Thursday, June 5, 2008

Google Adds Walt Disney World

Mountain View-based Google and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts rolled out a virtual version of Walt Disney World Thursday, saying that the firms have partnered to create a realistic, 3D tour of the park in Google Earth. The firms said that Disney World's four theme parks, and its 22 hotels and resorts, have all been added to Google's 3D mapping and navigation software. Walt Disney World's buildings are now modeled in 3D, and also linked to Disney sites for planning and booking vacations. According to Walt Disney Parks, the Walt Disney World Resort in 3D will become the ultimate online travel guide for the resort. Disney said eight photographers worked for 10 days to shoot all of the visible surfaces at Walt Disney World, including every building facade, for a total of 100,000 photos. Those photos were converted into 3D models which are used in the virtual tour.