At a glance
Of the five lands at Disneyland Park, Discoveryland is the Paris take on Tomorrowland, the futuristic area you’ll find in Disney’s other castle parks. It welcomed guests from the very first day, April 12, 1992, like everything else in the park. Tim Delaney steered its art direction, while sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury shared advice on the mood it should have.
Two principles shaped the land: steer clear of a future that would need constant updating, and reconnect American science fiction with the European writers who inspired it. That’s why the Imagineers honored Jules Verne, Leonardo da Vinci, and H. G. Wells. The buildings look back to the dawn of the nineteenth-century industrial age, built around iron, steam, and the first days of electricity. Cast Member costumes were meant to recall the work of comic artists Moebius (Jean Giraud) and Enki Bilal. David Tolly wrote the original score, timing its beat to the motion of Orbitron.
Today the land has several main attractions: Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (formerly Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, inaugurated on May 31, 1995, by astronaut Buzz Aldrin and opened to the public on June 1, 1995), Orbitron (Machines Volantes), Autopia, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (since 2006), Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (renovated in 2017), Les Mystères du Nautilus, Starport (a meet and greet with Darth Vader), and Discoveryland Station on the Disneyland Railroad. Shows take place at Videopolis and at the Discoveryland Theatre. For dining, there’s Café Hyperion, whose name refers to the first Walt Disney studio at 2719 Hyperion Avenue in Hollywood from 1926 to 1940, and which houses an airship from the movie The Island at the Top of the World (1974). The stores Star Traders and Constellations make up the shopping.
The land offers a retro-futuristic vision: the future as imagined by the great visionary inventors of the nineteenth century, especially Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Leonardo da Vinci. Copper architecture, golden planets, exposed machinery, and astrological symbols create a setting you won’t find in any other Disney park.
What ties everything together is the thrill of science and of heading into space. It starts with the Nautilus dreamed up by Jules Verne (Les Mystères du Nautilus), runs through flying machines and imagined tomorrows (Orbitron, Autopia), and ends with Star Wars trips across the galaxy (Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours).
The retro-futuristic land inspired by great visionary inventors like Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, and Autopia sit among copper machines and futuristic Victorian architecture. It’s a one-of-a-kind take on the future as seen from the past.
What you’ll find there
The land by the numbers, pulled from across the site for a quick visual summary.
- One of a kind Retro-futurism
- 1 station Discoveryland Station
- 6 attractions
- 3 restaurants
- 5 stores
History
The land opened with the park on April 12, 1992, featuring Star Tours, Orbitron, Autopia, and the theater showing Captain EO. Space Mountain - De la Terre à la Lune was inaugurated on May 31, 1995 (at a gala with Buzz Aldrin) and opened to the public on June 1, 1995.
Les Mystères du Nautilus opened on July 4, 1994. Space Mountain was rethemed as Mission 2 in 2005, then as Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain on May 7, 2017. Star Tours became The Adventures Continue on March 26, 2017. Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast opened on April 8, 2006, on the site of the Visionarium (a 1992 introductory attraction about time travel that closed in September 2004). Captain EO was replaced by Mickey’s PhilharMagic on October 1, 2018.
Captain EO ran from 1992 to 1997, then from 2010 to 2015, alternating with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (1999-2010). The Pizza Planet restaurant operated from 1996 to 2016. Discoveryland Station didn’t exist when the park opened and was built in July 1993.
The original project, known as Discovery Mountain, planned a much larger complex built around Jules Verne, linked to Videopolis by glass walkways, traces of which can still be seen on the facade. A scaled-back version was chosen for budget reasons. The "DM" logo still shows up in several spots around the land. Discoveryland itself was inspired by the Discovery Bay project dreamed up for Disneyland in California in the early 1980s.
To dig deeper: all the secrets and fun facts about Discoveryland
Where the inspiration comes from
Discoveryland is Paris’s answer to Tomorrowland, which you’ll find at Disneyland in Anaheim (1955), at Magic Kingdom in Orlando (1971), and at Tokyo Disneyland (1983). Paris took a different route with a retro-futuristic design drawn from Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, and no other park in the world has anything like it.
- Highlight
- The Space Mountain dome
- Theme
- Retro-futurism
- Size
- 9 hectares
- Opened
- 1992
Who it’s made for
Pros and cons
The highlights
- A retro-futuristic world unlike any other in Disney parks
- A tribute to European visionaries
- Architecture inspired by the early industrial era of the nineteenth century
- Big-name rides packed close together, like Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours
- Carefully crafted design details
The downsides
- The Jules Verne spirit of the early days gradually giving way to American franchises
- Historic attractions shutting down one by one
- Steampunk style and present-day sci-fi that don’t always sit well together
- Money troubles that killed the first Discovery Mountain plan
- The land had no train station on opening day
- Its Disneyland Railroad station is frequently closed
My verdict
Discoveryland is a land I love for its tribute to European inventors and visionaries: Leonardo da Vinci, Jules Verne, and the rest. Its nighttime lighting is outstanding, its iconic dome can be spotted from any corner of the land, and the Columbiad cannon is packed with references.
Its backstory is worth learning, too: the first plans went even further, and that makes the land a big chapter in the history of Disney parks.
Still, there’s one thing I wish were different. I adore Star Wars, yet I find that bringing it here drew the land off course from what it was meant to be. Giving the saga its very own land would have suited me better.
Julie’s tip
Map & getting there
The land sits to the right of Sleeping Beauty Castle and can be reached from Central Plaza. In the park’s circular layout, it faces Frontierland.
Your questions about this land
01 What are the lands at Disneyland Park, and how many attractions does each one have?
Disneyland Park is divided into 5 themed lands. Main Street U.S.A. has 5 experiences, including rides in vintage vehicles and the covered arcades. Adventureland brings together 7 attractions, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, La Cabane des Robinson, and Le Passage Enchanté d’Aladdin. Discoveryland lines up 6 futuristic attractions such as Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, Star Tours, and Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. Fantasyland is the densest, with 13 attractions devoted to the world of fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty Castle and La Tanière du Dragon. Frontierland offers 6 Wild West attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor.
02 Which iconic rides shouldn’t you miss at Disneyland Park?
For a first visit to Disneyland Park, there are several rides I highly recommend. Big Thunder Mountain is the most popular in the park, with thrills the whole family can enjoy. Phantom Manor stands apart with its very well-crafted atmosphere. Pirates of the Caribbean is an immersive boat ride that kids and grown-ups both love. Peter Pan’s Flight, short as it is, is an iconic ride in very high demand. Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain is the park’s big thrill ride. And don’t forget Sleeping Beauty Castle, which rises 50 meters high and remains the symbol of Disneyland Paris.
03 How can you avoid long lines for the most popular rides?
To skip long lines at Disneyland Paris, I mix several strategies. First, Single Rider is free and really speeds things up on the rides that offer it, including Crush’s Coaster, Flight Force, Ratatouille, and Spider-Man, as long as you don’t mind boarding apart from your group. Next, Disney Premier Access is a paid service that guarantees you priority entry on the headline rides. If you’re staying at a Disney hotel, Extra Magic Time lets you into the park before official opening, and that’s the best time to ride the popular attractions back to back without waiting. Last, heading to the busiest rides during a parade or a big show empties the lines dramatically.
