When Walt Disney opened the doors of Disneyland in California in 1955, his aim was to create a place where adults and children could "live the same dream". Almost forty years later, this vision was extended to Europe with the opening of the Disneyland Park on April 12 1992 followed by Walt Disney Studios Park on March 16 2002.

Situated 32 km east of Paris, Disneyland Paris incorporates Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, seven Disney themed hotels with a total capacity of 5,800 rooms, a further three selected hotels, two convention centres, the Disney Village entertainment and retail district and a 27-hole golf course.

Disneyland Paris is easily accessible with direct links to Paris via the RER train network and shuttle buses to and from both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. The opening of the Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy TGV station in May 1994 provided direct TGV links to Disneyland Paris from all over France and Europe. Eurostar's new high speed link takes just two hours, 50 minutes from London Waterloo to Disneyland Paris and under two hours from Ashford International.

Opening Dates: Disneyland Park -- 12th April 1992, Walt Disney Studios Park -- 16th March 2002

Location: 32km (20 miles) east of Paris - 30 minutes by Regional Express Railway (RER) or car from the centre of Paris

Size: 1,943 hectares of which 900 have been developed

Staff Employed: 12,500 (yearly average), 100 different nationalities.

Visitor Numbers: Over 160 million visitors since 1992. In 2005 there were 12.3 million visitors to Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris has twice as many visitors as the Eiffel Tower.

Average Length of Stay: 3 nights, 4 days

Food: 68 food and beverage locations at Disneyland Paris, including counter service restaurants, resort hotel restaurants and food carts located around the Theme Parks.

Recreation: Swimming (indoor and outdoor), health clubs, golf, tennis, cycling, boating and ice-skating (seasonal).

GENERAL

• Mickey Mouse was "born" in 1928. He was originally going to be called Mortimer, but to please Walt Disney's wife Lillian, his name was changed to Mickey
• Mickey's girlfriend Minnie also came to life in 1928 and featured in the cartoon "Steamboat Willie"
• The other characters are not quite so old; Pluto was created in 1931, Goofy in 1932, Donald Duck in 1934, Daisy Duck in 1937, Huey, Louis & Dewey in 1938 and Chip 'n' Dale in 1943
• 1954-55 saw the opening of Disneyland in California. In 1971, Walt Disney World Resort opened in Florida, followed by Tokyo Disneyland in 1983 and Disneyland Paris in 1992

DISNEYLAND PARIS

• Disneyland Paris property covers 1/5 the size of Paris (1,943 hectares)
• 900 hectares have been developed to date
• Over 1,000 artists work at Disneyland Paris (actors, dancers, musicians, designers, decorators, seamstresses etc.)
• The oldest visitor to the Resort was 106 years old

DISNEYLAND PARK

• Sleeping Beauty's Castle is 43 metres high
• Pirates of the Caribbean features 119 state of the art Audio-Animatronics figures
• Space Mountain rockets reach a speed of 70 km per hour and one rocket is launched every 36 seconds
• There are 580,000 bricks on Main Street, U.S.A., laid out in a pattern similar to New York at the turn of the century
• 225,000 light bulbs illuminate the Main Street, U.S.A. building facades

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS PARK

• Aerosmith stars Steven Tyler and Joe Perry re-recorded vocals and guitar riffs especially for the Rock n Roller Coaster ride. The recorded songs, including 'Love on a Roller Coaster', cannot be heard anywhere else
• Catastrophe Canyon uses 265,000 litres of water for each display and the water is recycled for each show

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

• There are over 150 chefs at Disneyland Paris
• Disneyland Paris has 68 different dining facilities including counter and table service
• 4 million hamburgers are eaten each year, 20 tons of fish and seafood and 700 tons of chicken
• 283 tons of chips are consumed each year
• 6 million litres of Coca Cola are drunk each year

LANDSCAPING

• There are 450,000 vegetation units (trees, shrubs, plants) at the Resort
• 500,000 flowers are planted per year
• The Resort is home to over 12,000 trees

Disneyland Paris is Europe’s leading tourist destination with more than 200 million visits since the Resort’s opening in 1992 (15.3 million visits in 2008). The Resort includes two spectacular theme parks (Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park), seven Disney themed hotels with approximately 5,800 hotel rooms, and an additional 2,400 hotel rooms operated by Selected & Associated hotels; two full-service convention centers; and a 27-hole, world-class golf course. In addition, the Resort is home to Disney Village, one of the largest entertainment districts in the Ile-de-France Region. Spanning over 30,000 m2, Disney Village offers themed restaurants, shops, a nightclub and a cinema multiplex. In all, Disneyland Paris includes 54 attractions, 56 shops, and 69 themed restaurants. In April 2009, the Resort launched Mickey’s Magical Party, added one new attraction and four new interactive shows.