Adventureland (Disney)

Adventureland
Adventureland at Disneyland
Disneyland
Status	Operating
Opening date	July 17, 1955
Magic Kingdom
Status	Operating
Opening date	October 1, 1971
Tokyo Disneyland
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 15, 1983
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 12, 1992
Hong Kong Disneyland
Status	Operating
Opening date	September 12, 2005
General Statistics
Theme	Remote jungles of Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific

Adventureland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style theme parks run by the Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, South America, and the South Pacific. "To create a land that would make this dream reality", said Walt Disney, "We pictured ourselves far from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa."

Adventureland provides a 1950s view of exotic adventure, capitalizing on the post-war Tiki craze. Lush vegetation resembles jungles while elements of the "other" surround the visitor. Tribal performance masks, conga drums, non-American totem poles, exotic animal statues, and architecture of Pacific influence make for a confined area wherein industry and technology take a back seat to uncharted nature. Noted art historian David T. Doris explains Adventureland as, "a pastiche of imaginary colonial spaces, conflated within the green and foliate milieu of "the Jungle."

Disneyland's Adventureland was originally envisioned as True-Life Adventureland, and was to be based on Walt's famous award winning nature documentaries on Africa and Asia. The land was originally supposed to have real animals from Africa to inhabit a jungle river, but after zoologists told Walt the real animals would lie around or hide, the imagineers built mechanical animals instead. Adventureland opened with the Jungle Cruise as its star attraction, until the Swiss Family Treehouse was added years later. With the groundbreaking technology of audio animatronics Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was added nearby the land's entry bridge. Oceanic Arts also created the series of tribal masks that now line the entry bridge.

Many years later Indiana Jones Adventure was added with the expansion of Adventureland and gave the entire land a 1930s theme, which concurs with the setting created by the rustic boats of the Jungle Cruise and its DJ Albert Awol who plays big band music from the 1930s. In 1999, the Swiss Family Treehouse was transformed into Tarzan's Treehouse. Adventureland has remained the same since, until 2008 with the former summer event, Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries.