2007

In the superficial world of the movies it’s all about first impressions, and for that Front Lot is a shining example. Unfortunately, those spiralling patterns and stars of the fanciful flooring just in front of the turnstiles have been crumbling for several years – until now, that is! The 15th Anniversary superhero has stepped up to the job once again! DLRP_bopazot on MiceChat reports construction walls have this weekend closed off the entire area between the main resort hub and the park entrance, leaving guests to enter via the gate towards Disneyland Park and walk right around the hub to get to the Studios.

A refurbishment of this disappointing area ready for the anniversary and the extra guests and press attention it will bring with it is certainly very welcome, but one has to think of the poor guests arriving at the park this month. Once they’re past this unfriendly gathering of fences, they’ve still to face the onlaught of walls for Hollywood Studio, Tower of Terror and Toon Studio! Whether they appreciate that “it’ll be worth it in the end” is up for the Cast Members at Studio Services to decide…

All photos by DLRP_bopazot on MiceChat forums, thanks to Patrick for the news!

The new park tickets were announced at the Cast Member Rendez-Vous event earlier this month, and now the designs of the eight different new passport designs have been released. Each ticket option, Park Hopper and 1-Day/1-Park, will have four different designs, each featuring a different graphic from the set of fifteen candle-holding characters we’ve grown to recognise over the past six months.

The characters chosen to feature are Dumbo, Pinocchio and Pluto, with the fourth design presenting the full set of characters surrounding the large gold “15”. Unfortunately, the same set of designs are re-used for each ticket type, with colours and text changed, perhaps making the collection a little less exciting than if a larger number had been used. As reported earlier, Passe-Partout (Park Hopper) tickets are gold, whilst 1-Jour/1-Parc tickets are purple.

One noticable addition to these tickets is the text on the front. Early tickets simply featured the Disneyland Paris logo, whilst those from the past five years simply featured either the Passe-Partout logo or, for the 1-Day/1-Park, a set of Mickey ears. Whilst strange to see the text is presented only in French rather than the usual French/English combination, this should make it much easier for guests – and Cast Members – to see at a glance which ticket they have.

The tickets are expected to begin use on 1st April 2007, the official start of the 15th Anniversary Celebration, and will be used throughout the entire Anniversary year. Then, in March 2008, we’ll almost certainly get another new design – good news for collectors (and eBay sellers) !

Passport images © Disney, thanks to DLRP.fr

The introduction of a High School Musical streetmosphere show has been rumoured for several weeks, and now confirmation has been given. The show will run from 16th June to 26th August 2007, adding yet another new addition to the hefty lineup of events for the 15th Anniversary year.

It will likely be based on the “High School Musical Pep Rally” shows from Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida, the latter of which just moved to Disney-MGM Studios itself after a brief spell at the Magic Kingdom. The shows feature most of the songs from the hit TV movie weaved into a storyline which sees the performers rallying support for the stars of the movie with all the cheerleading and basketball stereotypes of an American High School. If the show is to be performed at the same location as Starring Cruella De Vil, it will be featured directly opposite the Disney Channel studios themselves.

Rumours suggest that the three trailer sets of Starring Cruella De Vil could even be reused for the new show, with the decors replaced. Many will be sad not to see the previous show return, which built up a surprising fan base over its two Summer seasons thanks mainly to the exceptional performances of Cruella herself. You can still find a full guide to old show here, or a video by Photos Magiques here.

As for High School Musical, LaughingPlace.com has a photo guide to the Disney’s California Adventure version, which could give us some idea of what to expect from this all-American high school show.

News from WDSfans.com; Lead photo by LaughingPlace.com

‘¢ Revenues increased 6% to € 284 million
‘¢ Theme parks attendance and hotel occupancy increased driven by strong Halloween and Christmas seasons
‘¢ Negotiations with trade unions successfully completed

This first quarter revenues report covers the quarter up to 31st December 2006, reporting increased sales of € 284.1 million from € 268.5 million in the same period last year. The Theme Parks sector saw the biggest surge with sales up almost 10% to € 153.6 million from € 139.8 million in 2006, thanks once again to special offers for local French guests, merchandise sales and the slight increase in ticket price.

Even more impressive, perhaps, is the rise of Hotel occupancy by 5.8 percentage points, measuring the amount of rooms filled over the quarter. This amounted to around 29,000 extra room nights compared to the same period in 2006, and helped give the Hotels and Disney Village sector an overall rise of 8% to € 108.7 million.

In his traditional statement to shareholders, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Karl Holz appears satisfied with the results and confident the good news will continue into 2007:

“We are pleased that our business continues to improve with both strong park attendance and hotel occupancy as well as increased guest spending. This improvement is consistent with the trend of our last three quarters.
This quarter’s performance is encouraging for fiscal year 2007, and we look forward to commemorating the 15th-year since we first opened the gates of Disneyland Resort Paris. We will celebrate this anniversary by unveiling exciting new entertainment and attractions, which include the spectacular Disney’s Once Upon a Dream parade in the Disneyland® Park and the opening of two new attractions, Cars Race Rally and Crush’s Coaster in the Walt Disney Studios® Park.

We are also pleased to report that we have reached agreement with our labor unions on two important matters: the 2007 salary plan and the amendment of our 35-hour workweek agreement. We have built a solid foundation for our cast members as the agreements strike a balance between our cast members’ expectations and the Group’s need for increased flexibility to accommodate our guests’ visiting the Resort at different periods of the year.”

The report also gives an update of the upcoming events for the 15th Anniversary, similar to that recently given in the latest Shareholders Club newsletter:

In fiscal year 2007 we will commemorate the 15th anniversary of Disneyland® Resort Paris.
As a backdrop for the party, the Disneyland® Park’s Sleeping Beauty Castle will be decorated with delicate sculptures of Disney Characters and 15 birthday candles. Each night, the candles will sparkle to life during Candleabration, a birthday show featuring favorite Disney Characters.

In the Disneyland Park, Disney Characters will star in the all-new Disney’s Once Upon a Dream parade. The parade will feature famous dream moments from Disney stories. Throughout both the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios® Park, there will be even more opportunities to meet Disney Characters, including the new Disney Characters’ Express that transports a trainload of characters several times daily down Main Street to meet guests in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and at other special locations.

Two new attractions will open at the Walt Disney Studios Park during the celebration. Crush’s Coaster family thrill ride plunges guests into the underwater world of Disney/Pixar’s hit animated film Finding Nemo. This experience will transport guests into the adventurous world of Nemo and his ‘surfer’ turtle friend … Crush. Nearby, Cars Race Rally, inspired by Disney/Pixar’s Cars, lets guests of all ages take a ride on the famous Route 66.

A positive report such as this bodes well for the rest of financial year 2007, with the final two quarters in particular hoped to be particularly remarkable. However, the resort may yet face disappointment with its First Half 2007 results in April, since the first three months of the Second Quarter leading up the start of the Anniversary on 1st April lack their usual seasonal celebrations and may be avoided by guests postponing their visit until later in the year.

The next Combined General Meeting of Shareholders is scheduled for 21st February 2007.

You can read the first quarter results in full here (PDF).

It’s no use having that expensive birthday present if you don’t have all the accessories to go with it, right? The Imagineers agree, and have confirmed their plans to turn the unremarkable stretch of black asphalt between Disney Bros. Plaza and Studio Tram Tour into a film set boulevard dedicated to Hollywood at the golden age of the movies. This could be the Nautilus to Discoveryland’s Space Mountain, the Riverboat to Frontierland’s Big Thunder Mountain or the moat and dragon to Fantasyland’s Castle, in its effect of setting the tone and theme to welcome guests to 2008’s The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

The new “place-making” sets will effectively comprise of façades from Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios Florida and Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney’s California Adventure, albeit with the ajoining buildings chopped off to simply give the elaborately themed exterior. The concepts were presented at the recent Cast Member Rendez-Vous event, allowing the following guide to the sets due to be used to be pieced together. You can also see an expanded version with photos of each expected façade at DLRP Magic Guides.

Beginning as if you’ve just stepped out of Disney Studio 1 into the newly transformed park, spot #1 will reportedly feature a Mediterranean corner façade, hiding the existing La Terrasse behind. This Pueblo Deco style will match the current building and the Tower of Terror behind, to which it will also give access. One of several arches in the set will house a brand new tips board (wait time guide) for the park. Based on this information, a search of Disney’s Hollywood inventory brings up “Schmoozie’s” at Hollywood Pictures Backlot as a possible inspiration. Points #3 and #4 will be Pueblo Deco towers, adding to the overall look of the area and helping the 183ft Tower of Terror sit more comfortably in the park.

Across the street, point #2 is the most certain of all the sets, appearing to host a replica of “Gone Hollywood” from Hollywood Pictures Backlot. Strolling further along the new boulevard, a crossroads presents two corner buildings seeming to come from opposite coasts of the US. From the East Coast is #5, reported to be home to a new version of Disney-MGM Studios Florida’s “Villains In Vogue”, a colourful movie theatre façade. Whilst from the West Coast, Disney’s California Adventure, comes #6 – “Off the Page”, an ornate and extravagant sandy-coloured store façade.

Even more promising news is that the boulevard will come complete with new greenery and foliage to hide the reverse of these false movie set buildings, whilst important elements such as lamposts, palm trees, benches and sidewalks look set to complete the scene.

All of these sets should be taken as a rough guide only, since the boulevard is still over 10 months from completion. It seems certain, though, that the Hollywood Boulevards of Orlando and Anaheim will be plundered for their richest icons to provide the fruits of this placemaking, both to keep the project in-budget and to play safe with tried and tested designs.

What will be brand new, though, is the backdrop of the new boulevard – first, #8, a sweeping backdrop of the famous Hollywood Hills on the current location of Studio Tram Tour’s billboard. Finally, #7 is a brand new idea from the Imagineers – a façade themed to a Tunnel through those iconic mountains, functioning infact as the main entrance of Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic. A similar tunnel has been hidden away since 2002 on the fresque at the exit of Disney Studio 1, and even perhaps since 1988 in Touchstone’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.

Click here for a full walk-through with photos.

With the details have only just announced, no time has been wasted in preparing the park for the large-scale placemaking work, due to officially begin on 29th January 2007. Already, the entrance of Studio Tram Tour has been re-routed through the canopy of the disused Fastpass distribution area, with the entire entrance surrounded just a few days later by a new tide of tall, yellow construction walls.

Then, on Friday, the walls extended to surround the entire La Terrasse area.

This phase of work is scheduled to be complete by mid-May this year, when the entire route will then close. During this time, Studio Tram Tour will be accessible only via Toon Studio and the new path due to be laid behind Art of Disney Animation. Meaning, of course, that the paths of the new Toon Studio area will be open at least 3 weeks before its two new attractions!

Upon entering the parks now, guests are met by fences to their right, for Toon Studio, and fences stretching ahead of them on their left, for this renamed Production Courtyard – Hollywood Studio.

Despite this unpleasant first impression, it finally seems certain that the Imagineers are about to realise one of our greatest dreams from the past 5 years, and in the process elevate Walt Disney Studios to a true Disney experience. So that, by November of this year, it may finally be proud to proclaim…

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr Disney.”

Map by DLRPMagic.com based on reports from La Rouquine and Kinoo on DisneyCentralPlaza forum; Photos by Joel, Photos Magiques, Kyoto (Disneymagicinteractive.com), Dlrp.fr, Disneytheque.com

Once again, it’s La Rouquine who brings the confirmation, with additional details adding that shows will be presented alternately in both French and English (Spanish is no longer mentioned as earlier). The show will take place in the current Art Attack stage of the “tour”, with the two preceding backstage rooms presenting the background story to the extraterrestrial encounter on the existing plasma screens and through small themeing additions.

The popular Disney Channel CyberSpace post-show of interactive games and CyberSpace Mountain will remain. No opening date has been announced, but the addition is currently scheduled for early 2008 – a perfect family-orientated companion to Tower of Terror, perhaps. The attraction was reported some time ago to have been confirmed already to most Cast Members at Walt Disney Studios Park, but this resort-wide announcement finally gives a bold confirmation. This brings a fourth new attraction to the 15th Anniversary’s already impressive line up.

If you’re new to Stitch Encounter and not sure what it entails, you can find out everything here.

Almost all the information in this article and those to follow was reported by La Rouquine on the French Disney Central Plaza forum, giving the fan community an excellent service with not a moment wasted in reporting the exciting confirmations!

The Cast Member event first confirmed the general anniversary events, such as the character castle decorations to definitely be a bronze/gold colour. The “Bougillumination” (Candle Illumination) ceremony will take place every evening during the celebration (1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008) on a special stage in the middle of Central Plaza, featuring Mickey and the other classic characters. The ceremony show is more and more appearing to be a birthday version of The Enchanted Fairytale Ceremony, with different illuminations and minus the Disney Princesses. It will be accompanied by the song from the parade interaction stops of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade, more on that later…

The previously rumoured “Character Train” cavalcade was also confirmed, to parade around Main Street USA at several times early each day using popular characters and the Dumbo Casey Jr float from The Wonderful World Of Disney Parade – reportedly to be repainted gold, silver and blue for the occasion. This event uses a similar idea to the classic Good Morning Main Street mini-parade from many years ago, or perhaps the Cavalcade de Stitch from 2006’s Halloween.

As for the rest of the current and recent parade floats, many of them 15 years old themselves, La Rouquine reports none will be kept except those of Snow White (often converted for other uses) and Cinderella. It remains to be seen, then, what will happen for the Halloween and Christmas parades this year.

Still on the subject of parades, more secrets from Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade have surfaced whilst others have been confirmed. There will be two sections to the music. The first, individual float scores, will be based on themes from the animated films presented, reorchestrated for the parade (by Steve Sidwell – see our report from last week). The second will be a new theme song, written especially for the anniversary events and used during the parade’s interaction stops.

Whilst La Rouquine reports the new song is sung in English by a couple (and reviews it favourably), we can add that its full title is “Just Like We Dreamed It”. The parade will apparently stop on average four times during its course, therefore amounting to a single parade stop for those watching. The stops will allow the Disney characters to interact with the audience.

The idea of scents used during the parade is confirmed once again, with examples being the smell of sweets from the first float (Dream of Imagination, with Mickey and friends) and the smell of flowers from the Princesses’ garden float, Dream of Romance. The specialised artists replacing the dancers have been discussed for quite some time, and now several interesting examples are given. Jugglers with (false) fire for the villains’ Dream of Power float, bungee rope acrobats for Pinocchio’s Dream of Laughter and Fun, stilt walkers with puppets also for Pinocchio and finally flag throwers for Peter Pan’s Dream of Fantasy.

Cast Members will wear the badge of the anniversary with special commemorative name tags featuring the 15th Anniversary logo and generic “Where dreams come true” slogan of Disney Parks, as seen below:

Scan: DLRP.fr

But how to get the word out outside of the resort? They’ve got that covered too – www.disneyland15.com will soon be host to a dedicated website for all the anniversary events! It was announced at the rendez-vous that the design is already completed, but the website won’t be launched just yet. (Last year, the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast website launched in early February, with the attraction also opening early April.)

Member tom_swiss on the same forum adds information about other elements of the advertising campaign on display at the event, which runs several days to allow all Cast Members to visit, in particular the decoration of several RER or Métro stations. The stations will be entirely dedicated to the anniversary, with stars and a red carpet on the floor and Disney characters on the walls in a very impressive advertising campaign.

One of the key desires with the 15th Anniversary campaign is to attract more families with younger children, since research has shown this to be an underdeveloped area of custom as parents generally wait until their children are older before visiting. And so, in addition to improved advertising, the popular “Kids Free” campaign from the early months of each year will be transferred to the entire celebration, but only for children under 7. La Rouquine reports that if it the idea is successful it could be extended beyond the anniversary year.

Finally, La Rouquine adds that special entrance tickets will be produced for the anniversary year, giving the biggest design change since the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park in 2002. 1-Day/1-Park tickets will be given a purple colour, whilst Passe-Partout (Park Hopper) tickets will be gold. Each will feature one of the fifteen characters holding a candle (though not all the character graphics will be used), with a total of around 8 different ticket designs for each option – and a surefire hit for Disney collectors? This follows the introduction of special 15th Anniversary-styled Annual Passports in November 2006.

Overall, Karl Holz clearly stated his desire to concentrate all resources and use all means to continue to raise the level of the quality of service at the resort. With all that listed above, he certainly knows how to motivate the cast!

Article 4 is a quick look at the two main construction sites at Walt Disney Studios Park, whilst article 5 is perhaps more interesting – a look at the lighting design of the new attractions, in particular Cars Race Rally. Lighting engineer Tracy Eck confirms the small Radiator Springs reproduction will feature “lots of neons”, just as in the Pixar film.

It should be noted that the Tower of Terror story described in article 4 is incorrect – there is no fire, although the pre-show video does show a family entering the Twilight Zone. You can find the true story here.

Series: Backstage at Disneyland Paris (4/5)

Three new attractions this year

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, the park’s teams at Marne-la-Vallée (Seine et Marne) are assembling themselves ready.

For the 15th Anniversary, there are three names to remember. Cars, Nemo and Tower of Terror. The three names of the new attractions of Disney. Confirmed in 2004 as the gifts of a relaunch of the resort, the first two will be unveiled in June with the final following in late 2007 or early 2008. Construction is in progress, and, with Roland Kleve as our guide, we have exceptionally been able to visit two. For more than a year, this tall 43-year old Dutch man has coordinated the works, which requires knowing scores of companies inside and out.

“TOT” as the specialists on the project say (the attraction already exists in the US and Japan), promises some truly strong sensations. “In 1939, this grand hotel was hit by a lightning bolt” recounts Roland, whilst climbing the steps of the 57m high tower. “There was a fire on the 13th floor and a family remains trapped.” Guests are invited to step into one of three elevators. Possessed elevators. “In the US, we built it in metal, but in France this is not allowed” assures Roland. “A blow, since to pour the concrete structure, we had to keep going for 45 days without stopping” he bellows, himself amazed.

Several metres away, behind tall construction walls, a self-contained world is in the process of being made inside the Studios, the second park opened by Mickey for his tenth anniversary in France. Here we find a first, developed especially for France. Crush’s Coaster, from the world of Finding Nemo. Developed with Pixar Animation Studios thanks to a computer generated simulation, it promises to match the love for Space Mountain. “It’s a small roller coaster which hides countless surprises” announces Roland with his particular style. Seated in the shell of a turtle, we pass by coral before diving into the blackness of the ocean, where familiar fish lead you to places where undersea monters lie in wait amongst the wrecks. At the half-way point, the shell begins to spin on itself when, right ahead… drop! This is the key to the ride, and won’t be revealed!

Article: Julie Cloris, Translation: DLRP Today, Scan: Narindra, DCP forum
Series: Backstage at Disneyland Paris (5/5)

She illuminates the world of Mickey

For the 15th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, which will be celebrated from 1st April 2007, today we conclude our series of profiles on those who, in the shadows, are preparing the festivities.

If there was a department happy with the thick cloud that regularly covers the sky over the theme park resort, this has to be the one. Tracy Eck is responsible for lighting design at Disneyland Paris, in particular one of those who will “theatricalise” the three new attractions inaugerated this year: Crush’s Coaster, Tower of Terror (see the previous article), and Cars. Unlike the themeing, which can be hidden by a grey blanket, thick fogs can be the accomplice of a lighting designer. “They define the lights” smiles the 45-year old American, educated at the Théâtre national de Strasbourg. “In fog, an illuminated neon produces an immediate effect. The only thing which annoys me is when it reveals a beam of light we tried to hide.”

“The most effective and economical lighting possible”

Being a lighting engineer at Disneyland Paris is equivalent almost to being a magician. To have the result without revealing the illusion. Of the 2,500 points of lighting being installed, two thirds will be invisible. For Crush’s Coaster, spotlights, bulbs and filters will go to recreate bubbles and swirls. The auto racecourse of Cars presents the difficulty of being entirely outside. Drawn from the success of the eponymous Pixar Studios, it is in the process of being constructed amongst rocks coloured with hot, ochre tones. “Cars is a gift to light,” exlaims Tracy. “We have specially conceived two large lights, and there will be lots of neons. Radiator Springs has all the charm of the time when Route 66 made dreams. It was the first time you could go from Chicago, my home town, to the West coast of the United States.”

To create this atmosphere, as well as the Art Deco walls lights and chandliers which decorate the interior of the Tower of Terror, Tracy spent nine months in California. “The majority of our materials are European, but some products are coming from the United States. We exchange a huge amount of information, and our data bank is communal for all the Disney parks. We work on the main design, making sure it fits with the time period, and then we study the lighting which will be the most effective yet the most economical.” With 300,000 lighting points, of which 100,000 for parades, they can’t have the bulbs burning out every two months!

Article: Julie Cloris, Translation: DLRP Today, Scan: Narindra, DCP forum