In 2018 I was a high school student working in the theatre tech department on campus. During my time, being involved in lighting and set design lit a spark in me to keep creating models and sets. Over winter break, I'd started exploring Minecraft in its use as a tool to create immersive experiences. I met two friends that had similar passions to my own, and we found that no one had attempted a fully realistic recreation of the Disneyland theme park within the software. We set out to change that, and our Virtual Disneyland was born! Check out some of the resources I created below with information about the project.
We started building from the esplanade of the resort. I had created a recreation of Disneyland Park's Main Street Station as seen above in a single player environment. I imported it into our shared world and we used it as a point of reference for the rest of the theme park. Over the course of 5 years, our community grew and with it so did our project. Now, going onto its 6th year, it has over 40 recreated attractions with fully functioning ride paths, animatronics, sound design, and special effects. We've innovated and pushed the boundaries of what Minecraft is capable of, including adding screens as well as unique effects to simulate real attraction illusions.
Not just attractions but experiences are also a major aspect of our project. Guests may watch the fireworks every night at 9:30pm, just like the real Disneyland park. On Main Street, they may catch a glimpse of the Dapper Dans performing a routine. Walkthroughs such as Tarzan's Treehouse were a staple of our project. We did our best to incorporate every single experience found in the real Anaheim resort. Below is a series of photos that illustrate what we've created, with discussion of how it's expanded my skillset over the last 5 years.
