Hallo!
Der nachfolgende Text bedarf einiger kurzer einführender Worte. Es handelt sich hierbei um den ausformulierten Text eines Referates für den Englischunterricht, das mit Hilfe des Park-Planer-Reiseführers erstellt wurde. Ich hätte mir nie träumen lassen, dass mein Buch einmal zum "Schulbuch" wird! :-)

Park-Planer



Walt Disney World
von Stefan Wingenfeld

Disney World is situated in the Sunshine State Florida, approximately 32 kilometres south-west of Orlando. It is sprawled over 113 square kilometres, it is therefore the biggest themepark in the world. It is twice as big as Manhatten Island and roughly as big as the inner city of Paris. On this gigantic compound Disney World presents four giant themeparks to the visitor, the Magic Kingdom, the Epcot, the Disney MGM-Studios and the Animal Kingdom.
In addition, you can find two large adventure water parks, the sports facilities are among the best the world has to offer, there are night clubs, theater performances, shopping malls, numerous restaurants and more than 20 hotels with a capacity of over 20,000 beds.
The costs of the completion of these facilities before the official opening on October 1, 1979 amounted to 400 million dollars.
Walt Disney World attracts more tourists per year than any other place in the world. In the peak periods more than 150,000 people flock into the park per day. Less than 15 years after its opening Disney World counted already 240 million visitors. When it comes to explaining this spectacular success one has to mention the following factors, which may be considered the basic principles of Disney: meticulous attention to detail and absolute cleanliness. Hundreds of people do nothing but wipe and clean. All the employees are friendly, not a speck of dust or an unfriendly word must mar the overall impression of being in a flawless, beautiful world.
Even the air balloons weigh enough, so they cannot fly away and make children cry.
Walt Disney World is a universe in itself, the visitor can even pay in his own currency, the Disney Dollar. The economic impact of Disney World is enormous. Approximately 50,000 cast members work at the Walt Disney World Resort in over 2,800 different year-round, full-time and part-time classifications. The explosion of jobs in the last few years has led to a tremendous increase in the number of inhabitants in the cities around Disney World.
One third of the enormous Disney World complex is under environmental protection, nothing must be built on it; so far only twenty five per cent of the compound has been covered with buildings. Therefore the people in charge have to follow very strict regulations. Not a single drop of gasoline must be spilt on the whole compound, even the garbarge must be burned in Disneys own incinerators.

Walt Disney Story
The inventor of Walt Disney World was Walter Elias Disney. Walter E. Disney, who is also called „the father of the mouse“, was born the fourth of five children on December 5, 1901. He spent a happy childhood on a farm in Missouri and discovered his talent for drawing. In 1910 his father, Elias Disney, had to sell the fruit farm, and the family moved to Kansas City, where Walt delivered papers during the following six years, later on he sold sweets on the Santa Fe Express. In the autumn of 1916 he moved back to Chicago, where he attended the art academy. Towards the end of the War he enlisted in the Red Cross, in 1918 he was sent to France to work as a driver.
Back in Kansas City he met Ub Iwerks, first they opened a drawing studio, a little time later, they startet a cartoon studio. The studio went bust, therefore Walt travelled to Hollywood, the world movie capital, where he continued working on his films. A movie distributor from New York bought the film „Alice`s Wonderland“ and asked Walt to produce further films. Since his brother Roy had co-financed the project, both signed the contract on October 16, 1923 – the Disney Company had been founded.
In 1928, after a dispute between Disney and his movie distributor in New York, the contract was cancelled. Walt is reputed to have created a new cartoon figure on a train ride from New York back to Los Angeles, its name was Mickey Mouse. His original idea was to name the figure Mortimer the Mouse, but his wife Lillian persuaded him to call it Mickey Mouse. Mickey had its first public showing on November 18, 1928, in the cartoon „Steamboat Willie“. From that moment on, Walt Disney himself lent his voice to Mickey Mouse.
As early as in the 1930s Walt was thinking of his own entertainment park. Walt Disney dreamed of a place where families could go to have fun together – a place of fantasy and magic. Opening Disneyland on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles, Disney fulfilled his dream of his first Mickey Mouse Park. Disneyland was to be the first of many such places in the world.

Walt Disney World Story
As early as at the beginning of the 1960s Disney started thinking about a second Disneyland in the easter part of the United States. Doing that he did not want to repeat the mistake he had made when he opened the first park, when he had not bought enough land. Several places had been shortlisted, among them Washington D.C. and St. Louis. However, in the end Orlando was chosen; in the greatest possible secrecy land was bought by several agents. On November 15, 1965, the new Disney Project was presented for the first time at a press conference. Besides a park that followed the example of the Anaheim Disneyland, the Epcot was to be created, a city of the future. Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966 of lung cancer. His brother Roy O. Disney took over as chairman of the corporation, and his employees continued working on the plans for the new park. After large-scale work on the surrounding landscape the construction of the Magic Kingdom began in April 1969. On October 1, 1971 Walt Disney World opened its doors to the public. The compound was extended again and again and will further be extended. The world of Disney is undergoing constant change.

Magic Kingdom
The first themepark of Walt Disney World was the Magic Kingdom. On October 25, 1971, it was officially opened by Roy O. Disney. On an area of 40 hectares, the Magic Kingdom is the smallest themepark. It follows the example of the Disneyland in Anaheim. The Magic Kingdom consists of seven themelands, Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, Mickey`s Toontown Fair, and Tomorrowland.

Main Street U.S.A.
Upon entering the park the visitors step into the first themeland. Starting from Town Square all visitors walk down the Main Street U.S.A. It shows the Main Street of a typical small town of the turn of the century. The Main Street basically invites people to do some shopping. There are no exciting attractions, the Main Street itself is the attraction with lots of restaurants and stores. At the end of the Main Street there is the Central Plaza, in the middle of it the visitors can admire the statues of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. From there the way is open to all other lands.
In all likelihood, the Main Street U.S.A. was modelled after the small town Marceline in Missouri, where Walt Disney spent his childhood.

Adventureland
In the Adventureland the visitors discover the world of artificial animals on a boat ride, they visit the Robinson Family in their tree house, they experience the wrath of the Tiki Gods or they set sail into the Caribbean with pirates.
Doubtless, one of the most spectacular attractions of the Magic Kingdom is the boat ride with the „Pirates of the Caribbean“ in the Adventureland. First the visitors are led through the caves of a fortress, deeper and deeper down into the belly of the fortress where they pass guns and dark prisons; finally they arrive at the place where they take the boats. This is where the boat ride begins, the passengers are put in the middle of the action, they experience a big battle between a pirate ship and a fortress. At the end of the attack the pirates have won the battle and the whole town has gone up in smoke. However, the visitors escape in their boats through the prison and end up in a well-filled treasure trove.
Originally, this attraction was shown in the Disneyland in Anaheim, it was the first big extension of the Magic Kingdom in December 1973. The Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the best attractions in the entire Magic Kingdom, because this incredible suspense is maintained throughout the whole tour.

Frontierland
In the Frontierland everything is focussed on the Wild West. This is the home of cowboys and Indians, of Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn.
The entrance to the Frontierland reminds the visitors of St. Louis in the year 1840, when this city on the Mississippi River was right on the boarder between the Civilized East and the Wild West.
The most popular attraction in the Frontierland and, at the same time, the wettest attraction in the Magic Kingdom is „Splash Mountain“. The visitors are on a raft, they are propelled towards a water fall; the final splash of 17 metres is equivalent to 5 storeys and the boats rush into the depth at an angle of 45 degrees, at a speed of 65 kilometres per hour.
In the Frontierland, you can also find the wildest attraction of the Magic Kingdom, the rollercoaster „Big Thunder Mountain Railroad“. The visitors step on a train that gets out of control and races through the scenery of the Bryce Canyon.
The model of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is to be found in Disneyland. In November 1980 the 900 metre long ride through the Big Thunder Mountain was opened to the public as the first big attraction in the Frontierland. The Mountain is 66 metres high and is therefore one of the tallest „mountains“ in the whole of Florida.

Liberty Square
The Liberty Square forms the transition between the Frontierland and the Fantasyland. Here, the visitors find more about American History, the visitor is shown technically perfect, rather than exciting attractions.
The absolute highlight of the Liberty Square is the ghost train „Haunted Mansion“. The visitors step into a tiny room that is packed with eerie surprises. Then they are taken through the house on a so called „Doom Buggy“. The tour starts in a library, which consists of ghost stories, it leads the visitors past a ballroom where a few sociable ghosts are having a party. The ride ends in a scary visit to the nightly graveyard and makes your blood freeze.

Fantasyland
In the Fantasyland children`s dreams come true, when the visitors meet the stars of Disney movies such as King of the Lions, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Alice, Winnie Puh and Cinderella.
Walt Disney referred to the Fantasyland as the „timeless land of enchantment“, later on he called it „the happiest land of all“. The entrance to the Fantasyland is formed by the „Cinderella Castle“, it measures 63 metres, therefore it is twice as tall as the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. It is the centre, and, at the same time the hallmark of the Magic Kingdom. It was modelled after castles that were built in France in the 12th and 13th centuries, the castles of Louis 14 and the draft for the castle in the cartoon Cinderella. The mosaic in the passage to the Fantasyland repodruces some scenes from the film, with thousands of mosaic stones, partly out of real gold and silver.

Tomorrowland
The Tomorrowland shows the vision of a future, that has never existed, and that will probably never exist.
The highlight among the exciting attractions is the show the „Extra Terrorestrial Alien Encounter“ of the company X-S Tech. Here, the visitors can observe how a small extra terrestrial is thrown from one corner of the room into the other. When shortly afterwards, the chairman of the company X-S Tech is to be teleported directly into the Magic Kingdom an accident happens. It`s a giant monster, which lands on earth, instead of the chairman, and the horror begins.
The Alien Encounter is a very suspenseful, technically perfect show, that is bone-chilling and that people with weak nerves should not watch.
The fastest attraction of the Magic Kingdom is also to be found in the Tomorrowland. In the indoor-rollercoaster „Space Mountain“ the passengers travel through space in absolute darkness, past stars and planets.
It was Walt Disney himself, who had the idea of creating Space Mountain. After a ten-year period of developing the technology the first rockets raced through the mountain on January 15, 1975. The mountain is approximately 60 metres high and the ride reaches a speed of up to 45 kilometres per hour.
The evening parade „Spectromagic Parade“ on the Main Street ends an exciting day in the Magic Kingdom, it is another unique experience. In this light parade countless carriages are decorated with thousands of lights, they are accompanied by many characters and dancers.
The fireworks over the Cinderella Castle is the unforgettable conclusion of the parade.

Epcot
Besides the Magic Kingdom the Epcot is the second themepark. After Disney`s death the original plans for the Epcot were taken up again, but instead of a city of the future this was to become a second themepark. The Epcot embodies the dream that Walt Disney had of his city of the future, the dream of an „Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow“. The idea was to have people live together, play and test the latest progress of technology in this city of the future. The construction of the Epcot began in October 1979. With 1.2 billion dollars it was the biggest privately-funded construction project of its time in the whole world, 10,000 people worked on it. On October 24, 1982, the Epcot was offically opened. The Epcot is twice the size of the Magic Kingdom, it consists of the two parts Future World and World Showcase.
The northern part, the Future World is dedicated to communication, energy, man and his health, transport, the future of technology, the land and the sea. All pavillions are arranged around the impressive „Space Ship Earth“, which is the centre of the Future World and, at the same time, the hallmark of the Epcot. In the biggest golfball of the world the visitors can experience a ride to the roots of mankind, they travel past scenes of the past, the present, and the future of communication.
Space Ship Earth has a diameter of more than 50 metres, it is 55 metres high. Its weight of 7,000 tons rests on 6 pylons which were dug up to 50 metres into the ground. The construction time for the gigantic geosphere of the Space Ship Earth was 26 months.
The absolute highlight among the attractions in the Future World is the car ride „Test Track Ride“. Not only is it the newest attraction in the Epcot, it is also the fastest of the entire Disney World. The visitors can slip into the role of a crash test dummy, this allows them to experience in a most impressive way how cars are tested. The test cars reach a maximum speed of more than 100 kilometres per hour.
In order to reach a maximum of realism the developers had a look at some General Motors proving grounds all over the USA. This allowed them to design this attraction with realistic test equipment.
In the southern part of the Epcot the pavillions of the World Showcase are arranged around the World Showcase Lagoon. Eleven different nations, with attractions, films, restaurants, and stores, are represented around this 17 hectare big lake. The first pavillion is the pavillion of Canada, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico.
Another unforgettable experience in the World Showcase is the „Tapestry of Nations Parade“ and the show „IllumiNations“ which allows the eleven nations of the World Showcase Lagoon to present themselves. An impressive laser show accompanies the parade, it ends with a gigantic fireworks.

Disney-MGM Studios
This is the third themepark on the Walt Disney World compound. The Disney-MGM Studios were opened on May 1, 1989, they are a little bit smaller than the Epcot. During the official opening ceremony, Michael Eisner, chairman of the Disney company, described the Disney-MGM Studios as the „Hollywood that never was and always will be“. The original idea was to inlarge the Epcots Future World by adding a pavillion with the theme „film“. The Disney-MGM Studios offer a unique look behind the scenes of movie making. The landmark of the studios is a reproduction of the water tower which features many times in the movie studios of Hollywood. However, this tower has two round Mickey Mouse Ears, which earned it the name „Earffel Tower“.
One of the most spectacular attractions of the Disney-MGM Studios is the freefall attraction „Tower of Terror“. First the unsuspecting visitors enter an old hotel. It is reported that at Halloween in 1939 a lightning struck this hotel. An entire wing of the building was destroyed, along with a lift with five people. On their way through the abandoned hotel the visitors step into one of four lifts. After a spectacular ride through the different storeys of the building, the trip ends on the 13th floor, at a height of 50 metres. After a short look over the park the lift rushes into the depth over 50 metres.
With 2.5 seconds, the longest free fall lasts an eternity. The tower was opened in July 1994. However, even after its opening, the fall sequence was changed, to add a further thrill to the ride. With 60 metres it is the tallest building of the Disney Parks.
The fastest attraction is the indoor looping train „Rock`n`Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith“. On this train the visitors travel at a speed of 90 kilometres per hour through Hollywood at night, doing so they listen to a rocky soundtrack from Aerosmith.
The looping train has been in operation since August 1999, it was the first Disney attraction on American soil that puts the passengers upside down. Doing so the train accelerates to a top speed of 90 kilometres per hour in only 2.8 seconds.
The two highlights of the Disney-MGM Studios are the two shows „Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular“ and „Fantasmic!“.
The show „Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular“ is a perfect stunt show with spectacular special effects. The successful Indiana Jones Trilogy served as the model for this stunt show. The show takes the visitor through dangerous caves and shows breathtaking fights in the streets of Cairo. It ends in an explosive showdown on an airfield in the desert.
The unique show „Fantasmic!“ is based on the Disney film „Fantasia“, it allows the visitors a look at the dreams of Mickey Mouse. However the dream is transformed into a terrible nightmare which is peopled with many well-known Disney bad guys. Apart from that, scenes from famous cartoons come to life through fireworks effects, water fountains, laser shows, special effects, excerpts from movies, music and many characters.
The Hollywood Hills Theatre houses 10,000 visitors. The original has been showing in Anaheim Disneyland since 1992, however, the Florida version is an independent show.

Animal Kingdom
Disney`s Animal Kingdom is the biggest and most recent park, it opened its gates on April 22, 1998. With its size of 200 hectares, the Animal Kingdom is five times as big as the Magic Kingdom. Disney`s Animal Kingdom is a mixture of zoo and entertainment park. It was Walt Disney himself who had the idea to use real animals as an attraction, however, at the time people thought that this concept could not be put into practice. Planning the zoo the developers worked closely togehter with specialists so that the animals could feel at home in their compounds. The animals come from different zoos, some were rescued from threatened areas. The Animal Kingdom consists of seven themelands, The Oasis, Discoveryland, Camp Minnie-Mickey, Africa, Rafiki`s Planet Watch, Asia, and Dinoland U.S.A.

The Oasis
The first themeland, The Oasis, is the entrance and the exit of the Animal Kingdom. The Oasis is a jungle with waterfalls, narrow streams, and many animals.

Discoveryland
With its Safary village Discovery Land forms the centre of the Animal Kingdom.
The „Tree of Life“ is, in much the same way as Cinderella Castle, the centre of the park and its hallmark at the same time. It is a completely artificial tree, it is 45 metres tall. More than 325 animals have been elaborately carved into its trunk. In its interior part the tree houses a 3-D cinema with 430 seats.

Africa
Africa is the biggest land of the Animal Kingdom, it alone is bigger than the entire Magic Kingdom. Large parts of Africa consist of a reproduction of the African savanna. The visitor steps into Africa by crossing the village Harambe, the word Harambe means something like getting together.
Africa`s biggest attraction is the jeep ride „Kilimanjaro Safaris“. It is a safari tour in a jeep which allows the visitors to get a very close look at the animals. They can see zebras, gazelles, rhinos, elephants, lions, leopards, crocodiles, and many more.
With this attraction, Walt Disney`s dream came true, more than 20 years after his death.

Asia
The land Asia takes the visitor into a world full of temples and tigers, he travels to the city Anandapur, this means something like place of joy.
The wettest attraction is the ride on a raft called „ Kali River Rapids“ where the visitor gets a lot of information about the consequences of the destruction of the rain forest. During this ride the visitor experiences the unique beauty of the virgin forest, at the same time he learns something about the devastating consequences of its destruction.