216 million visits to Yorkshire are made every year, equivalent to the total number of visitors to Walt Disney Attraction Theme Parks worldwide.
(Top 10 Amusement/Theme Park Attraction Chains - World (2008)).
Having listened to Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, use a similar quote to the one above at an event at Scarborough Spa I started the think of the comparisons between Yorkshire and Walt Disney World Parks.
The first comparison is that our family love both! We are all very proud Yorkshire folk but are huge Disney fans – as Twitter followers will know – and it has been described as our second home.
So where is Yorkshire’s Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom? We don’t have the weather that WDW Florida has but I’m sure that Disneyland Paris has very similar weather to us – it was absolutely freezing when we went that’s for sure.
There are no theme parks in this country that come close to the magic of Disney yet Flamingoland, 15 minutes drive away from us, has Mumbo Jumbo so those wanting the thrills of fast rides etc can still find them in Yorkshire. Flamingoland still needs an "Its a Small World" ride but if you go close to Little Monster's Den of Mischief you will hear a tune equally as irritable and one which will stay in your head all day.
Epcot's World Showcase shows the diversity of different countries around the world - Yorkshire has just as much diversity within one county - who needs to go right around the world! We have the Dales, the Moors, the Coast, the Cities and alot closer to home, the Howardian Hills - this county has something for everyone.
Free entry into the National Media Museum makes it alot cheaper than Disney Studios and you don't need an aeroplane to get there. And with so many film and television locations dotted around Yorkshire you really could become part of the action. Check out this you-tube clip if you don't believe me!
Yorkshire Wildlife Park doesn't have quite the same "Tree of Life" as Disney's Animal Kingdom has but I'm sure if you looked in some of our forestry's you may find something that comes close.
All Yorkshire needs is Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Donald and some more of the Disney characters........but I'm sure that Gary Verity and his team could slot themselves into some of those roles.
