Every major Disney theme park has received its own, unique dedication. Five different men have done their best to sum up the spirit of eleven parks, distilling them into a few brief sentences.
Check them all out here and tell us how you think they did.
1. Disneyland
Image: Disney
To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.
— Walter E. Disney, July 17, 1955
The first dedication to a Disney park is also one of the most memorable, in part because it was the only one given by Walt Disney himself. I think Disneyland has definitely fulfilled its promise to be “a joy and inspiration to all the world.”
2. Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney… and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney’s dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place … a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.
— Roy Oliver Disney, October 25, 1971
The Magic Kingdom was specifically dedicated to Walt Disney, who passed before it could be completed. His brother Roy postponed his retirement to help launch the first Florida park.
3. Epcot
Image: Disney
To all who come to this place of joy, hope of enterprise and concepts of a future that promises new and exciting benefits for all. May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man’s ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere in the world.
— E. Cardon Walker, October 24, 1982
Epcot was not originally envisioned as a theme park, but the dedication points to how it was created in the spirit of Walt Disney’s extremely innovative ideas for the location.
4. Tokyo Disneyland
Image: Disney
To all of you who come to this happy place, welcome. Here you will discover enchanted lands of Fantasy and Adventure, Yesterday and Tomorrow. May Tokyo Disneyland be an eternal source of joy, laughter, inspiration, and imagination to the people of the world. And may this magical kingdom be an enduring symbol of the spirit of cooperation and friendship between the great nations of Japan and the United States of America.
— E. Cardon Walker, April 15, 1983
Tokyo Disneyland was the first Disney park to open outside the United States. It’s owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from Disney.
5. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood—not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was—and always will be.
— Michael D. Eisner, May 1, 1989
Michael Eisner gave a beautiful dedication to Hollywood Studios, referring to it as an idealistic version of Tinseltown. Disney-MGM Studios (as it was then known) was inspired by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood.
6. Disneyland Paris
Image: Disney
To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Once upon a time… A master storyteller, Walt Disney, inspired by Europe’s best loved tales, used his own special gifts to share them with the world. He envisioned a Magic Kingdom where these stories would come to life, and called it Disneyland. Now his dream returns to the lands that inspired it. Euro Disneyland is dedicated to the young, and the young at heart… with a hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration for all the world.
— Michael D. Eisner, April 12, 1992
The dedication to the first European Disney park makes a point to mention how the continent’s fairy tales inspired some of the most significant Disney films. We wouldn’t have Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella and a lot of other classics if it weren’t for European storytelling.
7. Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.
— Michael D. Eisner, April 22, 1998
While a very beautiful dedication, the Animal Kingdom wouldn’t fulfill its promise of imagined animals for a while yet. Read more about that here.
8. Tokyo DisneySea
Image: The Oriental Land Company
Welcome one and all to a world where Imagination and Adventure set sail. Tokyo DisneySea is dedicated to the spirit of exploration that lives in each of us. Here we chart a course for Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Fun and journey to exotic and fanciful Ports of Call. May Tokyo DisneySea inspire the hearts and minds of all of us who share the water planet, Earth.
— Michael D. Eisner, September 4, 2001
A sibling to Hong Kong Tokyo, this is the other Disney park not owned wholly or partly by the Walt Disney Company.
9. Disney California Adventure
Image: Disney
To all who believe in the power of dreams, welcome. Disney’s California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past: the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow, from the silver screen to the computer screen, from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney’s California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California… its land, its people, its spirit and, above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire.
— Michael D. Eisner, February 8, 2001
Disney California Adventure is specifically dedicated to the state where Walt Disney and The Walt Disney Company rose to prominence.
10. Walt Disney Studios Park (Paris)
Image: Disney
To all who enter this studio of dreams…welcome. Walt Disney Studios is dedicated to our timeless fascination and affection for cinema and television. Here we celebrate the art and the artistry of storytellers from Europe and around the world who create magic. May this special place stir our own memories of the past, and our dreams of the future.
— Michael D. Eisner, March 16, 2002
The second Disney park in Paris is focused on mostly on show business, with some attractions spotlighting the things that happen behind the scenes and others themed around popular TV and movie properties.
11. Hong Kong Disneyland
Image: Disney
To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Many years ago, Walt Disney introduced the world to enchanted realms of fantasy and adventure, yesterday and tomorrow, in a magical place called Disneyland. Today that spirit of imagination and discovery comes to life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland is dedicated to the young and the young at heart – with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration, and an enduring symbol of the cooperation, friendship and understanding between the people of Hong Kong and the United States of America.
— Michael D. Eisner and Donald Tsang, September 12, 2005
This was Michael D. Eisner’s last dedication. The chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005 gave seven dedications in total, far more than anyone else.
12. Disney California Adventure (Re-Dedication)
To all who come to this place of dreams, welcome. Disney California Adventure celebrates the spirit of optimism and the promise of endless opportunities, ignited by the imagination of daring dreamers such as Walt Disney and those like him who forever changed- and were forever changed by- The Golden State. This unique place embraces the richness and diversity of California… Its land, its people, its stories and, above all, the dreamers it continues to inspire.
— Robert A. Iger, June 15, 2012
After its redesign and expansion, Disney felt the need to give a new dedication to California Adventure. The day of its re-dedication drew a record 43,000 visitors, demonstrating the significance of the dedications to Disney fans.
