News Disneyland Paris Updates & Features

The large image next to the article confirms the design, with Daniel Delcourt stood next to the giant head of the Goofy statue itself, fully painted in metallic gold. When the decorations were first unveiled in July, and confirmed with later artworks released in July and October, they were shown as fifteen full-colour statues sitting on top of the castle’s turrets. It appears that either these artworks were produced full-colour for better marketing, or a drastic design change has taken place. Behind Delcourt in the article’s photo below, a new version of the following artwork can be seen, with fifteen shimmering, gold, statues filling the spires of the castle…

The article also confirms that the decorations will be added between the 18th and 30th of March, with Europe’s largest cherry-picked crane arriving to complete the job. This also means a full renovation of the castle is unlikely, with current rumours suggesting a refurbishment after the anniversary, in 2008, is now more likely. However, whilst gold statues could be considered more for a 50th than a 15th, the co-ordination with the castle’s large amount of existing gold elements should make these decorations even more tasteful – there’s certainly not a birthday cake or jester hat in sight!

Series: Backstage at the park (2/5)

Awakening Sleeping Beauty Castle

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Disneyland Park, the park’s teams at Marne-la-Vallée (Seine et Marne) are assembling themselves ready. This is the next in our series on those who, in the shadows, are preparing the festivities, due to begin 1st April.

A series of pink files pile up on top of the desk. The 15th anniversary of Disneyland Paris in figures and forecasts. Aged 44, Daniel Delcourt, responsible for the shows and parades division of Disneyland Paris, directs the teams who are imagineering the festivities. His greatest mission: to redecorate the famous Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.

The spires of each turret will soon be lifted, to allow fifteen statues representing famous members of the Disney family to take their place. Perched on golden crowns, they will each be given a candle which will be lit each evening. Tinkerbell, godmother of the anniversary, will circle around the summet of the castle. In mid-March, the “only cherry picker in Europe” capable of lifting fifteen people up to 45 metres into the air will allow the statues to be positioned on the spires. The operation, at night, will take place incredibly fast: between the celebrations of St Patrick’s Day and the final days of March. “One thing will never change – the opening date. For us, it’s a worry but also a stimulation”, assures Daniel Delcourt as he presents the calendar.

“A straight-forward course”

Behind his desk, a newspaper cutting, framed, attracts the eye: “Disney: Stikers play hide and seek with Mickey.” “During the social movements here in September, no-one in my department followed the action. I’m very proud. You should work to move forwards, regardless of pay.” And it’s without doubt the work which explains that, for eleven years, Daniel Delcourt has taken the role of extinguishing the brooding fires of Disney. Every 18 months on average, he makes the big move between two positions. “I had a traditional start,” admits the Belgian with a smile, with education from hotelier school. “I started my time here as a restaurant manager.” To this date, he can claim to have been head of Disney Hotels. Close to 5,700 rooms, countless employees… “Like most, I arrived in this land not expecting to stay any longer than a few years. But when they find someone who can do well, they really give them a chance,” he explains. Disney nevertheless has one condition: continue to lead the 15th Anniversary to 1st April 2007. “And there’s no question of releasing those documents – they will never be seen!”

Article: Julie Cloris, Translation: DLRP Today

Article scanned by gldsun for Disney Central Plaza forum.

Despite attendance counts slightly lower than previous years, mostly due to the weather, some exaggerated wait times could still be seen across the park. Whilst Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast stuck on 80 minutes all day, on the other side of Discoveryland it seemed to be time for Star Tours to enjoy a newfound popularity, as the entire first section of the outside queue filled with eager guests.

Restaurants appeared to cope with the attendance well, with extra Cast Members positioned at most to inform guests before they queued if seats are available and to then seat guests with food, ensuring every table was full.

At 9.30pm, the DJ Party on Central Plaza kicked off with lively disco and pop music, as the lights of the castle and Main Street illuminations “danced” to the beat of the songs. The rain began to pour even heavier at 10pm, but subsided as midnight drew near, leaving just the strong winds to fight with the upcoming fireworks.

Around 25 minutes before midnight, a single firework was launched from the right of the castle, testing the effect of the strong winds. Unfortunately, with wind speeds still too high, the decision was made to cut all ground-based fireworks on the right of the castle from the show, since their shells were blown far too quickly towards Discoveryland. Credit to those involved, however, for still being able to present such a large show in such poor weather conditions.

The music used for the show was carried over from 2005 – “New World” by Toby Mac from “Music Inspired by The Chonicles of Narnia” album. Though a strange choice for such an event (the classical style of the previous Treasure Planet show seemed infinitely more fitting), the countdown beforehand, choreographed to the Illuminations, was perfectly timed and the crowds cheered and applauded after the show before continuing to dance their way into the New Year of 2007.

Watch an exclusive video of the event:

Video will return soon.

The first conifer next to Willy’s Butte rock formation confirms the realistic Mid-West North American desert theme of the movie-based attraction, and marks a drastic departure from the tropical palms shared by Crush’s Coaster and Flying Carpets. A second tree in front of Crush’s Coaster is waiting to be planted, though it has to be asked how these full-size trees will affect the miniturised scale and forced perspective of Willy’s Butte.

The bright, blue rockwork of Crush, recently uncovered from its scaffolding wrapping, still invites the attention of guests from as far away as Walt Disney Television Studios. As you near the rockwork (or zoom in with a camera), however, the true detail really appears, with authentic coral formations and shapes hidden throughout the faux frontage.

From aboard Flying Carpets, the huge amount of palms surrounding the queue and exit paths has begun to restrict views much more. Through the leafy greenery, however, you can spot progress on the paths around the area and a new protective covering over the soil of the planters. The path around the front of the rockwork will actually be separated from the rockwork itself, meaning guests will not be able to lean or climb on the scenery – or see the track of the spinning rollercoaster just several centimetres lower.

At Cars Race Rally, window frames in the entrance building have appeared. A full colour layout plan of the upcoming attraction was recently added to the DLRP Magic preview.

And finally, a perfect New Year gift – confirmation of the opening and soft opening dates of the two new attractions (and therefore the area as a whole). Revealed first by Walt Disney Studios tribute website WDSFans.com, previews of Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally will take place from 31st May to 8th June 2007. It is not yet clear whether these are full Soft Openings for all guests or restricted previews only for Annual Passholders and Shareholders. Soft openings are a Disney Park tradition, fully opening new attractions to all guests for testing and feedback. Whilst guests visiting during these dates should be lucky enough to experience the new attractions, testing is still ongoing and the rides can be closed for tweaking and maintenance at any time.

And the Grand Opening itself? Latest schedules say Sunday 10th June 2007, leaving the 9th June free for press and VIP previews.

The area in front of Flying Carpets was earmarked for a series of desert planters at the opening of the park, but due to budget restraints it took until 29th July 2006 and the start of the epic Toon Studio place-making project for the extra greenery to become a reality. Now, exactly five months on, the first fully-finished fruits of the project are open for all to see, enveloping the carpets in a tropical, palm tree oasis and creating a new example of the classic Disney “weenie” effect seen with Disneyland’s original Astro Orbitors, Tokyo’s Space Mountain or Paris’ Big Thunder Mountain.

Walt and his Imagineers always referred to these landmark icons as “weenies” since guests are drawn to them as a person is drawn to a weenie (sausage) on a stick. With these tree new “islands” of palm trees, brown railings and luxurious arabian lamps, the effect is that guests still see the Flying Carpets – but not quite enough. And so, they’re drawn to this corner of the land for a closer look.

The sandy-coloured flooring has also been expanded, joining the regular black asphalt with a curved “spill-over” divide. Some sections have yet to be finished to the regular Disney standard, since plans for the place-making project (now postponed for several weeks) call for the entire land’s flooring to be re-laid.

The arabian lamps feature coloured glass in three colours – green, red and blue, and are clearly inspired by similar lamps at the Floridian version of the attraction or at Disneyland Park’s Adventureland Bazaar. More lights have also been installed in the soil of the planters themselves, facing vertically upwards to illuminate the palm trees when night falls.

The planters leave a large space free near the entrance and exit of the attraction, a busy section of the land, but generally help to (unfortunately) exaggerate the work still needed for the rest of the land, particularly the sparse area in front of Animagique.

After discovering the oasis for the first time, it feels hard to remember what the area was like before. That is, until a single glance at photos from as recently as April 2006 makes it clear the striking effect three simple, lightly themed planters can have. Building sets just for a camera is all about simplicity, and, with a perfect budget to do “simple” (the entire place-making project is rumoured to cost just a few million Euros, small change in Disney Park terms), the Imagineers have made it an art.

Beginning on 23rd December, as the park switched to its high-season operating schedule, the new show remains entirely faithful to the 1992-2001 original, presented in the Castle Courtyard around the mythical Sword in the Stone itself.

Merlin the wizard arrives in the courtyard and tells the tale of the sword, before one-by-one children from the gathered audience step up to try their power pulling the sword from its stone. After several failed attempts, Merlin will finally inevitably find the right child, who will pull the sword (at least part of the way) from its resting place and take the crown. The child then gets to wear the royal robe and their coronation is duly celebrated. As the show comes to an end, the lucky child will receive a certificate proclaiming their victorious triumph.

Fans and guests appear more than pleased that the streetmosphere show has finally made a return to the park, with the performance of Merlin himself noted as particularly good by members of Disney Central Plaza forum. Returning such a sorely missed show to the park is certainly the crowning acheivement of a year of refurbishments, additions and renewed magic across the resort.

The show is currently being performed every day (except 24th-27th Dec) at 11h00, 12h00, 13h00, 15h30 and 16h30. According to reports it is only scheduled to run until the end of 2006, though its return surely gives hope for a fullscale Merlin revival during the 15th Anniversary next year.

All photos by Characters_dlrp. You can see more here.

Rumours have been circulating for a few weeks now about the huge delays with the placemaking project, with what was supposedly a one or two month job now due to be drawn out (excuse the pun) well into 2007. Some cite the new flooring as the problem, being insufficent to withstand time and weather when laid down to cover the current asphalt.

Whatever the reasons, the fences next to Art of Disney have been removed as a temporary measure over the park’s busy Christmas season, and should be returned to their places early next year to (hopefully) allow work to continue. For now, we can get a sneak preview at the initial impact of the project, separating the land from the rest of the park and joining it together with a clear, noticable theme.

Strangely, although the Art of Disney Animation section features no barrier to stop guests walking over the dirt, fences have been added around the palm tree islands of the Flying Carpets Oasis. Though their design is hard to make out from the speedy aerial view of the Flying Carpets themselves, they do not initially appear to have an Arabian theme like the lamps installed above.

Today, ‘rocknroller’ on the French Disney Central Plaza forum reports the Oasis area has been opened to the public, comprising three “islands” of palm trees and extra planting. Photos will be available soon.

All photos by Grandmath, Disney Central Plaza forum.

First, scaffolding and the metal supports around the left-hand outcrop of the Tower were removed, revealing its colours and an interesting metal panel. Like the right-hand outcrop, this is yet to be finished underneath, with a final finish and false art deco supports still to come.

Art deco panelling has also spread further across the front of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, some of it with paint and some of it adding fine art deco details such as the small decorations on the panels of the tallest dome tower. With the main shell of the Tower complete, the final of the two towering cranes has now been removed.

The most interesting development recently has been the start of weathering and ageing on the back of Tower. Whilst it was believed this would begin with the final coat of paint or plaster, the first details of dirt and grime have appeared with the Tower still in its pale yellow state, a long way from California’s (Disney Studio 1-style) deep yellow. Whether this could be the final colour, or it is simply the first step in a long colouring process is still unknown.

More major progress slid into view earlier this week when, for the first time, elevator doors were spotted on the openings of the Tower. Disguised by themeing in the final design, these modern elevator doors slide open to reveal the vista into the 5th Dimension to riders of the attraction, before they plummet a second time into the Twilight Zone.

Some openings have thick wooden supports blocking the hole, whilst others are open to the elements and showing off the new doors. With almost exactly one year to go until the grand opening, this marks the very first visible “operational” part of the Tower’s many ride effects and systems, though the doors won’t begin full automatic operation for some time yet. In a similar way to fans watching the launch of repainted rocket trains before Space Mountain: Mission 2 blasted off, fans in California followed every second of the elevator doors’ movement as the attraction entered testing. So prepare to watch this space in 2007…

Photos 1-2 & 6 by Kyoto at DMI, photos 3-5 by thebatman_1 at MagicForum

From the aerial vantage point of Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, the full ensemble of palm trees can be seen in a single glance. Spreading from the Flying Carpets entrance across the three new ‘oasis’ islands and now right around the queue line of Crush’s Coaster, it looks like the fan plea for more palms has finally been answered. The trees divide up the paths into smaller, cosier, more Disney-style routes, and finally add a sense of adventure and discovery to the Studios’ otherwise simplistic layout.

The outside queue line’s unpromising metallic canopy has been swarmed by more palm trees, filling gaps which lead through to the outside world or the Genie’s Flying Carpets set. It appears paths are now in the process of being laid, whilst a reinforced, vertical concrete block (which has been in place for several weeks) hints at more still to come. Curiously, work on painting the sides of the lower ‘dark ride’ building has not yet begun.

According to the only concept sketch available, the metallic roof will remain unthemed, with the only detail being lights similar to those outside Armageddon: Special Effects. Instead, in true movie-set style, the theme will only be found around the ‘stars’ (guests) themselves, with supports, signage and build-ups of sand suggesting a dried-up fishing pier.

Aside from the palm trees and setting-out of pathways in the area, a major change making the attraction begin to look a lot like complete is the removal of scaffolding on the rockwork. Now not only does the blue look a whole lot brighter, but the layering and detail of the rockwork becomes more clear. Photo 4 above shows that the highest points of the rocks are actually separate from the building, with the gap likely making the addition of the building’s giant poster mural much easier to accomplish.

The design softens the traditional hard-edged soundstage design seen elsewhere in the Studios, as well as very cleverly sheilding almost all of the ride’s track from view.

The rockwork features three holes – the first, on the right, is the attraction’s exit. Next, where the turtle shell vehicles will dive out of the showbuilding, and finally the third where they will re-enter after the small outside drop, heading into the dark-ride scenes of the ride.

It’s becoming clearer by the day that Crush’s Coaster – and infact the whole of Toon Studio – is a wildly imaginative piece of Imagineering, vastly different to anything else in the park, at Disney’s other studio park in Florida or even at any Disney park worldwide. Not only will Crush’s Coaster introduce European theme park favourite Maurer Söhne to Disney theme parks, but it marks a massive shift in style for Disney attraction design. With this project, imagination really has run riot.

Photos 1-4 by Disneytheque.com, photo 5 by Dlrp.fr