Burbank, Calif.  (June 5, 2008) – Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is harnessing the power of Google Earth™ to build an interactive, three-dimensional tour of Walt Disney World Resort that will enable travel agents to bring their clients one step closer to a true park experience while planning their vacation. With direct links to Disney’s online travel-planning tools for travel agents, Walt Disney World Resort in 3D will re-invent how travel agents work with their clients to plan and book vacations. 

Beginning today, travel agents and Disney clients can use Google Earth, a program which offers a 3D digital model of the world, to virtually tour Walt Disney World’s four theme parks, as well as its 22 hotels and resorts.  An overview of Walt Disney World Resort in 3D, along with instructions on how to get started, can be found at www.disneytravelagents.com. 

“You know the phrase ‘next best thing to being there’? Walt Disney World Resort in 3D is going to deliver on that,” said Randy A. Garfield, CTC, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales & Travel Operations, Disney Destinations, LLC and President of the Walt Disney Travel Company. “Guests and travel planners can now explore our world with just a few clicks of a mouse, and they can book vacations while being immersed in what the destination has to offer.”

Disney’s digital mapping project, Walt Disney World Resort in 3D, will become the ultimate online travel guide for Walt Disney World Resort, integrating the Google Earth 3D experience with the planning features of Disneytravelagents.com. Walt Disney World Resort in 3D provides the latest technology available to enhance the vacation planning and booking experience.  From Google Earth, travel planners can click on images of their clients’ favorite attractions and hotels to purchase tickets, make reservations, and map out the vacation that is right for them – in 3D and with the click of a mouse. Travel agents visiting Disneytravelagents.com can also view videos and other information about viewing Walt Disney World in 3D.

The depth and vivid detail of Walt Disney World Resort in 3D project makes this a unique, truly immersive experience within Google Earth.  Travel agents and clients will begin their virtual tour of Disney World with a stratospheric view of the globe, a starting point familiar to anyone who has ever used Google Earth.  A skydive takes visitors past the flatlands of Florida to a view of the Seven Seas Lagoon in the Magic Kingdom.  Agents can then fly through the streets and explore in and around the hotels and resorts, down Main Street to Cinderella Castle, from the heights of The Tower of Terror to base of the Tree of Life. 

“This is the most detailed 3D rendering undertaken within Google Earth to date,” continued Garfield. “The work done here will provide a professional counterpart to the wealth of Disney images and 3D models from around the world contributed by thousands of volunteers.  The difference Walt Disney World Resort in 3D provides is one of scope and interaction and demonstrates our continued effort to provide innovative planning tools to our travel agent partners.” 

During the project’s first phase, eight photographers worked for 10 days to shoot all the visible surfaces of Walt Disney World, including every building façade. A total 100,000 photos were taken in all; these became the start for some 1,500 3D models that populate the virtual tour.  Walt Disney World Resort in 3D creates a new level of usability for travel agents and makes detailed information about one of the world’s foremost destinations available to Google Earth’s 350 million users, furthering the Google Earth team’s goal of recreating the world as it really is.


Google and Google Earth are trademarks of Google Inc.

Vicki Johnson Director, Public Relations 407-566-6181 Vicki.johnson@disney.com

Mark Sadowski Public Relations Manager 407-566-6177 Mark.sadowski@disney.com