News / Fireworks

How many people have a “ten year plan” that seems to go astray? Chalk Disneyland Paris up for one.

The phenomenally successful Disney Dreams! nighttime spectacular, which launched for the 20th Anniversary and has arguably carried the entire resort on its shoulders for the past five years, will very soon be no more. Read More…

Right about now, over 1700 invited guests will be wrapped up warm on Central Plaza eagerly awaiting the premiere of ‘Disney Dreams of Christmas!‘ (Disney Dreams! fête Noël in French), the brand new seasonal edition of Disneyland Paris’ award-winning, world renowned nighttime spectacular. If, however, you’re sadly not one of them — you can still experience the entire show right now form the comfort of your home with the first complete video of the show to hit YouTube.

Featuring segments based on Disney’s upcoming Frozen, along with moments of Toy Story, Bambi, 101 Dalmations and even classic Mickey Mouse shorts, the show utilises most of the technology from the original Disney Dreams! along with some new tricks, such as colour-changing lights in the trees of Central Plaza and garlands of Main Street. California has also developed a full seasonal version of its own World of Color show in tandem with this project, titled World of Color: Winter Dreams.

It performs exclusively from now, with its public premiere tomorrow, until the end of Disney’s Enchanted Christmas season on 6th January 2014. This early video was likely filmed during last night’s exclusive Cast Member preview. So draw those curtains, put an extra log on the fire and enjoy 20 minutes of all-new, incredibly festive Disneyland Paris magic…

• VIDEO: Watch the regular Disney Dreams! show, updated for 2013, here

VIDEO BY Fabien Marliot VIA @CafeFantasia

Even before Pixar’s “Brave” makes its grand debut with a new scene in the show itself, the technology of Disney Dreams! has brought an extra Celtic flourish to Disneyland Paris, utilised for the first time in both the recent St Patrick’s and St David’s Day firework displays.

Installed before the debut of the top-rated nighttime spectacular this time last year, the high-powered video-mapping projectors, water fountains and pyrotechnics were put to great use for both shows to bring their respective Irish and Welsh themes alive. Though the graphics and animations were not as “clever” as those used nightly in Disney Dreams! itself, they created a far more stunning display than in previous years thanks to the now bright, vivid quality of the projections.

The two displays, performed 9th and 17th March, were also another welcome chance to see the 40-or-so water fountains now permanently installed in the moat of Sleeping Beauty Castle in action, firing into the sky and lighting up in all new ways. The last time guests got to see the fountains utilised for a different event was the dazzling Christmas Castle Illumination a few months ago.

Watch a complete video of each fireworks show by ‘DlrpWelcome’ below… Read More…

This Sunday, Disneyland Paris celebrates St Patrick’s Day for one day only with music, dance, fireworks and special character appearances. The full programme of events was released today, confirming the annual Irish celebrations will again be hosted largely in the Cottonwood Creek Ranch area of Frontierland, a tradition begun last year and continued with the St David’s Welsh Festival just last weekend.

On 17th March 2013, guests can expect special appearances from Disney characters in costumes inspired by the Emerald Isle, along with free face painting, a pipe band, Irish musicians and dance shows from the Sarah Clark Academy with special guests Chip ‘n’ Dale. A special fireworks display ends the day as a precursor to Disney Dreams! and the fun continues into the night at Disney Village.

All the times and details are in the programme attached below… Read More…

Neatly timed to coincide with the celebrations of 12th April 2012, Channel 5 in the UK broadcast a special behind-the-scenes “documentary” on Sunday, 15th April giving a unique look at the preparations for the 20th Anniversary. Titled Making the Magic: Disneyland Paris – 20th Anniversary, it will be available to watch on the online Demand 5 player until March 2013, but only within the UK.

Not wanting to let such a great promotional piece for the resort go unseen for everyone else, we managed to record the whole show from a DVR box. Quality isn’t perfect (no need for 720p), but hopefully it’s good enough to enjoy. (And yes, Walt Disney built his first park in 1955, not 1957!)

The show naturally focuses mainly on Disney Dreams!, with exclusive input from Steve Davison, Katy Harris and technical director Chuck Davis, but Disney Magic on Parade! is also featured with Kat de Blois and two British parade Cast Members preparing for the parade’s changeover. We get to see “Team Dreams” making last minute preparations on the same day Steve, Katy and Kat took time out to attend a Q&A session with fan sites, making us even more grateful for that opportunity. Added drama comes as Steve drops into the Dreams control room to announce: “There’s a big blue square which appears in the middle of Jungle Book, which I’ve never seen..!”

Knowing the promotional tie-up between Channel 5 and Disneyland Paris before the launch of the 20th Anniversary, this show is clearly more of a glossy promotional piece than a true “documentary” — but it’s also 22 minutes of the best British TV promotion seen for the resort in years. No CGI, no greenscreen, just letting the magic — and the people behind the magic — speak for themselves.

Meanwhile, across the Channel, French viewers recently got to enjoy the far less glossy but rather more revealing “Disneyland et ses Secrets” feature-length documentary on France 3, which can also be found in full on YouTube.

If you’ve already enjoyed our video of the Disney Dreams! World Premiere, filmed from the middle of Central Plaza, then prepare for a whole new angle on the dreams. The next evening, for the show’s 1st April Opening Night and first two public performances, we waited with the eager crowds for almost an hour before the show began to grab a spot right on the front row.

Standing here, at the foot of the bridge to Sleeping Beauty Castle, the projections are clearer than ever, the pyrotechnics thrillingly close and the fountains towering overhead! And with the gasps and cheers of the larger crowd, our second complete 1080p HD video of the show gives you a whole different atmosphere with the 20th Anniversary nighttime spectacular, too. The view isn’t necessarily “better” than elsewhere, just different. That’s the beauty of this show: you get a great view from anywhere in front of the castle, and there’s space for around 15,000 people. It’s huge.

So sit back as we invite you there, to the Opening Night of Disney Dreams!.

This has been one epic upload, but here we go: the full, unedited 48-minute presentation and panel discussion with Creative Director Kat de Blois, Show Director Katy Harris and VP Parades & Spectaculars Steve Davison himself. Seated in Plaza Gardens Restaurant at 12.30pm on Saturday, we were just inches away from the creators of the 20th Anniversary entertainments as they first explained and presented their creations before moving on to an open and informal Q&A discussion with the intimate audience of around 20 invited Disneyland Paris blog and fansite authors.

Kat de Blois began by presenting Disney Magic on Parade! in French (the only small part missing from the video), followed by Katy Harris introducing Disney’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Train in English, then Steve Davison talking about Disney Dreams! — which made up the bulk of the 40 minutes of questions which followed, revealing numerous insights into the new spectacular.

While I had the camera rolling the entire time, Kristof from Photos Magiques put a couple of questions direct to the panel. Including, at 42 minutes in, the million dollar question that is: “When did you decide to get rid of Central Plaza stage, and was it a tough decision?” The reaction, and the justification, is fascinating viewing, as is the entire presentation. We’ll revisit it more soon and go through all of the details revealed about the creation of Disney Dreams! in particular. But for now, we thank Kat, Steve and Katy for taking time out on such a busy day to meet a small number of their fans, and for allowing us to film and document the occasion so that everyone at home can be there, too.

Note: The sound quality has been improved as much as possible in editing, but due to the intimate setting it obviously won’t be perfect. Nevertheless, this is a unique all too rare chance to meet the people behind the “dreams”. And to think, as Steve reveals, it all began by spotting a Peter Pan motif in the design of Disneyland Hotel… Proving that Dreams can come from anywhere, but you never quite know where they’ll take you.

This has been one epic upload, but here we go: the full, unedited 48-minute presentation and panel discussion with Creative Director Kat de Blois, Show Director Katy Harris and VP Parades & Spectaculars Steve Davison himself. Seated in Plaza Gardens Restaurant at 12.30pm on Saturday, we were just inches away from the creators of the 20th Anniversary entertainments as they first explained and presented their creations before moving on to an open and informal Q&A discussion with the intimate audience of around 20 invited Disneyland Paris blog and fansite authors.

Kat de Blois began by presenting Disney Magic on Parade! in French (the only small part missing from the video), followed by Katy Harris introducing Disney’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Train in English, then Steve Davison talking about Disney Dreams! — which made up the bulk of the 40 minutes of questions which followed, revealing numerous insights into the new spectacular.

While I had the camera rolling the entire time, Kristof from Photos Magiques put a couple of questions direct to the panel. Including, at 42 minutes in, the million dollar question that is: “When did you decide to get rid of Central Plaza stage, and was it a tough decision?” The reaction, and the justification, is fascinating viewing, as is the entire presentation. We’ll revisit it more soon and go through all of the details revealed about the creation of Disney Dreams! in particular. But for now, we thank Kat, Steve and Katy for taking time out on such a busy day to meet a small number of their fans, and for allowing us to film and document the occasion so that everyone at home can be there, too.

Note: The sound quality has been improved as much as possible in editing, but due to the intimate setting it obviously won’t be perfect. Nevertheless, this is a unique all too rare chance to meet the people behind the “dreams”. And to think, as Steve reveals, it all began by spotting a Peter Pan motif in the design of Disneyland Hotel… Proving that Dreams can come from anywhere, but you never quite know where they’ll take you.