News Disneyland Paris Updates & Features

Since the footprint of the Imagineers’ proposed addition to the Studios was published via the “mairie” of Chessy, the town just behind Disneyland Paris, we can finally just about picture what this ride could look like if it gets the green light within the next few months.

On the left, the outcrop with angled sides matches perfectly with the corner of Gusteau’s restaurant as seen in the film Ratatouille itself. Just behind, the walls of the proposed building jut inwards to create a small square courtyard — surely the back alley and entrance to the kitchens, where we saw Linguini park his scooter and Rémy’s friends come scavenging for food.

Plan (thanks to Mouetto) compared to Tokyo’s existing trackless ride.

An even more exciting match-up can be found with the shape of the rectangular building behind. Since the rumours have persisted almost since the outset that this ride could use the trackless (or “GPS”) technology of Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland, it’s incredibly satisfying to see that the showbuildings of both this existing ride — and the possible future ride for Paris… are the exact same dimensions.

We don’t know that this plan submitted for approval by the local town hall will be the final design — after all, the plan of Toy Story Playland to come from the Chessy mairie showed two RC Racer halfpipes, side by side — but we can now see for certain that Walt Disney Imagineering have really, truly been using Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, that roaring success of a dark ride, as the template for a ride at our humble Walt Disney Studios Paris.

And so, those new details to spill: In responding to questions about the plan on the Disney Central Plaza message board, member La Rouquine confirmed several suspicions — and raised expectations higher.

Artwork from Ratatouille.

Positioned right up against the existing costuming (ImagiNations) building, the planned attraction wouldn’t extend properly into the adjoining space but the costuming workshop itself, as previously seen from Studio Tram Tour, is intended to be moved. This freed-up space would then make true a rumour heard many months ago — that the building could house a Ratatouille boutique.

The workshop is the perfect size for a connecting store, and would finally bring the building at least partially within park use. As the main building for Cast Members, providing their costumes among other services, the building is ideally placed right between the two parks. Though it presents a difficult barrier for future Toon Studio expansion, there are apparently no plans for the rest of the space to be absorbed into the park for a long time to come, it only being opened back in 2001.

So, point number two — the size of the new building. Though the rectangular showbuilding at the rear matches perfectly with Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, the total floorspace appears much lower. How could this new development really fit in everything that’s rumoured — the dark ride, the shop, the restaurant – perhaps toilets? By going up.

Ratatouille: Going up?

Oh yes, it appears WDI really do want to give this “parking lot theme park” of flat, single-level attractions the depth (or perhaps height) it needs by building Ratatouille on “several” floors — explaining its modest size in the plan seen. Think of the stretch room in Phantom Manor; the multi levels of Pirates of the Caribbean. This kind of design adds a lot to the experience.

Though, this isn’t to say that your trackless ride vehicle could also climb to a second storey — more likely, that the queue line or restaurant (if it really hasn’t been cancelled) could be located above one another. Perhaps imagine queueing through the elevated rat restaurant seen at the end of the film as real-life diners enjoy a meal in Linguini’s real restaurant below.

What now?

Rumour has it, John Lassetter has been involved in the planning, and a model of the proposed attraction already exists. Many people are now getting twitchy — if this is to be the main 20th Anniversary addition, doesn’t construction need to start soon? Two years is about as quickly as a ride like this can be developed, after all.

In fact, we’ve heard that the attraction plans have now been signed off by Imagineering and the powers that be. It’s a go! — well, almost. Those plans are now lying in the hands of the resort’s financial backers, waiting nervously for that green light to be lit.

Let’s hope they do just that, since the cost-to-benefit ratio of this addition must be off the scale. A dark ride in any sense — even the quaint Snow White/Pinocchio style — would transform perceptions of the Studios. A trackless dark ride would blow visitors away.

Then there’s the theme. Not only was Ratatouille a smash success in France, it’s oh-so-French style would be perfect for the resort’s international visitors, allowing them to experience the feeling of Paris during their trip without stepping a foot out of the resort. For the locals, it would finally put a bit of France back into the parks, an influence that has been noticeably missing since Le Visionarium and its subtle showcasing of the country closed up in 2004. What better way to celebrate the 20th Anniversary in 2010 than with an expansion truly celebrating the country’s great capital city.

The moment of realisation.

It almost goes without saying: the ride would be a must-do for every age, it’s trackless technology setting up a kitchen chase that could be moderately thrilling yet family friendly. The overwhelming success of the Japanese cousin is there to see. No other ride in the entire park would have such a wide age spectrum of satisfaction.

Clever use of projections in place of expensive sets and only more simple Animatronic figures, as at Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, would help bring the overall costs down. Since the technology is already developed and is currently being used for the Mystic Point addition to Hong Kong Disneyland, further cost savings are there for the taking. Having the construction crews “retreat” and start work on this site as soon as Toy Story Playland nears completion makes further sense. The resort already has a permit to remove the trees currently covering the site.

But now, we must wait. Not even able to watch through the kitchen doors. Just cross our fingers and hope beyond hope that they too have a fork-hitting-the-floor moment — where it all makes sense that this absolutely, positively, has to happen.

Images: Via Mouetto, DCP; Disney/Pixar; Google Earth.

In the great Disney tradition, the overhead boards, posters and billboards all along the route of the moving walkways from the resort’s parking lot to Disney Village are now promoting the next grand theme year at the resort.

These advertisements replace those for Mickey’s Magical Party, which had been in place for almost a full year and were becoming worn-out.

Above the moving walkways, which are unique to Disneyland Paris, the signage originally pointed directions to the two parks and Disney Village. However, since these are all obviously “straight ahead”, in 2007 the boards began to be used for advertising these new and upcoming attractions.

Photos: Dlrpteam for DLRP Today.

First, an easy one — a new promotional image. Get used to these characters, they’re leading the band this year:

It’s quite a brave move for Disneyland Paris to effectively put Mickey in the shadows for a year (at least in terms of advertising), since they’re often so over-reliant on the mouse, but it has to be applauded. The only additions to the line-up here are Mr and Mrs Incredible, who aren’t being used for any other ‘NGF’ promotions but will hopefully be much more visible in the park than recently.

Negatives? No ‘Up’ characters — which means no Dug, who’d be a sure-fire hit. Stitch could really have been given a year off… And let’s not get into the issues of the Castle being that tall from 7 Km away. Or teaching kids to hitch-hike. Moving on…!

The Spring/Summer 2010 brochures featuring the year have been landing on doormats across the UK last week, and most have been very pleasantly surprised to discover a nice foil cover on both the front and back, the first time Disneyland Paris have stretched to such extravagance:

It might not show you anything about the resort and parks are actually like (read our thoughts here), but it really does look top notch design-wise. With the internet providing all the information and pictures you could need; if all these brochures now serve to be are shiny things to attract the attention of the public… they’ve got a hit.

Another print appearance of the New Generation Festival (or rather L’Année de la Nouvelle Génération) has come with the latest issue of Annual Passholder magazine Envie de +…

The magazine again features some of the main characters of the year:

And looks over the main events (nothing particularly new revealed here):

Before having a quick chat with DLP Entertainment’s familiar artistic director Kat de Blois:

The interview reads:

How much time have you spent working on this event?

We started the New Generation project in March 2009. So that represents more than a year of work. But for us — and hopefully our guests — it’s a great pleasure.

According to what we’ve heard, this project will be a world-exclusive?

Ah yes, Made In France! You know here, we have a real freedom to do some really unique things. Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade, for example, doesn’t exist anywhere else but here. And to celebrate the arrival of this new generation, we’re inviting our new Princess Tiana to join in with the other familiar royalty.

Exclusively for Disneyland Paris, we have revisited the grand cavalcade of Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars, originally from Florida, and added the Ratatouille car and its cancan music, which promises a deliciously comic moment.

What are you most proud of on this project?

Probably Disney Showtime Spectacular. Once a day, this show will reunite Mickey and the new generation characters on a 360-degree stage. The audience can therefore move round the way around it. There will be plenty of surprises, which I can’t reveal to you yet…

If you had to summarise the New Generation Festival in three words, what would they be?

“Family, Fun and Friends.” Sharing — with everyone around you and all their differences — is truly at the centre of this brand new experience, which will please the youngest just as much as the oldest.

A final scoop for our readers?

We are already working on your must-anticipated surprises for our 20th Anniversary. But that stays between us, of course… (Smiles)

Steady on! You’ve still got 2011 to figure out yet…

Aaaand finally — those new Monsters and Dixieland details we led with.

Though the texts here and seen previously have all been the usual, wonderfully vague Disney PR puff, there are more detailed press releases still being prepared and held back until just before the festival launches. One such press release posted by Disney and More gives some long-awaited details about two of the new character events being pushed for 2010.

First: Princess Tiana. Though it’s widely publicised that she’ll be joining the crowd on the Dreams of Romance float (with her Prince Naveen), many are asking if she’ll be featured anywhere else, available for meet and greet, autographs… Your answer:

The highlight of each day in Disneyland Park is a grand welcome to Princess Tiana, the newest star to join the Disney Princess family from Walt Disney Pictures’ latest animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. Each day, Princess Tiana and her Prince Naveen will meet ‘n’ greet guests and pose for photographs at Town Square Gazebo, with lively music by the Dixieland Band inspired by the music from the film.

Perfect! It’s not quite Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee but a bit of live music is never a bad thing — especially when it’s apparently scheduled in for “every day”. The band will presumably be made up of familiar faces from the resort’s orchestras, usually playing medleys of Disney songs and often quite rarely seen outside of high season.

Second: Monsters Inc. Scream Academy, that now being the official name of this photolocation/meet and greet/character event… well, what actually is it? As we’ve discussed several times before, the Monsters Inc photo location in Walt Disney Studios Park has been there since 2006. What’s suddenly so new that requires it have equal billing with Toy Story Playland?

Everyone gets permission to be as loud as they want, and screams of delight are filling the air several times daily at “Monsters Inc. Scream Academy” at Walt Disney Studios Park. “Top scarer” Sulley from Monsters, Inc. looks for new recruits with his friend named Patty. Guests of all ages get in the action as they test the monster boogie, monster roar and monster scare – with as many laughs as screams. All are invited to participate in this family-friendly, high energy character interaction. Try your hand at being a Monster!

If not a “show”, this at least seems to be shaping up as some kind of new character interaction or event, likely comparable to the Sword in the Stone Ceremony in Fantasyland.

Will Patty be a monster or a human? And will they be joined by any other Monsters — since several others from the film do feature at other Disney parks, notably in DCA’s Pixar Play Parade — or in fact little girl Boo, who has been rumoured on our own comments?

Will the static Mike Wazowski figure stay there throughout the event or be removed? And how will guests actually see anything, since the corner is surely far too small for a proper event, visible only from one side and surrounded by planters? Ahh, an answer just opens up many more questions.

Basing an event around screaming doesn’t seem like the best idea, but you never know — it might be good fun. With High School Musical not due for a return, CinéFolies (the Hollywood street acts) still criminally cancelled and Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars not quite up to scratch on either its parade or show aspects (again, hard to see unless you arrive very early), the Studios will be needing all the live entertainment help it can get this year.

Images © Disney.

When our landscapes are given a white blanket like this, the whole world suddenly feels like a theme park. Paths don’t end where they normally do, the roads extend right up to the hedgerows, the fields and hills seem boundary-less.

If it seems unnatural having this much snowfall in our normal towns and villages, take a look at Disneyland Paris. The resort’s press department have been smart enough to brave the sub-zero temperatures to capture some beautiful views of the park with its current layer of strange white icing — from the “tropical” islands of Adventureland to the peaks of the Wild West!

As well as clicking the images to open up the normal, larger versions, we’re also sharing full size 1600px versions perfect for your desktop — just click the “Wallpaper” link below each.

(Wallpaper version)

A medieval fantasy, frozen in time.

(Wallpaper version)

The spindly, creeping gardens of Phantom Manor halted by snow…

No better time to pop inside Bonaza Outfitters and wrap yourself up in some warm Western gear!

(Wallpaper version)

Not many takers for the outdoor seats today, with Cowboy Cookout Barbeque offering a roasting hot fire and live country music inside.

(Wallpaper version)

Pirates of the… Arctic Circle? Adventureland is a bizarre landscape of tropical snow.

Steaming through the winter landscape, nothing stops the Disneyland Railroad‘s grand circle tour.

(Wallpaper version)

As night falls, a warm Fantasyland tea party to celebrate your Unbirthday seems very inviting indeed.

(Wallpaper version)

Sun fading, there’ll be no wedding today.

(Wallpaper version)

A magical landscape lighting up the night, ready to brave it again tomorrow…

No Disney resort feels the full effects of the four seasons quite like Disneyland Paris. When you’re next gritting your driveway, imagine clearing and preparing every stretch of the two theme parks for guests each morning. If you’ve had trouble starting your car to get into work, imagine “firing up” the Disneyland Railroad engines on a bitterly cold morning and keeping them steaming around the park ’til sundown. Not to mention making sure the runaway trains of Big Thunder Mountain never get held up, and that Dumbo can can keep on flying.

In weather like this, the whole designed environment, the whole operation, is that bit more exceptional. And as you can see, exceptionally beautiful at the same time.

Pictures © Disney.

If Disney needed any more reminding that their own Walt Disney Animation Studios didn’t have a great past decade, this set of 12 — count ’em! — new tickets celebrating the most popular recent characters actually feature no less than 10 stars from their friends at Pixar. Only Stitch and Princess Tiana made the cut from Disney.

Here they are, all fresh and colourful:

Naturally, the characters of Toy Story — Woody, Buzz Lightyear, the Little Green Men, the Toy Soldiers, Slinky Dog and RC — take up the majority of the designs, if even guests during the first few months of the festival won’t be able to get anywhere near their new rides.

Following the rather dull tickets of Mickey’s Magical Party and even duller sets of tickets for the seven years before that, it’s easy to say these are probably the best passports to the magic we’ve seen in some nine of ten years, back to when The Tarzan Encounter and Disney’s Imaginations Parade were gracing the designs.

It’s also great to see such a large number of designs, even in the age of the print-at-home E-ticket. As anyone who enjoys the memorabilia over at Euro Souvenirland can tell you, it’s all this extra bumph which makes Disneyland more special, giving you new logos, designs and styles to remember each year by.

Since the arid, samey years in the middle of the past decade, Disneyland Paris has — kicked back into action by the 15th Anniversary — gradually moved back to this more exciting, constantly-evolving stream of theme years. The name change back to “Disneyland Paris” seems to have helped further, harking back to the golden days of 1995-98 — although on these new tickets that all-important logo is painfully small.

And though a good 40% of visitors will understand L’Année de la Nouvelle Génération, the rest of us will know it by our own local name. Alternating the logo between French and English might have been a better compromise.

Images © Disney/Pixar.

There are suggestions that Euro Disney SCA, operating group of Disneyland Paris, could be about to sign a landmark agreement with French energy partner EDF.

Currently, as visitors arrive at the resort by car or coach, they’re greeted by a pleasant — but exceptionally large — parking space. A huge expanse of tarmac poured nonchalantly over the former fields of Marne-la-Vallée, this has perhaps never been the best of first impressions for the French to become enamoured with Disney’s controversial arrival.

However, according to rumours now doing the message board rounds, the flat, single-level parking lot serving the two Disney Parks — with more than 11,000 car parking spaces — would be covered end to end in so-called “Ombrières”, a patented type of solar power canopy covered in photovoltaic cells.

An unfortunate necessity becomes a publicity coup?

Creating electricity which can then be used on-site or sold back into the grid, the futuristic canopies also collect rainwater to reduce piped water usage as well as protecting people — and their cars — from the elements, be they a rainstorm or a scorching hot day.

Rather than your car burning up in the full heat of the Summer sun, that energy would be transformed into real power — possibly even to power your ride on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster or Phantom Manor!

The idea is not entirely new, already being in use at locations such as the E-Leclerc shopping centre near Montpellier seen in these photos. These canopies are manufactured by French company SunVie. Should the enormous parking surface at Disneyland Paris be covered by “solar panels” like these, it would apparently become the largest such energy plant in France and almost certainly one of the largest in Europe.

Naturally, after the initial excitement at such a prospect, thoughts are now turning to the visual impact of the “Ombrières” which, whilst actually functionally good-looking, would probably contrast a bit too much with the more whimsical structures already dotted around the parking lot, such as the canopies of the moving walkways.

To redesign them with a little more Disney spark certainly wouldn’t be hard, but multiplied over several hundred rows could amount to a restrictively large rise in construction costs.

Indeed, details so far are rather sketchy as to how such a project would be managed between Euro Disney and EDF — who would pay for the set-up, who would get the power generated? Nevertheless, this would be a sure-fire publicity winner for the resort, and hopefully more than just blue sky (solar) thinking…

• See more details, photos and a video here.

Images: DLRP Today; SunVie. News via Parcs et Companie, thanks to lil-shawn (magicforum).

Like the transformation from frog to prince, no more will we have to refer to that terrible photoshopping of her character model onto the Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade float, as the press department have published this new — real — photo just a few minutes ago:

And they both look stunning, don’t you think?

Despite the film already showing at cinemas/theaters in several European countries, and due to have finished its release schedule here by mid February, it looks increasingly likely that we really will have to wait right up until 2nd April 2010 — the launch date of the New Generation Festival — for this much-anticipated Disney couple from New Orleans to begin official duties at Disneyland Paris, which will include starring on the Dreams of Romance parade float.

Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee, a live song and dance show on the Mark Twain riverboat, has been incredibly popular at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World Florida, but was cut from early proposals for the New Generation Festival line up likely due to costs and logistics of such a complicated performance. As the show comes to the end of its initial run in Florida, some reports have suggested the costumes could be headed for Paris, but rumours also point to the contrary — that they’d stay put for the show to continue in Florida — and Disneyland Paris appear to have no plans for the show as yet.

Photo © Disney.

Regaining interest since the death of its lead earlier this year, the short film will return to its original home in Disneyland, California, for a “limited engagement” from February 2010.

Since this rumour first appeared, and especially since these plans were confirmed, fans of the other international resorts have obviously been questioning whether ‘EO’ could also, even temporarily, replace ‘HISTA’ in their home park.

Now, Disneyland Paris have given their answer. As confirmed by the press department in Le Journal and reported by Photos Magiques on Twitter, Captain EO will not be returning to Marne-la-Vallée.

Original CinéMagique: Captain EO entrance.

The 3-D special effects attraction originally played in Paris from opening day on 12th April 1992 up to 17th August 1998, when it closed to become Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (HISTA). On this date, Disneyland Paris was the last park in the world you could see the film — it having closed elsewhere over a year earlier and at Epcot over 4 years earlier.

Starring Michael Jackson in a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, executive produced by George Lucas and featuring music by James Horder, it was one of the flagships of Michael Eisner’s arrival at the company when it premiered in the US parks in 1986. In Paris, the attraction was actually named CinéMagique, a variation on the “Magic Eye Theater” of California, making the resort perhaps the only one to have had two completely different yet identically-named attractions in its history.

With Honey, I Shrunk the Audience hardly doing a roaring trade over the back of Discoveryland, opening such limited hours as 11am to 6pm during the Summer high season, it remains to be seen what all-new replacement will eventually come about for the tired 3-D film. Rumours on MiceAge.com have suggested the limited-time showing of ‘EO’ in California could be followed by the arrival of Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, a living character show (think Stitch Live!) from Florida’s Magic Kingdom. Could this be rolled out to ourselves and Tokyo? That’d still leave the problem of Epcot’s theatre.

In any case, Paris will likely have to wait for the other resorts to make their move in replacing HISTA first. It doesn’t appear to be much of a priority and, with the Californians now buying time with a nostalgia trip, this firm “non, merci” to EO‘s return means Wayne Szalinski will likely be winning Inventor of the Year a good few more times yet — even if there’s hardly any Audience left to shrink.

Images © Disney.