Alex Maroccia’s“Happiest Place on Earth”

1.

Disney World’s Four Fantastic Parks in One

• Magic Kingdom- “The Original”

• Epcot- Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

• Animal Kingdom- The world largest zoo with themed areas from around the world

• Hollywood Studios- A taste of the movie sets and rides geared towards them

2.

Magic Kingdom

• Most visited theme park in the world (17,172,000 visitors last year) (Jeffers, G. (2012). TeaConnect.org. AECOM 2011 Theme Index. Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/2011Report.pdf)

• Includes over 41 attractions for children and adults of all ages

• While many rides are meant for the younger crowd (10yrs or younger), exciting larger attractions include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad runaway train roller coaster, Splash Mountain log flume, and Space Mountain dark roller coaster

• Cinderella’s castle is the centerpiece of the park and the most notable feature of the complex

(Mttbme. Space Mountain. [Digital Image] Sep. 4, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Space_Mountain_January_2012_Magic_Kingdom_Nighttime.JPG)

(SolarSurfer. Thunder Mountain. [Digital Image] Spe. 4, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Thunder_Mountain_Railroad.JPG )

3.

Epcot• Contains two separate sections:

• World Showcase- eleven different countries which provide a taste of their cultures

• Future World- the front of the park which features multiple rides and attractions to bolster environmental and technological awareness

• Each night is accompanied with the fantastic IllumiNations fireworks show, which features twelve minutes of flames, lasers, fireworks, and music

• Epcot was the sixth most visited theme park in the world with 10,825,000 visitors last year(Jeffers, G. (2012). TeaConnect.org. AECOM 2011 Theme Index. Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/2011Report.pdf)

• The geodesic dome is the centerpiece of the park

(Duensing, T. Test Track. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tfduesing/4558852808/)

(UpstateNYer. MissionSpaceEpcot. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MissionSpaceEpcot.JPG)

(Lightspeed_Suzuka. Fireworks. [Digital Image] Sep.6, 2012. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/Lightspeed_Suzuka/disney_epcot_fireworks.jpg ) 4.

Animal Kingdom(Penninston, Joe. Tree of Life. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/4320396947/)

• Largest Disney theme park in the world by size which contains hundreds of different animal species

• Also contains many outdoor and jungle themed attractions for all ages• Expedition Everest Roller Coaster • Kilimanjaro Safaris Expedition• Kali River Rapids

• Includes African, Asian, and dinosaur regions all spread throughout the park

• Seventh most visited theme park in the world with 9,783,000 visitors in 2011 (Jeffers, G. (2012). TeaConnect.org. AECOM 2011 Theme Index. Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/2011Report.pdf)

• The Tree of Life from The Lion King is the centerpiece of the park

5.

Esham, B. Expedition Everest. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Expedition_Everest.jpg

(Pasant, M. Mickey’s Hat. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.flickriver.com/photos/pasant/3219772338/)

Hollywood Studios(Childzy. Tower of Terror. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_of_Terror_CU.JPG)

• Was the seventh most visited amusement park in the world with 9,699,000 visitors in 2011 (Jeffers, G. (2012). TeaConnect.org. AECOM 2011 Theme Index. Sep. 6, 2012. http://www.teaconnect.org/pdf/2011Report.pdf)

• Contains many sections, all of which include themes from Disney movies created in Hollywood and attractions which brings these movies to life.

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith is the second fastest Disney ride behind Test Track in Epcot

• The nighttime show, Fantasmic!, features water effects, fireworks, and even live actors

• Mickey’s hat from Fantasia 2000 is the centerpiece of the park

6.

The Many Disney Resorts

Disney Deluxe ResortsName Location

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

Magic Kingdom Area

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort Epcot Area

Disney’s Beach Club Resort Epcot Area

Disney’s Polynesian Resort Magic Kingdom Area

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Animal Kingdom Area

Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Resort

Epcot Area

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Magic Kingdom Area

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Magic Kingdom Area

(Scdis32. Disney Grand Floridian. [Digital Image] Sep. 6, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Disneygrandfloridian.jpg)

Disney Moderate ResortsName Location

Disney’s The Cabins at Fort Wilderness

Magic Kingdom Area

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort

Downtown Disney Area

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Epcot Area

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Animal Kingdom Area

Disney Value ResortsName Location

Disney’s All- Star Music Resort

Animal Kingdom Area

Disney’s All- Star Movies Resort

Animal Kingdom Area

Disney’s All- Star Sports Resort

Animal Kingdom Area

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

ESPN World Wide of Sports Area

Disney’s Pop Century Resort

ESPN World Wide of Sports Area7.

49%

19%

12%

11%

10%

Top 5 Attendance

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (USA)

Merlin Enter-tainments Group (UK)Universal Studios Recreation Group (USA)

Parques Reunidos (ESP)

Six Flags Inc. (USA)

Theme Park Company Name

Disney’s Worldwide Theme Park Domination

• Disney Parks control almost half of the worldwide attendance for the top 5 theme park companies

• Worldwide attendance for all Disney parks combined last year was 121,400,000 visitors

• Information acquired from AECOM

8.

My Method to Visiting the Parks at Disney World in Four Days

Arrive at airport

Go straight to Epcot from

airport

Hit the rides up front first; Mission Space or Test Track

depending on wait, then

FastPass the other ride

If Soarin’ has a short wait,

which is rare, ride it.

Otherwise, take a walk around the

World Showcase

Make special stops in favorite

countries for lunch or

souvenirs

Enjoy dinner at a country,

watch IllumiNations, and head back

to hotel!

DAY 1

Eat breakfast at hotel, then head over to

Animal Kingdom in the morning

(trees provide shade!)

Quickly grab FastPass for Expedition

Everest, then ride Kali River

Rapids

If FastPass time has yet to

be reached, take the

Kilimanjaro Safari. If

reached, ride Expedition

Everest, then Safari

Eat lunch in Asia

Ride Primeval Whirl, then

leave park and take the bus to

Hollywood Studios (less

people later in day)

DAY 2

Eat breakfast in hotel again, then

go to Magic Kingdom as early

as possible (busiest park)

Rush to Frontierland and

grab a FastPass for Thunder

Mountain Railroad, and ride Splash Mountain,

then Thunder Mountain

Head over to Tomorrowland

and grab a FastPass for Space Mountain. In the

interim, either eat lunch or ride

Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Ride Space Mountain, then travel to back to Frontierland to check out the Swiss Family Treehouse

Go to Adventureland

and ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

Travel to Liberty Square to visit the Haunted Mansion

Grab some dinner, catch the

phenomenal fireworks show,

and head back to the hotel

DAY 3

Go to Animal Kingdom for

breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe

Ride Dinosaur and any other attractions you

want to ride again

Eat lunch in Animal

Kingdom, then take bus to

Epcot

Ride Spaceship Earth in the Epcot Ball

Walk to the World Showcase

and ride Maelstrom in

Norway, then hit any other

attractions you may have

wanted to see

Eat dinner in the World Showcase

before departing for

airportDAY 4

9.