A dream is a wish your heart makes, and one of the most dreamt about dreams is probably to visit Disneyland. Oh Ariel, how I long to be part of your world. Oh Pocahontas, teach me to paint with all the colours of the wind. And oh yes, Anna, I would totally build a snowman with you! With 6 Disneylands scattered around the world, making our fairytale dreams come true is much easier than Simba’s ascend to the throne!
❤ Disneyland L.A. ❤
Officially known as Disneyland Resort (California), this Disneyland has two different theme parks, three hotels, and the Downtown Disney District for shopping, dining, and entertainment purposes.
Disneyland Park
The first theme park, Disneyland Park, is the original Disneyland. Having opened its doors to the public on 17th July 1955, this is also the only Disneyland designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney himself! Disneyland Park is divided into eight differently themed areas: Main Street U.S.A., Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Mickey’s Toontown, Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, and Adventureland. The other Disneylands in other locations share all or some of these themed areas.
[Photo Credit: 10best]
Disney California Adventure Park
Disney California Adventure Park is the other theme park here, and it was opened on 8th February 2001. All you lucky people who are visiting this Disneyland within these three months will be in for a treat: Pixar Fest, the biggest Pixar celebration so far held in any Disneyland, will be ongoing till the 3rd of September! That means that you’ll get to hang out with Woody and Buzz, Merida, and even the Incredibles more than usual. This theme park has seven different areas: Buena Vista Street, Pixar Pier, Grizzly Peak, Pacific Wharf, Hollywood Land, A Bug’s Land, and Cars Land.
[Photo Credit: Amw Tour]
[Photo Credit: Disney Parks]
❤ Disneyland Florida ❤
Otherwise known as Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Florida is the second Disneyland to open on the 1st of October, 1971. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Disneyland Florida sounds even more impressive than its Californian counterpart with four (!) theme parks, two water parks, 28 (!!!) hotels, several golf courses, and the Disney Springs shopping, dining, and entertainment district.
Magic Kingdom Park
This is the theme park that takes after the original Disneyland Park in Cali, sharing some of the same themed areas. A replica of the Cinderella castle stands proudly here, and has become the icon of this park! Quick question: if I leave my shoe on the castle steps, do you think I’d find my prince too?
[Photo Credit: News4Jax]
Epcot
Epcot actually stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is a utopian city set in future times. More than twice the size of Magic Kingdom Park, the whole place is filled with lush greenery and water; I could almost imagine Snow White having a picnic with her animal friends here! It is also largely divided into two areas, Future World and World Showcase.
[Photo Credit: Pinterest]
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood, this theme park is themed around the worlds of Hollywood films, television, theatre, and music. It even has themed areas of its own: Hollywood Boulevard, Echo Lake, Grand Avenue, Pixar Place, Animation Courtyard, and Sunset Boulevard.
[Photo Credit: Fodors Travel Guide]
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
This park is all about taking care of the environment and saving the animals, so steps have been taken to ensure that this park is as “green” as possible. Besides live animal exhibits spanning hundreds of species, the park also has seven themed areas: Oasis, Discovery Land, Pandora – World of Avatar, Africa, Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Asia, and DinoLand U.S.A.
[Photo Credit: Undercover Tourist]
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
Featuring one of the largest outdoor wave pools in the world, Typhoon Lagoon is designed to look like a typhoon-wrecked tropical paradise. It has three areas: Mount MayDay, Hideaway Bay, and Typhoon Lagoon.
[Photo Credit: Disney At Work]
Disney’s Blizzard Beach
Despite its name, most of the park’s attractions are situated on top of Mount Gushmore, an artificial hill of 27.4 metres. To make it easier to navigate, the “mountain” is divided into three slopes of difference colours: Green, Red, and Purple.
[Photo Credit: Disney Parks]
❤ Tokyo Disneyland ❤
The first Disneyland to be built outside of the U.S.A., Tokyo Disneyland unveiled itself in 15th April 1983. It consists of two theme parks, four Disney-themed hotels, and the Ikspiari shopping, dining and entertainment district.
Tokyo Disneyland Park
Also represented by Cinderella’s castle, this park is modeled after the original Disneyland Park in California. Unsurprisingly, it shares most of its themed areas with the Cali park, with the exception of World Bazaar and Westernland.
[Photo Credit: Parkeology]
Tokyo Disney Sea
Opened on 4th September 2001, Tokyo Disney Sea is meant to bring out your inner sailor or pirate by having a nautical exploration theme. It has seven themed areas: Mediterranean Harbour, Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery, and American Waterfront. Question number 2: If I drink from the Mermaid Lagoon, will I become a mermaid too?
[Photo Credit: Meixitrip]
[Photo Credit: Civilian Global]
❤ Disneyland Paris ❤
How convenient is it that the city of love can also be the city of Disney dreams at the same time? I’m sure many girls have fantasised about being proposed to in front of the castle featured here. No? Just me then. It opened its doors on 12th April 1992, and has two theme parks, seven Disney-themed hotels, a golf course, a Disney Village entertainment complex, and Europe’s largest integrated corporate events venue.
Disneyland Park
Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant is the iconic castle of the Parisian Disneyland. French Lesson 101: it literally translates to “the castle of the Sleeping Beauty”. If you know your fairytales well, then you would know that the Sleeping Beauty tale originated from France too! By now, you should know that whatever that has the name “Disneyland Park” in it is modeled after the original one, so yes, this shares most of the same themed areas as the Cali park, except Discoveryland.
[Photo Credit: Visit-la-vallee-village]
[Photo Credit: Proenti]
Walt Disney Studios Park
As its name suggests, this park is dedicated to show business, and is all about movies, behind-the-scenes and production. It is divided into four “studio lots”: Front Lot, Toon Studio, Production Courtyard, and Backlot. Toon Studio has attractions based on Disney and Pixar characters, whereas Backlot features lots of behind-the-scenes actions and stunts.
[Photo Credit: Disney Parks]
❤ Hong Kong Disneyland ❤
Having opened on 12th September 2005, the HK Disneyland has a Disneyland Park, three hotels, several recreation facilities, and award-winning entertainment offerings and guest services. Let’s not go through “Disneyland Park” again, but focus on its other themed areas: Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch, and Mystic Point are the areas that are different from the original Disneyland Park. HK Disneyland has also launched an expansion project that will span the years from 2018 to 2023, so we can expect more themed areas, which are to be Marvel- and Frozen-themed!
[Photo Credit: Hong Kong Disneyland Facebook]
[Photo Credit: Livingnomads.com]
❤ Shanghai Disneyland ❤
This Disneyland too, is a Disneyland Park, and it’s the newest Disneyland among all, having just opened a mere two years ago on 16th June 2016. Happy belated birthday, Shanghai Disneyland! Of course it has the usual Disney characters and attractions, but this Disneyland Park also has other all-new experiences, which are specifically introduced to cater for the Chinese citizens. Besides the theme park, Shanghai Disneyland also has two themed hotels, a shopping, dining, and entertainment district, the Wishing Star Park, and other outdoor recreation areas. It has seven themes areas that doesn’t quite follow other Disneyland Parks: Mickey Avenue, Gardens of Imagination, Fantasyland, Treasure Cove, Adventure Isle, Tomorrowland, and Toy Story Land.
[Photo Credit: Disney Parks]
[Photo Credit: China Discovery]
[Photo Credit: Disney Parks]
Phew, there we are! We’ve finally gone through all 6 Disneylands, and I feel like Lumiere can prepare a feast and invite me to be his guest now. After all, having fun is hard work too! Would you be content with visiting just one Disneyland, or there’s no way you’re letting yourself miss an opportunity to have multiple Disney experiences? Share your opinions with us, Your Highnesses!