Saturday, 19th May 2007

Graphic design, show writing and kicks on ’66

This new video features two Imagineers working on the project talking about the ride experience and describing their intentions with its design and construction. Behind them, you might spot one or two props soon to appear at the attraction itself in Paris, such as a stop light, cans of motor oil, a poster for Fillmore’s organic fuel and newspaper cut-outs describing the triumphs of the Famous Hudson Hornet, Doc Hudson!

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Michael Sprout (Senior Show Writer) / Debbie Hofman (Graphic Designer)

First, Senior Show Writer Michael Sprout, confirms that the queue buildings are set up like a “visitor centre” for Radiator Springs, showcasing each of the stores and locales owned by the motor vehicle inhabitants. He also mentions “wild race music” and that Lightning and Mater will be positioned at the edge of the race area (rather than outside the entrance as expected before) shouting encouragements to guests on the spinning ride.

“The guest experience for the Cars attraction is that first you’re going to visit the town, see the sights, go through the visitor centre, and then you’re going to go out to the race course. Lightning and Mater are there to welcome you to the race. You go out to your new rookie car, get in the car and at a signal, your car starts up, doing this wild spinning race through the desert.

“As you race, Lightning and Mater are off to the side of the racetrack shouting encouragement to you. There’s this wild race music that will get your blood going and you spin around in this crazy figure-eight spinning course for about a minute and half, which is quite a bit of time in those conditions!”

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Circular entrance lobby, featuring various advertisements and the famous Piston Cup!

The second half of the video features graphic designer Debbie Hofman speaking briefly about how the Imagineers attempted to capture the feel of Route 66 for Europeans and “show what it means for Americans”, whilst a camera pans across a never-before-seen concept model depicting the full visitor centre complex from behind (imagine yourself stood on the spot of Art of Disney Animation looking towards Crush), the walls decorated in large posters featuring local brands such as Lightning McQueen’s Rust-Eze medicated bumper ointment and Tow Mater’s pick-up service.

When we developed the queue for the attraction we wanted to start with the outside as you’re walking in and the exteriors are featuring Route 66 and the kind of architecture you would see. And then walking into it, we really wanted to bring in that world of Route 66, some of the businesses you’d find, the cars, and really get that feel for the guests. Especially being in Europe, we wanted to really capture Route 66 for them and what that is for Americans.

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‘Backstage’ area of the queue under outdoor canopy, featuring more local advertisements.

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The work of Debbie Hofman and the graphic design team has now made it to the attraction itself in Paris. We got a glimpse at a poster advertising Ramone’s House of Body Art back in April, and now a much more noticable banner has filled one side of the entrance lobby building.

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Graphic design work completed and in place in Paris!

The large blue banner appears to proclaim “Welcome Travellers!” in typically Route 66-style – a part of America famed for its hospitality – with the route logo of the famous road also featured. As they head toward the checkered flag, representing what Route 66 means to Americans as well as recreating the Pixar impression, they’re certainly getting a kick out of it. And speaking of checkered flags, latest rumours are that Cast Members will come equipped with special race accessories – each and every Race Rally spinout will be finished with a wave of the famous race flag!

Concept images © Disney; Latest photo by Photos Magiques.

Saturday, 19th May 2007

Hollywood setbuilding continues

Whilst little more than 2D façades with empty behinds were – and are – generally expected for this development, as the corner points of the building row forming a huge physical barrier between The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the park entrance, these two at least will be fully-formed, 3D sets.

We reported the first metal framework beginning construction last week, and since then this interesting square tower has begun to match even more exactly the expected finished design – a reproduction of the ‘Off the Page’ store entrance from Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney’s Calfifornia Adventure. Also depicted on the new Walt Disney Studios Park map, this building features a square, pointed spire on its roof, and the latest photos below show that construction of its skeleton has almost reached this point.

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Adding to the development now is a second tower, much larger in floorspace than the first and equally impressive in height, already adding quite a landmark to the previously barren corner by the Place des Stars stage. Now imagine this with a few more façades inbetween the two and fully decorated in warm Pueblo Deco colours – as a new “heart” for Walt Disney Studios Park, this should really get things beating in a more true Disney style.

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The exact design of the building can be seen on the new park map below, with a large square body and a round dome similar to those on The Hollywood Tower Hotel behind. It doesn’t appear to match exactly with a building on either of Disney’s other two Hollywood developments – at Disney-MGM Studios and California Adventure – and considering its size could easily be put to use as something more than an empty façade.

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It’s already clear that these buildings on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard won’t just be a much-needed boost of glamour and style for the middle of the park. As the map shows, they form a major barrier between the current hub at Disney Bros Plaza and the entrance of Tower of Terror, forcing guests to walk towards Studio Tram Tour or around Production Courtyard to reach the attraction, perhaps a response to concerns in earlier years that this location was too close to the park’s entrance for such a popular attraction.

The impressive size of the frames already exaggerate the forced perspective design of the 183-ft Tower behind, making it appear taller and more distant, as if this 1950s Hollywood development gradully built-up around its decaying exterior in the decade since that fateful night…

Map © Disney; All photos by Photos Magiques.

Saturday, 19th May 2007

Stitch searches for a new Ohana

Casting has begun for that most prestigious of new roles amongst the upcoming productions at Walt Disney Studios Park. Tower bellhop? Bah! Turtle twister? Don’t get in a spin. This is the big one: the chance to portray a genetic mutation like never before at the Disney Channel Studios – real, live, in front of a studio audience!

Don’t worry, Julie hasn’t returned from the dead – this is Stitch! And for the upcoming Stitch Encounter, some very lucky Cast Members will be spending their days speaking his voice and controlling his movements on-screen, effectively acting out his entire role and interacting with the unprepared – and sure to be quite unexpected – dialogue of the watching audience.

A work position was posted on a French casting website, calling for “comedians capable of imitating the voice of Stitch”. Aware of the strong audience participation in Walt Disney Imagineering “Living Character” show, they’re also asking that applicants be capable of holding an audience and interacting off-script with an audience. You’d need to be between the ages of 20 and 35, fluent in French, English or both. Any additional languages will be a good bonus.

The need for a comedian is particularly highlighted, which already sounds promising for an attraction which relies heavily on the live roles of its Cast Members. The voice of Stitch for each show will need to not only portray the alien’s voice but also control his CGI movements on the giant projection screen and shape the narrative of the show through pre-designed animation rendered in real-time. Another requirement is therefore that the chosen Stitch(es) must be able to work a computer console and joystick.

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At the attraction itself, work appears to have already begun on transforming the interior of the old Walt Disney Television Studios tour into the new theatre-based attraction. Closed for good on 16th April 2007, the largely unpopular attraction was swiftly surrounded by blue construction fences and stripped of immediate references to the old walk-through attraction.

The layout configuration of the new Stitch Encounter is still unconfirmed. Will it follow the same route as the former tour, passing by hard-working/solitaire-playing Disney Channel video control crew, or could a totally new design be used? With the former Disney Channel CyberSpace postshow closed since January already, this actually gives two perfect spots for the new theatre room, including the Art Attack stage which has been widely rumoured to be the chosen location.

The casting call posted above also throws up more questions about the actual launch date of the attraction.  Originally rumoured for November 2007, the official press release of 1st April 2007 announced it for an ‘Early 2008’ opening.  Strangely, the casting position is for October 2007 to March 2008!

One thing is certain – they’d better have a longer queue line planned out. Julie might have been legendary, but no-one can match the popularity of Stitch. Especially not if he’s appearing live, courtesy of a professional comedian!

Photos by Photos Magiques.

Friday, 18th May 2007

Ink & Paint for Animation Courtyard

Those lines in question would be the new flooring. A distracting checkerboard of black tarmac and grey tiles, the idea seems to have been to break the vast expanse of tarmac in the old land, highlight routes between the attractions and generally give a more campus/courtyard feel. Like the Ink of “Ink & Paint”, it’s all dark colours so far and appears to be staying that way – the same design has now reached right across from Flying Carpets Over Agrabah to Disney Bros. Plaza.

The full extent of the finished makeover was revealed this past Tuesday, when 9-month old fences were finally removed from the area between Disney Studio 1 and the Monsters Inc Scream Scene.

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The removal of the fences must have been a breath of fresh air for the park – finally a little room to breathe and the first step of the final touches for Toon Studio. The next steps were all made clear behind the fences, such as the Sorcerer Mickey entrance statue due in the new planter above. The portion which will house the statue is actually separate to the existing section, allowing another small route through to the current Animation Courtyard without stepping under Mickey’s spark of golden pixie dust. Either the Imagineers are planning for people with superstitions, or they realised the entrance could become totally blocked in the lead-up to parades!

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With the Fantasia hippos now residing along the Studio Tram Tour route, what’s to be found at their old home? Currently, not a lot. But the colourful planting does mix well with the sea of blue, whilst cleverly following the checkerboard pattern of the flooring around it.

As for Animagique, the Studio 3 theatre of the backlight show is still in post production, with fences covering the edges of its waiting area roof as more areas are repainted in the Toon Studio colours of blue, navy blue, pink and purple. No other improvements have been spotted yet, but the fences do encroach quite a way onto the path – more than might be necessary if they’re simply repainting. Can we hope beyond hope those flower beds from the concept art make it to reality, rather than going the way of the quickly-forgotten fountain?

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The clean-up animation department has also been at work recently, adding a few extra touches to a project everyone assumed was complete. Whilst every concept showed the huge billboard façade of Crush’s Coaster with straight, cropped edges, the deep and light blue tones have now been extended across its bordering walls, allowing them to fade out. Unlike animation, the Imagineers could make this change very quickly, and the mural now appears better integrated than before.

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All of this is essentially the work of background artists, with the placemaking creating a better environment for guests to experience the attractions themselves. The background work is clearer nowhere more than at the Toon Studio entrance gate – the one to be used only by Toons of course – which continues to receive more details such as two photolocations, various props for the security booth and finally the “Toon Town” letters in the hills beyond. Unlike the papier-mâché 3D versions at Disneyland in California, their flat 2D design recessed into the “hillside” is also illuminated throughout the day.

Two basic photo backdrops have appeared either side of the gate – The Incredibles on the left (similar to the old podium but with simply a red backdrop) and Mickey’s Toon Town house on the right. A strange backdrop choice for sure, but in Imagineering legend the only “real” Toon Town is that in California. For this reason the Floridian version is “Mickey’s Toon Town Fair” and our (invisible) Parisian version wouldn’t feature his real house. So when Mickey is in Paris and needs the house for a spot of filming, this is his answer. It saves on airplane fuel at least…

So with all this background work almost complete, the Imagineers next need to start laying on the character animation cells for the final frame-by-frame production. Preparing for the characters of Disney Cinema Parade, the land’s conserved parade route path has now been outlined with small metal studs. Not as noticable as the previous filmstrip or the real sidewalks of Disneyland Park, Guest Flow are going to have fun here when the parade is finally re-routed back to its original path…

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And finally, more characters are soon to arrive. Maybe a cheap way of fulfilling the resort’s pledge of “More Disney characters than ever before”, the lighting rigs along the parade route are about to have their posters returned following the storms late last year. A Cast Member sent a photo into our partner site WDSFans.com taken from the other side of the parade access gate, showing the first poster to be fixed in place, facing away from the park.

Does it look familiar? Yes, the esplanade posters of Hong Kong Disneyland have made it almost half-way around the world to Paris, albeit in a slightly cropped format to fit the lighting rigs. Expect all of the on-stage rigs to be given their own characters – from Bambi to Mowgli, Lilo & Stitch to… Lumière! Well, when there’s a banner at Disneyland Resort Paris, you can be sure that candlestick won’t be far away! You can see the full set of Hong Kong banners at LaughingPlace.com here.

The only thing left to do soon will be to run the reel, and for this Walt Disney Studios has another small trick up its Sorcerer’s Apprentice sleeve. As confirmed by Kinoo on magicforum, a “Toon Train” will arrive on the Toon Studio lot each morning, with rumours also of special musicians on a small float as the animation stars arrive at work!

Lighting rig photo by P.T.; Hong Kong Disneyland photo by LaughingPlace.com;
All other photos by Photos Magiques – you can see even more here.

Wednesday, 9th May 2007

154 Years in the making, dude!

Launched on 20th February with the official Disneyland15.com, the official anniversary blog has come from modest beginnings to present a series of unique videos and articles delving into the backstage talent of the 15th Anniversary Celebration. Our host, Tristane, has introduced us to the scent creator, costume designer and director of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade, and now attention has switched dramatically to Toon Studio, particularly Crush’s Coaster.

The first surprise on the French version of the blog today was the following photo, showing a painter at work on murals inside the key “dark ride” scenes of this unique new spinning roller coaster:

We’ve seen glimpses into the dark ride scenes before, but this more recent image shows some of the final, vibrant colours of the scenes and the talent at work. The scenes are much smaller, the route much thinner, than a usual dark ride, which might seem strange considering the theme of “the big blue”, but the paintwork completed here shows how the Imagineers have designed tricks of the eye to give the effect of real undersea depth. With blurred, faded background coral behind vibrant, crisp detail, a flat wall suddenly becomes a window into the depths of the Great Barrier Reef, with 3D sculpted coral in front adding another depth.

A good news day for Crush’s Coaster, then. But they weren’t done yet – a little later, and suddenly a brand new video has been uploaded to the blog, presenting even more backstage previews. Presented as a simple slide show with just a few seconds of actual footage, the video serves to present a series of never-before-seen images: concept models, detailed, sculpted coral and more…

A look at each and every shot of the video:

(1) Front elevation of Studio 5, shows some interior detail of the boarding area, such as steps over the track to its platform and a studio-style lighting rail above the action.

(2) A fantastic scale model of the entire attraction. The entrance path is chopped in half in the foreground – notice the warnings and wait times sign recently added in reality. The full 3D marquee featuring Crush is seen as a piece white card on guests’ left, a little further into the queue and yet to be modelled here.

(3) A close-up of the model, showing the outside drop and its jagged, diagonal rockwork surround. Notice the steel fences recently added, which here are shown to cut through a large chunk of blue rock, home to Nemo and Squirt amongst a small crop of green plants.

(4) The camera pans right to left, showing the route of the outside drop, its track almost entirely concealed by the rocks and shown to be filled with several plants.

(5) The lowest point of the drop and a close-up of Nemo and Squirt. These figures will be similar to those at the old Finding Nemo photo location, now lost to the Hollywood Boulevard project.

(6) We move onwards to the first scene of the dark ride, seen as if you were above the building looking toward Cars and Art of Disney Animation. The entrance from the outside drop is top-left, the two state-of-the-art digital projection screens lower-right and top-right. The coral is filled with a rainbow of colours.

(7) The next scene, this model shows only the Angler Fish attack, with the previous scene depicted as a flat floorplan. The colour and light has disappeared for a much more uncertain tone.

(8) A zoom-in on this corner of the track. One angler fish faces toward oncoming turtle shells on the corner, whilst another hides around the bend pointing toward shells as they continue past. Like the digital projections before, these are two identical effects doubled-up to ensure guests in both sides of the back-to-back ride vehicles see the same experience.

(9) Another close look at these impressive Audio-Animatronics, also due to be found at Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (California).

(10) An impressive example of coral sculpted for the attraction. Though no commentary is provided with these images, the coral appears to be in a tent backstage at Walt Disney Studios Park. Interesting, since it would be assumed the coral would be sculpted on-site at its final location. Several reference photos and concepts are pinned to a board above the décor.

(11) The lower portion of the coral shows even more variety in the undersea life, matching that seen full-coloured in the concept models above.

(12) A close-up of the coral. Impressive detail, and certainly like nothing else at Walt Disney Studios Park.

(13) Another close-up shows even more variety, all referenced from real coral and reproduced to be entirely accurate to undersea life.

(14) Finally, a noticeboard with the concept model of the attraction next to two real-life reference photos used to design its jagged rockwork façade, similar in design – if not unnatural blue colour – to that over in Adventureland.

After all this work, it might actually seem like 154 years for some of the Imagineers involved!

Video, photo and all video caps Copyright Disney.

Wednesday, 9th May 2007

The Boulevard of Dreams begins

2007 has been a whirlwind year for Walt Disney Studios Park, and although the four months between the announcement of Hollywood Boulevard and this first building structure may have brought noisy construction with a silence of news, the magic has been quietly building all this time. Can you imagine knowing 12 months ago a whole boulevard of street sets was to be green-lit and begin construction? It was top of the Walt Disney Studios “wishlist” for every fan throughout the first five years of the park, and now it’s becoming a reality.

This is the first major example of Walt Disney Imagineering’s “placemaking” initiative, and last week Disneytheque.com snapped exciting photos of the very first framework for a piece of the future ‘Boulevard of Dreams’… well, “exciting” if you scroll down a little further to see what it’ll become…

It’s a little less than dream-like, hey? But since every guest now visits the park equipped with their own construction-tracker (in the form of the recently updated park map), they can spot exactly which piece of the boulevard has begun construction…

In this case, it’s one of the “Pueblo Deco tower” buildings confirmed from the Cast Member Rendez-Vous event in January, and a closer look at the construction-tracker guide map reveals this is already a familiar Disney icon – one of the most popular pieces of Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney’s California Adventure park. The main tower of the ‘Off the Page’ storefront will be reconstructed without its signage – or interior.

The exact details of what will be featured inside the buildings has yet to be confirmed. Some, such as the ‘Gone Hollywood’ storefront across the street (also from California Adventure), will be nothing more than facades, but with the more three-dimensional buildings such as ‘Off the Page’, possibilites arise for actual uses. It has been confirmed already that one of the building arches to the left of this tower will shelter a brand new Tips Board (waiting times indicator) for the park.

The metal frame itself still has some way to grow – it currently reaches only to around the top of the Disney characters on the ‘Off the Page’ sign. With a line of impressive Pueblo Deco facades in front of the Tower and a second boulevard behind (stretching from Studio Tram Tour to Production Courtyard), The Hollywood Tower Hotel will be given a true boulevard setting and enclosed within its own Hollywood land, the buildings also helping to increase its height through forced perspective.

And in just over seven months, the Boulevard of Dreams will be complete. Now that is the magic of the movies!

Latest photos by Disneytheque.com, Off the Page photo by Jeff Keller.

Monday, 7th May 2007

Everything points to Toons

The idea Walt Disney Imagineering calls “Area Development” has gone to play in every corner of Toon Studio. Whilst Disneyland Park has been the king of area development for over 15 years – everywhere from Boot Hill to Discovery Lagoon – Walt Disney Studios Park is finally beginning to join in with its three Toon Studio filmsets and the wacky studio entrance gate at the back of the land. Today, it’s all about signs – and they’re all pointing to the Toons.

The long-awaited ‘Cars’ neon was installed a couple of weeks ago atop the Ramone’s House of Body Art-inspired queue entrance. With a shiny red finish and a sleek metallic surround, it looks like a perfect slice of Route 66 Americana. Elsewhere, the neons and studio lighting glow throughout the day, ready to draw people in, whilst more trees have been added just in front of the Cadillac Range backdrop. Because – unlike the rest of the Studios and its loud billboards – this area likes to keep things a bit more hidden, give guests something to discover as they turn each corner…

Turning the corner towards Cars Quatre Roues Rallye, they will be confronted with a billboard – but smaller, more colourful and a key part of the area development. The ‘Welcome to Radiator Springs’ sign looks like it was copied and pasted right out of Pixar’s computers. In the distance, you can see the entrance sign for the attraction has also been installed, reading ‘Cars Quatre Roues Rallye’ in customised, bright blue neons.

As for the electricity pylons, theyve now been littered with studio lighting also pointing towards a Toon – the giant undersea backdrop of Crush’s filmset, so perhaps those electricity wires are almost real?

Sticking with Cars, and the photo below – from Disneytheque.com – again shows another new sign, but maybe not what we expected. With its dark, rotting wooden facade, the middle storefront always seemed to be a sure location for Lizzie’s Radiator Springs Curios. As the lopsided sign shows, though, Tow Mater has taken this spot! The photo also shows the large collection of new conifer trees in the area behind the land, as well as a brand new gate between Route 66 and the Studio Tram Tour route.

Crush’s Coaster has been receiving a last minute touch-up to its paintwork this week, helping the dark blue rockwork blend better with the brighter side wall thanks to an air-blown gradient.

Here too there are new signs pointing to the Toons. The all-important entrance sign was installed last week, with a small logo and wait time indicator at the top then two pairs of warnings signs below, one in French, the other in English. The information board clearly uses the same style as those at Epcot’s ‘The Seas with Nemo & Friends’.

It’s a small sign for the towering Studio 5 behind, but sources including La Rouquine on Disney Central Plaza forum have confirmed that the much larger marquee featuring Crush himself will still appear, positioned along the queue line just before guests step under the canopy at the side of the studio.

The previously pale yellow building of Animagique doesn’t have any new signage but it does have a blinding new blue colour scheme to point guests toward itself – now with an extra touch of purple to replace the dull red bricks around the top of its waiting area roof. Later photos on Disneytheque.com show the pillars either side of the entrance (here being painted with a white primer) have actually been repainted in the very same blue as before, where a more contrasting colour might have been expected.

Also strange to note – the Fantasia hippos previously positioned in the flower beds on the right of the building, toward the Monsters Inc photo location, have now been moved to the lawn behind Art of Disney Animation, along the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic route. The move doesn’t look temporary, so it remains to be seen if they will be returned to Animation Courtyard once the flooring has been completed, let alone what remains of their former flower beds…

But whilst the hippos are gone, something else returns. The look-out tower next to Flying Carpets Over Agrabah – which was recently repainted purple from dark blue – has now regained its fabric canopy and walls.

Finally, we end with the biggest pointer to the Toons of them all – the land’s brand new Sorcerer Mickey statue. We first saw a glimpse of the statue being sculpted in February, and now that the latest issue of Tales from the Laughing Place has shipped, we can get a closer look at the Studios’ fourth Mickey statue.

The Imagineer at work is Valerie Edwards, and the statue should finally appear in its full, golden form later this month, along with a spark of magic flying across the parade route and the host of other golden Disney characters on the Sorcerer’s Hat. So if it looks like everything’s pointing to the Toons right now, just wait ’till June!

Photos 5 & 6 by Disneytheque.com; Photos 7 & 8 by Kyoto, Disney Magic Interactive; Photo 12 taken from Tales from the Laughing Place; All other photos by Photos Magiques.

Saturday, 5th May 2007

Book your dream – like never before

Dating from as far back as 1999 and 2000, the old booking system was a simple yet not particularly user-friendly interface. Consisting of simple drop-down menus and selection boxes, it never gave a particularly dazzling first impression for people on their way to Disneyland. Not only that, but it stubbornly refused to work in several browsers such as Mozilla Firefox – not good for a resort which welcomes over 12 million visitors each year.

And so, finally, another piece of the circa-2000 website fades away. Visitors clicking the “Book Packages” option on the homepage of the official website are now redirected first to the resort’s new Hotels pages, where they can find the perfect hotel to suit their needs. Then all it takes is a click of “Book Now!” and they’re off to the brand new booking system…

The system appears in a similar design to the main website but removes all menus and Flash, giving a more friendly way to book your package. The first pages requires you to choose an arrival date and length of stay, with various options along the sidebar informing you of deals such as Half Board Meal Plans.

Once you’ve selected the number of people going with you to the magic, the screen clears and connects you to the resort’s booking system, with Tinkerbell floating around the screen and a message highlighting the special events for the 15th Anniversary.

System searched, the page next moves to the next step of the booking process and displays your ideal package offer along with two alternatives – a new feature for this sytem. The page displays all the features of each package in a good layout, allowing you to compare each offer or search again for a better deal. From this page you can also add options such as Half Board or change your room type with a single click – the options box opens within the same window and prices are updated automatically so you can continue to compare the packages.

The most major update with this new system, one which visitors from the UK in particular will be glad to see, is the option to finally book transport with your hotel, online. So far the system allows you to find flights with Air France (the resort’s airline partner) from a large number of airports and Eurostar from London, though at the time of writing the system was having trouble connecting to Eurostar’s booking option.

The pricing details here could be a little clearer, but the options now available give the system a major advantage over its predecessor and hopefully much more incentive for guests to book quickly and book everything together, a major plus for the resort’s all-important sales.

And if at any time during the process you need to check what you’ve selected so far, it’s just a click away. “Review my selection” brings up a useful window on the same page you’re looking at, displaying the details of your package so far without you having to reach the end of the booking process or hit “back” and check your selections. Another clever new feature is the ability to save “travel wishes”, so you can come back later to complete the booking.

Then, once you do reach the end, everything is displayed again in a modern and easy-to-read layout. Here you can even add requests to your booking, select insurance and see useful tips for your hotel and transport. The total cost is displayed clearly in bold at the top – as with most other websites and sales these days, they hope the clearer and simpler they make it, the more likely they are to get a booking.

Ready to book? Well, here we are – time to get entering all your details. With the new transport options, you’ll also need to select the ID you’ll use to pick up boarding cards and a number from the ID chosen. Finally, the price is once again displayed large and clear next to the credit card form – which comes with the resort’s partner “Visa” selected as standard, of course. A box provides a reminder that the website is SSL secured, and the entire process certainly does feel much more modern, substantial and secure than the basic former system.

The ticket purchasing system has yet to be updated, running on a separate website to the packages system, but this major step forward for the online sales of Disneyland Resort Paris is a sign that they’re still continuing to build their online presence, one of the key points Karl Holz announced when he became CEO exactly two years ago, back in May 2005.

Want to see the new system for real? Follow the link, choose your dream and select “Book Now!”. But maybe best to keep your credit card at arms length – you know how impulsive that Disney magic can make its fans.

Thanks to Jakub for the news!

Saturday, 5th May 2007

Hollywood’s fractured façade

The damage and wounds of that fateful night in 1939 are finally beginning to appear all over The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, as construction suddenly hits a lightning pace to depict in full detail the blast of that fatal lightning strike. With the surrounding Hollywood Boulevard street set development set in the timeframe of the 1950s, the Tower also has over ten years of decay and dirt to cover its sandy exterior.

Early April saw the removal of the white tarp covering the front body of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, revealing the progress so far on the concrete behind. Well over half of the Tower, nearing around 80-90%, has now received full paintwork of pale yellow colours, with weathering and dirt on some sections finally turning this to the murky yellow we know from Disney’s California Adventure.

As for those fractures, they’re becoming clearer by the day. The separate right-hand tower is the first to receive cracks and breaks in its faux plaster, all filled with dirt seeping down across the previously clean paintwork. Below this, and at each of the metallic elevator door openings, steel frames have been added similar to those used in the sculpting of the Crush’s Coaster rockwork. These will be covered over with broken and ripped plaster to give the effect that a whole wing of the hotel collapsed into rubble when the lightning hit, leaving the elevator doors to open right onto a 13-storey drop towards the ground.

On the front body of the tower, above the indoor show scenes below, bricks have been built up to give the effect of the crumbled tower, bashed and knocked into pieces to give a real impression of the “blast” of lightning. Eventually, these will be further enhanced with more paintwork and weathering – plus a heavy dose of black and purple soot and dirt. Notice also that the extended room below the brickwork now has a fully finished pueblo tiled roof!

Elsewhere, other parts of the Tower continue to grow. The front tower, with the lowest dome, is finally beginning to grow with a full steel frame and the first additions of final plaster and concrete, whilst the sides of the main tower are now being given their balconies. You couldn’t ask for a better view – though currently the floorless balconies wouldn’t give you much time to appreciate it…

Not everything is dark and scary though, the Studio Tram Tour side of the lobby building is still being given its first coat of yellow paint and, with all of its classic 1930s windows, still looks like a fairly respectible Hollywood location. Even La Terrasse is getting a Hollywood touch-up, finally receiving a fresh coast of white paint (on the right) to prepare it for its supporting role in the new Hollywood Boulevard project.

Finally, two more photos from just this week kindly sent in by Kevin, the same reader who provided us with a look at Lightning McQueen yesterday. As the unseasonal hot, sunny weather gives the perfect climate for our Californian hotel, more progress can be spotted across the building – particulatly with the separate, small tower at the front, which now has a full concrete/plaster shell over one side of its steel frame.

Putting a 183-ft Tower at the heart of the park covered in such high detail was a clever move on the Imagineers’ part – as guests wander around Walt Disney Studios now, they can’t help but almost constantly gaze upwards to the 13th floor. An exciting bit of distraction, until the rest of the park catches up…

And don’t forget, you can see even more of the Tower — including a full archive of over 240 photos from the first blow of the shovel to today — at Photos Magiques!

Friday, 4th May 2007

Avant-première(s) for Crush and Cars

…And this time, it really is being rolled out to us. Not only will the press come in smaller numbers (700 compared to 1700 for 31st March) and one week after the opening (16th June), but the organisers of the resort’s Shareholders Club and Annual Passport Dream privileges have finally mailed invites and organised events to celebrate the 15th.

First, the Shareholders Club. Announced via email, on the official website and now through a mailed invite (below), shareholders of Euro Disney SCA have the exclusive opportunity to ride Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally as many times as they wish between 12pm and 3pm on 2nd June 2007.

Places at the event are strictly limited to a first-come first-served basis, and you must apply online no later than 25th May 2007. Your Shareholders Club card must also have been valid at 1st May 2007.

Shareholders will be able to receive up to 2 free Passe-Partout park hopper tickets for the day and up to 4 wristbands to gain access to the attractions – meaning up to 3 friends or family can join you for the rush to Crush! In addition to Salon Mickey, the mezzanine of Restaurant En Coulisse will offer a similar service of complimentary refreshments from 9:30am to 11:30am.

More details can be seen in the flyer above, and don’t forget to register now if you’d like to attend!

Not a shareholder? Well, grab your Passeport Annuel Dream and you too can join the rush – a few hours earlier than those Shareholders, infact! By simply showing up at Walt Disney Studios Park and presenting your Annual Passport Dream, you can get exclusive access to the two new attractions at the following times:

Saturday 2nd June 2007 – 9am to 12pm
Sunday 3rd June 2007 – 4pm to 7pm
Wednesday 6th June 2007 – 10am to 12pm

Dream passholders can also invite one friend (with a valid park passport) to join them in the rush. As with the Shareholders event, the attractions can be closed at any time during these final test runs, to troubleshoot or tweak at the Imagineers’ discretion.

It’s important to note that, whilst all of these events are being labelled as “Avant-Première” previews, guests will by no means be the “first” to ride the two new attractions. Like all new Disney attractions, they will be opened to the public for select periods in the fortnight before their official opening to test the systems, train the Cast Members and respond to the guest reaction. These events simply help loyal guests get an extended preview before the “rush” truly begins.

The “Soft Openings” themselves are scheduled to run most days from the end of May to the 9th June grand opening, so Shareholder, Dream passholder or regular guest – the avant-premières will continue for some time, and the “red carpet” finally available for all.

Finally, impressive proof that the Red Carpet has returned after his success in early April. Making a dazzling comeback last night on French TV network M6 (think E4 if you’re in the UK), he flew through the sky once again before diving down into the depths of the ocean and spiralling around to help launch the first piece of advertising directly aimed at Crush’s Coaster and a competition to win your own avant-première visit.

You can download the brief TV spot (around 18 seconds) here, uploaded by Mouetto on Disney Central Plaza forum.

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