Providing the world’s best family entertainment remained the top strategic priority at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2003, as its Imagineers continued to develop – and thousands of global cast members continued to deliver – the incomparable blend of shows, attractions and guest service that has defined the Disney experience for decades.

E-Ticket Attractions

“E-Ticket” attractions, such as Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain, have been among the most thrilling and highly visible symbols of Disney theme parks for nearly 50 years.

Building on this tradition, Walt Disney Imagineering set a new standard for “E-Ticket” entertainment in 2003, again bringing Disney’s timeless storytelling together with leading-edge technology to create the most exciting attractions ever.

Mission: SPACE, which opened at Epcot in August, launches theme park entertainment to new heights, combining the artistry of Disney with technology to create a space adventure that takes guests who “Choose to Go!” all the way to the surface of Mars.

In California, construction continued on The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror, a pulse-racing adaptation of the landmark attraction that has thrilled and entertained millions of guests at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. Guests who brave the creepy façade of the once-glorious Hollywood Tower Hotel board a foreboding freight elevator that ascends 13 stories before plunging to the basement in an unpredictable series of plummets and ascents. The first guest check-in is scheduled for May 2004.

Work also started on Soarin’ Over California, which is scheduled to open at Epcot in 2005. This landmark attraction debuted at Disney’s California Adventure and gives guests the ultimate sensation of free flight as they “hang glide” over the most awe-inspiring landscapes of the Golden State.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom unveiled plans for its biggest attraction ever during a celebration of the park’s fifth anniversary in April. Scheduled to welcome its first intrepid explorers in 2006, Expedition
EVEREST will take guests on a high-speed adventure through the thundering waterfalls and glistening glaciers of the Himalayas.