Thursday, 9th February 2012

‘Meet Mickey Mouse’ unveils new colours, but won’t meet 20th Anniversary launch date

“Everything neat and pretty?” Well, not quite. Although some of the wraps came down from Fantasy Festival Stage last week, revealing the former show venue’s new colour palette, it is emerging that its new purpose as a permanent Mickey Mouse meet ‘n’ greet won’t begin right at the launch of the 20th Anniversary as expected. Instead, according to @InsideDLParis, Mickey will don his magician’s cape ready for an opening on 17th May 2012. This is unconfirmed, publicly, by Disneyland Paris.

However, murmurs that the new “attraction” might be delayed were compounded by the curious, vague “Opening Spring 2012” notation added to the recent 20th Anniversary promo video. A mid-May opening places it, conveniently, right in the middle of that timeframe (and puts the pressure on Disney Dreams!, more than ever, to impress on April 1st). And what for the Mouse in the meantime? A “provisional” version of the meet ‘n’ greet could take place at Woody’s Roundup Village, reports admin Mouetto of Disney Central Plaza. This would be similar — but surely better — than the cheap temporary tent which was the Princess Pavilion, in all but name, for six months of the Magical Moments Festival.

The exterior transformation of the stage hasn’t been too dramatic thus far, with just the old “Fantasy Festival Stage” signage removed and new colours on the awnings notable in this photo by Max Fan (see how it used to look here). A bold “Mickey Mouse” red has replaced the green around the sides, while an interesting pastel shade has been used on the old show control booth in the middle.

VIA Max Fan (DCP), @InsideDLParis (Twitter), Mouetto (DCP)

Wednesday, 8th February 2012

From Adrien to Zacharie, 20th Anniversary Cast Member name tags are coming

With a workforce of over 14,500 employed at the resort and even more certified Cast Members beyond, it’s no wonder this new design for Disneyland Paris’ 20th Anniversary name tags has quickly done the rounds online. Every single member of the “cast” will soon be switching their Magical Moments Festival name tag for this new 2012 design, neatly fitting the hemisphere of the 20th logo into its standard lapel design. It’s just one of endless pieces of miscellanea which will be taking on a special look for the upcoming birthday year, just as we saw for the 15th Anniversary.

For fans (including those on the Disney payroll!), these all create perfect “souvenirs” to chart the changing styles and aspirations of the resort across the years. On our sister site Euro Souvenirland, you can already find examples of the 5th Anniversary name tags from 1997 and the millennium name tags from 2000. There are numerous more variations to be found that we’d love to put into a “name tag timeline”, but we need your help! If you can provide photographs or scans of old name tags in your collection, send them over to contributions@eurosouvenirland.com!

PHOTO Jean-Louis Gold VIA Dlrp Express (Facebook)

Tuesday, 7th February 2012

Resort revenues up 4%, attendance up 5%, not a rat to be found in First Quarter 2012 results

Disneyland Paris saw overall revenue growth of just 1% in the first quarter of its 2012 financial year, from 1st October to 31st December 2011. The results, published this morning by operating group Euro Disney S.C.A., make for unremarkable if somewhat reassuring reading given the economic climate. Resort revenues, for Theme Parks, Disney Village and Hotels, actually rose a good 4% in the quarter, brought down for the total figure only by lower real estate revenue compared to 2011. Park attendance itself grew a surprising 5%, due to higher numbers visiting from France itself, perhaps taking advantage of the mild late Autumn for last minute trips, with total Theme Park revenues up 7%.

Philippe Gas, CEO, comments that “improved attendance and guest spending are encouraging, especially in light of the challenging economic environment.”

However, average spending per guest in the parks was up by only 1% and average spending per room at Disney Hotels up only 2%. Total Disney Village and Hotel revenues grew by just 1% and room occupancy at Disney Hotels actually fell by 1.1 percentage points. It seems that, despite continued success in getting guests through the park gates, the resort still struggles at turning these numbers into anything more than negligible increases in revenue, probably driven more by price increases than additional purchases. It has to be said that, for a visitor, the resort’s casual dining fare remains largely out of date and uninspiring, while the merchandise range simply fails to engage for many demographics. At a time when a guest will consider and reconsider every additional purchase on top of their ticket, the resort certainly isn’t doing badly, but it is failing to make many consequential gains.

Nor is the dip in hotel room occupancy disastrous, especially after a sharp (and perhaps, unsustainable) jump of 5.6 percentage points in FY2011. Yet perhaps it reflects a growing feeling amongst visitors that the Disney Hotels do not offer the best value for their money. High standard room rates have combined with aggressive discounting over several years to suggest that “the price on the label” may not necessarily be the price they’re worth. A quick visit to any online trip planning forum will immediately bring up potential visitors merely biding their time for the next “big offer” or “flash sale” — hey, like this one! — which, while useful for propping up numbers, must surely be harming the brand value associated with Disneyland Paris. Will anyone ever want to pay full price again?

Signing off, Philippe Gas mentions only the 20th Anniversary: “In April we look forward to launching our twentieth anniversary celebrations with brand new experiences for our guests, including the Disney Dreams®! night-time show, an innovative light and color spectacular. It will also be
an opportunity to celebrate a two-decade journey with our cast members, our guests as well as our key public and private partners who have helped Disneyland Paris become Europe’s number one tourist destination.” Meanwhile the footnotes include only the same passing mention to the launch of a “multi-year expansion of the Walt Disney Studios® Park, which includes a new attraction.” So, despite construction having begun, no Ratatouille dark ride announcement yet; and all eyes on the 20th…

VIA Euro Disney S.C.A. Fiscal year 2012 – First Quarter Announcement (PDF)

Monday, 6th February 2012

Costuming canopy comes down, Tram Tour route moves to make way for Ratatouille

Hard to believe now that, just a month ago, all was quiet on the Ratatouille dark ride construction site as Disneyland Paris awaited the necessary funding. Then, on 10th January, it came: a €150m package from The Walt Disney Company, and this long-awaited Toon Studio addition was finally go! Just 10 days later the site was cleared of all its remaining trees, and now more movement to ensure Rémy is ready to go vertical in the next few months. It’s surprising how much room you need to make for a rat.

An unsurprising move is the removal of the awning along the side of the “Imaginations” Cast Member building, caught in this series of photos by Disney Central Plaza’s Mouetto. This was where, from 2002 to early 2009, our studio trams would drive up alongside the building allowing us to get a glimpse inside at the “real working costuming studio”. Reflecting the ethos of the original park this, of course, was not a real film studio costuming workshop but that for the entertainment Cast Members of the resort itself. Now perhaps symbolically, as the park stumbles towards a redefined identity, it is falling to make way for our new Pixar hero.

Elsewhere, changes are more unexpected. Given the effort Walt Disney Imagineering went to providing a ready-and-waiting Parisian street next to Toy Story Playland, and that they had already moved the Studio Tram Tour route for that very expansion, you might be surprised that the road is in the process of moving again. While the 2009 re-route gave plenty of room for the Ratatouille showbuilding, this new road, pushed ever further back, will allow construction vehicles easier access to the site.

A mysterious stone foundation could be seen disappearing into the trees in our previous update. Now the road looks laid and almost ready to open. The attraction is scheduled to re-open as soon as this Saturday. And yet still, the Dinotopia “set” remains…

Mouetto has also shared photos of the vacant corner in front of the Costuming building, where it is expected the attraction’s associated toilets will be built. And, from the elevated viewpoint of Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, another element of the original Tram Tour already (or, at last) taken away to Euro Souvenirland: the green Pearl Harbor aircraft hangar.

The fact that much-needed toilets could be built here without eating into the operational Costuming workshop might add meat to the rumour that the attraction’s gift shop, rumoured to go into this existing building, won’t be ready at opening. Nevertheless, all this side of the hastily-christened “Studio 4” is still to be hidden, somehow, behind a new series of Parisian façades.

Soon we’ll all be able to feel a little less guilty about visiting Paris without actually visiting Paris…

PHOTOS VIA Mouetto (Disney Central Plaza)

Thursday, 2nd February 2012

Central Plaza swaps unpopular stage for temporary tents as remodel hits sub-zero weather

If you’re reading this in Europe, no doubt you’ve felt a very seasonal but very sharp chill in the air this past week as winter has belatedly made its mark. Disney Parks, magical as they are, aren’t exempt from wild fluctuations of temperature either, which can lead to such surprising measures as this: covering the whole of Central Plaza in a series of temporary tents to make sure its remodel meets the deadline. With the over-dominating stage now consigned to history, the plaza has been left open and levelled for the first time since 2006. Disneyland Paris now faces the daunting prospect of ensuring it is completely rebuilt ready for the premiere of Disney Dreams! in less than two months.

The encampment grew from a single, open-sided tent on Tuesday to three tents on Wednesday (below right) and eventually five, fully-enclosed tents today (bottom). Surprisingly, the whole area had been completely flattened, with all existing concrete dug up and railings taken down.


But is this a simple case of repaving? Conspiracy theories abound: forums and Twitter have been buzzing with the belief that Disney must be hiding something inside these structures. Rumours from last year of a new fountain on Central Plaza, that could function normally during the day but burst into multi-coloured life as part of the new nighttime show, were immediately resurrected. However, plans for the programming of the “fountain package” featured in the 20th Anniversary preview video didn’t appear to show any such addition; the middle of the plaza was left entirely empty.

Temperatures in Marne-la-Vallée for the next week are forecast for highs of 0°C and crippling lows of -8°C tonight, so the tents themselves are surely just sensible precautions to ensure the work is completed on time. As for the remodel itself, one thing we’d particularly like to see would be the lampposts around the middle of the plaza replaced with lower, shoulder-height lamps just like those in the specially-built World of Color viewing area in California, for example. For 20 years, guests have had their views of castle shows and fireworks impeded by those poorly-placed bulbs.

With the inner circle of lampposts — and much of the plaza — now hidden inside these mysterious tents, how will the heart of the park look when they come down…?

PHOTOS VIA @InsideDLParis

Wednesday, 25th January 2012

Landing stage refurbishment cause for lengthy Thunder Mesa Riverboats closure

With attractions such as Autopia and Captain EO recently closed midweek in low season, a lengthy closure for Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing this winter might have looked like more cost saving — or we should say, “demand-based” operation. In fact, it’s a renovation of the landing pier itself to cause for these two months of downtime (confirmed so far) from 1st January to 29th February. The exposed wooden deck has been completely taken up, likely to be replaced with fresh materials as has happened to wooden elements across the park, following some years of neglect.

After the complete rebuild of the Molly Brown last year, this famous riverboat landing will look fresher still — perhaps time to refocus efforts on the river itself? Even the most beautiful boat can’t distract from broken geysers or those poorly-hidden escape rafts moored at the back of the river.

Despite the 2011 refurbishments programme being announced almost a year ago, Disneyland Paris continues to work harder than ever before on the renewal and restoration of its original attractions. A quick look at the Closures & Refurbishments schedule shows a packed list ranging from Moteurs… Action! and RC Racer to Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain, all scheduled over the next three months. Some visitors have parodied the resort’s current booking promotions by branding it “Three Irresistible Months… of closures”. Nevertheless it will be safe to say that, by the time the 20th Anniversary rolls around, barely a single corner of the parks will have been left untouched in the past year. A grand new beginning for the grandest Magic Kingdom of them all.

VIA @InsideDLParis (Twitter)

Tuesday, 24th January 2012

Ratatouille dark ride’s Restaurant side-order confirmed by new construction notice

What’s the one thing Walt Disney Studios Park needs more than a dark ride? This: a new restaurant! While the initial planning notice for the Ratatouille dark ride only noted a project known as “Toon Studio D”, this new full-blown Marne-la-Vallée construction notice, spotted by Mouetto of Disney Central Plaza, confirms that both an attraction and a new restaurant are on their way to the park. For the Studios, this is a big deal: the park only has three true restaurants to its 17 attractions, even including the minuscule Café des Cascadeurs. This will also be the first real dining location in the whole of Toon Studio — the park’s largest land, taking up the whole of its right side.

Don’t let the French theme lead you to expect a traditional Bistro de Paris-type dining experience here, though. As we teased earlier this month, we’re more likely in fact to be dining in a giant-sized version of Rémy’s rat restaurant, perhaps on the first floor of the new showbuilding’s frontage. This would allow Imagineering to create something truly unique and fun with the theme — after all, if you want a traditional, stuffy Parisian restaurant, there are plenty just a short RER ride away.

Surprisingly, with the restaurant confirmed, there is now some doubt whether the plan for a boutique adjoining this “Kitchen Calamity” will see reality, or if it could be built as a later phase. This was rumoured to be built in the workshop of the existing Imaginations (Costuming) backstage building, bordering the construction site. Hopefully sense will prevail because, if there’s one thing the park needs more than a dark ride or a restaurant… well, you get the idea.

VIA Mouetto (Disney Central Plaza)

Saturday, 21st January 2012

Disney Characters All Star Party Express to return… as 20th Anniversary Celebration Train


Time for lemonade and Cracker Jacks, Casey Junior’s back, Casey Junior’s back!” — You didn’t think he’d miss the 20th Anniversary, did you? Yes, the endlessly reincarnated train, last seen as the Disney Dance Express, will return again from April 2012!

At least this time, for the first time since his return as the Disney Characters’ Express five years ago, Disneyland Paris decided against giving him “new attraction” billing in the brochure. Too busy ramping the colour saturation up to “maximum”, perhaps.

Your thoughts?

Friday, 20th January 2012

Construction site cleared of remaining trees for Ratatouille “Kitchen Calamity” dark ride

If we needed any final evidence that construction is at last ready to begin on the first dark ride at Walt Disney Studios Park, here it is! The view from the top of Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, captured here by @ParkZone_es, now reveals a vast plot of cleared land after final tree clearance work throughout this week. Workers in fluorescent jackets can be seen milling around the site again, the first activity in almost a year. With the plans submitted, funding found and construction permit posted, the Ratatouille dark ride and its Parisian place-making is now almost ready to start rising.

Despite clearance beginning on the site during the construction of Toy Story Playland in 2010, a large patch of trees were left in place. As the photo above now shows, this was likely to prevent opening up unwanted sight lines before absolutely necessary. As well as a perfect view of the construction site (thank you, Imagineers!) riders on the Parachute Drop now have a clear view right along the route of Studio Tram Tour (which is currently closed) towards the main backstage area of the resort.

Meanwhile, the rumoured project title of this long-awaited dark ride has just come to light: Ratatouille Kitchen Calamity!, or Ratatouille: Désastre en Cuisine in French. It’s not quite the tongue twister of Crush’s Turtle Twister, the project title for Crush’s Coaster, but it will still be very much open to change before Rémy finally throws open the restaurant doors sometime in 2014. Until then, Parachute Drop just became our favourite ride…

PHOTO VIA @ParkZone_es (Twitter)

Wednesday, 18th January 2012

Hit show The Tarzan Encounter to return for second encore season this summer

Can you swing through the trees like an ape? Are you a talented gymnast with a passing resemblance to Jane Porter? Disneyland Paris is giving you another chance to make your big break — and for thousands of new park visitors to watch in amazement — as it confirms: The Tarzan Encounter will return again!

Official casting notices (PDF) have just gone out for the high-flying acr0batic stage show, with contracts running from late April to early September. Last year, the show performed from 11th June to 4th September with contracts beginning early May, so it looks like the show’s 2012 return to The Chaparral Theater will follow broadly similar dates, perhaps beginning a week or two earlier.

Auditions were launched this same week last year and the show returned to positive acclaim in June, ending a two year hiatus and finally giving the production, which began in 2000, a long-awaited tenth season. In 2009 the Frontierland stage presented the less popular Goofy’s Summer Camp, while in 2010, despite efforts to bring Tarzan back, it remained empty through the summer. Its 2011 return was therefore hailed by Disneyland Paris as quite the event, even boasting a special video trailer at the annual shareholders meeting and listing it as one of the key “highlights” at the end of the year.

PHOTO Bert Snyers (Flickr)

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