Now Disneyland Paris becomes the second park that is available for “virtual tours” to Google Earth users.

Although I had difficulty using Google Earth to virtually tour the park myself, I am told that the 3-d buildings are stunning. Apparently more than 85,000 photos (450GB worth) were taken over a 20 day period for this project. The castle alone is comprised of over 354 textures derived from over 2,000 photos.

While the buildings are superb, it’s really all the other detail that makes this data worth the virtual trip.

There are over 500 unique landscape elements that were created to make the park look as realistic as possible. What’s more, each attraction has unique plant life associated with that area. For example, palm and tropical plants were used on Adventure Island. Desert-type plants were used in Frontierland, broad leaf deciduous trees were used in Main Street, pine trees were used in Discovery Land and shaped pruned trees were used in Fantasyland.

If there were street or landscaping elements in the photographs, they were modeled. Essentially every bench, light post, tree, bush, planter box, street sign, fence, street curb, fountain, rock, bridge, table & chair are included.

It is said that photographers rode the Indiana Jones Temple of Peril ride repeatedly in order to “understand the actual path of the roller coaster when modeling the attraction.” The model includes every loop, turn and climb.

At the top of the Sleeping Beauty Castle, you’ll spy Tinker Bell, complete with a trail of pixie dust, adding just a little more magic to the layer.

Disney developed a custom KML for each attraction in the two Disneyland Paris Parks, each of the seven Disney hotels and the Disney Village. Simply click on the area of interest and a KML bubble complete with Flash animations and sound will appear. You can navigate from place-to-place using this approach or simply use the 3D mouse and stroll through the park on your own at ground level.

The Disneyland Paris layer can be found in the “Gallery” folder (note that you need to have Google Earth 5.0 to view the models). The layer is available in six languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch and English.

Users will be able to click on maps that show about 1,500 rides, restaurants and attractions all in 3-D. The mega-map, with interactive features, will be available via disneyworld.com/3dparks or Google Earth for free. “It’s a virtual walk-through of the whole property … the most amazing virtual tour of any place in the world,” Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Jay Rasulo says.

“While Google Earth offers a growing number of 3-D images and gives bird’s-eye views of non-Disney theme parks, with links to information about them, the Disney project is the most ambitious and detailed 3-D production yet. It’s “truly innovative and unique,” says Google Earth maps director John Hanke.

One example of how this might work – click on Space Mountain and you can view a video of the ride as well as get information such as height requirements. Another example – place your mouse on the Grand Floridian and a video of the resort pops up. You also can check availability and rates and make a reservation.

For now, the map shows only exteriors, but in the near future web visitors might be able to stroll into Cinderella’s Castle or walk into a room at a Disney resort. Photographers are at work to map Disneyland Resort Paris (Euro Disney); other Disney properties are sure to follow.

Technology such as this will be a wonderful addition for people who are not privileged enough to have ever visited a Disney park. Sure it will not be as wonderful as being there in person but it sure beats postcards and pictorial books. It may even help detailed planners such as myself, get more out of a Disney theme park experience.

Related: Book your dream Disney vacation at Expedia.com!