2008

Purists, fans… relax. Martin Short still bumbles his way through the delightful film, the rainy romance of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg still enchants and Julie Delpy still dashes out onto the Yellow Brick Road in the fantastical finale. But then, the film was never the problem.

The half-hearted “movie theater” entrance to Disney Studio 2 has just begin its first full refurbishment since opening in 2002, with green construction fences currently covering the pillars at the left side and back wall of the waiting area. This isn’t a simple retouching of the paintwork, however. They’re taking the rehab as a chance to refresh and renew the “magique” of this award-winning attraction.

With the rumoured ‘Theater District’ expansion of the Hollywood Boulevard placemaking still some time from being green-lit, the operations teams at Walt Disney Studios Park need a quick way to entice some of those new guests passing by to visit the Tower of Terror, Toon Studio or ‘Stitch Live!‘ into the 1,100-capacity theatre.

With their new and exciting exteriors, it might be easy for guests to try the new attractions and bypass a classic like CinéMagique. Which is, in fact, exactly what seems to be happening. And, with its rave reviews and countless fans, this is an attraction the people at Walt Disney Studios Park don’t want you to miss.

The new tips and wait times board at the foot of Hollywood Boulevard introduced a novel extra way to use the unique LCD screens which display the latest showtimes — they now also play brief video clips from inside the Studios’ show-based attractions.

The old tips board, now positioned at the top of Hollywood Boulevard, features new advertisements for CinéMagique and ‘Moteurs… Action!’, another show needing an attendance boost in recent months.

At Studio 2, the familiar purple and red exterior is now in the process of changing to a fresher — and, you could argue — more old-fashioned, “Hollywood” colour scheme. Whilst, inside the waiting area, the bare yellow wall has taken the purple instead, hiding the emptiness of the space and finally lending the area a slightly more atmospheric feel similar to real-life dark, plush cinema lobbies. Well, we can dream.

With only some hanging movie stills and old posters to give this area some visual interest, how do you improve that on a tight budget? Well, how about some flashing “strobe” lights? They have begun to replace the static bulbs at intervals throughout the ceiling of the canopy, adding a little “sparkle”… on a shoestring.

The refurbishment also makes sure that the attraction is looking its best for the upcoming press events over the first week in April, a big deal for the park as it relaunches with the two new 2008 attractions and completed placemaking works. Here’s hoping the all-important ‘2’ atop the building will also be given a clean-up.The works are reportedly completely unrelated to the proposed placemaking project in this corner, which, rumours suggest, would include a completely new, completely “Hollywood” façade for the theatre.

[All photos by Photos Magiques (more here)]

The new, golden satellite dish atop Walt Disney Television Studios has been buzzing throughout this past weekend, relaying wisecracks and games from Stitch’s space ship to the lucky guests down on Earth, experiencing ‘Stitch Live!’ for the first time thanks to the previously announced Annual Passport Dream previews.

Our partner site Photos Magiques was there to capture a quick photo tour through the revamped Disney Channel studios:

Outside, the noticeboard installed a few weeks ago featured a Studio-styled notice proclaiming “Stitch Live! — Opening Soon”, with the attraction’s logo. This will, in future, be taken out to reveal a show times listing — that during the earlier tests with the public (see end of article) was a simple printed poster, not electronic.

During the AP Dream previews, the resort’s well-known “stay away from here” plants were out in force to guard the entrance from non-Annual Passport guests, with a notice explaining the previews.

AP Dream holders were required only to show their pass to gain entry into either the English or French queues, either side of the theatre-style booth. Reports posted on the French DisneyMagicInteractive forum reveal that this control booth appears to feature a third button alongside English and French — for Spanish. So, if the number of Spanish guests at the resort continues to grow rapidly, a third language can apparently be easily added.

Once through the outdoo, covered queue line, your group waits in the old pre-show area of the former Television Production Tour. Where once a 9-panel videowall introduced the unforgettable host Julie and the universe of the Disney Channel, now a simple poster with Disney Channel branding against a space-themed background sits. The area is perhaps even less inspiring than previously.

In fact, and you could argue “as expected”, the pre-show as a whole is the only disappointment with the attraction. Finally stepping inside the studio building from the outside area, however, the revamped space is certainly impressive. This used to be a curved walkway following the windows on the right, then leading into a separate room to the left. Now, the entire space has been opened up into one pre-show area — although some space on the left has been taken from the second room, possibly for Stitch’s backstage areas.

The art deco style has been kept throughout, matching the exterior of the building. The lighting is subtle and atmospheric, enhancing the “outer space” theme with glowing blues contrasting against the red of the “On Air” signs. The windows through to the Disney Channel production galleries on the right have been covered completely with space imagery, lit by glowing blue light from above. Four large plasma screens are housed within a giant, glowing blue oval to the left, on the wall of the theatre. The black of the oval is, if you look closely, decorated with a starry sky mural.

It’s these plasma screens which have inspired almost all of the negative points about the attraction so far, simply playing excerpts from the Disney Channel programmes Hannah Montana, High School Musical 2 and Phineas and Ferb, amounting to nothing more than a thoughtless promotion à la the cringe-worthy Kodak adverts at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.

So, are the senior figures at Disneyland Resort Paris concerned with how such a relatively small attraction is being received? Definitely! The advertising for the attraction (both around the resort and in the latest TV commercial) was surprising enough, but guests at the very first public showing could also spot none other than Karl Holz — Chairman and CEO of the resort — checking out the first introduction of Walt Disney Imagineering’s “Living Character” idea to Paris. Mr. Holz appears much easier to spot around the parks than many other Disney presidents and managers around the world, appearing here at the tests on the first weekend in March, which allowed all or any park guests to try the attraction and prepare Stitch for the more critical annual passholders the following weekend.

We’ve shared a fair few reactions and reviews already, from Cast Members, but what is the show actually like? Well, photography inside the small video theatre is technically forbidden, but we can reach a compromise with the slightly blurred photo from Mousy.be above, taken only as guests were leaving. Or, if you’re desperate for a closer look, try this photo posted by Jim Hill guest writer Eric Craven.

You enter the room through automatic doors from the pre-show room, underneath the “On Air” lights. Around two thirds of the former studio soundstage has been completely refitted to become the theatre, with space at the front for children to sit on the floor, followed by several rows of flat benches and then several more rows of slightly raised benches with back rests. It is obvious that the huge full space of the former ‘Art Attack’ stage has not been used, this room appearing to sit almost as a “studio-within-a-studio”, the seating facing to your right as you enter, away from the attraction’s entrance.

The decoration around the giant video screen is noticeably different to that at the Hong Kong Disneyland original, a shiny metallic finish dotted with colourful, illuminated rectangles and circles for a more of a “TV” look. The design is certainly more childish and colourful than the more serious, Tomorrowland command centre-style decoration in Hong Kong. The colourful panels either side of the screen — along with the other lighting throughout the room — change colour depending on the action on screen, flashing red at times of emergency for Stitch, for example.

Guests sit in a semi-circle on benches, with children invited to sit on the floor at the front of the theatre. A live Cast Member introduces the show and explains that there is going to be a special link-up between the Disney Channel’s satellites and Stitch’s space craft. The presenter acts as a host during the show itself, passing questions between Stitch and the audience with a microphone and helping the interaction. And what of that all-important interaction? Reports across the many fan websites and forums so far include games such as shouting directions for Stitch to move safely through space, helping the alien to restore gravity on the ship and even — for one of the children — having your photo taken and shown on screen just seconds later, to become Stitch’s “co-pilot”.

The former Disney Channel CyberSpace post-show area, which previously featured various interactive arcade-style games based on Disney Channel shows, along with the CyberSpace Mountain simulator in earlier years, is currently sitting completely empty. Guests exit Stitch Live! into the daylight through doors at the back of the theatre, where the entrance/exit of the Art Attack stage was located.

All in all, the attraction is looking like a major hit amongst children and their parents, and for others not at all a bad way — rather, quite a fun way — to spend an extra 25 minutes in the Studios. Reports from those who have tried the original at Hong Kong (which was built into a small space in the Space Mountain structure) suggest it is a distinct improvement, with a better design style, larger theatre and the addition of an actual pre-show room (despite the uninspiring video shown).

Clearly a much, much cheaper addition than the likes of Tower of Terror, ‘Stitch Live!’ should in fact add a great deal of excitement to the park for those not interested in trying that very same attraction, providing a good balance between these two new attractions for 2008. From its opening in 2002 with, bizarrely, only one attraction children would fight to experience — Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, the Studios is finally managing to captivate its younger guests.

Indeed, ‘Stitch Live!’ seems to prove that sometimes the simplest of ideas, with the smallest of budgets, can add so much value to a park — particularly for the littler dreamers amongst us.

— Stitch Live! is now available for your ratings and reviews on our partner website DLRP Review. Read more reactions to the new attraction here and — if you’ve been lucky enough to try it — share your own! Click here.

[Photos by Photos Magiques (more) and Mousy.be, headline image by Eric Craven, JimHillMedia]

The changes began back in December of 2007, when, as if preparing for its New Year resolutions, new planters suddenly appeared at the esplanade entrance to Disney Village. Contained within simple wooden borders like you can find at any garden centre, the new trees, shrubs and plants were a shock to the system, wrapped around either side of the entrance and behind the staircase into Planet Hollywood. It was a very good start — not great, the Disney “finish” was lacking, but certainly a major plus for the once barren, concrete areas.

Late December 2007 [Fabawan, DisneyGazette.fr forum]

Whilst the fans on magicforum whiled away the first month of the year dreaming of concrete borders à la the American Downtown Disney areas (and the esplanade leading to the Disney Village parking lot, in fact), little did we all know what would suddenly appear at the end of the month… Yes, concrete borders. Disney’s standard issue for planters in the resort area, and one of the first true, permanent “Disney” touches the multi-year makeover of the Village has seen so far.

7th-8th February 2008 [Photos Magiques]

Before we knew it, walls were popping up here, there and everywhere — brand new trees climbing into the sky behind them, housed in new footers being dug into the concrete flooring.

21st February 2008 [Disneytheque.com]

Next to Annette’s, between Planet Hollywood and King Ludwig’s, between Sports Bar and Disney Fashion and between Disney Fashion and the Hollywood Pictures store they arrived…

29th February 2008 [Mousy.be]

The entire lot reaches its crescendo at Café Mickey, where the uninspiring black tarmac terrace, bordered only by temporary potted plants for years, is finally being ripped up and replaced by a brand new pavement terrace, like the great cafés of Paris itself.

6th February 2008 [Fabawan, DisneyGazette.fr forum]

After the balloons and garish repainting works, Disney Village finally looks to be on the right track. With its harsh architecture softened by greenery and “through-passage” feel broken by all the extra seating on the concrete borders, wrapping and curving their way along the street, the area is finally beginning to appear like a real extension of the parks themselves.

Well, it at least now, finally, has that aspiration.

— Look out for another update following this soon, with the latest progress from the project.

[Photos by Photos Magiques, Disneytheque.com, Mousy.be and Fabawan on DisneyGazette.fr forum]

The rumours began circulating late in 2007 that the movie production-themed parade might not be seen by guests beyond the early months of 2008, and now it’s final. Disney Cinema Parade will officially “wrap” production on Monday, 31st March 2008. But do “find your seats” early, if you want to experience the event, since a wrap on the Sunday could also become a possibility at short notice.

And this is an event that might well be worth experiencing. Not only is it the final chance to see the Studios’ first parade in “action”, according to trusted sources within the entertainment department, it will be a wrap party to remember with extra dancers and characters making the most of all its costumes and floats, giving the parade a proper send-off into “the can”.

The trash-can?

Not yet, and certainly not for a few of the floats, at least. Tipped to be saved for future use are Tinkerbell’s Camera, Mary Poppins’ Movie Can and the final Cinema float itself. The black van (carrying the “latest characters”) which has preceded the parade for several years will also be kept for other events, itself a relic from the days of the original Wonderful World of Disney Parade in 1998.

Launched on 1st June 2002, Disney Cinema Parade was designed by Dragone, a Belgian design studio known for their work on the world-famous Cirque du Soleil. Whilst colourful, fun and populated with many Disney characters, its floats and running order have recently become somewhat tired — especially since the premiere of the vastly superior Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade last year, which also clashes by having most of the Cinema Parade characters featured in both parades.

So, from 1st April 2008, the park will officially be parade-free for the second time in its life, including the brief months after its opening. Now, that’s not a great thing to shout about, but when you factor in the two different High School Musical shows this year, a new show for Place des Stars Stage and several smaller entertainments — look out for the return of the “Toon Train” photo trailer-sets — 2008 should have more than enough to keep the movie magic rolling.

In the long term, as we’ve known for some time, Disney’s Stars and Motor Cars Parade will be rolling across the Atlantic to the park from Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, where it has just closed to make way for California’s Block Party Bash to move in, completing the sudden East-wards moving of parades. The Stars and Motor Cars parade was originally pencilled in for a debut this Spring, to follow-up the 15th Anniversary.

Since the anniversary and all its entertainment have been extended, and the Studios’ two new attractions for 2008 are more than enough to get guests excited — the parade will now enjoy its official Paris premiere around this time next year, 2009.

But for now — take your places for one final journey through the movie-making process, courtesy of Disney Cinema Parade. From the first idea to the final script, the hectic movie set to the cinema premiere. When the curtains close and the lights flicker back to life, all we’ll have are the memories…

— A full guide to the parade, its floats, music and history can be found here.

They were first seen in 1994, in the legendary pre-show video for Walt Disney World’s Tower of Terror. Now, the five souls lost to the fifth dimension have made the same mistake in Paris. All hope is not lost, however, as the final sections of the attraction’s official website have opened to reveal a unique challenge to pluck them from The Twilight Zone. The prize: entry to a prize draw for park hopper tickets.

As revealed in our tour of the new website last week, several new rooms make use of some clever web-Imagineering to bring to life the rest of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. The parts of the hotel you’ve imagined or seen mentioned on the guides next to the elevators, but never seen for real. The five new areas are all found in the upper “floors” of the website, beginning with the Presidential Suite…

Beginning your adventure, a newspaper appears with the rules of the game and your objective. First: find the lost actress. The photos of the five missing souls can be seen in the top-left of the screen. They’re all played by new actors, not those in the attraction’s pre-show video or ghostly corridor scene, but great care has been taken to ensure they match those seen wandering the Walt Disney Studios Park hotel itself.

The bellhop makes an appearance in each new location. In the Presidential Suite, dressed in luxurious fabrics with a large bed and atmospheric lighting, he appears just briefly before lightning shoots through the windows and the room is thrown into darkness…

You’re left alone with the bellhop and a candle, which you then have to wave around the darkened room to find the translucent missing Actress.

Find her, and another newspaper pops up as her photograph comes to life in colour, the actress smiling at having been pulled from the fifth dimension. Click “next” on the newspaper and you’re taken straight to the next new location…

The “Makeover Room”, where the bellhop appears to spend much of his spare time. Well, how would he get those muscles pushing elevator buttons? You’re looking for the dashing Actor amongst the antique beauty equipment and exercise bikes here.

The next location is perhaps the most surprising. Who knew an underground railway ran right under The Hollywood Tower Hotel, with its own service elevator access? The ‘Basement‘, strangely located on the 8th floor, is where you’ll find the Housekeeper.

Look out for the passing trains, their designs in-keeping with the period, and the advertisements for the hotel along the platform. It’s worth noting that you get only 30 seconds — and one appearance — to click on each ghost and retrieve them from The Twilight Zone. Miss your chance, and the bellhop suffers. At the underground station, he’s taken up into a bright white light.

The most familiar view is the Central Corridor, which the camera quickly moves along, passing several bellhops and luggage trolleys along the way, as you search for the Little Girl.

Finally, the Games Room is similar to the hotel’s lobby, with ghosts appearing and reappearing at their tables to check their bingo numbers against those called by the bellhop. You can spot the five missing souls here…

…and even see the Housekeeper win a game!

Miss your chance to click on the final missing soul, the Former Bellboy, though, and the entire room — the entire website — collapses on one side, lights leaning to the left and furniture sliding to the side of the room! You’re then taken back to the Lobby, where you can revisit the room for another chance to complete the game.

Once you’re done, submit your details for a chance to win some free park tickets.

Taking visitors deeper into the environment than any Disney website beforehand, the completed site for Paris’ Twilight Zone Tower of Terror not only effectively advertises the thrills, atmosphere and themeing of the new attraction, but builds upon its world. Whilst there’s an obvious limit to how much can — and needs to — be constructed within the ride itself, taking the fictional hotel online has allowed Disneyland Resort Paris to take the concept further than ever before. Now, when guests step inside the real hotel at Walt Disney Studios, they’ll be remembering all of these locations — hidden away, high up in the Tower.

This is Imagineering for the 21st Century.

— www.disneytowerofterror.com

Sent out across Europe last week were some snazzy blue invitations for exclusive Annual Passport Dream previews at the new Walt Disney Studios Park attraction, allowing some of the resort’s biggest fans a chance to join in and interact with an animated Stitch with little queue on the weekends before he officially goes live.

Scans by Titash, Disney Central Plaza forum.

Featuring Stitch ripping aside some of the resort’s new trademark wrapping paper, decorated with Hawaiian flowers, the invitations announce “You are invited for a chaotic (Chaos-Stitch) live encounter”, with the attraction’s logo and more details on the reverse. This is the third time in the space of one year such an invitation has been sent out.

The scheduled times are:

Saturday 8th March — 13:45 to 18:45
Sunday 9th March — 13:45 to 18:45

Saturday 15th March — 13:45 to 18:45
Sunday 16th March — 13:45 to 18:45

Holders of the ‘Dream’ Passeport Annuel need only show up at the attraction with their pass to gain entry. One friend is allowed to join you, provided they’ve got a valid ticket to enter the park.

So, what can you expect from ‘Stitch Live’? Let’s a take a look at the some of the first reviews already appearing online from Cast Members who have attended the first unofficial previews — “unofficial” because their full previews are not due to begin until next week. These are taken mostly from Disney Central Plaza forum, translated from French.

Fabricologie takes us through the new attraction:

“Little has changed with the decoration compared with previous visits to the Disney Channel studios. Past the double-back queue, you find yourself in the first waiting area behind the walls of blue glass bricks. Then, the doors open and you enter the pre-show room. After a short speech from your host, you see a promotional video for Disney Channel (Hannah Montana, High School Musical 2, Kim Possible). Around 10 minutes of waiting like that before entering the studio itself.

“Children are invited to sit themselves on the floor at the front, along a carpet with a pattern of ocean waves, whilst the adults sit on metal benches in a circular arc. Stitch appears on the screen, and children watch it as if watching a DVD until the moment when he picks on someone sitting in the room and begins to interact with them — it’s very funny! Everyone can take. The sense of direction in the actor is essential in this attraction.

“It is a little too short to allow everyone to take part, of course, but there is the screen to watch. I spoke to Stitch myself and can see that it’s great fun.”

Kinoo highlights that these specific previews are designed to help the show “settle in” and improve, as he says:

“Obviously, you shouldn’t expect the same kind of effect as [the opening of] Tower of Terror. Stitch is good enough for me, to be honest I expected worse. The 3D of Stitch is in “cell shading” which remains faithful to the original 2D character. The show changes a lot depending on the actor who is “working with Stitch”, English definitely being better for the moment.

“The general story of the show is rather basic and interactivity with Stitch could be improved and extended, but in it’s current state I think children will just go crazy for it. I can’t wait to see the reaction of their parents.”

Dlrpmaniablog commented:

“I was also there with the first of the first and, well, it’s great. The English version I saw was very easy to understand! The games of light are fun and besides — for the premiere, it was quickly explained that an Imagineer who worked on the attraction was present and looking forward to seeing our reactions. Well… mission complete! Despite some childish jokes, it remained very engaging. In short, everyone was happy!

“Except… the pre-show, which spoke about everything on Disney Channel was a little grating/dull. OK, so we’re in their studio, but it could have been done a bit differently. Finally, the animation lacked a little fluidity from time to time. They noted the concern at the end and said it will hopefully be improved.”

Grandmath summarised:

“The initial reactions are excellent for the French shows. For the English, which attracts the English-speaking as well as Dutch, Spanish, etc. it is more difficult because not everyone will entirely understand Stitch when he speaks. That was the risk…

“Personally, I really like the show. I think I prefer Turtle Talk with Crush, but of course I will wait and see in the long run (however, I would not wait more than 20 minutes for it). The animation is really beautiful and the voice very well done, but there are some long periods without interaction where it becomes a little like a DVD and risks becoming boring in the future. But, I’ll wait and see — with plenty of guests, and when the actors are comfortable in their roles, it should become far more engaging!

“It’s nevertheless a wonderful technical achievement which finally makes it possible for children to interact in a realistic way — not with a giant plush toy, but the real character from the animated film.

“You can only find that at Disney!”

At our last update on progress at Stitch Live!, the letters of the giant logo marquee had just been completed. Since then, work has slowly progressed with little commotion — as expected, the introduction of Stitch to Walt Disney Television Studios is modest from the outside.

Mid-December saw the removal of blue construction fences around the area, revealing a new brushed metal theatre ticket booth sitting neatly beneath the logo. This also revealed the two separate queue areas — one to the right, using the railings of the old Television Production Tour, and a new line to the right, under the previously unused canopy.

Each has its own turnstile and disabled gate, and will be dedicated to either the next English or French performance (since the show will be presented in two separate languages), in a similar queuing style to the two waiting areas at Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing.

In early February, work began on the area where a tree was removed (partly to make sure the logo was in guests’ line-of-sight as they walked through the courtyard) and the signage was illuminated for the first time.

The lighting is evenly spread inside the sign, similar to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. A noticeable improvement here, however, is that the white stars on their black oval background will light up at night along with the rest of the logo.

Over the past week, work on the entrance area of the new “living character” experience has brought it to being almost fully complete. Two very important additions have arrived — a grey noticeboard for show information and times, and the two pairs of electronic dot-matrix displays to sit above each entrance, in the metal frames added several months ago.

The noticeboard is noticeably more simplistic than that shown in the concept art, which had four sides and neon light decorations. Instead, it’s a simple art deco sign surrounded by new concrete on the exact circle where the tree was removed, decorated with the green Disney Channel logo, since Disney Channel will in effect be the “sponsor” of the show. The inside is currently empty, with nothing to suggest whether it will hold a printed notices or an electronic board like the similar sign outside Animagique.

The dot-matrix displays are yellow on black, with the pair on the left tellingly featuring the default message “Welcome to Stitch Live!” whilst those on the right read “Bienvenue à Stitch Live !”, suggesting the two different language queues will be arranged accordingly.

Inside, the theatre and transformation of the pre-show area has been complete for some time already, as Stitch’s new voice artists practice their lines, jokes and witty answers to all the possible guest questions…

— With thanks to Photos Magiques and WDSfans. See more of their latest news photos here.

Extra Magic Hours, half board vouchers, more Disney characters… Just a few of the positive changes we’ve seen at Disneyland Resort Paris in recent years. Another, without doubt — better advertising, and not just in “our” world — inside the resort, too. Since June last year, new and future attractions have been promoted on giant billboards next to the resort hub, plus posters and banners along the moving walkway to the main car park, just as new attractions and entertainments have been for years along the parking lot tram route at Disneyland in California, and other resorts.

For new guests, these have provided the vital information that the new attractions are all located in the second gate, whilst on the “return journey”, they promise of things still to come — such as the latest addition, ‘Stitch Live!’.

These new banners replaced those for Crush’s Coaster and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye on 20th January 2008 as, for the fourth time in the space of 12 months, we see the words “Nouvelle Attraction” next to the Walt Disney Studios Park logo.

The advertisements take on a colour scheme of mainly reds and blues, with the same ‘Stitch Live!’ logo as the new attraction marquee overlapping from the banner in the same style as elements of the earlier Crush and Cars advertisements.

In the car park (or “parking lot”) itself, new posters have also now been installed in the display cases, a rare event for a new attraction until recent months.

These give a closer look at the new image of Stitch being used to explain the concept of the show, which is entirely new to Europe and may prove a little difficult to explain, even once the show has opened — is it a live show with characters? A meet ‘n’ greet?

Whilst from a distance it appears like Stitch is resting on some kind of alien landscape, a starry blue sky expanding above him, the “landscape” is actually made up entirely of human hands, carrying the little blue alien across the audience of the “living character” attraction.

Hard to do that with CGI on a giant screen, admittedly, but hopefully those hands will at least be used for great applause once Stitch makes his debut on 22nd March!

— With thanks to the 15th Anniversary Blog and WDSfans.com for the photos!