2007

Our last update, back in December, told of the giant crane being removed, elevator doors added and the first signs of weathering. Two months on, and progress has continued at a steady pace.

Almost the entire painted and primed section of the Tower’s behind has now received a dirty smothering of the Imagineers’ ageing and weathering effects, whilst very pale yellow paint now covers the front of the building down to the level of the first elevator opening. Scaffolding has been removed from the highest dome, but scaffolding has instead grown to completely surround the front body of the building. Covered by Disney’s trademark construction tarp, painting and ageing are now being added to the lightning-struck building underneath.

Another piece of painted Tower was uncovered this weekend – Tower Hotel Gifts – the gift shop of the hotel. The side wall of the annex building has been primed with texture and painted pale yellow, with some Art/Pueblo Deco details already visible but more still to come. The small tower that forms the entrance and exit (similar to Studio Photo in Front Lot) has yet to be touched.

It has also been confirmed today that testing of the elevator systems has begun. Recent visitors to the Studios have reported hearing muffled “whoosh” sounds from inside the Tower – without doubt the “faster-than-gravity” vertical drop of the elevators – though currently none of the six doors at the front of the attraction are functional, therefore hiding the tests from view. With such a prominent place right at the heart of the park, these sounds and screams from the 13th floor will be a constant source of activity and kinetics within the Studios.

Finally, forums were buzzing over the weekend with the sight of a small themeing touch under one of the “balcony rooms”. The dark brown Art Deco quarter-circle might not look like much, but it’s an exciting detail simply for the fact that it is totally absent on the 2004-inaugurated California version of the attraction.

Although, it should be admitted that it can be seen in California. The detail was present on much of the original Paris concept art for the attraction, as well as on a computer-drawn preview visual and even on the wall painting seen in the gift shop of the attraction. Obviously somewhere on the way up to the 13th floor, The Twilight Zone got them…

The sudden appearance of this lost detail in Paris blows open the possibility for more changes, tweaks or enhancements to the quickly-constructed California version. Could there be more changes to the design of the Tower, perhaps even the colour? What of the strange back-story involving a disastrous fire told by Roland Kleve back in January? And of course, without doubt, the Hollywood Studio placemaking will give the Parisian hotel a unique and more immersive environment to the tagged-on California version.

We thought we knew it all, but it seems The Hollywood Tower Hotel still has many more secrets yet…

Photo 4: Paris photo by Disneytheque.com, Others © Disney.

All other photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more here.

It has always been a point of both positive and negative that Front Lot is by far the most beautiful of all the Walt Disney Studios Park lands. Fantastic that the second gate gives such a good first impression, a disappointment that the rest of the park doesn’t follow the same level. Of course, there’s a reason beyond the strict budget… movie studios have traditionally always had extravagant, glossy facades at their entrance and administration area, before quickly becoming simple soundstage complexes beyond.

And so, for this latest, large-scale refurbishment, only the best will do! It’s out with the asphalt and in with hundreds, thousands of coloured bricks. The work isn’t due to be fully completed until late May or June, and now we can see why. The flooring will keep a pattern (though not necessarily identical to the original), but the patchy and worn-out asphalt is now high quality bricks similar to those used on the new central esplanade in December 2005.

The new path meets up perfectly with the existing compass design of the esplanade’s hub, and begins with larger bricks around the security check area. Around half of the bricks have currently been laid, with the work breaking in half to allow guest glow before beginning again right at the Studio gates – this time with far smaller and different coloured bricks.

Similar work is expected to begin this week inside the park itself, as the black tarmac of Toon Studio is finally replaced with a lighter colour, reportedly actual paving and large flagstone tiles.

As we’ve been seeing for several weeks, the amount of construction walls throughout the resort is truly at an all time high. Most noticable of all are probably those surrounding the Disneyland Park entrance, Fantasia Gardens. Work here is centering on replacement of lamps, tidying of gardens and the refurbishment and repainting of the several tired gazebos.

The work isn’t necessarily as major as that in front of Walt Disney Studios, but the prominent location and design of the gardens gives it much more of an impact on guests. Luckily, the resort are well on top of their game – almost every construction fence (and that goes for those inside both parks, too) is now sporting a special sign proclaiming “More magic is being prepared for the 15th Anniversary” and to “Join us from 1st April 2007”.

Most (if not all) of the work around Fantasia Gardens is due to be complete by late this month, just in time for the anniversary launch, though it remains to be seen if the iconic Disneyland Hotel and busy esplanade area will get any hint of the anniversary. We’ve seen the number “15” pop up in almost every corner of the resort lately, yet the esplanade is still, for now, left out of the party.

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see much more here.

It was confirmed back in 2006 that, unlike the designs shown on much of the attraction’s concept art, the vehicles would not be characters from the film. Instead, to give the “Race Rally” its own story and identity, they would be new, unique vehicles, yet cars which could certainly be from the “Cars” universe. Aside from that, nobody quite knew what to expect – until these first photos were posted by Frank on MagicForum and the e-pinions began speeding in.

The new introductions to the Cars world certainly have a unique look. Beyond the familiar hood/bonnet-noses, windscreen eyes and grill moustaches, the cars have a very stylized raised back, dotted with red break lights. The rear wheels are either missing or hidden, and the cars feature many nods to those which may have populated Route 66 in its heydey – such as metallic fins, chevrons and raised headlights. Whilst the characters in the film were designed as ultra-realistic real-life car models, the more abstract and cheeky design of these little vehicles gives the currently very well-mannered Toon Studio one its first truly “toonish” icons.

The cars work wonders for the forced perspective of their Route 66 desert surroundings, too. The miniaturized Willy’s Butte rock formation suddenly appears to tower over the entire area, thanks to the ride platform being 1 metre below ground level, whilst the earthy, deep colours mix with the turquoise of Flo’s V8 Café canopy and the brown rockwork to give a real sense of place like nothing else at the Studios.

Like Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups at Disneyland Park, the spinning cars only come in a select palette of colours – red, blue and teal. They feature two seating rows but, from these photos, it is hard to confirm how many guests will be able to fit into each. It could certainly be possible that only one adult will fit in each row, though two handrails are featured for both.

The boarding area, themed to Flo’s V8 Café, has also progressed a great deal from our last update on the attraction. The full, turqoise roof is now in place and themeing has begun on the brown supports, the location (in the film, at least) of the gas pumps. With new planting added to the area, the cars installed and themeing begun, the photo above right already bears a good resemblance to the key concept art featured on the construction walls.

Finally, a look at the current state of the general Toon Studio expansion area – in particular the wall at the back of the land, which has now been fully constructed and prepared for painting. At the gateway on the far right, several steel frameworks are now in place for the buildings of the Toon Town backdrop which will enclose this area of the land, placing the backlot of Toon Studio within its own theme world.

Thanks to Frank on MagicForum for all photos featured. You can see more here.

The new parade is once again introduced by the now-familiar face of François Leroux, Vice President of Entertainment at the resort, before we get to see a couple more of the people “behind the Dream” as they proudly present their work.

Below, an artist proudly holds up the full concept art for the Dreams of Fantasy float, showing the extra pirate flag artists and “Jolly Holiday” penguins which, as with the extra performers for every float, were removed from the concept art shown at the recent Shareholders’ AGM. Beyond the large concept art, the tower of Big Ben can be spotted, part of the float’s concept model, whilst the huge drawing board features plans for the float design. Surrounding the artist’s area are stills and artwork from Peter Pan, showing the level of detail and accuracy the designers are striving for in their representations of these classic films.

When designing a parade, much moreso than when designing a theatre show, the directors must work in 3D to ensure the scene works with the perspective of the floats to their audience. A key part of the process, seen previously with The Wonderful World of Disney Parade and Disney Cinema Parade, is therefore to create scale models or maquettes of the floats. The next image above shows a sculpter at work on the maquette for Dreams of Laughter and Fun, in particular the giant Alice stuck inside a thatched cottage.

Next, a close-up on a finished maquette for Dreams of Friendship. Lead by the Toy Story characters in a familiar Andy’s Room environment, the first section of the float features many of the key characters from the first film along with Bullseye from the sequal. Unlike the other floats, the two scenes here are clearly divided, with a page of the storybook also providing a backdrop to the scene.

For the first time, Winnie the Pooh will get his own parade float – albeit shared. The scene – a tea party in the Hundred Acre Wood – is remarkably similar to the former set of his “Winnie the Pooh and Friends, Too” show, during its time at Royal Castle Stage between 1998 and 2005. Pooh’s oak tree home is featured, with colourful lanterns surrounding the wooded grove.

The next image below is definitely worth a click, both for its revealing look at the design of Dreams of Power and its highlighting of the intricacy and artistry involving in crafting the floats. The designer’s drawing boared is filled with a huge diagram of the float’s exact final design, whilst the maquette itself gives us a clearer look at the villain-infested float after the promising concept art seen last weekend.

Finally, a split-second close-up is given of a full coloured maquette, showing Ursula at the back of the float. It isn’t clear yet which of these larger characters will move, or how they will be controlled. Characters such as Pumbaa, for example, could be controlled from inside the float using a puppetry system similar to that used at The Legend Of The Lion King or even California’s Parade of Dreams.

Given the similarities in the style of this parade to California’s 50th anniversary debuted parade, character puppetry could well be added to the line-up of performers giving life to the floats. The list already features stilt walkers, dancers, jugglers, flag artists, bungee acrobats… and elephants! (Taken from Katy Harris’ previous project, the Kids Carnival).

Poppy The Monkey confirmed on MagicForum last week that rehearsals have now begun, taking place at night after Disneyland Park closes its gates. These will continue most nights up until the “soft-opening” premiere on 31st March.

From rumours, to sketches, to maquettes, to construction, to rehearsals – the time and effort required to create a new daytime Disney parade is unsurpassed by anyone else. And now we’re less than 30 days away from the final step… seeing it for real !

Concepts and video stills © Disney, published by arn0 on his blog.

Here they are – the full series of eight colour concept arts for the brand new Disneyland Park parade, officially released at the shareholders’ AGM (of course!) and captured by Mouetto on Disney Central Plaza forum (naturellement!).

Each of the concepts is accompanied by a quick summary from our guide page, and then beneath that any additional notes, details or corrections we can spot after seeing the full-colour artworks.

Float 1: Dreams of Imagination

“Mickey and Minnie hover high in the sky in a golden hot air balloon! They’ve dropped anchor on a most dreamy location, the purple curve of a smiling moon, resting on a storybook. Donald showers the moon in sparkling glitter, as Goofy rests on the pile of storybooks and blows bubbles into the clouds!”

The same concept you first saw right here over seven months ago. How time flies, eh?

Float 2: Dreams of Laughter and Fun

“A traditional fairytale hut is featured at the centre of the float, used by Alice in Wonderland first and then Pinocchio at the rear. The Pinocchio section features “marionnette” bungee artists similar to those in ‘Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams’ at Disneyland in California, bouncing on bungee ropes from supports high above. Around this section of the float, stilt walkers will perform routines with their own puppets.”

The Alice in Wonderland scene features Tweedle Dee/Dum, the Caterpillar and a tree with painted red roses. As the theme shifts to Pinocchio, a number of clocks are featured. Pinocchio appears to be performing his “I’ve Got No Strings” routine, with Gepetto watching. Jiminy Cricket sits atop the bungee rope clock tower.

Float 3: Dreams of Friendship

“Features Toy Story and Winnie the Pooh characters, with a giant storybook in the middle separating the two themes. At the front, Woody joins his Roundup Gang to remind them “you’ve got a friend in me”, whilst at the back Pooh’s birthday party is in full swing, featuring all his best friends from the Hundred Acre Wood at a jolly tea party.”

This float was the hardest to decipher from the silhouette image, with a classic scene from the first Toy Story at the front and a Hundred Acre Wood tea party at the rear. Despite the logo of Toy Story 2 being used, the scene is more reminiscent of the first film, since Buzz has a rocket attached to his wings and the arcade machine of the Little Green Men is featured.

Float 4: Dreams of Fantasy

“This very British float first features Captain Hook’s galley splashing through the waves, before a sea of London rooftops bring Wendy peering out of her window at Peter Pan on the roof above! A whimsically-styled Big Ben towers in the centre of the rooftops, poking through the clouds, with Mary Poppins and her classic “jolly holiday” carousel behind, as a fleet of kites hovers above. A merry band of pirate flag artists will surround the ship at the front of the float.”

The crocodile from Peter Pan can be seen amongst the waves at the front of the float, whilst the Penguin waiters from Mary Poppins are featured in the Jolly Holiday scene.

Float 5: Dreams of Power

“The Disney Villains are out to take command of the parade, on a dark and menacing float filled with viciousness! As the serpent Jafar slithers along at the front, Chernabog towers over the parade route on the desolate summit of Bald Mountain. Bringing up the rear is the slimy sea monster Ursula. The float will be surrounded by menacing souls juggling (false) fire!”

Hades can be seen at the front of the float, whilst the Evil Queen from Snow White hides below Chernabog.

Float 6: Dreams of Adventure

“Serving The Lion King and The Jungle Book, a giant jungle tree towers out of the middle of the float, with Simba on Pride Rock before it and King Louie and Baloo behind. Various animals from both films can be found amongst the branches of the tree, including monkeys and giraffes. Rafiki is clinging to the tree behind Pride Rock, with Timon and Pumbaa joining in the celebrations below. It’s also likely that several of the colourful jungle animals from the Kids Carnival season will join the parade at this point.”

The Jungle Book scene chosen is King Louie’s temple, with Baloo in his coconut hula outfit and King Louie’s throne beneath the tree. Timon also wears his hula costume, and the entire tree is filled with too many animals to count – including The Jungle Book’s Vultures and Kaa the snake.

Float 7: Dreams of Romance (Part 1)

“A tropical garden oasis is the setting for Ariel and Jasmine, with beautiful flowers and an enchanted tree bringing a rainbow of colour to their romantic pursuits. The Dream of Romance section will feature the enchanted garden theme throughout, with each of the Princesses’ shimmering dresses scattered with beautiful gold leaves and several dancing flowers with yellow and green petals surrounding each float.”

The enchanted garden features Ariel at the front in some kind of sea shell grotto, whilst Jasmine swings on a tree with giant roses and Aladdin dances around her.

Float 8: Dreams of Romance (part 2)

“The grand finale to the entire parade, this giant float features a grand total of four princesses! The initial gazebo is an ornate shelter for Beauty and the Beast, whilst the whimsical fairytale bridge is occupied by Snow White and her prince. On the hill before the giant castle stands Cinderella and Prince Charming. Sleeping Beauty is possibly featured behind the castle, as a finale – afterall, the parade is named after one of her songs! The float will also be articulated (split into two free-moving, joined sections), giving an idea of its impressive size.”

Sleeping Beauty is indeed featured just behind the castle, which is a giant, glittering, crystal design. The gazebo of Beauty and her Beast is surrounded by giant red roses.

Finally seeing the full parade in colour concept art is a dream for any fan, and when it finally premieres in just over one month there’ll be even more to see, not just on the floats but all around – characters, dancers, confetti and more. We’re promised a unique parade in the history of Disney Parks, filling all five sense with wonder. Sight and sound are obvious, touch will be from the many Disney characters, more than in any other parade. Unique scents for each float were even confirmed some time ago, leaving just taste to be answered. Characters handing out sweets seems a likely option, already a popular stunt during Halloween events.

Some of the concepts here appear to be quite realistic (for example, the first and second floats), whilst others seem to merely give an artistic impression of the characters and details the floats will include (Dreams of Fantasy in particular), rather than an accurate plan.

To see these concepts made a reality will be the real moment of magic. And, when you spot the first new daytime parade at the park in almost seven years coming towards you along Main Street for the first time, it’ll be better than a dream.

Candlabration / Bougillumination

In true Disney fashion, every element of this vast celebration gets its own piece of concept art. First, Candlabration – the evening ceremony show which will see Mickey and friends light up the fifteen candles on the castle in a twilight show similar to the hugely popular Enchanted Fairytale Ceremony of Disney’s Christmas Season. The concept art confirms that the Christmas stage will stay, but shows it with a beautiful, golden overlay and “15” emblems in place of the current “Once upon a time” motif.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Chip ‘n’ Dale are all present, wearing pastel and royal blue outfits which might be more than a little familiar to anyone who follows the US resorts. These “Year of a Million Dreams” costumes are due to be carried over to Paris for both this show and for general meet ‘n’ greets.

In Walt Disney World’s “Dream Along With Mickey” show (video here), the characters even have “articulated” talking heads, a concept which was premiered back in 2004 with Timon in our very own The Legend Of The Lion King. Since the costumes are the same and the show is featured in a similar location, we have to ask – will our Fab 7 be talking for the 15th?

Even if they don’t, it certainly looks like they’ll be providing us with some music. Take a look at what they’re all holding – each character has their own musical instrument!

Finally, the candles themselves also present a question – just how bright will they be? Both here and in the new TV spot they’re shown as bright, shining beacons of light, rather than the small flickering flames we might have expected.

Lumière Banners

With the park located in Paris and much of the focus being on those candles, it seems almost too good to be true that Disney have the perfect showman and mascot for the celebrations – Lumière! And if his golden statue right at the centre of the Castle wasn’t enough of an ego boost, he’s soon to appear on brand new banners lining Main Street.

Recent visitors to the park will likely have wondered why the Enchanted Fairytale Illuminations “Chandeliers” are still in place – and here’s your answer! Come 1st April, though, they’ll be barely recognisable. The chandelier crown itself will be completely removed and replaced with a golden cap and horizontal frame for the banner, whilst other gold elements will be painted onto other sections of the giant, ornate lampposts.

Whilst it hasn’t been confirmed if the poles themselves will still be able to illuminate, it has been mentioned that the banners will be lit in some way by modern LED lights. Two of the banners were on display at the shareholders meeting, and perhaps give a typically “Disney” solution – LED lights fitted inside the banners themselves, lighting up the bright white dots peppered across the design? We’ll have to wait and see…

D-i-s-n-e-y-l-a-n-d Letters

And finally… something no-one could have expected. After the Pumpkinmen and Pink Witches, the entertainment teams of Disneyland Resort Paris have been off designing their own park characters again. This time, you’ll be able to meet one of the ten letters spelling out “Disneyland”. No, honestly!

It doesn’t seem to be confirmed yet whether these will be statues, walk-around characters or maybe even giant puppets (like those at WDW’s Finding Nemo The Musical), but an early name being given to them is “Alpha Bet You Are”.

There hasn’t even been confirmation if all ten will appear at once, so perhaps we’ll have to hunt them down, throughout the park? It could be massive for autograph book sales, with ten separate single-letter autographs to collect… Or am I the one getting carried away now?

Concept art © Disney, captured by Mouetto on Disney Central Plaza forum.
Additional photos by Joel.

Yes, the 1990s icon himself, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear will soon be touching down in Disneyland Park for a second time, almost exactly one year after his own attraction, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, was inaugurated. But don’t fear – this time, Buzz won’t be replacing anything!

When we first saw the anniversary castle visuals back in July 2006 and realised decorations were being prepared, a quick count up of the character groups gave exactly fifteen – but with Mickey and Minnie counted separately. Now, it looks like the happy Mouse couple have joined together to allow a new fifteenth star to join, and Mr. Lightyear is apparently the “chosen one” to represent Pixar’s Disney classics.

2006 Visuals showing Winnie the Pooh / Pinocchio

This isn’t the first time we’ve noticed a change in the characters featured on the castle. In October 2006, all of the resort’s travel marketing visuals were updated overnight to suddenly replace Winnie the Pooh with Pinocchio and Figaro.

But, since the turret Buzz Lightyear will occupy was left free on all of those advertising visuals, it’s likely that he has been a planned character since the start – removed from visuals only to avoid the constant “inspired by Disney/Pixar’s…” disclaimer currently being slapped on everything to do with Crush and Cars.

New concept art shown at shareholder AGM

The new concept art first shows all fifteen characters (or groups of characters) floating in silver bubbles, before showing the final design of the highly anticipated Character Castle Makeover.

Disneyland Resort Paris have confirmed that the decorations will begin to arrive after St. Patrick’s Day, 17th March 2007, and will be added one-by-one overnight so avoid ruining the guest experience during the day. The redecorated castle will be “unveiled” (or rather “inaugurated”) on 31st March 2007 during the huge press events before the first “official” day of the anniversary year, 1st April 2007.

The addition of a Pixar character might cause some annoyance for those against the recent surge of park influence from the studio, but their effect on Disney and the world of animation shouldn’t be forgotten. For a ’90s child like Euro Disneyland, Buzz Lightyear seems the perfect icon to make up the fifteen and help take the anniversary “To infinity and beyond!”.

You didn’t think I’d get through the whole article without saying that, did you?

Concept art © Disney, captured by Mouetto on Disney Central Plaza forum.

“Come a little closer… Turn another page… In the story of what’s waiting for you…”

The typically “Disney” lyrics couldn’t be more appropriate. Singing of their dreams coming true “as far as the eye can see” and “as good as good can be”, the two lead vocalists of the new song, “Just Like We Dreamed It”, could be speaking the words of any fan or guest at this truly incredible time in the life of Disneyland Resort Paris.

Shareholders at the Annual General Meeting were treated to a remarkable preview performance of the song lasting just over five minutes, as Disney characters and glittering Disney princesses made their way to the stage in their dazzling costumes created exclusively for the new parade. Member Scrooge on Disney Magic Interactive forum captured the moment on camera (below), with Entertainment Vice President François Leroux (seen just days ago on the backstage preview video of official anniversary website Disneyland15.com) presenting an on-stage preview of the music and costumes of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade.

All of the costumes are brand new and unique to Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade. The characters wear shimmering, silky costumes in vibrant rainbow colours, joined together with a beautiful theme of white and gold throughout. Up front is the Mouse himself, wearing a stunning purple, white and gold suit with a big top hat, whilst the other side of François is Minnie in a bright pink dress and golden shoes. Behind them, Chip and Dale wear green hats and bow ties with white detailing, whilst Goofy wears a snazzy orange tailor suit as seen in the parade’s key visual. As always, Donald is just left out of the fun – to the far left of the photo – though his bright sailor blue costume can clearly be seen.

And, whilst we’ve already seen two of the beautiful Princess dresses to be worn exclusively in the parade, their appearance at the event allowed a sneaky glimpse at the others – including Cinderella, who can also be seen in the photo. Her pastel blue dress continues the theme of golden leaves and flowers seen in the earlier dresses.

The new song itself will be used both as the opening to the parade and as the “parade stop” music, when the parade comes to a halt to allow the characters to interact with their audience. The version used for this presentation also features a short prologue medley of classic Disney music, suggesting, perhaps, that this could be the version which opens the parade, since a voiceover introduction could easily be overlayed. Some have likened it to the music of Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams already, which also features a slower beginning before the main pop song “Welcome” begins – and, just like our new parade, the music then shifts into classical Disney music, before the song returns for the parade stops.

For anyone desperately dreaming of hearing it for themselves, you’ll be glad to know the presentation was recorded and uploaded in mp3 by Mouetto on Disney Central Plaza forum. And, since many people are having trouble with the temporary fileshare site, we’re going to host it here for a brief time:

Temporary download no longer available!
Want to hear the music? Get to Disneyland Park from 31st March 2007!

Make sure you’re absolutely sure you want to hear it before you download, this is obviously quite a large spoiler for the upcoming parade! If you decide to wait, then you can always just look at the Lyrics instead, which have just been added to our Disneyland Resort Paris CD Archive already.

And if you can still resist that temptation, then you know where you have to be – Disneyland Park, Paris, from 31st March 2007!

Characters photo by Kyoto; Audio recording by Mouetto, Music © Disney.

This is the 200th news article on DLRP Today! Thank you to all those who continue to visit each day, the project has been more successful than I could have ever dreamed! And with the anniversary now just over a month away, there’s still plenty more magic still to come.