Disneyland Sydney is a theme park located in Holsworthy, New South Wales, Australia. The park is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Great Australian Resorts Pty. Ltd., through a joint-venture of The Walt Disney Company and Great Australian Resorts. The park began construction in 1996, and opened on February 11, 2000.
The park has five themed areas: Main Street AUS, Adventureland, The Great Outback, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland; and three mini-lands: Critter Country, AUSEPCOT, and Mickey's Toontown.
Dedication[]
- To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland Sydney is your land, from the wonders of the Australian Outback, to the future-scape of tomorrow, the adventurous jungle and the world of fantasy, it is authentically Disney and distinctly Australian. It was created to be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the people of Australia. And may this magical kingdom be an enduring reminder of the centuries of friendship and cooperation between the great nations of the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States of America.
- - Michael Eisner, February 11, 2000
- To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland Sydney is your land, from the wonders of the Australian Outback, to the future-scape of tomorrow, the adventurous jungle and the world of fantasy, it is authentically Disney and distinctly Australian. It was created to be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the people of Australia. And may this magical kingdom be an enduring reminder of the centuries of friendship and cooperation between the great nations of the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States of America.
History[]
Preparations[]
For the location of the park's land, the Walt Disney Company hired Great Australian Resorts to scout a possible site for the then-unnamed Disneyland Sydney with their private planes. Among the locations considered included: a spot on the Gold Coast in Queensland, a spot in the Australian Capital Territory, and a reclaimed land proposal in Tasmania.
The purchase of disused forestland adjacent to Holsworthy Barracks by The Walt Disney Company and Great Australian Resorts to build a new resort was approved in 1994. A record number of trees on the site were transplanted to other locations in the Sydney region. Three units of Australian engineers and architects were sent to California to Disneyland, Florida to Magic Kingdom and Japan to Tokyo Disneyland respectively to tour the three parks and prepare to design & construct the new park.
Construction[]
The construction of the park and the resort in general began in 1996, with the groundbreaking ceremony televised live on a episode of Saturday Disney. Journalists, politicians, and locals viewed the groundbreaking as an indication of the high expectations for the park in the future. The final cost of Disneyland Sydney was AU$320 million rather than the projected AU$200 million.
Advertising[]
The first advertisements were aired on the newly bought out ABC (US) network starting in late 1996 for the US viewers, Australian advertising began in early 1997, on the Nine Network.
Opening[]
The park opened on February 11, 2000. The live broadcast of the grand opening, titled Disneyland Sydney: A Grand Opening for the Ages, was simulcast on the Seven Network and ABC-TV in Australia and internationally broadcast to various Disney TV channels, including the Disney Channel in the United States. Many distinguished guests and celebrities from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and other countries joined Michael Eisner, Roy E. Disney, Great Australian founder Bruce McKechnie, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Premier of New South Wales Bob Carr for a showcase of choreography, acrobatics, costumes, and technology in grand scale, with dazzling lights, Disney music, pageantry, special effects, and fireworks.
This is the first park to open up with FastPass support.
Later Years[]
The influx of tourists traveling to Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics helped boost attendance for the park and the resort in general, while also boosting attendance for the competing Entertainment Park Down Under. Meanwhile, Wonderland Sydney and Sega World Sydney were unable to compete with the success the Disneyland Australia Resort and Entertainment Park Down Under were having as a result of the Olympics. Sega World Sydney eventually closed while Wonderland Sydney was able to rebound as Six Flags Sydney.
Ticket pricing for the first season was AU$11.08 for day adult tickets while child and elderly one day tickets were priced at AU$5.10, described as "Australia's Best Theme Park Value" at the time.
395 employees/castmembers were hired at first. Australians, New Zealanders and Singaporeans comprised a large majority of the castmember workforce, while a mixture of American, Canadian & British expatriates, Australasians, South Africans, and Singaporeans were hired for most "performance" (e.g. actors, singers, dancers, walkarounds) castmember positions.
In 2001, it was judged "Australia's No. 1 Tourist Attraction" by a panel of experts in the entertainment & tourism industries.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disneyland Sydney, Disney's Aussie Beach, and Disney's Studio Park temporarily closed from March 18, 2020 and remained closed until Disneyland Sydney reopened on May 21, 2020, under strict rules that included, but was not limited to: social distancing, reduced capacity, temperature screenings, and mandatory face masks. The Dapper Dans performed on the reopening day in the performers' pajamas and wearing face masks to poke fun at the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" movement.
Rides & Attractions[]
In order clockwise from south to southeast.
Main Street AUS[]
- City Hall (2000)
- The Dapper Dans (2000; a barbershop quartet that entertains guests around Main Street)
- Current lineup: Ralph "Ralphy" McKillop, Brock "Brocko" Martin, Rakesh Majumdar, Nathan Xanthopoulos
- Disney Fantasy on Parade (2000)
- Disneyland Railroad (2000; a 3 ft (814 mm) narrow gauge railroad)
- Main Street Vehicles (2000; includes horseless carriage, fire engine, omnibus, and 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge horse-drawn streetcars)
- Main Street Electrical Parade: Dreamlights (2000)
- Partners (2000; recreation of the famous Disneyland/Disney World statue)
Adventureland[]
Forgotton Springs[]
- The Enchanted Tiki Room: Starring Iago and Zazu (2000) [FastPass]
- Jungle Cruise (2000) [FastPass]
- Swiss Family Treehouse (2000; Walt Disney Imagineering walkthrough attraction)
Caribbean Lagoon[]
- Caribbean Jungle Mouse (2000; a Maurer Sohne Wild Maus Classic Right Coaster) [FastPass]
- Pirates of the Caribbean (2000) [FastPass+]
The Great Outback[]
This land replaced Frontierland, and it's based on the Australian Outback rather than the Wild West.
- Big Koala Outback Railroad (2000; a Vekoma 3-lift Junior Mine Coaster) [FastPass]
- Golden Horseshoe Revue (2000; a live show in the Golden Horseshoe Saloon - featured performers include Kenny Boag)
- Mark Twain Riverboat (2000) [FastPass]
- Tom Sawyer's Island (2000)
- Fantasmic! (2000)
Fantasyland[]
Storybook Village[]
- Cinderella Castle (2000; in 2015 the former special events area space (originally intended for a cancelled "Mystery Tour" attraction, similar to Tokyo's) was converted into a Be Our Guest Restaurant-style Table Service Restaurant)
- King Arthur's Royal Carousel (2000)
- Sleeping Beauty's Spell (2000) [FastPass]
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant (2000; a Zamperla Telecombat ride themed to elephants)
- Mad Hatter's Tea Party (2000; a Zamperla Teacups ride) [FastPass]
- Peter Pan's Flight (2000) [FastPass]
- Super Duper Jumpin' Time (2011)
Enchanted Forest[]
- It's a Small World (2000; a WED Enterprises/Walt Disney Imagineering dark ride, in 2019 various Disney characters in Mary Blair style were added to the ride) [FastPass]
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (2000; considered the apex of all Mr. Toad rides, with 4 tracks, each entirely different, Track A goes into a barnyard, Track B into the town, Track C into a river and Track D into an airport) [FastPass]
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2004; a dark ride, a combination of Disneyland's, WDW's and Tokyo Disneyland's (Hunny Hunt) locations) [FastPass]
- The Enchanted Forest Theatre (2001; original home of Barney's Theatre prior to it's move to Disney's Studio Park)
Tomorrowland[]
Avenue of Planets[]
- The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (2000; a mirrored clone of the Now Defunct Disney World Attraction, this version also ads a huge parental warning with employees encouraged to discourage families with young children on to the attraction) [FastPass]
- Qantas Dreamflight (2000; An omnimover dark ride, originally planned to be Honey, I Shrunk The Audience! before they needed a dark ride in the Tomorrowland lineup)
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (2013; a Thales 3D Motion Simulator ride) [FastPass]
- The Legend of Captain EO (2000)
Rockettower Plaza[]
- Rocket Jets (2000)
- Autopia (Presented by Toyota) (2000; a Huss-TechEruo-built clone of the Autopias at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) [FastPass]
- Space Mountain (2000; a indoor Vekoma Launched Coaster, this coaster has no inversions unlike Mission 2, this coaster is essentially a launched version of the Tokyo Disneyland version) [FastPass]
- Tomorrowland Peoplemover (2000)
- Tron Lightcycle Power Run (2019; a semi-indoor Vekoma Motorbike Coaster) [FastPass]
Critter Country[]
Unlike most locations, due to the massive Frontierland changes, is on the other side of the railroad tracks behind The Great Outback.
- Country Bear Jamboree (2000; animatronics built by Garner Holt Productions & WED Imagineering)
- Splash Mountain (2000; a Hopkins log flume, mirror of the Tokyo Disneyland location, voice-track re-recorded in 2020 to alter some character voices) [FastPass]
AUSEPCOT[]
Often compared to the "Hollywood Land" at DCA on shrinking an entire park down to a single land.
World Celebration[]
- Figment's Collider (2023; Gerstlauer Custom Coaster) [FastPass]
- Journey into Imagination with Figment (2004; A Walt Disney Imagineering dark ride attraction) [FastPass]
- Spaceship Earth (2000; a dark ride housed within a large geodesic sphere) [FastPass]
- Test Track (2000; a high-speed slot car dark ride) [FastPass]
World Nature[]
- Australia Zoo Outpost (2000; a mini-zoo licensed to the Australia Zoo)
- Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana (2021; walkthrough)
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends (2010; an aquarium and attached dark ride attraction) [FastPass]
Showcase[]
- World Showcase (2008; a sub-land within AUSEPCOT with a set of pavilions and several restaurants)
- Australia Pavilion
- New Zealand Pavilion
- ANZAC Spirit Pavilion (only pavilion to be focused on a relationship between two countries and not a single country)
- United States Pavilion
- United Kingdom Pavilion
- China Pavilion
- Italy Pavilion
- Canada Pavilion
- Japan Pavilion
Mickey's Toontown[]
Unlike most locations, it is on the southeast corner of the park. Previously partially themed to Toontown Online from 2003-2013.
The Suburbs[]
- The Barnstormer Thru Goofy's Trailer Park (2000; a Vekoma Junior Coaster based on the Mickey Mouse Works series) [FastPass]
- Mickey's House and Meet Mickey (2000; a meet & greet house)
- Minnie's House (2000)
- Goofy's Paint 'n' Play House (2008)
- Donald's Boat (2000)
- Toon Park (2000)
Downtown Toontown[]
- Jolly Trolley (2000)
- Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (2000) [FastPass]
- Mickey's Philarmagic (2006) [FastPass]
- Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (2023) [FastPass]
Former rides & attractions[]
Tomorrowland[]
- Star Tours (2000-2012; Closed due to being Outdated)
Mickey's Toontown[]
- Goofy's Bounce House (2000-2007; closed due to safety reasons, replaced by Goofy's Paint 'n' Play House, original mailbox moved to Goofy's Trailer, which originally had no mailbox)
Main Street AUS[]
- My Friend Duffy (2013-2017)
Restaurants[]
Current[]
- Walt's - An American Restaurant (2000; table service) [Main Street AUS]
- Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall (2016; quick service/table service) [Fantasyland]
- Blue Lagoon Restaurant (2000; table service) [Adventureland]
- Club 33 (2000; private club) [Main Street AUS]
- Golden Horseshoe Saloon (2000; table service) [The Great Outbook]
- Hungry Kangaroo Restaurant (2000; table service) [Critter Country]
- Minnie's Diner (2002; diner/fast food/table service) [Mickey's ToonTown]
- McDonald's (aka Macca's) (2000; fast food) [Mickey's ToonTown and Fantasyland]
- The Lunching Pad (2000; counter service) [Tomorrowland]
Shops[]
- Emporium (2000) [Main Street AUS]
Trivia[]
- It is often stated in the media that the park took away Dreamworld's title of "The Disney Down Under" upon opening.
- FastPass costs $30 AUD.
- The park was the first and formerly only park to have a paid FastPass system.