News Disneyland Paris Updates & Features

Travel trade partners visiting Disneyland Resort Paris earlier this week for an “educational” trip were also given a special surprise as part of that product education — an exclusive first look at the key events of Mickey’s Magical Party. Since these are the people who’ll be trying to sell the resort and its new celebration over the next year, the organisers pulled out all the stops for an in-depth event-by-event preview.

First up, after the revelation of Mickey’s flashy new costume for It’s Party Time, the first presentation: It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland.

Lights dimmed and Stitch suddenly appeared as a silhouette at the far end of the stage, rushing up toward the real DJ’s decks only to be intercepted by the event’s master of ceremonies and the upcoming show’s director, Emmanuel Lenormand…

As the crowd were whipped up in anticipation, the music began and those pink and blue-dressed sci-fi-like dancers we’ve seen before came parading onto the stage with a hugely energetic routine. Each section of the show introduced new dance steps for the audience to retrace.

The music, as anyone familiar with the California or Florida resorts will instantly recognise, comes straight from Block Party Bash, including the Motown classic “Dancing in the Streets” and… “YMCA”. Whilst the dancers’ costumes suggested the show might be tailored a little more to its Discoveryland location than we first expected, the soundtrack — at least for this preview — doesn’t quite fulfil that hope.

Toward the end of the 11-minute performance, the live host encouraged the crowd in the convention hall to repeat a chant back to the cast. Stitch, wearing an orange baseball cap, remained silent for the whole presentation. It’s expected — but not confirmed — that he will speak in the show, whereas no thought before now was given to the possibility of a live human host.

Since these presentations aim to just give a “feel” for the events and lack the actual stages and performance cues of the real shows, we’ll have to wait and see come 4th April just how much of this preview is true to fact.

Video by PhotosMagiques.com.

Yes, the Mouse won’t be wearing his traditional suit in black, white, red and yellow, as shown in all the preview images, when he bursts upward onto the new Central Plaza Stage come April. The costume designers, including Head of Costuming Sue Lecash, have imagined a flashy new costume for the star of the show.

Shiny crisp white from head to toe, this new suit for It’s Party Time… with and Mickey and Friends has one special hidden feature. It was officially revealed in a preview video which played on the big screen at a special trade partners event earlier this week.

Take a look:

Stitched up with ultra-bright LED lights, the suit glows in colours of pink and blue, animating to a rhythm across the fabric to make it appear “luminous” when seen in daylight during the show. With its rope/pipe-like wavy lights stitched across the front and back, it perhaps event makes Mickey’s other illuminating outside — from Disney’s Fantillusion — seem subtle.

Curiously, the video ended with some shots of concept art for other Mickey Mouse costumes — we assume the ones which didn’t make the tailors’ cut.

Well, their final design is certainly only something Mickey could pull off.

Video by PhotosMagiques.com.

First — the location! We thought we had it pinned down when the construction walls went up between Star Tours and Star Traders…

Photo: PhotosMagiques.com

But then they came down to reveal a fresh floor (and not much else), and the TV spot threw a mixtape into the decks (or something hip like that) by showing DJ Stitch in front of Space Mountain…

Photo: Disneytheque.com

Now, thanks to creative director Kat de Blois, we’ve got the confirmation: It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland will be performed right next to Star Traders, at the back of the land.

From our interview with Kat de Blois:

All day long, at certain magical times, special events will happen in both parks. For instance, if you’re passing by Star Traders in Discoveryland, you’ll be able to see Stitch jumping in with his ship and his Star-Trek-like dancers to invite you to the dance. The party will be everywhere!

Everywhere the Party may be, but it will still have its limits. In fact, as the latest official texts released by Disneyland Resort Paris announce, this new dance-along show will only be performed from 4th April to 8th November 2009.

“A new entertainment experience, It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland (Disneyland Park) will be held 5 days a week several times, from April 4th till November 8th 2009…”

After Sunday, 8th November 2009, the cold weather will likely make the prospect of Dance Time, outside in Discoveryland, less attractive, and the extra entertainments of Christmas season will command more of the Entertainment budget. The quote above raises another query about the show, though — will it be five days a week, or seven?

It was recently clarified that the recent “cancellation” of The Tarzan Encounter (the show will now return for July and August only) was apparently actually down to a plain budget cut, rather than extra resources being required for these Mickey’s Magical Party shows, with the promotion of It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland to 7-days-a-week performances then merely filling a gap in the show schedules.

The press release quoted above stating “5-days-a-week” was published just this week, but could itself be out-of-date with this development in the time taken to pass through the resort’s departments. Watch this space…

• Read the full Mickey’s Magical Party interview with Kat de Blois here!
• Discover our updated guide to the new attraction here.

Photos as credited.

Traditionally, Disneyland Resort Paris has sought to make its entertainment productions as independent from language as possible, with stories kept very visual and a sometimes baffling compromise between speech in French or English.

In 2004, The Legend of the Lion King broke the trend by having separate English and French shows. Last year, Stitch Live! followed Simba with separate shows. And now, as we’ve been expecting, Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! will use the same idea… but with a difference.

As announced by creative director Kat de Blois in her Media Magic Interview on DLRP Today, the new puppet stage show will be performed in French, English AND Spanish. This would make it the first ever entertainment production at the resort to be presented “en Español”.

Kat de Blois revealed: “It’s show that comes from the US, yet here, we’re going to present it in three languages, for the first time in the world: English, French and Spanish according to the audience.” The main European markets of the Playhouse Disney channel itself are UK & Ireland, France and Spain, so this decision certainly makes sense — especially since the audience will be much younger and less able to understand different languages than for other shows.

You might remember though that, during the opening phase of Stitch Live!, there were reports that the “ticket booth” Cast Member shelter features a button alongside “Français” and “English” reading “Español”, suggesting its electronic signs had been built ready for a third language. However, no Spanish shows have ever been presented at the attraction, despite guest numbers from the country continuing to rise massively — if you’ve been a long-time visitor to the resort, you’ll certainly have noticed much more “Español” around the parks in the past two years.

Now, it appears Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! will be the first to truly acknowledge the Mouse’s newfound fans with their own translated performance.

• Read the full Mickey’s Magical Party interview with Kat de Blois here!
• Discover our updated guide to the new attraction here.

Our thanks to Google translator for the (possibly incorrect) headline.

With the regular re-release of the resort’s CD albums we’ve learnt to hold out too much hope for any major new additions. Music tends to appear and reappear for years after it was last heard in the parks, and actual attraction soundtracks are all but ignored in favour of entertainment.

The “New Versions!” sticker has been stuck to almost every recent CD, whether there are new tracks or not. But wait a second — this time, the new re-releases of the resort’s two signature CDs, Disneyland Resort Paris en Musique and Les Parades en Musique, finally have a major new addition!

Photo: PhotosMagiques.com

The new CDs appeared on store shelves around the parks and Disney Village in late January, and it’s the new Parades en Musique you should pick up for this pleasant new musical surprise: pretty much the FULL soundtrack of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade!

Les Parades en Musique now begins with around 18 minutes of music from the parade — the hit Just Like We Dreamed It theme song, of course, but better yet: the rich instrumental score of the actual floats, as orchestrated by the acclaimed Steve Sidwell and recorded by the 100-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London!

Photo: Mouetto, Disney Central Plaza

The score is split into a separate 2 minute 10 seconds track for each “Dream”, with the 40 second Dreamy Overture included, too. The new tracks therefore run like this:

1. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Just Like We Dreamed It (02:52)
2. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreamy Overture (00:40)
3. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Imagination (02:10)
4. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Laughter and Fun (02:10)
5. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Friendship (02:10)
6. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Fantasy (02:10)
7. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Power (02:10)
8. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Adventure (02:10)
9. Disney’s Once Upon A Dream Parade – Dreams of Romance (02:10)

The CD also includes music ranging from It’s Halloween-Lo-Ween and Disney Cinema Parade to La-Di-Da Carnaval and the Disney Classics Parade. So, they’re still not willing to give up on the old tracks yet.

In fact, Disneyland Resort Paris en Musique is identical to the 2005 version, despite the availability of tracks for attractions like Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Tower of Terror and Moteurs… Action! from the US resorts’ CD releases.

Photos as credited.

Here’s the full release list:

Saturday, 7th March 2009

Disney Princesses Booster Pack (4 pins)
€18.00

Ariel pin
€6.00

Bolt (Volt) limited edition pin
Limited Edition x900
€12.90

High School Musical 3 booster pack (4 pins)
€18.00

Friday, 13th March 2009

Phantom Manor Pin Event — Now Fully Booked!

Exclusive pins released at this event:

Phantom Manor limited edition double lanyard
€15.00

Tinkerbell Stretch Room limited edition pin
Limited Edition x900
€12.90

Tinkerbell Bride limited edition pin
Limited Edition x900
€12.90

Stitch Phantom limited edition pin
Limited Edition x900
€12.90

Stitch Pin Trading Event limited edition pin
Limited Edition x400
€10.90

Chip ‘n’ Dale Pin Trading Event limited edition pin
Limited Edition x400
€10.90

Phantom Manor Pin Trading Event jumbo limited edition pin
Limited Edition x400
€39.90

Saturday, 21st March 2009

Spring 2009 limited edition pin
Limited Edition x900
€11.90

Bolt pin
€6.00

Cars starter kit (pins + lanyard)
€19.90

Saturday, 28th March 2009

Mickey Magical Party limited edition pin
Limited Edition x1200
€10.90

Minnie Magical Party limited edition pin
Limited Edition x1200
€10.90

Mickey’s Magical Party Medal pin
€6.00

Mickey’s Magical Party Balloon pin
€6.00

And here are the artworks:

(click to enlarge)

Despite his disadvantages, Mickey Mouse stormed to victory when a guest challenged him to a breakdance battle in Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Resort Paris recently. Don’t believe us? The evidence is online for all to see!

Take a look:

Amazing skills for an 80-year old mouse in smart dress, right?

Now, it goes without saying this kind of thing doesn’t happen every day at Disneyland Park. In fact, it’s probably the first time Mickey Mouse has ever danced like this in his long life — but it’s all for a good cause. The video isn’t shot by chance by an amateur, and the battle wasn’t started by accident.

This bizarre display you’ve just seen is actually a viral video produced by (or for) Disneyland Resort Paris themselves, a video created with the intention of it causing a stir on websites like YouTube and ultimately providing the resort with inadvertent advertising and word of mouth without people feeling like they’re watching a marketing creation.

So far, it seems to be a big success — the video has already had over 20,000 hits in just two days! As a concept it is also far stronger than the resort’s previous attempt at viral marketing, which saw a dog elongated by stepping into The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, since it links in well with the strong theme of dance throughout the Mickey’s Magical Party events.

Just don’t expect to see the Mouse giving this kind of display on your next visit…

Those key visuals released several months ago for It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends were certainly a little loose with the truth, but, as the new Central Plaza continues to take shape, the final result might just look better than the artwork. More in-keeping with its surroundings, at least. Let’s see…

Posted by thunder1000, the latest construction photos from Disneyland Park show the bare metal of the stage beginning to receive its final overlay. On top, a non-slip carpet in shades of yellow and grey — with a Mickey Mouse shape on each satellite stage!

And, wrapping itself around the satellite nearest Discoveryland, the first pieces of the stage’s walls and sides. Not golden as the marketing visuals depict, but in shades of grey stone matching that little landmark just nearby — Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, of course. The walls are even being given little inlets and openings to match the Castle’s style and break up the sides of the stage.

Right the way around the stage and its satellites, a white edging — again inspired by Sleeping Beauty Castle — is a finishing touch to hold in the carpeted top, whilst four sets of stairs wind their way up to the top. From these photos at least, the stairs don’t look much wider than the tricky steps up to the old stage…

With the stage now well on its way to completion, another major difference can be spotted — one which has been confirmed earlier, but can now be seen for real: the four satellite stages don’t extend diagonally into the grass planters of Central Plaza, but vertically and horizontally — onto the flat concrete sections which used to provide access to the hub.

This means the final stage will have the footprint shown above, with all of the inlets into the plaza hub taken over by the satellite stages and two sets of stairs up to the stage from either side. There won’t be any stairs at the front. In the centre, that special surprise we mentioned previously.

It remains to be seen just how close guests will be able to get to the stage — whether children will truly be “partying” alongside the characters, standing around each of the satellite stages, or if we’ll be kept at a slight distance, with the entire central area cordoned off.

Photos: Thunder1000, Disney Central Plaza; Plan: Google Earth/DLRP Today.