: The Lion King becomes the highest grossing hand drawn animated film in the U.S.

2001: First Pixar movie that was nominated for Best Animated Feature, Monster's Inc.

2003: First Pixar movie that won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature,Finding Nemo

2003: Pirates of the Caribbean becomes studio's first family movie with a rating of PG-13

2004: Home on the Range is Disney's last traditionally animated movie to use CAPS

2004: First Pixar movie that has rated PG, The Incredibles

2005: Disneyland celebrates fiftieth birthday

2005: Michael Eisner resigns from Disney and Michael Eisner was replaced by Bob Iger

2009: Disney buys comic book publisher Marvel Comics for 4 billion US dollars.

2012: Disney buys movie studio Lucasfilm for 4 billion US dollars.

2017: Disney buys most of Fox's subsidiaries (including 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios) for 52 billion US dollars.

2013: First Disney animated that won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Frozen

2019: Disney tries to sell Fox between in March 2019; Disney creates their own streaming service, Disney+, in November 2019.

Disney held talks assets purchase bought to buy Fox

In November 6th 2017 - Disney held talks assets purchase bought to buying Fox for 52.4 billion dollars.

Theatrical and home media of 20th Century Fox to Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Disney Plus

On November 12, 2019, Disney launched their own streaming service, Disney+. The platform features nearly all of their movies and TV shows along with those made by properties bought by Disney, such as The Muppets, Pixar, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Marvel. It also features original content, such as several Marvel and Star Wars programs. However, no R rated movies and shows appear on the site (instead, they are on Hulu), and movies, cartoons, and TV shows that feature smoking, and offensive depictions of indigenous peoples, African Americans, Asians, and other minorities come with a warning.

Related pages

Images for kids

The building in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz which was home to the studio from 1923 to 1926

Original poster for Flowers and Trees (1932).

The original Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios.

Walt Disney at the grand opening of Disneyland, July 1955.

Team Disney Burbank, which houses the offices of Disney's CEO and several other senior corporate officials.

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The Walt Disney Company, commonly nicknamed Disney, is one of the largest entertainment and media companies in the world. This studio is famous for their family movies. It was started in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Oliver Disney, as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.

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Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort

Residential Community
Disney Springs Resort Area

Opened - 2011

Theme - Tuscan, Spanish Revival, Venetian, Italianate, Dutch Colonial, Island Colonial

Areas - Carolwood, Carolwood Reserve, Silverbrook, Kimball Trace

Homes - 297

Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort is a residential community within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and is owned and operated by a newly formed Disney subsidiary, Golden Oak Realty. The first phase of development is located southeast of the Magic Kingdom Park in Bay Lake. The area was named to pay homage to Walt Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in California. The first few home sites were available for purchase in late 2010 and completed in late 2011.

The community was announced on June 23, 2010 through the official Disney Parks Blog.

Neighborhoods

Golden Oak has several neighborhoods dedicated to different eras of architecture.

Kimball Trace

Based on Tuscan architecture, with houses ranging in size between 3,000 sq ft (280 m 2) and 5,000 sq ft (460 m 2) square feet.

Silverbrook

Houses here range from 5,000 sq ft (460 m 2) to 7,000 sq ft (650 m 2) square feet.

Carolwood is located at the northernmost part of the development. The largest houses are located here.

The name Carolwood is taken from Walt Disney's private railroad, which was built before Disneyland and its perimeter railroad opened in 1955.

Marceline includes two parks and houses ranging between 3,800 sq ft (350 m 2) and 6,000 sq ft (560 m 2) square feet. The neighborhood is named after Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri.

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Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort Facts

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Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort Residential Community Disney Springs Resort Area Opened - 2011 Theme - Tuscan, Spanish Revival, Venetian, Italianate, Dutch Colonial, Island Colonial Areas - Carolwood, Carolwood Reserve, Silverbrook, Kimball Trace Homes - 297 Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort is a residential community within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

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The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is near Orlando, Florida, United States. It opened on October 1, 1971 with only the Magic Kingdom theme park. It has since added Epcot (October 1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (May 1, 1989) and Disney's Animal Kingdom (April 22, 1998). It also has two water parks, 23 hotels, a campground, and Downtown Disney, which is a shopping area with souvenir shops, restaurants, and sports activities.

The resort was inspired by the dreams of Walt Disney and his creation of Disneyland in California. Its original theme park, Magic Kingdom, is designed similarly to Disneyland. Walt Disney created " Disney World" to have a vacation resort that was much different from Disneyland's one-day visit; this includes a much wider variety of sports, recreation, themed resort hotels and entertainment. It is 50 square miles long.

It also comes with lots of different rides and you can go swimming at the water parks. Sometimes, Disney characters walk around the parks. The rides are related to the books and films that Disney created.

Attractions

Walt Disney's World Resort is approximately as large as San Francisco and twice the size of Manhattan. It comprises many exciting destinations including theme parks, water parks and more.[1]

Theme Parks

There are 4 theme parks in Walt Disney World. And each of them hav numerous rides, restaurants and entertainment activities to witness.You can meet Disney characters there and have fun viewing different parades.

Magic Kingdom

Epcot

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Water Parks

There are 2 water parks for your enjoyment.

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Park

Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park

Disney's boardwalk

Disney's spring

ESPN's wide world of sports complex

Plan A Visit

Since it is one of the most popular destination for a lot of tourists as well as locals, the place during peak times can get really crowded. Disney's Magic Kingdom alone record more than 18,588,000 visitors annually. Heavy footfalls are recorded in summer months and holiday times like Christmas and Thanksgiving. So if you want to avoid long queues, it is better to plan a trip in off seasons.

It is not possible to cover the entire amusement park in a single visit. There is a lot of planning required to see the best of Disney World. It is beneficial to book tickets from ticketing and travel information websites. Not only you get great discounts and but you don't have to worry about all the planning including the restaurant reservations, resort bookings .On top of that many sites offer attractive packages you can opt for too.

Images for kids

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The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World , is near Orlando, Florida, United States. It opened on October 1, 1971 with only the Magic Kingdom theme park. It has since added Epcot (October 1, 1982), Disney's Hollywood Studios (May 1, 1989) and Disney's Animal Kingdom (April 22, 1998).

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PIONEERING ENTERTAINMENT

Walt Disney Imagineering is the creative force that imagines, designs and brings to life all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions and cruise ships worldwide. Working across a spectrum of disciplines that range from creative and conceptual to scientific and technical, Imagineers blend an innovative mixture of storytelling, art, science and technology to create immersive experiences, memorable destinations, and innovative entertainment for families around the globe.

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WE CREATE TO INSPIRE PIONEERING ENTERTAINMENT Walt Disney Imagineering is the creative force that imagines, designs and brings to life all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions and cruise ships worldwide. Working across a spectrum of disciplines that range from creative and conceptual to scientific and technical, Imagineers blend an innovative mixture of storytelling, art, science...

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Cinderella Castle

General statistics

Manufacturer
The Walt Disney Company

Designer

Walt Disney Imagineering

Theme

Cinderella

Cinderella Castle is the fairy tale castle at the center of two Disney theme parks: the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, and Tokyo Disneyland at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Both serve as worldwide recognized icons and the flagship attraction for their respective theme parks.

Inspiration and design

Cinderella Castle was inspired by a variety of real and fictional palaces.

The chief designer of the castle, Herbert Ryman, also referenced the original design for the castle in the film Cinderella and his own well-known creation - the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California. Cinderella Castle was completed in July 1971, after about 18 months of construction. The castle is 183 feet (56 m) tall.

A set-building trick known as forced perspective makes the castle appear even larger than it actually is. At higher elevations, its proportions to full scale are reduced for elements such as stones, windows, and doors. The castle was the largest Disney theme park castle until the completion of the Enchanted Storybook Castle in Shanghai Disneyland Park.

Cinderella Castle is designed to reflect the late-Gothic, flamboyant style of the 1400s. Unlike Disneyland's castle, no gold is used on the exterior; all gold colors are anodized aluminum. Despite appearances, no bricks were used in its construction; the inner structure is constructed of six hundred tons of steel.

Contrary to a popular legend, the castle cannot be taken apart or moved in any way in the event of a hurricane. It would take months to disassemble, it would be too dangerous to operate the 300-foot (91 m) crane required in windy conditions, and there would have to be a safer building to keep it in. As with every other building at Walt Disney World, it was simpler and safer to design it to handle a hurricane. It can easily withstand the 125 mph (175 km/h) design wind speeds in Central Florida with a great deal of strength in reserve.

Cinderella Castle is also surrounded by a moat, which contains approximately 3.37 million US gallons (12,800 m 3) of water; however, unlike the drawbridge at Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, Cinderella Castle cannot raise its bridge. There are a total of 27 towers on the castle.

Originally, a suite was planned for the Disney family and executives, but since Walt Disney died nearly five years before the park opened, it remained unfinished, and eventually was turned successively into a telephone call center, a dressing room, and is currently a lavish Dream Suite hotel room for specially selected guests. There are three elevators inside the castle.

Cinderella Castle was designed so that it was tall enough that it could be seen from the Seven Seas Lagoon in front of the Magic Kingdom, where many guests took ferries from the parking lot to the gates of the park. In theme park jargon, Cinderella Castle was conceived as the primary "weenie" (a term commonly used by Walt and his Imagineers) that draws new entering guests through Main Street, U.S.A. towards the central hub, from where all other areas can be reached.

Tokyo Disneyland

It is generally considered to be a copy of Magic Kingdom's castle, although the Tokyo version is 168 feet (51 m) tall. However, from 1986-2006, a popular walk-through attraction called the "Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour" was featured within the castle. In June 2006, the castle was repainted to differentiate it from Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom.

When the sun sets, the castle is illuminated by SGM Palco LED lighting fixtures placed on different castle levels and surrounding areas, providing an effective range of 16.7 million colors. The castle itself plays a role in the Magic Kingdom's fireworks show, Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, in which it changes color in synchronization with the dramatic music of the display.

At the park's closing, the nightly 'Kiss Goodnight' is performed, in which Roy O. Disney's dedication speech for the Magic Kingdom is played all over the park alongside classic Disney music which changes with the vivid colors of the castle. The show is performed before closing time and also at 11pm (23:00), providing entertainment for guests of Disney resort hotels bordering the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Beginning November 2007, for the first time, the "Castle Dream Lights", with over 200,000 LED Christmas lights (as Disneyland Paris has since 2004), covered Cinderella's Castle and was lit nightly during a new stage show in front of the castle. The castle looks similar to ice and is very popular among guests during the holiday season, the only time it is now used.

Inside the castle's archway, a series of five mosaic murals tells the story of Cinderella. Designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and crafted and set in place by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff, the 15-by-10-foot (4.6 by 3.0 m) ornate panels are shaped in a Gothic arch. The murals took 22 months to complete and contain just over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass and rough smalti (glass made specifically for mosaics traditionally used by Italian craftsmen) in more than 500 colors. Many of the hand-cut tiles are fused with sterling silver and 14-karat (58 percent) gold, and some are as small as the head of a tack. Looking closely at these ornate murals, one will notice that each of Cinderella's wicked stepsisters appears with a little added color - one sister's face is clearly "red with anger", while the other is a little "green with envy" as they watch Cinderella try on the glass slipper.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

As of September 10, 2007, the castle is home to the "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique", first introduced at Downtown Disney. Inside, guests can receive a one-of-a-kind "princess transformation", which features a Disney Princess make-up, one of three hairstyles, a manicure, a sash, and/or a gown, crown, wand and shoes.

Cinderella's Royal Table

Cinderella's Royal Table, formerly known as King Stefan's Banquet Hall, is a restaurant inside the castle. Located on the second floor, guests can take the circular stairway or the elevator to the restaurant, where children are referred to as princes and princesses, while the adults in the party are referred to as lords and ladies.

Walt Disney Imagineers had originally wanted to give the restaurant a regal name, and since there are no well-known characters from "Cinderella" that met their criteria, they instead took a little dramatic license and chose the name of Sleeping Beauty's father, King Stefan. The name was changed on April 28, 1997, in order not to confuse tourists.

The restaurant is decorated not only with a number of stained glass windows and medieval objects, but with more than forty coats of arms. Each of these is an actual family seal, and represent some of the many people that played a major role in the design and construction of Walt Disney World.

Cinderella's Royal Table is also the location of "Fairytale Dining at Cinderella's Royal Table." At breakfast, lunch and dinner Cinderella greets all guests in the castle foyer, and during the meal classic Disney princesses circulate among the tables.

Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall (Tokyo Disneyland)

Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall is located in the castle where Cinderella lives with Prince Charming. Cinderella, wanting to share her magical princess story, decided to open up the castle even during her absence and exhibit various artworks that show scenes from her story. At the lobby and corridor, guests will find eight murals showing how Cinderella changed from beloved daughter, to servant girl, and then to Princess. They will also see a diorama of Cinderella magically transformed into wearing a beautiful ball gown, and other artworks made from various materials such as paper, wood and glass. In the Grand Hall guests will find a magnificent chandelier, the renowned glass slipper, a throne, and special paintings that reveal a magical message when photographed using a flash.

Images for kids

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Cinderella Castle General statistics Manufacturer The Walt Disney Company Designer Walt Disney Imagineering Theme Cinderella Cinderella Castle is the fairy tale castle at the center of two Disney theme parks: the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, and Tokyo Disneyland at the Tokyo Disney Resort.

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Parks and Experiences | Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

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disney imagineers - Kiddle - visual search engine for kids

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disney imagineers - Kiddle - visual search engine for kids

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Have a look into the creative drawings, paintings, and ideas of Imagineers, and how all parts of Disney started with imagination.

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A Virtual Tour of Walt Disney Imagineering - Part 5 | #DisneyMagicMoments

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A Virtual Tour of Walt Disney Imagineering: Part 2 | #DisneyMagicMoments