All Walt Disney World now in 3D on Google Earth !

You all know the fantastic - and totally free - Google Earth, don't you? I did an article some months ago telling you how to use it at its best and how to virtually "soar" over all the Disney theme parks in the world - if you've missed the article, you can find it HERE.

Now, there is something new between Walt Disney World and Google Earth and it's great and stunning. Here is the press release that will tell you all about it, better than i can do!

Walt Disney World Resort in 3D takes vacation planning to new heights as the most detailed 3D rendering within Google Earth to date
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 brings you one step closer to a true park experience. With direct links to Disney’s online travel-planning tools, Walt Disney World Resort in 3D will re-invent how people plan and book vacations.

Beginning today, Disney guests 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.disneyworld.com/3dparks. Existing Google Earth 4.3 users can see Walt Disney World Resort in 3D by enabling the “Gallery” folder within Google Earth, or by selecting any of the 3D buildings within the resort.

“You know the phrase ‘next best thing to being there’? Walt Disney World Resort in 3D is going to deliver on that,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “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 Disney.com. Whether guests book through the Disney reservation center, a travel agent or online, nearly nine out of ten Walt Disney World guests use the internet to plan their vacations and Walt Disney World Resort in 3D provides the latest technology available to enhance that experience. From Google Earth, guests and travel planners can click on images of their favorite attractions and hotels to purchase tickets, make reservations, and map out the vacation that is right for their families – in 3D and with the click of a mouse. Disneyworld.com visitors can view videos and other information about viewing Walt Disney World in 3D at www.disneyworld.com/3dparks.

The depth and vivid detail of Walt Disney World Resort in 3D project makes this a unique, truly immersive experience within Google Earth. Visitors 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. Guests 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. To enter the virtual park:

Download Google Earth 4.3 by visiting www.disneyworld.com/3dparks.
Launch Google Earth and search for 'Disney World'
Click the Mickey Ears to open an info window.
In the info window, click “Show Disney World in 3D.” Now explore!
“This is the most detailed 3D rendering undertaken within Google Earth to date,” continued Rasulo. “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.”



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 vacation planners 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. (end of press release)

Now, i just tried it, an i must say that the result is really amazing: i went to the Magic Kingdom, and they've really recreated in 3D every building, and even the trees! Instead to have a flat view shoot from the sky, you can do your own "travelling" inside each land, nd even if nothing replace the real thing, it's fun to experience it. The pictures above are coming from Disney, but the one below is a screen capture from my computer showing the Mark Twain the Riverboat landing and the Haunted Mansion in 3D...

Go ahead, try this new WDW on Google Earth, and let me know what you think of it, it worth the look, really !



Photos: copyright Disney