Euro Disneyland

Today, we continue our orientation to Disneyland Resort Paris with a look at the map of the Disneyland Paris park. Opened April 12, 1992, it was originally called Euro Disneyland, a name inspired by the newly-formed European Union and indicative of the broad demographic of the park's guests. By 1994, however, the name had been changed to Disneyland Paris, encouraging an association with the nearby French capitol as opposed to the soon-to-be-adopted euro currency.

Disneyland Paris is fairly large at 140 acres, with a general "hub and spoke" layout and features similar to the other Disneyland-style parks. A few key differences:

- The Disneyland Hotel sits at the entrance of the park. The ticket booths are beneath the hotel at ground level, and the turnstiles and railroad station are just beyond.

- Main Street, U.S.A., includes two covered walkways along the back side of its shops and restaurants. The Liberty Arcade and Discovery Arcade offer protection from the sometimes cold and wet Parisian weather and are a great way to dodge the Main Street crowds during parade times.

- Frontierland at Disneyland Paris, the largest in any Disneyland park, is situated at the lower left in the spot most often associated with Adventureland. Here, the buttes of Big Thunder Mountain rise from the middle of the Rivers of the Far West.

- The entrance to Adventureland (top left) is straight out of Aladdin, while other regions of this land draw inspiration from the Indiana Jones films, Africa, the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Never Land.

- Fantasyland is beautifully landscaped and presented in various layers and levels, creating a veritable wonderland of sights and experiences.

- Instead of Tomorrowland, it's Discoveryland that dominates the right side of the park, taking its design cues from past visionaries the likes of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

Attractions unique to Disneyland Paris include:

#4 - Main Street Vehicles Paddy Wagon and Limousine

#7 - Legends of the Wild West

#8 - River Rogue Keelboats

#9 - Phantom Manor

#13 - Pocahontas Indian Village

#19 - Le Passage Enchanté d'Aladdin

#20 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril

#21 - Adventure Isle

#23 - Sleeping Beauty Castle & La Tanière du Dragon

#31 - Alice's Curious Labyrinth

#45 - Les Mystères du Nautilus

#46 - Space Mountain: Mission 2

As we explore the park in detail in the coming weeks, we'll be covering all this and more, so keep checking back.

Favorite Things: Guide Maps

Thousands of families are visiting Disney Parks this week and letting the memories begin. Trust me. It's BUSY! They'll be taking millions of pictures and snapping up tons of souvenir merchandise, but what many may not realize is one of the best souvenirs of their trip is already in their hands... and it's free!

I have a decent collection of park guide maps from my visits to Disney Parks over the years. More recently, I've also tried to pick up new ones as things change in the parks. They're always a fun way of looking back at the way things were. The examples I'm sharing today are from my first visits to each of the four parks at Walt Disney World.

The Magic Kingdom guide book from Summer 1978 featured separate page spreads on each land, with information about all the attractions, shops and restaurants. There's also a map and information inside about the rest of the Vacation Kingdom. If you look closely, you can see where my dad checked off each attraction we visited and the alphabetical ticket required for admission. For a better look at this guide book, check out this article.

My family first visited EPCOT Center in June 1983, less than a year after the park opened. The guide map at that time was truly unique to differentiate the Epcot experience from that of the Magic Kingdom. It was a cardboard tri-fold that opened on a map of the overall park, followed by spreads on Future World and World Showcase. For even more information, the back panel of the guide included a rotating disc that could be used to "dial in" details about specific pavilions. Later in the '80s, Epcot would adopt a style of guide book more consistent with the Magic Kingdom's. For an example of a page from that, visit this previous post on the CommuniCore attraction.

I was fortunate to be a guest on May 1, 1989, the opening day of Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios). The guide I have from that day is a real treasure, since there's probably no other park that has changed quite as much as the Studios over the years. Take a look at the original map of the park in this article I wrote celebrating the 20th anniversary of Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The final example I have for you today is the very first guide map produced for Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's from the Cast Preview Days, held in March 1998, more than a month before the park opened to the general public. A quick glance shows you not everything was ready. A couple attractions are labeled "Coming in April," and the entire land of Asia is depicted as a construction zone (Asia opened in 1999).

Click to enlarge the image, and you'll discover all sorts of things that have changed since the early days of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Dinosaur! and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail are listed under their original names, Countdown to Extinction and Gorilla Falls. Countdown to Extinction states a minimum height requirement of 46 inches (the ride was toned down a bit so the height could be reduced to 40 inches, making it more accessible to a wider audience). There are also listings for several extinct attractions, like the Dinosaur Jubilee and Journey Into Jungle Book show.

This collection of guide maps is definitely one of my favorite things. Every time I crack one open, it's like hopping into a time machine to the Disney Parks of my memories.

My First Time

In the summer of 1978, my parents decided it was time to make the trip to Florida to "see Disney World." I was 8 (that's me with the bad hair). My brother was not quite 6, and we were too excited for words. We stayed off site (Disney only had three hotels and a campground then, and they were booked a year in advance), and we had two glorious days to spend (it was just the Magic Kingdom, after all).

My mom snapped the above photo with her old 110 camera, during a lunch break at the Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner on Main Street (now known as Casey's Corner). You'll notice my dad is flipping through our ticket book, figuring out what we might do next with what we have left. I seem to recall we had some extra "C" coupons and decided to use them for another trip to Neverland on Peter Pan's Flight.

I'm holding up our guidebook, likely lobbying for the attractions I want to do most. I'm sorry to say I no longer have any of the tickets from that trip, but I do still have the guidebook. It's a treasured part of my collection, for the look back at Magic Kingdom history as well as the memories it evokes.

The front cover of the book promises it will be "Your Complete Guide to Walt Disney World." The contents live up to that, providing information not just on the theme park, but the entire Vacation Kingdom. The back cover features an ad promoting the summer movie releases from Walt Disney Productions. The Jungle Book was a re-release of the 1967 classic, but the other two films were actually new at the time.

The center of the guidebook contains this handy map of the Magic Kingdom (click on the image for a closer look). It's fascinating to study for what is and isn't there. Of course, there are the now extinct attractions such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mickey Mouse Revue, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Skyway, If You Had Wings and Mission to Mars. There are also the large plots of open land where Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and Mickey's Toontown Fair would later reside.

Close examination also reveals the location of ticket booths, which attractions took which type of ticket and those that were completely free (thanks to the participation of a corporate sponsor).

I hope you enjoy this look back at the Magic Kingdom. In the coming days, I'll have even more memories for you, so stay tuned!