News Disneyland Paris Updates & Features

The new event will see martial arts teams, clubs and organisations descend on the resort from 26th to 28th September 2008, competing in special tournaments inside the Disney’s Hotel New York convention centre and joining in streetmosphere at Disney Village that will include entertainers, market stalls, themed restaurants, demonstrations, lion dance and live video feeds from the ongoing tournaments.

The Disney Village and Lake Disney area of Disneyland Resort Paris has built quite a name for itself over the years hosting seasonal and sporting events,which have ranged from the recent “Tropical Festival” and annual “Country Western Festival” to major sporting occasions such as an X-Games tournament and the annual Xtra Jet jet ski competition. Announced well over one year in advance, this upcoming event shows the amount of time and planning which goes into each of these seasonal events, always a good boost for the resort – and particularly its hotels.

One of the organisers of the event has kindly contacted us with information and a brochure (aimed at clubs who might wish to take part), which can be seen below. Long-time fans might notice the recycling of various graphics and photos from Disneyland Park‘s old Mulan – The Legend show, as well as the Disney Village Chinese New Year events – could some of the props from these events also reappear?

The Times Square ballroom of Disney’s Hotel New York will host the main tournaments, “transformed into a warriors’ arena with fully matted competition, seminar areas and tiered spectator seating”. Competitions will culimate in a grand final at the Disney Village Dome. The event claims it will welcome everyone “no matter what age or level you’re at”, and allow competitors in a wide range of areas, such as Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, BJJ, Kickboxing or Capoeira.

With promises that the organisers will be “turning Disney Village into an oriental-themed festival”, it seems that – for those of us without a black belt – this future event will also offer more than just sporting matches.

Brochure images © Disney / EFMA2008. See the official website here.

The newly themed and named location, situated at a heavily congested spot of the park between Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan’s Flight, features an endless array of pirate props, Disney details and subtle Coca-Cola references. Everything from barrels of the famous soft drink to pirates’ tankards hung on the walls and a giant sail in the colours of red and white.

Coca-Cola have already become a very noticable brand in Disneyland Park recently thanks to its investments elsewhere – the Cool Post in the African section of Adventureland several years ago, the neon-lit Cool Station in Discoveryland, the impeccably-themed L’Arbre Enchanté in Fantasyland and even the highly authentic Coca-Cola delivery truck for Main Street USA.

What sets this location apart? It was already there, and already doing fantastic business. Passing through this crowded pathway from the Fantasyland/Adventureland border to Pirates of the Caribbean, the queue for the hot dog and refreshments kiosk frequently tailed off toward the attraction itself.

So, whilst the Cool Station, L’Arbre Enchanté and Main Street Delivery Truck all tap into a brand new (and now already very successful) market, this one has already been raking in the gold for Coca Cola’s drinks for many years as a simple, unthemed food kiosk. Which, after only a quick glance at the amazing detail here, makes the transformation even more impressive.

The location now also has its own name for the first time – ‘Le Comptoir du Capitaine‘, translating roughly as “The Captain’s Trading Post/Bar”.

Not only does the location feature hidden Mickeys and countless Coca-Cola bottles, but you might even spot a few details from the movie trilogy in there – such as E.I.C. (East India Trading Company) branding on several bottles, edging the nearby attraction ever closer to its big-screen counterparts. The only detail surprisingly missing from the location is the classic line “Drink up me hearties, yo ho!”, which has never had a more perfect time for its use…

A simple food kiosk themed to this quality would be hard to spot at the US Disney parks or even Tokyo – the same standard of immersive themeing and storytelling which made the original 1992 park so congratulated now appears to be spreading and seeping further and further into the general fabric of the lands. With the resort’s management on a keen mission to continually drive up guest satisfaction and that quality Disney “edge” you won’t find anywhere else in Europe, it looks like they unlocked a real treasure chest with Coca Cola’s more active investment recently.

The only place still lacking this new themeing touch (other than Frontierland, which is already quite well served for food), would be Walt Disney Studios Park. With La Terrasse retaining its place as a refreshments courtyard once the Hollywood Boulevard project is complete, could Coca-Cola’s money next spill over into a new food retail location that isn’t a Studio Catering Co. van?

All photos by Joel’s Photo Hunt.

Her return may be a little later than expected (original refurbishment schedules stated she would be finished by the end of April), but… here she is!

A sight many people worried would never be seen again, the park’s unique side-wheeler riverboat – like none at any other Disney park – has begun cruising the Rivers of the Far West once more! And, with gleaming new paintwork and a full refurbishment and refit inside and out across the entire ship, she’s now looking more unsinkable than ever before.

With her return to the waters, the Molly Brown’s partner at Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing – the Mark Twain – has now rested into the service dock for a well-earned rest and another full refurbishment, cleaning up and repainting the ship which has taken over service on his own for more than a year.

The full refurbishment comes after a serious incident on-board the ship during March 2005 in which her engine overheated, causing considerable smoke damage to much of the ship’s funnel area and rendering her immobile at the far end of the Rivers of the Far West. Guests had to be ferried ashore using the Raccoon and Coyote River Rogue Keelboats, with the “unsinkable” ship then laying dormant in the river until September of that year, when the Mark Twain’s dry dock refurbishment was completed and the ships could exchange places.

The Mark Twain didn’t resume even a limited service until early 2006, and the Molly Brown’s own refurbishment was not begun until as late as September 2006. We wrote an article at the time dicussing the appeal from a work union at the resort to fix the ship – and how they appeared to be unaware that the ship was already pencilled in for its epic refurbishment to begin on 4th September and last until 27th April 2007!

Now, the Molly Brown has returned brighter than ever, the Mark Twain is about to be given another well-earned refurbishment and – thanks to their heroic “rescue” of guests during the incident itself, the River Rogue Keelboats are even due to return in under two weeks from now. In her own way, the unsinkable Molly Brown has absolutely guaranteed that the river traffic of Frontierland will never be sunk.

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more at their latest update here.

This special official footage has been prepared by the resort for posting on their Disneyland15.com Official Anniversary Blog. An article featuring the video was originally posted last week, though disappeared soon after following technical problems with the video. The video has now “resurfaced” and gives a (you guessed it) turtally unique view of the very first thrill ride based on any Pixar movie, anywhere – Crush’s Coaster. This will also be the footage we’ll see for years to come, whenever the attraction is featured in motion…

The footage is presented fairly “raw” – simply the resort’s new official footage of the new Walt Disney Studios Park attraction with some sound clips from the Toon Studio press kit over the top. The music is therefore rights-free, created for any press use on television, and not the music heard at the attraction itself – which is based on the film’s original score.

For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to take a dive on Crush’s Coaster yet, the video gives an excellent view of how the Walt Disney Imagineering-developed digital projection technology blends seamlessly with the coral reef and rocks surrounding the two identical projections – Nemo and Squirt appear completely believable, floating in the water-less undersea dark ride. The dazzling jellyfish are also shown, however the video footage available so far fails to feature either the Angler Fish or any of Bruce’s submarine attack.

As you will have noticed, the footage of the ‘EAC’ roller coaster segment is not taken directly from the ride itself, but created using one of the real ride vehicles against greenscreen – with some humorous faces from the actors on-board as they attempt to act out the ride. This version of the footage made available to the public doesn’t show the spinning effect, nor the true intensity of the ride, but allows us to see a very professional piece of promotional footage that will no-doubt be well-used long into the future with added voice-overs, etc in places such as the resort’s Disney Hotels information tv channel.

For fans, there’s no doubt it brings back fond memories of the 1995 Space Mountain footage, where the Disneyland Park roller coaster’s trains were shown flying through a virtual space, rather than the true ride.

Video footage © Disney.

We mentioned in the last update on Stitch Encounter that the original name of the Hong Kong import was beginning to be lost in the various press releases and previews given so far, reverting to a temporary “Stitch interactive attraction” tagline, with even the Walt Disney Television Studios name still conserved on the latest park maps.

With the launch of this new online survey, though, ‘Stitch Encounter‘ appears to be out of the picture entirely, in favour of three brand new name ideas:

– Stitch Interactive
The entire basis of the attraction is the ability to interact in real-time with Stitch, so this name would certainly give first-timers an idea of the attraction’s aim.
– Stitch Live
On the other hand, with the TV-studio theme, this one could be a good way to put across the story of the live satellite link-up to outer space with one snappy four-letter word.
– Stitch
Short and simple – just the little blue alien’s name. This is what most of us will call it in conversation when it opens anyway, but is it too non-descript for an official title?

The survey opens in a pop-up window, and first asks the visitor what country they’re from, whether they’ve visited Disneyland Resort Paris before and if they have any children, which age groups they fall into.

Next, you’re introduced to the attraction concept:

“A totally new amazing and interactive attraction for the whole family will open at Disneyland Resort Paris. The Disney Character, Sttich, from the popular film Lilo & Stitch, will play, joke and will even have a conversation with you. This is a first-of-its-kind, real-time animated interaction.

“We have several ideas for the name of this attraction and we should like to have your opinion.”

Each of the three names appears on separate pages, and you’re asked to vote between 1 (do not like it at all) and 10 (like it very much) as to how much you’d like it to become the final name.

Finally, you’re asked “And if you had to choose only one name for this new attraction, which do you prefer?”, with the options of the three names or, if you’re thoroughly not impressed with their choices – “none of them”.

The survey originally opened last week, before it was promptly closed a few days later with the message “This survey has already closed, thank you for your interest.” However, today the survey is once again open for votes, so if you missed it just before the weekend – you’ve still got time to have your say!

Click here to vote on the official UK website »

Click here to vote on the official French website »

(Click the blue box seen above in the sidebar, featuring Stitch)

This isn’t the first time Disneyland Resort Paris has asked for feedback on the naming of a new attraction. In March-2005, they infamously launched a survey which provided four brand new names for the project then already known as Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast. Those names were, in no particular order: Buzz Lightyear’s Cosmic Adventure, Buzz Lightyear’s Cosmic Blast, Buzz Lightyear’s Intergalactic Adventure, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Adventure.

Needless to say, the names were met with immediate disappointment from fans who much prefered the existing “Laser Blast” name. This survey luckily provided an extra comments box, allowing fans to register their thoughts with more depth and suggest once again the “Laser Blast” title. Although “Space Adventure” was apparently the chosen title, and used on the very first press release for the attraction, the name was suddenly changed just a few months later to… Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast.

So, your opinion really can count with this new attraction! The chance to help name a new attraction doesn’t come very often, but what do you think to those names? Let us know in the comments below which you chose, and also – if you’ve got any bright ideas – what other names you could have come up with. You never know what they’ll choose…

Screencaps from © Disney website.

The set of photos released for the opening of Toon Studio is fairly small compared to the set featuring VIPs and celebrities against backdrops within the land, but the quality and amount of locations featured is far better than the frankly quite disappointing publicty photos of the 15th Anniversary launch.

Overall, the resort’s audio-visual teams have captured rather well the quirky style and impressive new attractions of the area… but what do you think?

Here is the full set of publicity photos, be sure to click on them to see the photos full-size!

General Toon Studio

A new angle on the Sorcerer Mickey marquee captures the Peter Pan characters behind,
an incredibly colourful view of the Toon Town gate area with its twisted lamposts.

‘Now in Producion’ sign next to Crush’s Coaster

Cars Quatre Roues Rallye

Welcome to Radiator Springs sign, the famous Cars logo, framed by trees.

The lovely blues and yellows (with a hint of red) of the Quatre Roues Rallye entrance,
the interior themeing, focusing on the amazing detail of Lizzie’s curios display.

A sunny angle on Luigi’s Casa Della Tires (notice the fabric canopy was finally added,
just in time), and a low-down view of the canyon area.

Views in the canyon. Notice the Sorcerer Mickey marquee included in the background,
along with – in the first photo – the Disney Cinema Parade passing by. This looks
like a favourite angle already to capture Cars from, with the iconic Studio 1 looming behind.

One of the excellent on-ride captures from the special camera seen being installed
on the front of this vehicle here.

Two brand new publicity shots only just added to the collection today.

Some official video footage of Cars has also been released, via the Disneyland15.com blog:

Crush’s Coaster

The rusted and sea-sprayed entrance sign, a busy crowd shot showing the Crush area, but
not very many guests who look impressed.

Two views of the turtle shells departing the big blue of Studio 5 – which one wins?

The very first official photos from inside the attraction, we’ll probably see these used frequently,
as they show very well the colourful underwater sets and good lighting.

An “in-production” shot of Crush undergoing final work from above the track, a final shot
positioning Crush against a big blue backdrop of Studio 5.

So, what do you think? A good selection of photographs and footage to advertise Toon Studio, or could they have done better? Whilst this set of official publicity shots has only just been released, we’ll likely be seeing them for years to come, especially as Walt Disney Studios Park continues to grow in visitors…

All photos © Disney.

Whilst the extended opening hours of the park to 7pm have given guests more time at the Studios, they still don’t go far enough to allow regular visitors to see the park at what almost everyone agrees is its very best – fully illuminated at night. From the flashing neons of CinéMagique‘s grand entrance to the flames of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster‘s entrance and the searchlights of Disney Studio 1, Walt Disney Studios is more than a match for anything at Disneyland Park once darkness falls.

And the new Toon Studio developments? They look just as good…

Toon Studio entrance / Sorcerer Mickey statue

A hidden detail we’ve never spotted before suddenly comes to life on the wand of Mickey Mouse – the star-shaped tip glows and shimmerings in a blue fibre optic effect. The “marquee” itself is also very subtely and lovingly illuminated, with lights positioned inside the several circular bases shining upwards.

Sorcerer Mickey marquee / Crush’s Coaster entrance

Notice the purple lighting effects in Animagique in the background, and the rainbow colours of the Flying Carpets Over Agrabah backdrop, appearing to glow from behind when illuminated. The marquee of Crush’s Coaster is illuminated similar to Sorcerer Mickey, with low lighting on the signage itself and a single spotlight on his character figure. Through the lush beach planting behind, notice the well-chosen hanging lamps and even spotlights positioned throughout the sandy planters, illuminating the greenery.

Colours of the Toon Town gate / Toon Studio from Flying Carpets lookout

Over at the Toon Town gate, the lighting department of Toon Studio have done an equally fantastic job, illuminating all of the multi-coloured buildings and even several parts of the Toon Town hills. Notice that the “Toon Town” lettering is fully illuminated for a very professional effect, and entire forced perspective design of this “street” seems much more convincing. The icing on the Toons’ cake would have been a few lights inside the security booth…

From the newly-reopened viewing platform by Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, the land’s countless lighting touches can be seen glowing in the distance. There aren’t actually any blazing spotlights here at all – just subtle lighting such as the many customised neons of Cars Quatre Roues Rallye – it’s green tower and red glowing logo standing out in particular.

When or if the Studios ever welcomes enough visitors and extra attractions to warrant a late-night opening, the Imagineers have prepared Toon Studio – and the entire park – with more than enough beautiful sights to keep them there until the gates close.

» You can see an excellent video giving a walk around the nighttime illuminated Toon Studio over at our partner site magicblog, along with several extra photographs. Click here.

All photos by Photos Magiques.

It’s a rare and special event in the world of Disney parks, when a brand new pair of characters joins the meet ‘n’ greet schedule for the release of a new Walt Disney animated feature. The last time we saw such an event was way back in late 2005 with the release of Disney’s own Chicken Little. All cogs in the great synergy and marketing machine of The Walt Disney Company, for sure, but nobody is going to turn down the chance to meet a new Disney star, especially a Pixar creation – even when they’re rats!

First, meet Rémy. He’s the star of Ratatouille, the budding chef who isn’t content with eating garbage like his sewer system family. He has dreams and aspirations… and, after being caught by a untalented kitchen hand Linguini, cooking up a soup which goes on to be served to a delighted food critic, he must share his knowledge to create the greatest chef in all of Paris – without anyone even knowing of his work.

Rémy / Emile in their Pixar CG designs

The second character to be taken from CGI to reality is Emile, Rémy’s best friend and familiar from the film’s teaser trailers as the tubby brown rat who doesn’t particularly care what he eats, so long as it fills him up. No doubt when the film is released (initial US release due 29th June), we’ll find out even more about these two new furry faces.

Rémy & Emile debut at the inauguration ceremony / Fun and games at the Toon Town gate

Since opening in 2002, all of the new Disney characters have immediately arrived in Walt Disney Studios Park, from Monsters Inc and Treasure Planet to Narnia and Chicken Little. Rémy and Emile were given their first step into the spotlight during the inauguration ceremony earlier during the press event, before arriving on-stage at the Toon Town gate later, and fighting between themselves for the waiting cameras.

The plaza around the Toon Town gate of course features two dedicated photo locations for character meets, but guests attending the press event who’d already visited the park would have been surprised to see two brand new backdrops installed just for this event. Mickey’s Toon Town House, on the right of the gate, was replaced by a Toon Studio production stage setting, whilst especially for the arrival of Rémy and Emile, The Incredibles’ rather plain logo backdrop was replaced with a stunning view over Pixar’s glowing CGI recreation of Paris.

Emile poses in front of Pixar’s grand Paris backdrop / Up-close with Rémy, in perfect rat pose

The following day, however, guests would need to jump on the RER for 40 minutes to experience a view like this. Both backdrops had been reverted to their original designs, with no sight of Rémy or Emile making appearances, despite the heavy Ratatouille advertising introduced around the park. If you like the look of this rodent pair, however, don’t be too worried – the film isn’t due out in France for over a month, so it’s likely Rémy and Emile will be fully introduced at the next meet ‘n’ greet schedule shake-up in a couple of weeks.

The quick change of the photo location backdrops is also exciting to see for regular guests, showing that these two locations will now become frequently updated as each new Disney film hits cinemas. Perhaps, if Walt Disney Studios ever joins its neighbour in full seasonal events, we’ll see even more special backdrops created in the future.

Disney-Pixar’s Ratatouille is due for release on 1st August 2007 in France, the Netherlands and Belgium, 2nd August 2007 in Austria and 3rd August 2007 in Spain. Then, later in the year, 3rd October 2007 in Germany, 5th October 2007 in the UK and 19th October 2007 in Italy. This creates quite a spread of dates across the key markets of Disneyland Resort Paris – one which is mirrored almost in reverse by Disney’s recent CG hit ‘Meet the Robinsons’.

Already released in March to the UK and most European markets, the film won’t reach the Netherlands until 10th October 2007 and France and Belgium until as late as 17th October 2007. Three characters from this film – Lewis, Wilbur and Bowler Hat Guy are due to begin appearances at Walt Disney Studios Park in the Autumn, following a preview during the press conference of 1st April 2007. Luckily, this will then tie into the DVD release in the earlier markets.

All photos by Photos Magiques; Ratatouille character visuals © Disney-Pixar.