Walt Disney World/Disneyland
Walt Disney World’s millennium celebrations will be given a high profile at World Travel Market. The 15-month programme of festivities kicked off last month and there will be news of new rides and events coming on line in 2000.
Disneyland in California will be majoring on events and new attractions celebrating its 45th anniversary next year. The centrepiece is a new $4bn Anaheim Resort destination opening in 2001 within the original Disneyland park. It will include Disney’s California Adventure theme park and new on-site hotels.
WTM is also being used as the platform for launching Walt Disney Attractions’ new reference guides to the trade. These are Disney’s Official Travel Industry Reference Guide and the Disney Holiday Planning brochure. Travel industry partners are being invited to the Mall and Windsor Room at Earl’s Court 2 on Level One to hear more about developments at the Florida and California theme parks.
Representatives from Disneyland will also be on the California stand.
Universal Studios
With fast-expanding Universal Studios Florida getting all the attention over the last 18 months, its original counterpart in Hollywood will be vying for more attention at WTM. The Orlando theme park has introduced its new Islands of Adventure park, CityWalk dining and entertainment complex and its first on-site hotel as part of the renamed Universal Studios Escape, which incorporates the original attraction.
Now the Hollywood park aims to promote its new developments due to come on line in spring 2000.
The landmark studio tour will be getting a millennium makeover with the addition of new technology, surprise guest hosts and attractions which planners say will give visitors the ultimate Hollywood experience.
At the end of the new tour, guests will get a special sneak preview of movies currently in production at Universal.
Sea World/Busch Gardens
The Busch Entertainment Corporation will be out in force at WTM to take the wraps off its latest water theme park in Orlando, opening next year. It provides a new dimension to its popular Sea World attraction.
Located on a 30-acre site adjacent to Sea World Orlando, Discovery Cove is a one-price entry attraction where visitors will be able to swim with a wide range of marine life, including stingrays, dolphins and 10,000 tropical fish in various lagoons and coral reefs. Also included will be a beach area with thatched huts and a resort-style pool with a waterfall to relax in.
To help preserve the natural habitats and environment, visitors are expected to be limited to around 1,000 a day and tickets will only be available on a pre-bookable basis.
The original Sea World park in Orlando introduces its first roller-coaster ride in the spring. Called the Kraken, it involves seven high-speed loops and drops three times beneath ground level. This follows the recent introduction of the Gwazi at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida, where two roller-coasters close in on each other at a combined speed of 100mph.
The 3min journey takes in 7,000ft of track with a top drop of 90ft.