Explore Walt Disney World in 3D on Google Earth

Want to know what Walt Disney World looks like, but you've never been? Or maybe you're like me and have the urge to run out of the office and go now....  but you can't cause that would get you fired.

Well the Walt Disney World Resort is now on Google Earth in 3D. As a Disney nut, take my word when I say how shockingly accurate the details are in this 3D world. It's not totally perfect, but it sure is close. Not only are the paint details on every building spot-on, but when you walk by the gift shop at the Snow White's Scary Adventure ride, you can see Grumpy sweatshirts on sale in the store.

There are also some neat hidden gems -- I found a random couple dressed like a prince and princess on the back steps of Cinderella's Castle.

But this world is much more than a place to browse the resort. It's one big interactive travel-planning tool. You click on a ride, you can get more details on the ride from Disney, along with as Wikipedia links and photos. If you want to stay at a hotel, you can tour the outside grounds and click links to get more information at the main website. (Sadly you can't actually go in the rides. The Space Mountain building was empty inside, but you can see a promotional video for the ride.)

Here's how you can check it out for yourself:

• Download Google Earth 4.3 by visiting www.disneyworld.com/3dparks
• Launch Google Earth and search for "Disney World" (or just zoom into Orlando)
• Click on the gold Mickey Mouse ears to open an information window, and then click the button that says "Show Disney World in 3D"

Disney reports it took eight photographers a total of 10 days to shoot all the visible surfaces of Walt Disney World. A total of 100,000 photos became the base of 1,500 3D models in the virtual world.