EXPLORING
DISNEYLAND PARK
The theme park’s138 acres are divided into
five theme Lands: Main Street USA, Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland
and Discoveryland. Disney, however, have ensured that nothing is left to chance.
From the smallest detail in planning to the largest construction, everything
tells a story.
MAIN
STREET USA
Main street is Walt Disney’s idealised idea of a small-town, Victorian
America. The Main Street traffic includes horse-drawn rail cars, old double-decker
buses, an antique fire engine, a Keystone-cop style paddy wagon and a vintage
car which together tell the story of the evolution of transport. These form
part of a working transport system which moves visitors between the Town
Square and the central
hub of the park near Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, beneath which a Dragon
lurks. Here is the Central Plaza, the point
from which paths radiate to the other four lands. The Castle itself acts as
a landmark throughout the park, enabling guests to find where they are when
Aunty Edna has just walked off with the only copy of the map. The Park's pathways
are an adventure in themselves and offer both dry and open routes between
Frontierland, Adventureland and Fantasyland. Some of these are rarely discovered
by the guests, so intent are they on getting to the castle bvut they can save
a great deal of time. Watch out for the path that runs from the main entrance
to Fort Comstock, past the toilets and towards Adventureland. This route offers
cover and a fabulous example of the imagineers' best work, where they imperceptibly
change from Frontier America construction to Arabian and Cental African thatching.
As you enter Main St, you pass beneath Main St Station from where you can ride a nineteenth century ‘steam’ engine around the park. En route, you pass through a Grand Canyon Diorama, a visual depiction of the Canyon from dawn to dusk. The train also stops in each of the other lands from where you can explore. Trains run every ten minutes but boarding in the lands is sometimes prohibited before midday. Beneath the station are lockers where, for 10 ff, you can store valuables and bags. (Currently suspended owing to the security risks)
FRONTIERLAND
From the Central Plaza, this is the first land you encounter, a musical, visual
and live action recreation of America’s Wild West. Entry is through Fort
Comstock’s imposing wooden gate and fort grounds, in which children
can pretend they’re winning the West all over again, mainly by dropping
their sticky lollipops on the heads of unsuspecting passers by.
Rides:
Shows:
Chaparall
theatre
ADVENTURELAND
Inspired by tales of swashbuckling Pirates and Daring Adventurers in Exotic Places, in Adventureland you can experience wild rides and amazing audioanimatronic productions and then explore the mysteries of Adventure island, an experience all of its own. Watch out for the wobbly barrel, the fantastic rope suspension bridge and the maze of dimly lit caves!
Rides:
FANTASYLAND
It’s an unusual person who doesn’t immediately feel a sense of warmth and security in this, the most magical of the lands. With their usual impeccable sense of design, the Imagineers have modelled the buildings (including the castle) on the animated features in the Disney stable. If you have very young offspring, let them try their hand at removing the Sword in the Stone, betrween the castle and the Gallopers.
Rides:
Les Pirouettes du Vieux Moulin (The bucket ride)
Snow White and the seven Dwarfs
Shows:
Castle Theatre (seasonal
The Train station theatre (seasonal)
DISCOVERYLAND
Dedicated to man’s technological achievements and dreams, the entrance to Discoveryland appears to thrust its way upwards from the earth. Here the theme is travel through Space and Time and, in the process, the dreams, ideas and works of Jules Verne are celebrated, as are those of Leonardo DeVinci and HG Wells. Videopolis, the Park's largest cafe, also hsts the best shows.
Rides:
Shows:
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