Monday, 2nd July 2007

Official 2008 15th Anniversary Brochure Preview

If you’re in the UK, the new brochure is available right now. If not, you’ve probably got a little bit longer to wait, so here’s you’re first look at the Autumn/Winter 2007/2008 15th Anniversary Brochure. Before we look inside, why not look back at the first anniversary brochure, so you can spot the change?

And what a change this is. Once again, a new brochure brings another brand new design both inside and out for the official brochure, which has now ditched the minimal, stylish cover used for the past 3 seasons in favour of a much lounder and more attention-grabbing design…

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Front Cover

The recognisable red carpet of classic characters from the advertising campaigns throughout the year has been reworked with a new Autumnal backdrop. There’s no mistake this is a Disneyland brochure — something that was maybe a bit harder to realise with the first 15th brochure and its golden “15” centrepiece.

The general page layout remains similar to the past two brochures – a fold-out first page, price guides within the book and two double-page spreads for each park. However, the actual design has been totally renewed throughout, and is generally more professional, simple and modern yet again, going back to the clean and clear 2006 versions rather than the flashier (and slightly messier, in retrospect) Spring/Summer 2007 edition. The message throughout is that time is running out, the celebration will only last until March 2008.

How better to make that message clear than with the White Rabbit?

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First Page, Closed

Fold the page out, and you’ll find the four birthday gifts they’re proudest of – Kids Under 7 Stay & Play Free, A New Parade, More Characters and — here’s the big one — Four New Attractions. How many of us could have ever imagined to see an advertisement like that in an official Disneyland Resort Paris brochure?

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First Page, Folded Out

This is also the very first introduction of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. They’re making no attempt to hide the size and impact of the attraction, the dazzling key visual we revealed one month ago is clearly the biggest on the page. After all, this really is “it” now — the culmination of their huge investment programme, the biggest single new attraction since Space Mountain. They really can’t mess this one up. The logo used is the one we’re all familiar with, but Disneyland Resort Paris have altered it slightly from California with a darker yellow colour and some Photoshop bevel & emboss.

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Contents / Experiences

Into the brochure itself, the Contents page is now as simple and clear as can be. Only six sections are listed, on a red page bordered with gold — a theme then carried through all the introduction pages in the brochure. Opposite, a fantastic photo of the main anniversary characters around a giant “15” symbol. You might have already seen this on those “interactive” billboards in Paris, now also a great way to open the brochure.

The next double page (for the resort’s various “Experiences”) introduces the standard page design of the brochure, quite different to the first 15th Anniversary edition. Lots of “whitespace” and simple, small text bordered by colourful photos. They’re even branching into new territory here with a greater focus on adults and seniors in the photos and a large paragraph titled “Just for grown-ups”, something many fans have suggested for years. You’ll see more additions like this through the rest of the pages…

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Parks Introduction

The parks introduction page again uses the Castle and Earful Tower together, that most favourite of mistakes for fans, but certainly looks much more inviting than the previous edition.

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Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park already unveiled all of its 15th Anniversary events back in April, but they’ve stuck with the illustrations and visuals to advertise them, placing Dreams of Imagination and Dreams of Fantasy on a red carpet. Even Disney Characters’ Express has made its way into a prominent place on the page, listed alongside Candleabration to hint that — since this brochure is valid from now until March — both of these features will indeed continue right through Halloween and Christmas. The second double-page is more standard, still with Buzz Lightyear in the spotlight and all the usual classic attractions.

Walt Disney Studios Park is the real star of this brochure, finally coming across as the kind of qualified second gate that will make guests decide to stay an extra night. Apparently, there’s some new attractions opening at the park, too…

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Walt Disney Studios Park (1)

One page, four new attractions. Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally are still featuring using their same old key visuals and Stitch Encounter (or rather ‘Stitch Interactive Attraction’ for now) is hidden away in there, but the star of this production is undoubtedly The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. A full page is dedicated to its fantastic key visual and reworked logo.

Remember when no-one thought Disneyland Resort Paris would use ‘The Twilight Zone’ aspect of its storyline at all? Well, now that the first piece of advertising is shouting out at us, it looks like they couldn’t be more proud of it. As with Crush and Cars, however, that recognisable brand comes at a price — they’re now required to print “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is inspired by The Twilight Zone, a registered trademark of CBS, Inc.” (CBS being the US television network which originally aired the series) on every page featuring the attraction.

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Walt Disney Studios Park (2)

Another thing they couldn’t be more proud of is the actual theme of Tower of Terror. Whilst Space Mountain: Mission 2 was marketed for its thrill alone, they’re already hyping the unique atmosphere and theming of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. The second key visual included is therefore… a bellhop. This brand new image, never before used for the Florida or California Towers, looks set to become very familiar over the next six months. Despite this renewed interest in good theming versus basic thrills, however, there’s no mention anywhere of either Toon Studio or the Hollywood Boulevard projects, which is a shame considering the effort (and money) put into them.

This second double page excitedly lists almost all the attractions at Walt Disney Studios Park — quite an impressive list these days — and also features a glimpse at the very first (and very understated) advertising for Stitch, an image from Hong Kong. What’s more interesting is the small sentence next to its listing in the attractions guide — “Stitch Interactive Attraction — the chance to interview Stitch live”, confirming that the story of the attraction will be a live interview with Stitch in outer space, and that the television studio theme is definitely staying.

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Seasons & Events

The Seasons & Events page doesn’t have much to reveal this year, as Halloween and Christmas take a backseat for the anniversary. Next to a nice new image of Stitch to advertise Halloween, we learn only that this October will bring “special shows and events” and “special make-up and hair ‘boo’-tiques”. Christmas is equally vague, but the prominent use of a photo featuring the Enchanted Fairytale “Chandeliers” raises the question if they can be used at the same time as Lumiere’s banners, and if indeed they will return this November…

St David’s Welsh Festival and St Patrick’s Day are also confirmed to return in 2008, following huge success earlier this year.

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Disney Village

‘Fun Beyond the Parks’ brings us four double-page spreads showcasing Disney Village, dining, recreation and the Paris region, the introduction page featuring a rather nice new photo of Disney Village itself. The next page, ‘Taste the magic’, features options such as character meals, Half Board, Christmas meals and the restaurant reservations hotline. The new Disney Princes & Princesses meals at Auberge du Cendrillon are given a strong push here.

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Spa, Sports & Relaxation

Following on that trend of more adult-orientated features, a new double-page now lists leisure and recreation across the resort with some modern and fresh photos — one in particular not what guests might expect from Disney. The new ‘Celestia Spa’ at Disneyland Hotel seems to be the focus here.

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Disney Hotels Introduction / Disney Hotels pages sample

The Disney Hotels pages are another big improvement over the previous edition of the official brochure, with a nicer introduction page and massively improved pages for each hotel. The design is now far more modern and fresh, with new photos, better information and more emphasis on the features only available at Disney Hotels, such as Extra Magic Hours. Continuing their new love of good theming, the first large bullet point on the “why stay at a Disney hotel?” page is now… “Disney theming”.

Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch gets its own double-page, before the pages shift suddenly into the slightly dull pages entitled “Other Accommodation” for the partner hotels.

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2008 Resort Map & Official Partners

The 2008 Resort Map will be a bit of a disappointment to perfectionists. Even though they’d finally managed a correct illustration of the esplanade and hub area for the 15 years development plan revealed in February, the map to be used for 2008 is the same as that for 2007, with Tower of Terror simply replacing Reign of Fire.

More interesting, though, are the “official partners” now featured in the corner of this page — the regulars are joined by Ford and Unilever, Nestlé has now completely gone and right in the middle… IBM. They’re still hanging on!

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Special Offers / Price Guide pages sample

The special offers page is also new and improved, the calendar of offers shown via a red carpet wrapping across the top of the page. The usual ‘Kids Free’ offer in the early months of each year is now known by the snappy title of ‘Kids Under 12 Stay, Play & Travel for Free’.

Price guide pages use better photos and are generally simplified yet again. New features include more emphasis on the special benefits at Disney Hotels and the various offers and options available with each booking — “Add Half Board Plus for £16”, for example, similar to the new booking system of the official website.

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Eurostar / Mickey’s Holiday Dinner Show

This being the UK brochure, there’s a lot of extra space devoted to travel and transport, in particular the direct Eurostar which moves to St Pancras International from 14th November and will then enjoy journey times of less than 3 hours from the heart of London to the gates of Disneyland. There’s also photos and details on the new entertainments and privileges introduced to make the direct Eurostar a little more “Disney”, such as a jazz band at London and better activity packs for kids.

Finally, amongst the three double pages of “magical options”, one change stands out — it appears that the Christmas dinner show at Disney’s Newport Bay Club, formerly titled The Magical World of Tinker Bell, will change its name this year to ‘Mickey’s Holiday Dinner Show’. The vague description mentions “music and dance” with “Disney friends”, hinting perhaps that the only change may be the name.

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Back Cover

And there we have it, the second and final Official 15th Anniversary Brochure!

The world outside the gates of Disneyland now knows that Tower of Terror is on its way to Paris in just six months, that ‘Stitch Interactive Attraction’ will bring the new attraction total at Walt Disney Studios to four, and that — quite simply — this is one year at Disneyland nobody should miss.

All images scanned by DLRP Today, brochure © Disney.

Sunday, 1st July 2007

Disney Wish Lounge opens for easier dreams

The ‘Disney Wish Lounge’ concept was first introduced at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom earlier this year, inaugurated on 26th January 2007 during the resort’s annual “What’s New, What’s Next” press conference event and located between the park’s Baby Care Centre and Casey’s Corner.

At Disneyland Resort Paris, the concept remains much the same, with the Disney Wish Lounge of Marne-la-Vallée positioned between Discovery Arcade and Plaza Gardens Restaurant, next to the park’s Baby Care Centre and First Aid services. Whilst the journey back to your hotel in Paris is nowhere near the epic journey that can be found at Walt Disney World, the lounge will be a convenient, warmly welcomed place to rest and relax for thousands of children on the Disney Wish Program, a symbol of the resort’s dedication to their most special of dreamers.

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Arnaud Gayet / Karl L. Holz / Wendy Courquet cuts the ribbon

Like its Orlando counterpart, the lounge’s interior decoration is based on Disney’s Aladdin, including a real magic lamp! Comfortable seating, a large television, refreshments and Guest Services Cast Members are all on hand for visiting guests throughout the day.

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15th Anniversary band plays as ribbons fly / Official inauguration photo

Euro Disney Associés SCA has published several press releases about the lounge and their charity commitments:

Disneyland Resort Paris confirms its commitment to the ‘Disney Wish Program’ with the inauguration of the new ‘Disney Wish Lounge’

Marne-la-Vallée, June 16, 2007 … Accompanied by many guests, Karl L. Holz, Chairman and C.E.O. of Euro Disney S.A.S. inaugurated today the ‘Disney Wish Lounge’. Located in the heart of Disneyland Resort Paris, the ‘Disney Wish Lounge’ is open to children participating in the ‘Disney Wish Program’ and their families, so that they can rest and relax without having to go back to their hotel.

Disney Supports 15 Charitable Organisations in Europe with Surprise Donation of €600,000

Marne-la-Vallée, June 23, 2007 … The Walt Disney Company surprised 15 European charities yesterday with donations totalling €600,000. The gift was presented to charitable organisations that have participated in the Disney Wish Programme from its outset, and make dreams come true for children with life-threatening diseases.

As part of Disneyland Resort Paris’ 15th anniversary celebration, representatives of the 15 organisations will meet with 15 young adults who were granted wishes when they were children.

The 15 associations honoured are:
France: Petits Princes, Rêves, Make-A-Wish France, L’Envol
UK: Make-A-Wish UK, Round Table Children’s Wish Foundation, Christian Lewis Trust
Ireland: Make-A-Wish Ireland
Belgium: Make-A-Wish Belgium Flanders, Make-A-Wish Belgium South
Spain: Ilusiones
Italy: Make-A-Wish Italy
Germany: Herzenswunsche, Kindertraüme
Netherlands: Make-A-Wish Holland

The Disney Wish Programme

Created in 1992, the Wish Programme continues Walt Disney’s tradition of supporting children’s programmes. Every year, Disneyland Resort Paris’ Community Relations department collaborates with 60 charitable organisations to grant wishes to children with life-threatening conditions between the ages of 3 and 18. Since its launch, the programme has made more than 7,000 dreams come true at Disneyland Resort Paris.

Unparalleled storytelling, colourful Disney Characters, unforgettable parades and shows … the world of Disney is built around dreams, which make it their favourite place for many children. One third of children participating in wish programmes have the same dream: to visit Disneyland.

When wishes are granted, children and their families are given star treatment at the park: an all-inclusive stay at a Disney Hotel, free park tickets, VIP access to all attractions, gifts, priviledged meetings with Disney Characters. Children and their families leave with a treasure trove of shared memories of joy and hope.

Inauguration photos by Photos Magiques, with one © Disney.

Sunday, 1st July 2007

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly at Disney Village

As we’ve watched the Village change its colours over the past couple of years, removing pillars and the “starry sky”, adding garish colours and poorly designed signs, there’s no doubt the thought that has always been at the back of our minds – “It’s ok. It’s only temporary. Once Tower of Terror is complete, Disney Village will be next on the agenda.”

But what then? Sure, we might finally get a brand new ‘World of Disney’ Store, but in the old part of town, will all this work be replaced again? They’ll have another go, but with a bigger budget? When you stop to think about it, the future for the current street — unless they do something seriously drastic when they start to expand — doesn’t look that good after all. Nor does the present…

DLRP Today is a happy place, let’s not forget that. We’ve had complaints, we’ve had moans, we’ve had could-have-been-done-betters, but, of 300+ articles, very few contain anything remotely negative about Disneyland Resort Paris. In that spirit, let’s start with a few kind words before the real disappointment begins…

The GOOD

Now, it’s quite unfair to entirely blame the current team on the state of Disney Village. The blame really has to go back to the original lead architect – Frank Gehry – or better still the person who comissioned the entire project – Michael Eisner. It’s no secret Eisner wanted Disney to become reknowned for world-class modern architecture as well as world-class theme park design. Whilst he may have given us the most stunning Magic Kingdom, he also gave us the most stunning mess right outside its gates.

Frank Gehry’s minimalist, geometric styles are all well and good – but at Disneyland? Even upon opening, the effect of this rather clever, giant “outdoor warehouse” with its pillars and “roof” of lights was ruined by the necessary signage for Disney’s stores and restaurants. Minimalism needs to be minimalism, not minimalism-with-a-giant-‘STEAKHOUSE’-sign-stuck-on-top. It’s simply impossible for a place like Disneyland to use this type of architecture.

Recently, they’ve added even more to the blank, uninspiring buildings in an attempt to “soften” the atmosphere, such as the rather nice stencil lettering and blocks of colour across the front of Billy Bob’s Country Western Saloon. Already one of the better-looking locations in the Village, the bar/restaurant and its adjoining Steakhouse have now been de-minimalised further with large boards wrapped around the top of their facades, finally giving them the look of real buildings, rather than overstated portakabins.

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With the boards also wrapping around the top of The Steakhouse, which still has a fairly empty front, could a final stage in the makeover see some extra decorations here?

The first refurbishments to the work carried out back in 2005 are also happening, such as the much-needed repainting of the dark red pillar bases.

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Even from a distance, the new, completed facade of the Disney Store is colourful, attention-grabbing and unmistakably “Disney”. With the balloons applied on top, the Village can now look colourful and welcoming even during the day… That said, whoever thought a red and white tape to cordon off the platform on the left would be OK needs to remember this is meant to be Disneyland, and not some war-torn country.

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Hurricanes has some rather nifty new projections across itself, and another new kiosk has popped up over by Disney’s Hotel New York to advertise the Marriot Ile-de-France vacation club. Simple, stylish and with an understated Disney touch – we need more like this, please!

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Ironically, it’s placed next to possibly the worst, ugliest, tackiest, (etc), feature in the entire resort – that New York “driving school” which continues to ruin the grounds of Hotel New York. Would the resort really not survive without this feature, would they have to close because they need the profit so much? No. So why, oh why, is it there?

The BAD

We’re definitely onto “the bad” now. You know, in almost an entire year of DLRP Today being online, we’ve rarely added any opinion or comment to our news reports about Disneyland Resort Paris. But when you see things like the “new” Disney Store facade, you just feel like screaming.

First and last impressions are always the ones people remember. With its location right at the heart of the resort, Disney Village is both the first location guests explore upon arriving and the last place they visit before leaving. Oh dear… Sure, there’s the excuse that all of the resort’s money is being pumped into the two parks right now, but that’s no excuse for awful design, especially when they clearly do have money to spend on Disney Village, and have in fact spent it on the following…

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The odd, 2D signage, apparently in the style of a child’s colouring book, looks even more bizarre when you take a closer look at the characters. It’s almost as if you’re hallucinating.

I’m sorry, you’re not.

The UGLY

And it gets worse. On the entrance of the Disney Store facing the Sports Bar, the cute “Mount Disney Store” decoration, featuring the heads of Donald, Mickey and Goofy rather than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, has just been given an extra-special coat of paint…

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So what was once a fun salute to one of America’s greatest landmarks now becomes something that makes you feel like you just stepped through the gates of that fake Disneyland in Beijing. They could have taken this “American landmarks” theme and ran with it – Minnie Mouse as the Statue of Liberty, Daisy Duck in Hollywood… but no, that might be too boring. That wouldn’t look anywhere near enough like a rip-off market stall at all, it’d never work.

Come to think of it, Mount Rushmore is pretty boring isn’t it? It’s just a load of pale, grey rock. They really ought to follow the lead of Disney Village and get painting some bright primary colours across the faces of those dull presidents.

If they’re so intent on refurbishing Disney Village to a tight budget, a good place to start tightening the purse strings might have been shrinking the size of Donald and Mickey’s pupils, don’t you think?

Disney Village… will you ever be a worthy hub for Disneyland Resort Paris?

All photos by Photos Magiques.

Saturday, 30th June 2007

Fresh paint bonanza for Frontierland

We watched as Big Thunder Mountain regained its ochre glow, lost its ugly green moss and had colour brought back to its buildings in a 2-month refurbishment last Autumn. We saw Fuente del Oro dazzle once again in its South-of-the-border colours, new paint details and harvest props. Frontierland Depot was restored to life inside and out, the Boot Hill paths were completely rebuilt and, of course, Molly Brown returned to the Rivers of the Far West looking more “unsinkable” than ever before…

Has Diamond Lil’ found another lucky nugget? It looks like the town of Thunder Mesa and its lazy farm ranch have struck another Gold Rush with all these refurbishments. Even at the relaxed meadows of Cottonwood Creek Ranch, they’ve been busy treating the wood of Cowboy Cookout Barbeque and returning its bright red overcoat. How many people even knew Cowboy Cookout was meant to be this colour?

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The ranch windmill also recently returned to the paddocks in front of The Chaparral Theater, with the barns and ranch buildings across from it looking brighter than ever. Compare the first photo below (taken April 2007) to the second (taken 26th June 2007 by Joel).

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With all the wood treatments and repainting, they’ve still been sure to keep all the old details, such as the Cottonwood Creek horseshoe symbols, and even add a few we’ve not seen for years – such as the bale of hay hung out the top of the barn. The ‘Cowboy Cookout Barbeque’ sign itself is away being fully refurbished, replaced with a smaller, temporary sign for now.

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It’s no secret that the buildings along Thunder Mesa Road had seen better days recently. From Tobias Norton & Sons and Bonanza Outfitters across to The Lucky Nugget Saloon and Silver Spur Steakhouse, the entire town was beginning to resemble more the ghosttown of Phantom Manor’s final scene rather than the prosperous settlement which had gold to its name.

As the buildings now finally receive their well-deserved repaint and care, the removal of signage and other details in preparation reveals a little just how downhill this ghost-town went in the early 2000s…

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Thank the Lucky Nugget, that’s all about to change, partner! The rotting Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building beside Fort Comstock is getting a heavy dose of care as we speak…

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As for the heart of the town itself, The Lucky Nugget Saloon is glistening brighter than it has done for years. When the first coat of paint appeared almost two months ago, it was quite a shock – should it be that bright?

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Yee-ha, yes it should! The difference between old and new is startling. The final cracks and rotting corners from the Jay Rasulo age are finally being painted over, the unique paint details which had become barely noticeable (such as The Lucky Nugget’s talent scouting advertisements), returned to their former, very colourful selves…

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With Molly Brown back on the rivers, Cottonwood Creek Ranch in full colour, Thunder Mesa shining brighter than a golden nugget and – as if we could forget – the River Rogue Keelboats due to be plying the rivers in less than one week… Frontierland is gonna’ have the rootinest, tootinest Summer ever!

The Gold Rush has come again!

Photos by Joel’s Photo Hunt and Photos Magiques.

Friday, 29th June 2007

Disney Village to host European Festival of Martial Arts 2008

The new event will see martial arts teams, clubs and organisations descend on the resort from 26th to 28th September 2008, competing in special tournaments inside the Disney’s Hotel New York convention centre and joining in streetmosphere at Disney Village that will include entertainers, market stalls, themed restaurants, demonstrations, lion dance and live video feeds from the ongoing tournaments.

The Disney Village and Lake Disney area of Disneyland Resort Paris has built quite a name for itself over the years hosting seasonal and sporting events,which have ranged from the recent “Tropical Festival” and annual “Country Western Festival” to major sporting occasions such as an X-Games tournament and the annual Xtra Jet jet ski competition. Announced well over one year in advance, this upcoming event shows the amount of time and planning which goes into each of these seasonal events, always a good boost for the resort – and particularly its hotels.

One of the organisers of the event has kindly contacted us with information and a brochure (aimed at clubs who might wish to take part), which can be seen below. Long-time fans might notice the recycling of various graphics and photos from Disneyland Park‘s old Mulan – The Legend show, as well as the Disney Village Chinese New Year events – could some of the props from these events also reappear?

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The Times Square ballroom of Disney’s Hotel New York will host the main tournaments, “transformed into a warriors’ arena with fully matted competition, seminar areas and tiered spectator seating”. Competitions will culimate in a grand final at the Disney Village Dome. The event claims it will welcome everyone “no matter what age or level you’re at”, and allow competitors in a wide range of areas, such as Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, BJJ, Kickboxing or Capoeira.

With promises that the organisers will be “turning Disney Village into an oriental-themed festival”, it seems that – for those of us without a black belt – this future event will also offer more than just sporting matches.

Brochure images © Disney / EFMA2008. See the official website here.

Friday, 29th June 2007

Coca-Cola unlocks ‘Le Comptoir du Capitaine’

The newly themed and named location, situated at a heavily congested spot of the park between Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan’s Flight, features an endless array of pirate props, Disney details and subtle Coca-Cola references. Everything from barrels of the famous soft drink to pirates’ tankards hung on the walls and a giant sail in the colours of red and white.

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Coca-Cola have already become a very noticable brand in Disneyland Park recently thanks to its investments elsewhere – the Cool Post in the African section of Adventureland several years ago, the neon-lit Cool Station in Discoveryland, the impeccably-themed L’Arbre Enchanté in Fantasyland and even the highly authentic Coca-Cola delivery truck for Main Street USA.

What sets this location apart? It was already there, and already doing fantastic business. Passing through this crowded pathway from the Fantasyland/Adventureland border to Pirates of the Caribbean, the queue for the hot dog and refreshments kiosk frequently tailed off toward the attraction itself.

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So, whilst the Cool Station, L’Arbre Enchanté and Main Street Delivery Truck all tap into a brand new (and now already very successful) market, this one has already been raking in the gold for Coca Cola’s drinks for many years as a simple, unthemed food kiosk. Which, after only a quick glance at the amazing detail here, makes the transformation even more impressive.

The location now also has its own name for the first time – ‘Le Comptoir du Capitaine‘, translating roughly as “The Captain’s Trading Post/Bar”.

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Not only does the location feature hidden Mickeys and countless Coca-Cola bottles, but you might even spot a few details from the movie trilogy in there – such as E.I.C. (East India Trading Company) branding on several bottles, edging the nearby attraction ever closer to its big-screen counterparts. The only detail surprisingly missing from the location is the classic line “Drink up me hearties, yo ho!”, which has never had a more perfect time for its use…

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A simple food kiosk themed to this quality would be hard to spot at the US Disney parks or even Tokyo – the same standard of immersive themeing and storytelling which made the original 1992 park so congratulated now appears to be spreading and seeping further and further into the general fabric of the lands. With the resort’s management on a keen mission to continually drive up guest satisfaction and that quality Disney “edge” you won’t find anywhere else in Europe, it looks like they unlocked a real treasure chest with Coca Cola’s more active investment recently.

The only place still lacking this new themeing touch (other than Frontierland, which is already quite well served for food), would be Walt Disney Studios Park. With La Terrasse retaining its place as a refreshments courtyard once the Hollywood Boulevard project is complete, could Coca-Cola’s money next spill over into a new food retail location that isn’t a Studio Catering Co. van?

All photos by Joel’s Photo Hunt.

Tuesday, 26th June 2007

Incident at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

The thoughts and sympathies of ourselves along with all Disney fans and theme park visitors will be with the family and friends of the teenager today, along with the Cast Members attending the attraction during this unfortunate event.

The news has been reported this morning on several French television and news networks, with BBC News Online providing the following brief report:

Teenager dies at Disneyland Paris

French police are investigating the mysterious death of a 14-year-old girl who lost consciousness while riding on a roller coaster at Disneyland Paris.

The Spanish teenager’s friends noticed she was unconscious when the RockNRoller Coaster ride had stopped. Medical teams at the theme park tried to revive her but by the time an ambulance arrived, the girl had died.

A preliminary inspection of the roller coaster found no machinery malfunction, but the ride remains closed. Disneyland spokesman Pieter Boterman said the ride would not reopen until the cause of the girl’s death was determined.

The ride is at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallee, east of the French capital.

A postmortem is being held today to determine the exact cause of death. As reported, an inspection of the roller coaster yesterday found no faults or malfunctions. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster remains one of the most intense of all Disney’s attractions at its five themed resorts, pulling up to 5Gs of force through its 1037 metre layout and 3 inversions.

The attraction first opened at Disney-MGM Studios Florida (Walt Disney World) in July 1999 and this near-identical design at Walt Disney Studios Park (Paris) in March 2002, featuring a duplicated ride layout with an alternate theme applied on top. It is not known if any action will be taken at Walt Disney World today following this news. Followers of Disney park news worldwide may recall similar events at Walt Disney World itself, where rides have triggered medical problems in at least two guests – the most related, a 12 year old boy almost one year ago.

Whilst no ramifications could possibly outweigh the tragedy of this event itself, from an operational point of view it comes at an unfortunate time for the park and resort, in the middle of its 15th Anniversary Celebration and currently welcoming more guests than ever through the gates of Walt Disney Studios Park following the opening of its two new attractions. What could be considered the “sister” attraction of Rock ‘n’ Roller CoasterSpace Mountain: Mission 2 at Disneyland Park – is also currently closed for a brief period during the routine bi-annual replacement of its launch cables.

We’ll bring you more updates on this story as soon as any news breaks.

Sunday, 24th June 2007

Return of the unsinkable Molly Brown!

Her return may be a little later than expected (original refurbishment schedules stated she would be finished by the end of April), but… here she is!

A sight many people worried would never be seen again, the park’s unique side-wheeler riverboat – like none at any other Disney park – has begun cruising the Rivers of the Far West once more! And, with gleaming new paintwork and a full refurbishment and refit inside and out across the entire ship, she’s now looking more unsinkable than ever before.

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With her return to the waters, the Molly Brown’s partner at Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing – the Mark Twain – has now rested into the service dock for a well-earned rest and another full refurbishment, cleaning up and repainting the ship which has taken over service on his own for more than a year.

The full refurbishment comes after a serious incident on-board the ship during March 2005 in which her engine overheated, causing considerable smoke damage to much of the ship’s funnel area and rendering her immobile at the far end of the Rivers of the Far West. Guests had to be ferried ashore using the Raccoon and Coyote River Rogue Keelboats, with the “unsinkable” ship then laying dormant in the river until September of that year, when the Mark Twain’s dry dock refurbishment was completed and the ships could exchange places.

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The Mark Twain didn’t resume even a limited service until early 2006, and the Molly Brown’s own refurbishment was not begun until as late as September 2006. We wrote an article at the time dicussing the appeal from a work union at the resort to fix the ship – and how they appeared to be unaware that the ship was already pencilled in for its epic refurbishment to begin on 4th September and last until 27th April 2007!

Now, the Molly Brown has returned brighter than ever, the Mark Twain is about to be given another well-earned refurbishment and – thanks to their heroic “rescue” of guests during the incident itself, the River Rogue Keelboats are even due to return in under two weeks from now. In her own way, the unsinkable Molly Brown has absolutely guaranteed that the river traffic of Frontierland will never be sunk.

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more at their latest update here.

Saturday, 23rd June 2007

Crush’s Coaster – The Official Ride Video

This special official footage has been prepared by the resort for posting on their Disneyland15.com Official Anniversary Blog. An article featuring the video was originally posted last week, though disappeared soon after following technical problems with the video. The video has now “resurfaced” and gives a (you guessed it) turtally unique view of the very first thrill ride based on any Pixar movie, anywhere – Crush’s Coaster. This will also be the footage we’ll see for years to come, whenever the attraction is featured in motion…

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The footage is presented fairly “raw” – simply the resort’s new official footage of the new Walt Disney Studios Park attraction with some sound clips from the Toon Studio press kit over the top. The music is therefore rights-free, created for any press use on television, and not the music heard at the attraction itself – which is based on the film’s original score.

For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to take a dive on Crush’s Coaster yet, the video gives an excellent view of how the Walt Disney Imagineering-developed digital projection technology blends seamlessly with the coral reef and rocks surrounding the two identical projections – Nemo and Squirt appear completely believable, floating in the water-less undersea dark ride. The dazzling jellyfish are also shown, however the video footage available so far fails to feature either the Angler Fish or any of Bruce’s submarine attack.

As you will have noticed, the footage of the ‘EAC’ roller coaster segment is not taken directly from the ride itself, but created using one of the real ride vehicles against greenscreen – with some humorous faces from the actors on-board as they attempt to act out the ride. This version of the footage made available to the public doesn’t show the spinning effect, nor the true intensity of the ride, but allows us to see a very professional piece of promotional footage that will no-doubt be well-used long into the future with added voice-overs, etc in places such as the resort’s Disney Hotels information tv channel.

For fans, there’s no doubt it brings back fond memories of the 1995 Space Mountain footage, where the Disneyland Park roller coaster’s trains were shown flying through a virtual space, rather than the true ride.

Video footage © Disney.

Saturday, 23rd June 2007

Brickwall on the Boulevard, Gone Hollywood gone vertical

Brickwalls & Billboards on the Boulevard

The biggest news is again focused on the square, domed tower on the far left of the development. Last seen as large, bare steel frame, the framework soon took on even more verticle metal pieces, providing a strong and perfectly moulded skeleton to hold the themeing to be added on top.

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Bigger news for the project came mid-week, with the first appearance of something other than a metal frame for the series of façades – a wall! In reality, it’s not a “brickwall” at all, but simply a covering to package up the metal frame and allow the real themeing to be “stuck” on top.

Dingo 06 on DisneyMagicInteractive.com forum photographed the construction workers gradually moving up the left side of the tower and adding large, thin grey pieces to its side:

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Later, Joel photographed work as it reached the top of the tower, with this picture (below left) showing just how thin the wall actually is. With much of the designs of each building already showing in the metal frames, it’s clear now that the covering they receive on top will be purely themeing, and these won’t be buildings in the sense of Studio 5 or Tower of Terror with thick concrete walls. Their construction is therefore very similar to the lowest dome on Tower of Terror (seen top left), which was constructed as a steel frame with the same maze of verticle “ribs”, before quickly having its themeing stuck on top.

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As for the billboards – this popular feature seen particularly in the Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard streets of Disney-MGM Studios is now certain to arrive on our own street. Atop the third floor of the building directly in front of the Tower, the main frame for a traditional Hollywood billboard can already be seen, built into the movie set façade below.

Gone Hollywood gone vertical

More big news came from just across the future Boulevard little over a week ago, as a second section of the street finally went vertical. As mentioned in many previous articles, this has been rumoured to be a reproduction of the ‘Gone Hollywood’ store’s façade from Disney’s Calfifornia Adventure (DCA). Compare the framework to the finished article and there certainly is a resemblance…

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Notice that, should the chosen theme indeed be Gone Hollywood, our façade will be slightly smaller in length than that in California, with only one window on the Disney Bros Plaza side of its ‘Gone Hollywood’ sign and three on the other, compared with three either side at DCA.

With this frame in place, there remains much more still to come – expected to be the Hollywood ‘First National Bank’ and the ‘Broadway Building’ of the real-life Hollywood & Vine junction, along with the Hollywood hills backdrop itself, in front of the Studio Tram Tour station.

La Vieille Terrasse ?

Finally, the unexpected performance of the production from a real old-timer of the Walt Disney Studios – La Terrasse. Repainted completely in white just a few weeks ago, the concrete terrace has just last weekend been transformed with what appears to be a brand new coat of yellow dirt, grime and weathering on top, ageing it into the same timeframe as The Hollywood Tower Hotel behind.

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It already has the ‘HTH’ symbol since its 2002 construction (albeit not recoloured yet), so it seems La Terrasse will still, in some way, be connected to the Hollywood Tower as well as the Hollywood Boulevard developments which have grown up around the deserted hotel. Can we expect it to become some kind of outside seating and garden area of the former hotel – a true “La Terrasse” built for the hotel’s wealthy guests to enjoy sun-drenched cocktails across from the hotel?

Just imagine – on a summers day next year, brand new guests might be able to enjoy a drink on the same spot, with only distant screams from 13 floors above to darken the sunny spirits…

Photos by Photos Magiques, Dingo 06 on DisneyMagicInteractive.com forum and Joel.

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