The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels, and a shopping, dining, and entertainment district known as Downtown Disney.
Hong Kong Disneyland is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It was the first Disneyland in Asia outside of Japan until Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. Hong Kong Disneyland is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by Hong Kong International Theme Parks. It is the most visited theme park in Hong Kong, followed by Ocean Park Hong Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland opened to visitors on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 13:00 HKT. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by incorporating Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. Notably, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy would not flow into the South China Sea.
Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland Park, is a theme park found at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 12 April 1992 as the first of the two parks built at the resort. Designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering, its layout is similar to Disneyland Park in California and Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in Florida. Spanning 56.656 ha —the second largest Disney park based on the original, after Shanghai Disneyland Park—it is dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.
Walt Disney Studios Park is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Upon opening, it was dedicated to show business, movie themes, production, and behind-the-scenes, but in the 2010s, in a similar manner to its sister park, Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida, it began to distance itself from the original studio backlot theming and entered a new direction of attraction development inspired by iconic Disney stories. In 2019, the park hosted approximately 5.2 million guests. The park is represented by the Earffel Tower, a water tower with Mickey Mouse ears similar to the one formerly located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, which in turn was inspired by the water tower at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc. then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
Disney Experiences is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is a resort built and owned by Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited, a joint venture of the Government of Hong Kong and The Walt Disney Company in Hong Kong on reclaimed land beside Penny's Bay, at the northeastern tip of Lantau Island, approximately two kilometres (1.2 mi) from Discovery Bay. It is the second Disney Resort in Asia and the first Disney Resort in China. Officially opened on 12 September 2005, the resort contains the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Hollywood Hotel, Disney Explorers Lodge and several retail, dining and entertainment facilities covering 1.3 square kilometres of the island.
The Happiest Homecoming on Earth or the Happiest Celebration on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. It commemorated fifty years of Disney theme parks and celebrated Disneyland's milestone throughout Disney parks all over the globe. The "Homecoming" name was only used for Disneyland Resort; all the other Disney Parks resorts used the "Celebration" name.
Martin A. "Marty" Sklar was a scriptwriter and construction developer. He was The Walt Disney Company's international ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering, the subsidiary of the company which designs and constructs Disney theme parks and resorts across the world. He was formerly vice president of Concepts and Planning for the company, before being promoted to president, then vice chairman and principal creative executive before his final role. Disney honored him with a Disneyland window dedication ceremony on his date of retirement, July 17, 2009.
Disney's Hollywood Hotel is one of three hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It officially opened with the resort on Monday, 12 September 2005. It is themed to 1930s Hollywood. The hotel has over 600 guestrooms.
Shanghai Disney Resort is a themed resort in Pudong, Shanghai, China. The resort opened to the public on June 16, 2016. It is the first Disneyland in mainland China. It is also the sixth Disney resort worldwide, after Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
Duffy the Disney Bear (ダッフィー) is a Disney Parks stuffed bear that can be found at the Tokyo Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line and formerly at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park in California, and Walt Disney World in Florida.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20th Century. In Tokyo Disneyland, it is called World Bazaar and covered by a glass Victorian-style conservatory roof to shield guests from the weather there. At Shanghai Disneyland, it is called Mickey Avenue and is orientated to help introduce visitors to Disney characters.
Iron Man Experience is a 3-D motion simulator attraction in Tomorrowland at Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened on 11 January 2017. The attraction is based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Iron Man, becoming the first Disney attraction to be based on a Marvel property. The attraction is located at the park's Tomorrowland section, in an area named "Stark Expo", adjacent to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Set a few years after the 2010 New York Stark Expo, Tony invites the visitors aboard the Iron Wing for a tour of Hong Kong, including the newly constructed Stark Tower. However, Hydra launches an attack on the city, led by Dr. Arnim Zola, forcing Tony to don the Iron Man armor and fight the menace alongside the Iron Wing.
Ahmad Jafari is an architect based in USA whose career began in the 1960s. He was with Disney Imagineering as an Architect and Art Director from 1966 to 2004 and has worked alongside Walt Disney and many Disney Legends. In 2006, he received the NFFC Disney Legend awards.
Wing Tao Chao is a Chinese-born American architect, master planner, construction developer, hospitality professional, and a former Disney Imagineer.
World of Frozen is a themed area based on the Frozen franchise. The land opened at Hong Kong Disneyland and is currently being developed by Walt Disney Imagineering for Tokyo DisneySea under the name of Frozen Kingdom and Walt Disney Studios Park under the name of Kingdom of Arendelle.
Castle of Magical Dreams is the centerpiece castle at Hong Kong Disneyland. It replaced the park's previous centerpiece, Sleeping Beauty Castle, as part of the park's 15th anniversary celebration. The castle's design pays tribute to the 12 Disney Princesses and 2 Frozen queens: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna, Elsa, and Moana. It is the third attraction to open as part of the park's multi-year expansion from 2018 to 2023.
