News Disneyland Paris Updates & Features

Now, if you’d like to take the tour through the three initial rooms of Art of Disney Animation, you’d better check your Programme times guide. The attraction is now listed alongside the likes of Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular with pre-determined “show times” for the start of each presentation.

This week, you can visit the attraction only at 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00.

Normally, Art of Disney Animation runs continuously right through the day, with guests waiting outside or in the pre-show area for the start of the next show around every 10 minutes, passing from room-to-room between the Disney Classics Theatre and Drawn to Animation theatres for a total show time of around 20 minutes.

These new scheduled times therefore cut the number of chances to tour through the attraction by around two thirds, not to mention leaving the attraction in the dark for the first hour of park opening, until 11am, and for much of the final hour of the day.

That said, Art of Disney Animation is far from bombarded by guests. Not really providing enough interest to most visitors for repeat viewings, the outdoor queue line, now hidden partly behind the Hollywood Boulevard façades, very rarely sees any real use. This new test for low season days could ensure that audience numbers are never embarrassingly low, whilst allowing cost savings with Cast Members potentially doubling-up roles for the first two rooms.

The continuous start times of each presentation have previously been confusing and unhelpful to visitors. Sometimes you can rush inside just as the doors are closing and end up missing the whole pre-show, other times you appear to be waiting for far too long. Even if it means fewer showings per day, this kind of transparency is probably a good step.

But isn’t it just highlighting a bigger problem with Art of Disney Animation? Looking at the concept of the attraction as a whole, switching to scheduled times means a vast amount of central floorspace in this very small park suddenly becomes useless for long periods of time, cutting capacity and adding yet another complication to visitors planning their day — if the scheduled times of Playhouse Disney, Stitch Live, Animagique, CinéMagique and Moteurs Action! weren’t enough.

Wouldn’t a much better way to present “the art of animation” be to restructure the attraction to work more like the Disney Animation pavilion at Disney’s California Adventure?

Warning, self-indulgent home-Imagineering ahead…

In California, guests enter into a central lobby area and are then free to roam through several different rooms at their own pace. In Paris, the current post-show area would be perfect for this, with a single wall knocked through (by the video screens in the pre-show, the Jungle Book artwork in the post-show) to open up direct access to the pre-show room and theatre. The post show is already accessed directly by a lot of guests, using the exit doors to drop in and out. The pre-show and Classics theatre are, however, completely cut off.

Drawn to Animation with Mushu also exists as one of those rooms in California, and is really the only part of this attraction concept which needs to be presented as a scheduled show. Its current exit in Paris, behind the Animation Academy drawing boards, could double up as a single entrance, with these new half-hourly showtimes posted outside.

Though emotional and enjoyable, the Disney Classics Theatre in Paris is largely quite pointless, simply playing a series of themed clips from Disney and Pixar animation. The theatre could be better used as a “Cinéma Mickey/Main Street Cinema”-style drop-in space playing classic Disney shorts, or ripped out entirely for other interactive exhibits.

While we’re at it, replace The Disney Animation Gallery boutique with an indoor meet and greet space, for Sorcerer Mickey. The returns on souvenir photo prints would surely be better than current sales at this tiny shop, which has recently had its original remit of animation books, prints and collectibles watered down to a samey array of High School Musical merch anyway.

Open up the current entrance and exits to traffic in both directions et voilà — an open, free-roaming covered walkthrough, exhibit and show space in Walt Disney Studios Park that’s open at all times. An equivalent to Videopolis, Liberty Arcade or the original Adventureland Bazaar. Shelter from the rain, something to fill-in between other show times and a real heart for Toon Studio.

Knocking through a wall or two here might not even be all that outrageous for the park, given all the knocking down and rebuilding that went on at Walt Disney Studios Store last year just to give that shop more light.

Rather than cutting back access to this great, covered, central space, open it up!

Images © Disney, Google Earth.

Since the blacklight trickery of this unique show relies on props being moved around the stage by performers dressed all black, making them appear to “fly” in thin air, all photography of any kind has been banned right from the 2002 premiere. This was taken up a step in recent years as the Guest Flow cast members who manage the audience were given orders to run up and down the aisles with warning signs showing a crossed-out camera flash. (Shame the same can’t be done on Pirates of the Caribbean, eh?)

Given as a cute warning by the recorded voices of children, the bid to keep the theatre camera flash free and “not scary dark, just really dark” serves to ensure the show isn’t spoiled for guests and (more importantly) that the performers’ retinas stay intact, since they have to prepare their eyes to move around on the pitch-black stage. A bright, dazzling flash could cause those magical Jungle Book palm trees to wobble for the wrong reason.

So, when our photo reporter Dlrpteam sent these photos over recently, it was a surprise to say the least. Real photos from inside Animagique? Why, you’d be more likely to get a photo of Disney Studio 1 without a tower of scaffolding stuck to the front…

The explanation? When Animagique returned from its brief hiatus-slash-refurbishment on 30th January, the pre-show spiel had been changed to read more along the lines of the Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! warnings, which state nice and clearly that whilst flash photography is prohibited, you’re more than welcome to photograph and film the show.

Besides the great plus that the show’s many fans could finally capture it on camera, the move appeared to have other positive implications — no need for Cast Members to wave the warning signs; no need for them to patrol the audience with a torch, disturbing the show. And, with pictures or video on film, the show might be remembered and recommended by visitors a little more. Despite playing up to 5 times a day almost 365-days a year, it sometimes feels all but forgotten about.

Alas, pointless to continue with those positives. The spiel has now apparently reverted back to the original and all photography is now once again banned. The reason? Too many LCD screens floating around!

Hope you enjoyed your time out of the blacklight, Animagique!

Photos by Dlrpteam for DLRP Today.com

Launching on 1st March (next Monday) in the UK and around the rest of Europe soon after, the TV commercial opens as the New Generation characters and stars begin falling from the sky (from a Dinoco helicoper!), descending over the classic fairytale worlds of Disneyland Park…

The advert is a mix of live action backgrounds with both computer and hand-drawn animation. Some of the characters have a less than perfect landing — Sulley falls straight through the thatched roof of the dwarves’ cottage…

Giving Snow White and guests, not to mention the monster himself, a sudden surprise…

Lightning McQueen, meanwhile, lands on the parade route, just missing Cinderella’s carriage.

The princess seems to take it all in her stride…

And watches on as Princess Tiana joins her exclusive circle of friends…

And then, what will be the most pored-over image of the whole commercial — a rather “playful” representation of Toy Story Playland. Donald Duck rides a (very oversized!) RC Racer up into the sky with Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin and Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop in the background, as Buzz Lightyear flies overhead…

The final shot shows the new and old joining together in a grand parade…

Whilst Goofy is pictured riding atop the opening float from Pixar Play Parade at Disney’s California Adventure (the parade that has been suggested may come to our Studios at some point), there’s little mention of the actual New Generation Festival events mentioned in brochures and press releases, such as Disney Showtime Spectacular on Central Plaza Stage.

There’s a chance that the use of Nemo and Lighting McQueen could make even several year-old attractions like Crush’s Coaster (which wasn’t all that heavily advertised upon opening) seem a part of the “new generation” offerings, for less frequent visitors.

The commercial was produced in California and features original animation of the characters involved. After the uninspiring balloons of Mickey’s Magical Party, the presence of a real narrative here, of the characters landing in the parks amongst classic set pieces, appears to be one of the best-executed campaigns from Disneyland Paris for some time, even in stills.

Keep your eyes peeled on major terrestrial and digital channels in the UK from Monday, with the “heavyweight” campaign running in several time lengths and formats right up to 4th April.

Images © Disney, Disney/Pixar.

Our previous construction update on the Parachute Drop of future Toy Story Playland provoked an unprecedented response. In one corner of the playroom, those apparently disgusted by the appearance of this steel pylon in a Disney theme park. In the other, those who are just pleased to see some new rides finding their way into the Studios.

A couple of weeks later, construction has progressed quite a bit more and our photo reporter Dlrpteam has captured some new angles showing how the tower fits into the existing park.

Stepping out of Disney Studio 1 into our mini Hollywood Boulevard…

…no Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop here. Even as you continue up the short stretch of street already in place, the façades built in 2007 are thankfully towering enough to completely block out any visual intrusion from a certain structure behind Art of Disney Animation on the right.

In fact, you only see the camouflage-patterned tower once you reach the junction with ‘Vine Street’, the route which crosses diagonally in front of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Here it looms large ahead, yet to be joined by the 25-metre orange halfpipe of RC Racer.

Although, at least in the first photo above, the view could be completely hidden simply by adding another piece to the right of that flat cut-out backdrop.

Since the last update, all six of the winch mechanism platforms are now fixed in place atop of the tower, giving it a far more solid look — if not exactly “toy-like” at present.

They’re painted in a similar green to the camouflage spots on the tower itself and will hold the cables of each parachute, feeding them down the tower itself into the ride machinery which “bounces” the parachutes up and down. Note also in the other photos here that the steel framework of the Slinky Dog and Toy Soldiers queue buildings have been painted a similar dark green.

Speaking of those parachutes, WDSfans finally got confirmation of the actual ride capacity, which we’ve been unsure of for a while. While the main Toy Story Playland concept art showed parachutes with three seats back-to-back (total 6), other concepts and models showed a set-up more alike Jumpin’ Jellyfish at Disney’s California Adventure, with only 2 seats per parachute. Luckily, that original concept art was accurate — there will be SIX seats per parachute, in rows of three back-to-back, adding up to a grand total of 36 riders per cycle.

This means that with just one (unsightly?) tower, the ride will have a capacity much larger than the 24 riders held by two towers in California, which has to be a good thing. The ride cycle itself will run for exactly 1 minute in Paris, compared with 1 minute 30 seconds for Jumpin’ Jellyfish, increasing throughput and further shortening queue times, which had been a big concern for many.

With capacity perhaps not such an issue after all, that (for now) just leaves the looks and height of the tower to be questioned. Whilst the Parachute Drop is quite neatly hidden and almost unnoticable through the thick gardens of Tower of Terror (above and below)…

…The least flattering angle looks to be the view from the side of Tower of Terror, across the always-unappealing tarmac of the Studio Tram Tour loading area, as pictured below:

But what about when Hollywood Boulevard finally expands? Of course, that’s probably years away, but with a boulevard slicing through here bringing towering new buildings either side, the Parachute Drop would be easily hidden from this angle and many others. Think about it.

Just like the Toy Soldiers, Walt Disney Imagineering surely have their mission all planned out, right?

Pictures by Dlrpteam for DLRP Today.com

Back in December 2009 there were reports that guests were being surveyed in Videopolis / Hyperion Café about changes to the offering over at Buzz Lightyear’s Pizza Planet, the popular land’s only other restaurant. Currently a counter service location serving pizzas and other American fast food, the questions apparently only suggested an “all you can drink” option for meals costing €15.

Now, sources are stating that the restaurant will become a full “all you can eat” restaurant from July this year. Our friends at Photos Magiques posted the information via Twitter.

To accommodate the changeover, the restaurant will close from 1st April to 30th June 2010, though no further information about the exact changes due to be made is available yet.

Those changes are important to know, because otherwise we’re left wondering…

An all-you-can-eat restaurant, here… ?

There were suggestions with the original rumours that the décor could also be changed or updated in the process, and you’ve got to hope that’s the case. Disneyland Paris gets a bad enough reputation for its high food prices and low quality counter service without suddenly charging a top-up to eat in this tired space.

Whilst the Pizza Planet in the original film is a wondrous, technological space filled with features like those giant drink dispensers and automated pizza-based announcements (yes, they’re a thing…), the Discoveryland equivalent is a black tent with fluorescent strip lights. We attempted to explain why the restaurant is located in a tent out the back of Discoveryland in our earlier article. It was used for a ‘Space Festival’ exhibition during the opening year of Space Mountain and then seized upon for a quick tie-in to the Toy Story films …and here we are more than a decade later.

The date this new format is set to be introduced will of course come as a huge coincidence what with the opening of Toy Story Playland (sometime in “Summer”, still no date) and the première of Toy Story 3, the long-awaited new addition to the series.

Though Toy Story 3 will be big news all over, Toy Story Playland will surely become the real “centre” of all things Woody and Buzz at Disneyland Paris when it opens. Keeping a lacklustre restaurant dedicated to the film hidden away over here in a whole different park, especially when Walt Disney Studios Park will be so lacking dining on its Toon Studio side, is a silly situation for the resort to find itself in.

Toy Story Playland won’t have a single dining location, leaving Toon Studio’s grand total at zero.

Discoveryland restaurant that never was, or has yet to be?

And, though Discoveryland still needs more dining capacity to take the strain off Hyperion Café, is this place hidden away behind the forgotten Honey, I Shrunk the Audience the best place to achieve that? Will we really never see that planned restaurant right at the entrance to the land, opposite Constellations boutique? Surely a much more tempting prospect.

Perhaps Tour Guide Barbie will drive by and explain the short-sightedness involved on both sides.

Picture by DLRP Today; Concept © Disney.

Yes, it’s finally goodbye to this…

And hello to this…

The change is radical in some places — not only are pages finally allowed to “breathe” with a wider format, but the Disneyland Paris resort logo has finally thrown off that curvy corner enclosure it’s been stuck inside-of in so much print and advertising since as far back as 2002. Unfortunately, it retains three unnecessary balloons from the outgoing Mickey’s Magical Party design theme.

Because yes, in other areas it’s not too different — the menu options remain essentially the same, simply listed all on one line and presented using basic HTML rather than animated Flash as before, a big “no no” for accessibility these days. This replacement, though, currently looks somewhat unfinished, with the two-line options not quite fitting in the boxes and the grey text colour being noted by many people as too light.

And that old dependence on Flash-heavy pages? Still there. The entire home page, including the “book” buttons on the left (which aren’t even animated) are rendered using this animation format, including a musical intro which doesn’t remember your “mute” preference. Perhaps just temporary?

The website pages themselves are exactly the same as before, only having a new background added and the top menu replaced (which has also unfortunately taken away the option to mute some animations):

So far, so disappointing. But there’s hope for the future — thankfully, we’ve heard that new pages are being developed. Perhaps that main box on the new homepage, stating the New Generation Festival is “landing on this website from February 23rd 2010” gives a clue as to when they’ll launch? Only a week left to wait and see.

Hopefully they’ve been inspired by another website in the resort’s portfolio — the rather nice Casting website which opened exactly one year ago. Featuring wide pages, clear information and good use of colours, it’s a real pleasure to browse in comparison to the current visitor site:

This site also crucially handles things like navigation and page URLs (addresses) so much better. When the official Disneyland Paris website relaunched in 2006, it introduced a mind-bending array of different domains and sub-domains as you navigate through the site, so that all the UK pages are on a “.co.uk” website separate to the “.fr” site. Within this, pages such as What’s New are located at “news.disneylandparis.co.uk” whilst park information is at “parks.disneylandparis.co.uk”, adding up to a completely confusing way of setting out the website to the end user.

Though this new menu on Disneyland Paris.com has retained the same sections as before, including “Choose your experience” (Experiences?), “Find your ideal offer” (Booking?) and “Prepare your visit” (Plan?), can we expect more than just just a re-dressing of the old pages, and see things be simplified yet further for the user?

The gold standard for this is the US website for Walt Disney World, which has a wonderfully boiled-down top menu of simply “Discover”, “Plan” and “Book”, not to mention something we’ve never had on the current Disneyland Paris site — a search function.

But, all criticism aside, a quick surf around the other Disney resort websites — particularly California and Tokyo, or the abysmal UK version of the Walt Disney World site — reveals we’re actually not doing too badly. Hong Kong relaunched its website last year with a lovely initial design, but within a few pages you find yourself in the same situation as the current Paris website, with the new menu at the top and an older page sitting uncomfortably below.

Hopefully Disneyland Paris won’t spend quite so long in this web design limbo…

Images © Disney.

Twenty-four hours later, we have our answers courtesy of the manufacturer themselves, constructor of the drywall dome known until now only as ‘Ratatouille Ride Element’. As they say themselves, it’s all about what the individual sees. Luckily, they’ve also provided some exciting specifics…

The extensive work to construct the metal stud framing we’ve all been looking at has since been covered in multiple layers of 3/8″ drywall. After that drywall was installed on top, the absolute highest level of drywall finish was applied — the smoothest possible. A complete “skim coat” to cover ALL the surface visible to the eye.

The reason for this extreme finish? It’s going to be a movie screen. Yes, it isn’t intended to sit on top of the building, but inside the building — as part of the ride. This dome is intended as a projection surface, to show specially-created footage as part of the attraction. Yes, really.

In fact, the ride vehicles of the Ratatouille dark ride are apparently intended to “travel directly at” this dome/screen, making it seem as if the vehicles are travelling with the film footage being projected, “in 3D”.

The constructor knows no other details of the footage or the ride, but confirmed the dome is a huge 26ft in height with a 30ft radius. The photo we saw is just the prototype, the first dome created for the ride, which would explain why it’s been created so far ahead of the ride’s green-lighting or construction. When — or dare we say — if the ride is green-lit, Walt Disney Imagineering will want to know that the technology and effects they’re planning will truly work. This could involve setting the “dome” up at their own research & development facility in California, running test projections to ensure that whatever effect they’re going for is as realistic as possible.

Imagine the possibilities — if the story sees us at rat size, being chased around a kitchen, picture this dome presenting Pixar-animated footage of humans towering around you. The concave of a dome could create some classic Disney forced perspective. Or, taking that very first colander guess, we could ride toward this dome projection screen, be trapped and then “carried” (through projections) to a different area in the kitchen, only able to see through those tiny holes, just like Remy during the chase scenes in the film. An altogether very different dark ride experience.

…But now we’re into more speculation. And based on the last 24 hours, WDI have some tricks up their sleeve that we weren’t quite expecting and as yet probably can’t fully imagine ourselves.

As Anton Ego might say, “Surprise us!”.

Images: Davidmackeydrywall.com, Disney/Pixar.

STOP PRESS! The mystery has been solved — click here.

When was the last time you got excited about a steel cage sitting in a warehouse? Well that’s exactly what we’re all doing, folks. Found on this vague website about drywall construction based in Burbank, California, the image sits inconspicuously in the sidebar, labelled “Disney Radius Dome Construction” and then… “Ratatouille Ride Element”.

Follow a few links around that website, and you can stumble upon a photo of drywall construction for a “Disney Sound Booth”. Both short-lived blogs were last updated in December 2009, though it’s impossible to tell exactly when the photo was posted.

But what is it? A cage? A giant colander?

Maybe we shouldn’t think about it sitting there on the ground. Imagine it higher up, and suddenly…

…it seems…

…very…

…very…

…familiar…

…indeed.

Those domes on Tower of Terror arrived pretty much complete at the resort and were only lifted into place a year before it opened. If they were already preparing this “element” as early as November or December 2009, that’s some head-start they’ve got. Not to mention a little presumptuous since, as far as we know, the ride hasn’t been fully green-lit just yet.

But could Rémy really be bringing another dome to the Walt Disney Studios collection, as part of his Parisian attraction façade? Well, there are plenty to inspire in the city itself…

Tip of the (chef’s) hat to fcoyote on Disney Central Plaza, RnRCj on magicforum
Images: Davidmackeydrywall.com, DLRP Today.com