2009

Of a greedy disposition? Still keeping up with your New Year diet? Best skip this one.

The world-renowned, Parisian luxury cakes and pastries brand Ladurée is, surprisingly, a fan of that Mouse out in Marne-la-Vallée. For this Paris institution and tourist must-taste, famed for its “double-decker macaron, fifteen thousand of which are sold every day”, has teamed up with –yes– Disneyland Resort Paris.

The very Parisian “Chef pâtissiers” are helping to launch the very American resort’s new year-long event, Mickey’s Magical Party, by creating… the Mickey macaron.

Now, “what’s a macaron?”, you ask…? Ladurée’s creation sees two outer shells — crispy on the outside, soft and chewy like a cookie on the inside — sandwich a thick, rich layer of ganache filling. They come in over 20 varieties — with a new one added each season — and in all the colours of the rainbow.

Disneyland Resort Paris has captured the entire process for us to feast over…

First, a stencil for the base needs to be created. Then, the “pâtissiers” fill it with three circles of thick, raspberry macaron mixture.

Next, the creamy raspberry-flavoured ganache (imagine the inside of a chocolate truffle) is smothered all over the bright red base, with three separate, circular macaron shells added to finish this special creation — one rich chocolate, one vanilla and the largest raspberry.

The creators at Ladurée appear to be rather proud of their special creation — 17 years on, has Disneyland Resort Paris finally become “acceptible” in the mean, disparaging streets of Paris?

If the intoxicating sweetness of the Mickey macaron itself wasn’t enough, it comes wrapped in possibly the sweetest gift box ever seen, featuring a child-like Mickey Mouse in black and white above the Ladurée logo.

And to taste their final creation, the Mouse himself even travelled into the city to the luxurious flagship pâtisserie of Ladurée…

How can you get a taste of the Mickey macaron? It’ll be on sale in that cute gift box at Disneyland Resort Paris, in Walt’s – An American Restaurant in Main Street, USA and California Grill at Disneyland Hotel for two months from 4th April 2009, costing 12 euros.

Then, for a limited time from 4th to 10th May 2009 (perhaps they’re not that keen on promoting the Mouse after all), it’ll be on sale in the spectacular Ladurée boutique on the Champs-Elysées itself, setting you back a slightly inflated 14 euros.

Now, get a cloth and wipe that drool from your keyboard, will you?

Pictures © Disney/Ladurée.

Whilst various aspects of the build-up to Mickey’s Magical Party have been met with a little concern from longtime Disneyland Resort Paris fans — there’s a PR-friendly way of saying it — none have been met with that classic Disney fan anger more than the plan to introduce Mickey Mouse and friends to the usually very historically-accurate Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

The bad news for those fans? The final performance (at least for this year) of the original show was at 21:30 earlier tonight, Tuesday 17th March 2009. And, after two days’ break, this Friday 20th March 2009 will see the very first “soft opening” performance of the new Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show… with Mickey and Friends, as it will now be titled.

The marketing visuals we posted previously have been given their final treatment:

So what exactly has changed? A full press release was recently published in French, which we’ve translated below:

MARNE-LA-VALLÉE, France — It’s a grand premiere! From 4th April 2009, Mickey and his friends, Minnie, Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale invite guests to join them at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

They allow the audience to relive the conquest of the American West and to meet Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley and the cowboys of the Wild West.

Right from the moment they arrive, guests will be welcomed by Mickey and invited to step into a souvenir photo to capture a memory of this evening filled with adventures and unforgettable encounters.

Before entering the arena, the audience can enjoy a festive ambiance in the company of Sheriff Goofy and a live musical act.

It’s showtime!

Just as Walt Disney presented his film to the public, Auguste Durand-Ruel, the master of ceremonies of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, presents the show alongside Mickey, Minnie and their friends Goofy and Chip ‘n’ Dale.

All throughout the dinner show, Mickey and his friends will take part and join the audience in their epic adventure across the wild American West.

Wearing their cowboy hats and encouraged by Mickey and his friends, parents and children will support the colour of their “ranch” in several games and events held in the area.

The unique participation of Mickey and friends in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show will transport the audience into a grand celebration of the West!

The exact concept of the characters’ introduction still seems open to a little interpretation, but should the idea actually be that Mickey and the gang are visiting and taking part in the show with the audience, as spectators rather than stars, the transition may not be as painful as thought.

However, from a behind-the-scenes blog of the show, we can learn that “The Cattle Trail scene has become a full-blown Disney Character Ho-Down Musical” and that the characters “dance, sing, wave, and “speak” via recorded bites in various scenes.”

With word that the Disney Hotels have been offering tickets to the show discounted by 50% upon check-in in recent months, though, it may be that Buffalo Bill fans can’t be too picky about the invited guests. Nevertheless, the Native Americans in the cast still planned to sing a traditional native song to commemorate the end of the show as we know it.

Image © Disney.

Last Monday, 9th March and Tuesday, 10th March 2009 saw the cast of Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars roll out into Walt Disney Studios Park for their very first public performances, one year on from the announcement that the predecessor, Disney Cinema Parade, would wrap for good.

One year without a parade seems to have done this embellished version of the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade the world of good. “It looks amazing!”, “I want to be there”, “Oh wow!!”, “Wonderful”, read the comments on our first article. Best of all, “It’s great to see Paris take this show and really add some magic to it.” Looks like they pulled it off.

Now, here are two of the best additional videos of the previews; the first showing the cars arriving around Place des Stars, the second presenting the entire “production number” show, where (almost) each of the stars gets their moment in the spotlight.

Enjoy, thank jjasonz54 for uploading them to YouTube, and we’ll see you after for a few extra thoughts…

First question on most peoples’ lips has been “With a show this big and this good, why hasn’t it been featured in any of the TV advertisements?”. The simple answer could be that they just wanted to focus more on the “simpler” events like It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland, which are very easy to put across in an advert.

The more interesting reasoning, on the other hand, is one that rips open the major flaw in this otherwise very well-executed concept: If this is going to be performed just once a day, before park closing, with the entire cavalcade gathering around Place des Stars Stage, there’d be some very disappointed guests if this were advertised too much.

Sure, the first half of the parade route does give a pretty big space for lots of guests to get a look at the cars passing, but people won’t be happy if they can’t get anywhere near this surprisingly lengthy 10-minute show at Place des Stars because the viewing area is so small.

If you’ve been following the arrival of this parade-event in Paris, you’ll know that the original concept for many months was to have the cars entering the park at three or four set locations, several times a day, perform their own little musical number and then give time for meet ‘n’ greets.

Combining all that into this single, evening event has arguably given a much better end product — with the downside of only allowing for a much smaller audience.

Videos as credited; Lead photo: Chti Greg.

Usually it’s the press, shareholders or Cast Members who get first-look at the latest new events and attractions at Disneyland Resort Paris. Earlier tonight, just as daylight was fading over Marne-la-Vallée, that tradition was delightfully broken and normal, regular guests were the first to see a complete presentation of Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars.

As reported several times previously, you might recognise most of the vehicles — but this certainly isn’t the linear parade you’ll remember from Disney-MGM Studios in Florida. The event now combines a cavalcade, a surprisingly lengthy dance medley on Place des Stars Stage and a meet ‘n’ greet with guests all in one.

Showtime sign on Place des Stars Stage

Different also is the showtime of this new event — not 1pm as with the old Disney Cinema Parade, nor earlier in the day like Good Morning Walt Disney Studios. Instead, it’ll be happening half an hour before park closing each day, as a grand finale of the stars arriving for their “premiere” after “wrapping production” on the film shoots of the day.

So, for the parade doors in Toon Studio to open and reveal the first of the Stars ‘n’ Cars driving out onto the parade route earlier tonight, fans had to wait right until 6.30pm. We’ve collected some of the best of the first photos, taken by Grégory Grienche, Aléxandre Rosa and Clément Poizot. See the links at the bottom of this article for more of these lucky fans’ first photos…

And now, the very first video clip!

This video shows the stars returning back to Toon Studio across Disney Bros. Plaza, with the original “Roll out the red carpet” theme from Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade now combined with a park closing announcement:

Tonight, 10th March 2009, at 6.30pm, the Stars ‘n’ Cars will do it all over again in a second and final preview performance, so check back soon for even more photos and videos!

These two avant-premieres are designed to test both audience reaction and the handing of the event by park operations, to tweak or improve the performance if necessary before its actual premiere on 4th April 2009.

Photos: 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27 by Grégory Grienche (more 1 | more 2); 2, 3, 4, 14 by CharactersPhotos Blog (more); 5, 6, 9, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 by Aléxandre Rosa (more); Video: pitiguigui, YouTube.

We’ve been used to that tiny corner of Production Coutyard being behind blue construction walls for over a year now, but last week saw a sudden flurry of new fences — and more dramatic activity — in the area.

The walls have been extended to cover a much larger area in front of — and, interestingly, to the left of — the park’s new attraction.

One thing not behind the fences of Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! is the new show times board, reclaimed from the front of Stitch Live! last month and now finished in its new position with a nicer brick flooring.

But that’s not all — continuing Paris’ love for high-tech video screen tips and times boards, the old poster case has now been fitted with a fancy LCD screen, so that the show times are updated throughout the day and always kept in-sync with the LED electronic displays below the entrance sign.

Next, our friends at Photos Magiques did what fans do best and moved over to the top of the Disney Village parking structure to get a look behind those construction fences…

Above, you can see the new wall constructed along the side of the Television Studios building, where it is expected guests will exit from the attraction. Recently, the backstage doors here were painted the same purple/pink as the Playhouse Disney logo.

What? Not dramatic enough for you? Well, take a look at this…!

Just as they were blasting a hole in the wall of Walt Disney Studios Store, the construction crew were finally given chance to let loose and remove that abandoned character trailer!

As we only very recently wrote in a special Wish List column about the decaying caravan, it had long ago ceased to serve its purpose. Since this expansion slot is unlikely to see construction of Soarin’ or another new attraction anytime soon, we concluded it’d be a wise investment to build up a higher berm (a boundary hill) and some thick trees here, to finally block the outside world.

Well, they’ve been ruthless enough to finally remove the dirty temporary fences along this stretch and fill in the area where the trailer used to be, to make sure it all looks clean and tidy for the launch of Playhouse Disney. But, this is still the Disneyland Resort Paris we know and love…

…Not so ruthless after all.

Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com

From across Place des Frères Lumière at the entrance to Walt Disney Studios Park, the Mickey’s Magical Party-themed construction walls don’t look at all different, covering up two spaces in front of the store — one between the two main entrances, another to the right of the smaller entrance, where previously only a window could be found.

Not any more… Well, that’s one way to “open up” a less popular boutique — drill a gaping hole in the wall. The old window has been completely removed here, and we’ll likely see a new set of more prominent doors in its place, to grab people as they’re leaving the park.

And this means construction has also spread to the inside of the Front Lot store, with white walls closing off a large part of the more “open” part of the building…

Previously, this area sold children’s toys and had a large, usually unused pay desk up against this window which had gradually become little more than a large display area for snow globes and other collectibles, hardly enticing guests stepping inside to look closer.

But with the walls up, that’s exactly what the Photos Magiques team did for latest update…

Peeking through a gap in the first set of fences, between the two main entrances, we can see that the planter previously situated here has been completely removed.

With the courtyard’s original design, planters positioned in front of Walt Disney Studios Store did serve to direct people a little too singularly toward the imposing Disney Studio 1, rather to the all-important shop…

Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com

And there we were, thinking the end of the 15th Anniversary on Saturday would be the last we’d see of any red carpets for a while… wrong! The new Central Plaza Stage has now been given its final top: a water-proof, slip-proof red carpet with Mickey Mouse shapes and outlines in golden yellow.

The stage, at least, won’t be anywhere near as brash and modern as some of the Mickey’s Magical Party advertising. Its sides — pre-formed plastic/fibreglass-type panels — are remarkably faithful to the original Imagineering designs nearby, continuing to present little medieval inlets and holes in a similar style to the lower brickwork of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant and particularly Le Théâtre du Château nearby.

Above, a larger opening can be seen — likely the place where characters will disappear under the the stage only to reappear via the vertical lift in the centre of the main stage later in the show.

And, if they’d rather use the stairs, they’re in luck — contrary to earlier views we’ve seen, a full side-on view as above reveals these are far wider and lower than expected, making the climb up or down from the new stage far easier than the tricky old steps.

The work for the arrival of It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends doesn’t stop here, however. As reported previously, the pathways to the South either side of Central Plaza are being widened to allow more guests through whilst the plaza itself is filled with guests watching the show.

Particularly between Main Street, USA and Frontierland, the entire area is now surrounded by construction walls and tarpaulins, with not a single chance of a view inside.

• See Mickey’s LED-illuminated new costume for the show here!
• See a full video preview of a segment from the show here!

Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com

Whilst the invited travel partner guests enjoyed the plentiful previews of Mickey’s Magical Party inside the convention centre of Disney’s Hotel New York, another surprise preview was waiting outside — two of the actual cars from Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars!

Parked in the entrance bay first was Donald Duck’s classic green car, the former Muppets vehicle now transformed into the parade’s opening number, complete with a giant “Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars” clapperboard, an old-fashioned film camera and lots of new props stashed messily all over the body…

Donald and Daisy Duck will break convention to open the cavalcade, the second vehicle previewed was that of some characters we’ve not seen much of at all since the 2001 finish of their Videopolis show… Mulan, and Mushu…

Unlike the reworked vehicle for the ducks, this one comes pretty much complete from Florida — though at least here in the entrance bay of Hotel New York is missing a few important details: the large Chinese umbrella/parasol canopy and its adjoining hanging lanterns (as seen here)…

The previews didn’t end with these two cars (there will be 11 in the final line-up), however. Inside the convention hall, the presentations included a “fashion show” of past creations by the resort’s costuming department… with the grand finale being the reveal of Mickey and Donald’s brand new costumes for their Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars appearance!

Unlike in Florida, where he wore a black tuxedo dinner jacket, Mickey will wear a brighter white and gold jacket in Paris, whilst Donald has assumed responsibilities as the director of the piece, and is dressed accordingly in 1930s style.

Meanwhile, here online we’ve had a few revelations for ourselves. First, member Bechamel on Disney Central Plaza forum posted a confirmed final list of the stars taking part which confirms that Gaston, Cruella and the Evil Queen from Snow White will be the characters chosen to represent the Disney Villains, that Sulley will appear alone on the Monsters, Inc. car, without Mike, and that Snow White will only be joined by the most popular of the seven dwarfs, Dopey, for the event.

Rather than Woody and Buzz on the Toy Story car, in Paris we’ll see Woody and Jessie. And, since Mickey and Minnie will occupy the final car alone and Donald and Daisy now have their own, Goofy will join the cavalcade as an extra along the way.

Also now confirmed is the actual performance routine of this “cavalcade event”. In her interview with Jérémie Noyer, creative direct Kat de Blois stated:

“Originally, it was a classical Disney parade with dancers and cars. We started from the cars of that concept and then we thought about the way we could produce that kind of show in France. Knowing it’s about cars, meaning vehicles that are closer to the ground than classical parade floats, we felt concerned about their visibility. That’s why we made it a “cavalcade”, a motorcade, and not a parade; a big arrival of stars, the Hollywood way!

“The cars come along and gather at Place des Stars in Production Courtyard. The Characters step out, jump onto the stage for a production number and then go to join the guests for a meet and greet moment. You’ll see Mickey with his megaphone directing the shooting, with no need for words or language to understand the message. So, we imported elements from the States, but we created our own concept, very visual, very musical, to fit our very international audiences.”

So indeed, Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars won’t be a parade… it’ll be a cavalcade, then a production number on-stage, then a meet ‘n’ greet!

The directors in Paris have combined the three most popular Disney entertainment styles into a single event. Come the event’s premiere, we’ll therefore see all the vehicles enter the park from a single (currently unconfirmed) location — not from two as previously proposed — and drive across to the Place des Stars Stage. The cars will park up around the stage, the characters climb down and present a short musical dance number on the stage, before dispersing to meet and greet their fans.

Whilst the original parade in Florida sought to bring the feeling of a Hollywood premiere cavalcade to life, in Paris they’re also going for the gala opening ceremony and the red carpet autograph signings. And already, the Place des Stars Stage has been given a brand new backdrop for the occasion:

Finally, head over to Vasile Sirli’s MySpace page to hear a little excerpt from some of the parade’s music, which brings together not only several classic themes from most the films featured but many old tracks from the resort’s music archive and musical theatre songs such as “Dames” from 42nd Street.

And when can we get our first glimpse at all this happening? Now! Tonight!

Two preview nights are happening today, Monday, 9th March 2009, and tomorrow, Tuesday, 10th March 2009, with the full show being presented for the first time — and for regular park guests, no less — from 6.30pm, half an hour before park closing. This late performance time might not be an irregularity, either — park sources suggest the final event will always happen just before park closing each night, as a finale to guests’ day.

So if you’re nearby, try to get to the park. Guests in attendance will also be able to fill out feedback forms about these first performances, in that classic Hollywood way!

Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com