2008

Living in the UK or France, it almost feels like Disneyland — and The Twilight Zone — are staging a full scale attack on the airwaves. Whilst the major national networks are premiering the brand new “Celebration Continues” commercial from this Monday, last Thursday, 21st February, saw the launch of an exciting campaign across British MTV channels and, earlier, the French M6.

For the first time ever, members of the public — and of course, Disney fans — will have the chance to create the new attraction’s TV advert themselves. This comes following the “leaked” video of a dog being mutated within The Hollywood Tower Hotel’s elevator and the initial launch of the official attraction website.

MTV channels in the UK began airing a special trailer for the competition last Thursday, featuring presenter Ricky Haywood-Williams wandering the halls of the hotel as he directs entrants toward www.tower-of-terror.co.uk. There are a grand total seven MTV-branded channels in the UK — MTV One, MTV Two, MTV Hits, MTV Base, MTV Dance, MTV R and MTV One+1.

Whilst the short commercials focus on the competition, they also mention to a wide audience all the key points: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disneyland Resort Paris and Now Open, hopefully sparking interest in the new thrill attraction amongst the important youth audience.

Launched alongside these promos, the “fourth floor” of the official website now features either Ricky Haywood-Williams (for the UK) or Virginie Efira (for France) introducing the competition and its rules. Entrants must create their own home-made videos — featuring all of the required elements, such as the bellhop and elevator — to be uploaded via the website.

The 10 (or 5, depending on which source we believe) ‘best’ attempts will then be open to a public vote between 8th and 12th March to choose the winner, who will win a trip to Disneyland to ride the attraction and see a fully-professional version of their advert made before their eyes by Disney and MTV.

A similar competition to script a spoken radio advert is also available, in partnership with GCap’s One Network of no less than 38 local radio stations across the UK. Members on magicforum also report competitions to win a trip to ride Tower of Terror on the breakfast show of London’s Capital Radio, also owned by GCap.

The final, professionally-created commercials will be broadcast across MTV and the One Network stations from early April, ready for the attraction’s press launch weekend on 4th-6th April, which will include a belated official inauguration.

BrandRepublic, online news source for the advertising industry, brings us an article about the entire UK publicity campaign, which actually looks to be rather exciting — particularly if you live in London.

In a later stage of the campaign, timed to coincide with the opening of the attraction on April 5, Disney has booked a special installation at the Centrepoint billboard in London.

For four weeks from April 7, the billboard will be dressed to appear like the Hollywood Tower Hotel featured in the ride. An integral screen will show the distorted pictures of people previously generated by the website.

The billboard will be supported a nationwide campaign of six-sheet posters and interactive posters in ten key locations around London.

According to Federico Gonzalez, senior vice-president of marketing for Disneyland Resort Paris, the campaign is designed to appeal to 13- to 15-year-olds through media platforms they engage with.
Gonzalez said: “We are delighted to develop a marketing campaign to attract new, older children to Disneyland Resort Paris. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a white-knuckle ride and we wanted to create a fast-paced, fun marketing campaign to reflect this.”

So, rather than allow this major attraction to be overshadowed by the continuing 15th Anniversary promotions, it appears to be being given a generous publicity campaign of its very own. Something that, in the recent past, has been rare outside of France.

— Are you entering the MTV competition? Let us know on magicforum!

Whilst the show’s two US homes — Disney’s California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — were content to simply replace their original ‘High School Musical: Pep Rally’ street productions with the brand new ‘High School Musical 2: School’s Out’ last Summer, featuring mostly songs from the Disney Channel sequel, it appears Walt Disney Studios Park will be doing things a little differently.

High School Musical 2: School’s Out, the DCA and DHS version

Replacing High School Musical On Tour with a show dedicated almost entirely to songs from the second TV movie would certainly upset fans of the original film’s soundtrack. So, the current plan is for a very clever compromise — the original High School Musical On Tour will return for two performances, each with two show stops, in the morning and early afternoon of each day.

Then, in the afternoon, it’s “the start of the something new”, as High School Musical 2 rolls into town with a brand new show based on that at Disney’s California Adventure! This show features a Summer theme, a redecorated version of the rolling stage and a few of the stars arriving by golf cart, as the ‘HSM’ stars find themselves “Summer vacation” jobs. Songs featured in the US versions are ‘What Time is it?’, ‘Work this Out’, ‘You are the Music in me’, ‘I Don’t Dance’ and ‘All for One’, along with an encore of the first film’s ‘We’re all in this Together’.

Brochure promotions for the show(s)

Current promotions for “The Celebration Continues“ year so far have only stated that a “High School Musical Show” will be playing. This news confirms for the first time that not only will Paris receive the High School Musical 2 sequal, but fans of the films will actually be able to discover two different ‘HSM’ productions in the same day.

It is not currently known how or if the decoration of the stage would differ between each show, since the High School Musical 2: School’s Out shows in the US, pictured above (top), feature a twist on the original design.

Rehearsals using this planned schedule are due to begin soon, with High School Musical‘s rolling stage returning to the streets of Walt Disney Studios Park from 5th April, with just one performance (with two stops) of each show daily, until five performances per day begin from 12th April — two of the original, three of the sequal. The shows are then scheduled to run right through to 31st August 2008.

Visitors can access the official website of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror through several different addresses, such as www.towerofterror.co.uk, www.tower-of-terror.co.uk, www.tourdelaterreur.fr or www.tour-de-la-terreur.fr, which all redirect through to the site’s actual location — www.disneytowerofterror.com.

The website opens with an aged, 1939 newspaper front page as the language select screen. Versions are already available for France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, quite an array compared to past website launches. Named the “Tribune of Terror”, the newspaper’s clever strapline reads “However scary the story, we never let it drop”.

Choose your country and the text on the newspaper immediately changes to the relevant language, with a headline reading “5 People mysteriously vanish from the Hollywood Tower”. Either side, you can see more analysis such as “A new theory on the mystery” along with a story about the premiere of The Wizard of Oz, also in 1939.

The newspaper then morphs into a modern-day 2008 edition, with “The Hollywood Tower Hotel re-opens for business” as its headline. In the masthead, spot an advertisement for “Hotel management school” and a picture of the first Tower of Terror, at Walt Disney World, with the words “Introduction to free fall”. Other headlines on the front page continue their coverage — “Relatives of those who vanished are reunited”, “Retrospective: exhibition of furniture and objects”, “Interview with Burt Umble [spot the pun?], the new owner”.

The animation doesn’t give you too long to read these headlines, however. The page zooms into the lead image — a bleak view of the hotel through twisted gates, taking you through the overgrown gardens and through the entrance doors as lightning cracks overhead. Inside the Lobby, the camera rests on the homepage of the entire site, with the first appearance by our friendly bellhop:

The website is introduced by the bellhop, with various items around the lobby now leading to different floors. Leave the page to run, however, and you’ll see several more clever special effects. Lightning hitting the mirror, the chalkboard turning into a view from the dropping elevator cars, or maybe a ghostly bellhop…

He’s not the only translucent habitant within the website. A little later, you’ll see a happy couple remarkably similar to that in the attraction’s actual pre-show video, shot more than 14 years ago. The elevator doors in the distance glow green as shrieks and screams echo through the halls from a falling elevator. Finally, the child movie star and her mother — also from the pre-show video — appear to check-in. The girl even still has hold of her doll!

Let’s hop into the elevator and ride to our first location. As you travel, scenes blur past the screen. Look closely and you might even spot a few false teeth lost in the Twilight Zone!

The second floor is home to the Library (since the website doesn’t follow the “real” layout of the hotel exactly), where a very polished preview video clip appears on screen via the old-fashioned television.

Click ‘Switch Off’, and you see the full library, lit by elegant Tiffany lamps, with the bellhop picking a book up from the floor.

Despite this area being described as “Discover the Tower of Terror”, there isn’t a great deal of information given, or much of an introduction of what actually happens during the ride. Instead, you’re offered just a few pages from the bellhop’s book to build your own thoughts about the Tower. It even features two pieces of real Walt Disney Imagineering concept art, which we’ve featured in the past.

Up on the third floor, a scene from the attraction’s boiler room is used to promote some Jaw-dropping offers.

The offers pop up with a background of the Tower and Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. The font/typeface used throughout the website is particularly well tied with the theme.

The fourth floor is home to the Terror Movie Theatre, one of the website’s most important features. Here, you’ll see MTV presenter Ricky Haywood-Williams in the UK version and famous M6 presenter Virginie Efira for the French version. Following the presenter’s introduction, a movie reel is projected on the screen continuing their explanation of this unique competition, allowing the public to dream up their own commercial for the attraction. (Look out for more on this soon!)

The bellhop won’t take us any higher at the moment, so we take a sudden drop into the Basement, where the second key feature of the website is located. In a boarding hall similar to that in the real attraction, a door opens to invite us to step aboard and experience what’s known as “The Tower of Terror Effect”. What’s that? It’s different for everyone, apparently. It’s whatever happens to you when you take that gravity-defying plunge and momentarily slip into the Twilight Zone.

For the website at least, though, it’s just a fun picture manipulation game, introduced with a special logo across the elevator doors…

When the doors open onto the darkness of the elevator shaft, you’re invited to upload a photo of yourself… or at least someone you’re familiar with. Let’s choose this one…

Position the photo and pick your chosen manipulation effect. Enter a headline and some text, and your friend will soon receive, via email, a customised Tribune of Terror with your frightening “Tower of Terror Efffect” photograph splashed across the front page…

Using the latest Flash technology, not to mention a great deal of care and attention toward the attraction’s theme and story, the website builds once more on the successes of past mini-sites such as Space Mountain: Mountain 2 and the 15th Anniversary, put together by the same external firm.

With their ideas such as video characters interacting with environments now perfected, here is the most impressive website for a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.

But, as you’ll no doubt notice, the online Tower of Terror world is far from complete yet. A noticeboard in the lobby advertises a Guided Tour with such future thrills as a Games Room, Makeover Room and Presidential Suite. Originally advertised for 25th February, the launch date has now changed to 3rd March 2008. With equally beautiful, brand new “sets” and locations built especially for the website, these new areas will add a whole new dimension to The Hollywood Tower Hotel, it’s history and legend.

Wait, did you misread that? Not quite a “virus”, but what’s known as a “viral”…

This is actually the very first time Disneyland Resort Paris has used the new — and, occasionally, very effective — method of online video sharing to advertise their resort in Marne-la-Vallée. Create a video with a bizarre or interesting enough “hook”, that just happens to feature your product, and there’s a chance it’ll be passed from person-to-person across the internet. No need to pay a television company for airtime, or websites for advertising space. Just upload the video, and let the viral spread… Readers in the UK will already know of the famous and incredibly successful “Cadbury Gorilla” viral advert, featuring a gorilla playing the drums to a Phil Collins song, with nothing but a purple background to link the advert to the chocolate maker.

Disney’s Hollywood hot-dog video was first posted, without explanation, on the official 15th Anniversary blog. Clicking “play”, you’d be forgiven for thinking host Tristane was just showing us some nighttime CCTV images from around Disneyland Park, filmed during this past Christmas season. The lights are still twinkling, but not a soul is around…

Suddenly, something runs across the frame… a wild dog! Do they really roam the park at night?! How strange…

Next, we’re on a glittering, illuminated Hollywood Boulevard. The dogs runs across from Toon Studio towards… yes! We can see where this is going now…

The Hollywood Tower Hotel. In their preparations for the public opening, it looks like the bellhops were more than happy to test the service elevator with un petit chien…

Emerging, a few faster-than-gravity drops later, as a stretched-out sausage dog. Maybe this is why the parks’ hot dogs are so expensive?

Rather than television advertising, the marketing directors are, for the first time, trying to directly capture some the elusive, younger “iPod generation”. Or in this case, rather, the “YouTube generation”. After all, it’s the young thrill-seekers to whom The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror should appeal most. Their word-of-mouth amongst friends, video sharing and parental persuasion to visit, hopefully, the pay off.

How is it doing so far? The original video displayed here has been seen 5,164 times on the Paris-based Dailymotion, most popular for video sharing in France, whilst a fan’s re-post of it on YouTube has gained just 1,397 views. Most impressive, however, is this duplicate posting of the video back on Dailymotion, currently standing at a very impressive 74,327 views!

As well as an inventive teaser for the new attraction, the viral video aims to give a little inspiration for a unique new competition recently launched across several of the resort’s international markets, allowing visitors to the attraction’s official website to imagineer their own teaser which will then, crucially, make the reverse-leap from the internet to television.

Here’s the official DLRP Today idea — show a gorilla (preferably the Cadbury “gorilla”, or a close relative) wandering the parks and climbing aboard the service elevator. When it drops into the Fourth Dimension and the doors open, none other than Phil Collins steps out into the boiler room. He’s got a soft spot for the resort, after all.

No, we don’t expect to win.

Saturday, 9th February 2007

Disney Princesses Pin Trading Starter Kit (New Edition) 2008
Reference number 209411008002
Price 19.90 Euros

Thursday, 14th February 2008

Saint Valentine’s 2008
Reference number 209501008049
Price 10.90 Euros

Saturday, 16th February 2007

Mickey High School Musical
Reference number 2094010080107
Price 6.00 Euros

Minnie High School Musical
Reference number 209401008018
Price 6.00 Euros

Retrospective Series 2004: The Legend of the Lion King
Limited edition 900 ex
Reference number 209501007062
Price 10 .90 Euros

Saturday 23rd February 2008

Walt Disney Series #1: Steamboat Willie
Reference number 209501008025
Limited Edition 900 ex
Price 11.90 Euros

Space Mountain: Mission 2
Reference number 209401007135
Price 6.00 Euros

Pin Trading Nights

This month’s Pin Trading Night takes place on 22nd February 2008 at Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe, from 6:00pm. The Pin Trading Night for March 2008 is scheduled for 28th March 2008 at Disney’s Hotel New York.

Pin Trading Event – Mickey’s 80th Pin’versary

Mickey Mouse celebrates his 80th birthday this year! A special Pin Event is scheduled for 29th March 2008, from 9:00am to 5:00pm in “Times Square Place” at Disney’s Hotel New York. You can contact the CRO (Central Reservations Office) now on +33 825 30 60 30 to book.

The company’s announcement that revenues have increased 20% year-on-year to € 314 million compared a rise of 6% to € 284 million to the same period in Fiscal Year 2007 is an impressive step forward for the debt-troubled group. Whilst First Quarter reports do not include any operating margins or statistics, only a 3-month revenue report, the announcement does include some details behind the rise.

The Resort area increased revenues by 13.7% overall, a 14% increase at the Theme Parks and 17% growth at the Hotels and Disney Village. Higher guest spending (3%) at the parks can largely thank the ticket price increase last November, whilst the reported 10% growth in attendance is particularly reassuring, considering 2007 was a record year for the parks. The First Half 2007 saw an increase of 10% to 6.1 million guests. Should the difficult second quarter be as strong as the first, the results of April 2008 could take this over 6.7 million. Growth is reported to be mainly from Spanish, Dutch and British markets.

At the hotels, there were increases again in average spending per room and hotel occupancy, which rose 6.8 percentage points. Last year, the First Half brought only a 5.1ppt increase (no figures were announced for First Quarter). Unlike last year, however, visitors from the United Kingdom as well as Spain are attributed to the increase.

In its Real Estate dealings, the group’s revenues increased € 18.4 million to € 24.4 million due to a property sale in Val d’Europe.

Karl L. Holz, the Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney S.A.S., stuck to his line on enhancing guest experience to drive revenue growth:

“We are pleased with our first quarter results, with the growth in revenues reflecting increases in all our key business drivers. These revenue results show that our strategies, coupled with our team’s solid execution, are delivering and we remain focused on driving the business towards profitability.

Our 15th anniversary celebration, marked by the opening of the Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally attractions as well as the new Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade, has created another level of emotional connections with our guests. In fiscal year 2008, the Celebration Continues, Big Time with the April grand opening of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the Walt Disney Studios® Park. This iconic Disney attraction will add to the high-quality experiences we offer visitors to our Resort … the place where dreams come true.”

If a 14% revenue increase in the Resort is truly as good as it sounds, that glorious sunset horizon of profit might not be as far away as first thought.

The celebration — and hard work — continues… Big Time.

— You can download the full report in PDF format here.

Arriving on Hollywood Boulevard in their most glamorous outfits, the pair walked arm-in-arm toward the recently reopened Hollywood Tower Hotel, ready to check in. Nothing to worry about, it’s been getting some great reviews! Mickey was ever the gentleman, carrying their suitcase as they posed for the photographers…

Not even the hotel’s gaping hole into The Twilight Zone could dampen their smiles. Minnie’s bow even survived the faulty service elevator!

This series of photos have just been released by Disneyland Resort Paris ready for the upcoming explosion of press and publicity surrounding the new attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, in a couple of months. It’s unusual and certainly fun to see the two starring characters dressed up for a new attraction in fitting costumes, even posing around the rest of the Hollywood Boulevard area with their suitcase prop…

It almost seems like something Tokyo Disney Resort would do.

Hopefully, the fickle people of Hollywood will be kind to Minnie for wearing her favourite white dress again — after all, she did first wear it to the opening of the park itself back in 2002, so it seems fitting. Photoshop aficionados should also try to forgive the colour enhancing in the photos, taken earlier this month — the Mouse has achieved a lot in Paris, but consistent blue skies are still a “grey” area in particular.

Dancing in front of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, they probably mirror many managers backstage at the resort right now. The happy couple might have just spotted one of the only “Hidden Mickeys” in the new area, carried across from other versions of the Hollywood Tower Hotel — the little girl in the pre-show video carries a Mickey Mouse doll into the elevator.

Expect to see these fun photos many more times throughout this year — and well into the future. The 2009 calendar, perhaps?

— Photos © Disney.

Have no fear, DLRP Today is still here and ready to make a comeback after a long, long Christmas break. Whilst there’s a lot to catch up on (how does practically half a park being re-themed and a massive E-Ticket add up?) the January 2008 pin releases seem like a good place to get started.

Because, after all, 2008 will be the year of the Tower of Terror at Disneyland Resort Paris, and no doubt you’ll want to get over to Tower Hotel Gifts a.s.a.p. to complete your pin collection with the two new Tower additions for January:

Saturday, 5th January 2008

2008 Mickey pin
Reference number 209401008016
Price 6.00 Euros

Hight School Musical 2 pin
Reference number 209401008010
Price 6.00 Euros

Hannah Montana pin
Reference number 209401008013
Price 6.00 Euros

Tower of Terror Mickey, Donald & Goofy Scared pin (Plus Pin – special design)
Reference number 209501007060
Limited Edition 900 ex.
Price 11.90 Euros

Saturday, 12th January 2007

Disneyland Resort Paris Eiffel Tower logo pin
Reference number 209401008006
Price 6.00 Euros

Nightmare Before Christmas Wreath pin
Reference number 209401007146
Price 6.00 Euros

Nightmare Before Christmas Jack & Zero Graveyard pin
Reference number 209401007147
Price 8.90 Euros

Tower of Terror Mickey Lift Shaft pin
Reference number 209401008001
Price 6.00 Euros

Retrospective 2003: Fantillusion pin
Reference number 209501007054
Limited Edition 900 ex.
Price 10.90 Euros

Saturday, 19th January 2008

Ratatouille Set of 4 pins
Reference number 209401008009
Price 18.00 Euros

Stich Invasion Europe 1: UK pin
Reference number 209501008036
Limited Edition 900 ex.
Price 10.90 Euros

– – –

UPDATE: Wednesday 3rd January 2008 — the Pin Trading team contacted us with dates for the next two Pin Trading Nights today. Also note the comment below from Gary Jans — the first Tower of Terror pin released this weekend is Limited Edition x900, not open edition as the original release list suggested!

Pin Trading Nights

18th January 2008
Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne
from 6pm onwards

22nd February 2008
Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe
from 6pm onwards