Parks and Resorts

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Paul S. Pressler Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts enjoyed record performance in 2000, enhancing its industry leadership and setting the stage for the unveiling of two new theme parks - Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea - in 2001. The pace and excitement will continue unabated through the first half of the decade, with a second theme park scheduled to open at Disneyland Paris in 2002, and Hong Kong Disneyland set to debut in 2005. Looking ahead, guests can also expect a steady stream of all-new parades, stage shows and attractions, as well as new hotels, retail establishments and restaurants, at Disney theme parks and resorts around the world. Guests had reason to celebrate this year as Disney's FASTPASS system was introduced at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland, and implemented more broadly at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This revolutionary computerized virtual queuing system gives guests an alternative to waiting in line for their favorite attractions. Guests choosing Disney's FASTPASS are provided tickets with an assigned window of time during which they can return to the attraction for entry with little or no wait.

FASTPASS - recognized for its ingenuity and innovation with the 2000 Governor's New Product Award from the Florida Engineering Society - is currently available at three attractions at Disneyland Paris, four attractions at Tokyo Disneyland, 10 attractions at Disneyland and 19 attractions at Walt Disney World. Surveys showed that the free service improved guests' enjoyment of Disney parks by significantly reducing wait times and providing them with more time for additional rides, attractions and entertainment throughout the park. Disney's California Adventure Imagineers have been hard at work on Disney's California Adventure theme park, which will open its "golden gates" to guests on February 8, 2001. Disney's California Adventure is the centerpiece of a $1.4 billion expansion at the Disneyland Resort.

Located next to Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure celebrates the uniqueness of the Golden State, giving guests a taste of the fun, diversity and lifestyle found only in California. Also included in the expansion is the deluxe 750-room Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Downtown Disney, an exciting entertainment district with shopping, theaters and dining venues.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, designed in the Arts and Crafts style of early 20th century California, is actually inside the new theme park, a first for a Disney hotel. Disney's Grand Californian Hotel will open for guests in early 2001. Downtown Disney serves as the dynamic center of the Disneyland Resort, with its lush garden-like complex connecting the two theme parks with the Disneyland Resort hotels.

Within Disney's California Adventure, guests can explore three specially themed lands: "Paradise Pier," the ultimate beachfront amusement zone, filled with thrilling attractions and vibrant graphics associated with the heyday of the great seaside amusement park piers; "Hollywood Pictures Backlot," featuring shows and attractions celebrating the magic of movie-making and the culture, fame and celebrity atmosphere that surrounds it; and "The Golden State," with unique experiences, dining areas and attractions paying tribute to California's spectacular wilderness areas and its vast cultural richness.

Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier combines the nostalgic thrills of "iron rides" with the energy of a beachfront boardwalk on a summer day. Crashing waves signal the exhilarating catapult launch of the California Screamin' roller coaster, featuring a synchronized rock 'n' roll soundtrack and the first 360-degree loop of any coaster at the Disneyland Resort. Other rides include the 160-foot-tall Sun Wheel, modeled after a 1927 Ferris wheel, that sends gondolas looping through internal tracks, and the Maliboomer, which shoots guests 200 feet straight up in the air in just four seconds.

Hollywood Pictures Backlot

Imagineers have taken a decidedly tongue-in-cheek look at star-gazing with Hollywood Pictures Backlot. For example, in Superstar Limo, audio, video, special effects and a bevy of celebrities combine to shower each guest with star treatment during a wild stretch limousine ride through sets full of Southern California kitsch. Next door, the Muppets display their unique brand of mayhem in Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3-D. And an entire pavilion houses the secrets of Disney Animation.

Golden State Towering above the entire park, the 110-foot-tall Grizzly Peak serves as a majestic landmark for an area of the Golden State district reminiscent of California's famous national parks. Within this picturesque setting, Imagineers have created Grizzly River Run, an exciting whitewater rafting adventure that goes past waterfalls and tumbling cascades that will twist, twirl and tumble guests with two action-packed drops. Amid the high-desert airfield, Condor Flats, Soarin' Over California offers a breathtaking hang glider flight that journeys over vistas and landmarks from the beaches to the mountains. The attraction is one of Imagineering's most spectacular technological achievements ever, and is sure to be a signature ride at Disney's California Adventure.

Downtown Disney

Bridging the two theme parks and resort hotels is Downtown Disney, a new admission-free shopping, dining and entertainment district. Anchored by a World of Disney superstore and an ESPN Zone, Downtown Disney offers an energetic and eclectic experience that also includes House of Blues, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, AMC Downtown Disney 12, Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria and Y Arriba! Y Arriba!, in addition to nearly 20 retail venues.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

A key part of the expansion at Disneyland Resort is architect Peter Dominick's design of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. The hotel's evocative styling features rich woodwork, delicate ironwork and stained glass, and recalls the architectural movement popularized by Charles and Henry Greene and Bernard Maybeck.

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