DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park Set to Open in Philadelphia in Summer 2000; Disney Takes Its Virtual World of Interactive Entertainment to a Second Major Metropolitan Market

Business Wire, Dec 9, 1998

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1998--Disney Regional Entertainment (NYSE:DIS) Wednesday announced that Philadelphia will be the next home for DisneyQuest, with an opening planned for the summer of 2000.

DisneyQuest is a five-story, 80,000 square-foot indoor interactive theme park that combines Disney's magic with cutting-edge immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, to provide adventures for guests of all ages. In June of this year, the flagship DisneyQuest facility opened at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., with a Chicago site slated to open in the summer of 1999.

At DisneyQuest, a breakthrough concept in family entertainment, guests can climb aboard a real river raft, grab a paddle and shoot the rapids in a Virtual Jungle Cruise; ride a roller coaster of their own design on CyberSpace Mountain; help Hercules and his friends battle the evil Hades in Hercules in the Underworld; or fly through the streets of Agrabah on Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.

These are only a few of the adventures that await guest at DisneyQuest, a concept created by Walt Disney Imagineering, the company's R&D and theme park design group.

"We are very excited by the business and tourism momentum being generated in Philadelphia and with the efforts of Mayor Rendell to continue to make Philadelphia a world-class city for arts, entertainment, sports and tourism," said Disney Regional Entertainment President Art Levitt.

"DisneyQuest is a place for virtual adventures that puts you in the middle of the experience. Within a two-to-three-hour visit, families will be able to embark on adventures that allow them to actually `enter the story' and become a part of it," Levitt concluded.

Even in its logo graphic, featuring a swirling variation of the classic Mickey Mouse icon, DisneyQuest promises to be something dynamic, forward-moving and altogether different from the company's previous entertainment experiences.

Every year more than 20 million people visit Philadelphia, the nation's fifth-largest city and the birthplace of America, to visit the Liberty Bell, experience renowned restaurants and museums, or chow down on the best cheesesteaks in the world.

"It's no secret that bringing Disney to Philadelphia has been a dream of mine for quite some time," said Mayor Edward G. Rendell. "Disney's choice of this city as the second major metropolitan location for DisneyQuest is a testament to our ongoing efforts to re-energize Philadelphia as a premier destination city in America."

Guests entering DisneyQuest begin their journey at the Ventureport, a crossroads which leads to four distinct entertainment environments: the Explore Zone, a virtual adventureland where guests are immersed in exotic and ancient locales; the Score Zone, a superhero competition city where guests can match their gameplaying skills against the best; the Create Zone, a private "Imagineering" studio for artistic self-expression and invention; and the Replay Zone, a carnival on the moon where guests experience a retro-futuristic spin on classic rides and games.

DisneyQuest also has two food and beverage areas operated by the Cheesecake Factory Express, offering guests a quick gourmet fix of fresh salads, sandwiches, indulgent desserts and drinks.

Disney Regional Entertainment was established in 1996 to develop breakthrough entertainment concepts for metropolitan and suburban markets in the United States and abroad. The businesses are built on Disney's creative talents and the popularity of Disney and its affiliated brands.

Currently under the banner of Disney Regional Entertainment are DisneyQuest; ESPN Zone, a sports-themed dining and entertainment venue in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and coming to Chicago and New York's Times Square in Summer 1999; and Club Disney, family playsites in Southern California and sites coming to the Phoenix and Denver areas in early 1999.

Note to Editors: Photographs and footage available.