What's New, What's Next at Disneyland® Paris

Disneyland Paris certainly knows how to win over the hearts of its character fans. Along with the usual special meet ‘n’ greets for Valentine’s Day on 14th February, this Thursday will also see a special mini event on the parade route featuring “The Aristocats” characters. Programmed for three performances in the afternoon — at 14:35, 15:35 and 16:30 — it will be a very rare chance to see the Parisian characters in their home park.

In fact, only Marie (pictured above) is known to us to make regular appearances at Disney Parks, so will she be the lone Aristocat in the cavalcade?

According to Disneyland Paris – Fans on Facebook, the 2013 date will also give the chance to meet Disney “couples” together such as Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy, Woody & Jessie, Stitch & Angel and Peter Pan & Wendy, along with rarer characters Phoebus & Esmeralda from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and Bernard & Bianca from “The Rescuers”.

A limited edition (ex. 600) pin featuring Lady & the Tramp was already released last Saturday, 9th February 2013, for the occasion.

Update: @InsideDLParis reports on Twitter that Marie will be joined by fellow kittens Berlioz and Toulouse, making for their first ever character appearance in any Disney Park.

VIA Disneyland Paris Programme, PHOTO Loren Javier (Flickr)

There will be more than just two new scenes to light up Disney Dreams! on its first anniversary this year: you too can “glow with the show” as the illuminated Mickey Mouse ears first introduced for World of Color at Disney California Adventure will come to Disneyland Paris, the resort has confirmed.

Named “Glow with the Show Ears” in California, they’ll be known instead by a new name in Europe: Disney Light’Ears. Once activated and placed on your head (or anywhere!) within the spectacle’s viewing area, they light up and change colour in sync with the show itself.

This is an optional, paid add-on, of course — in California the ears were priced at $25 for launch and, though no price has been publicly announced, reports from research questionnaires carried out in Paris suggest they could be looking at a €25 price point to own a pair over here. For added value, California later activated the ears for use during Fantasmic! at its own Disneyland Park, as well as controlling them to light up in certain areas such as inside the new Cars Land.

Battery powered, the hats are controlled by infra red signals from emitters placed around the audience area. For World of Color, this comprises around 40 “zones” which can each be sent a different command to illuminate and change the colour of the ears.

Unlike in Disney’s home state, Mickey ear hats have never particularly taken off at Disneyland Paris — you’re more likely to see a sorcerer’s apprentice, a Goofy or at most a Minnie Mouse bow. Could Disney Light’Ears be the spark to finally bring popularity to this classic park merchandise item in Paris? Would you pay to own a pair yourself, and do you think they’ll really add to the experience of Disney Dreams! or just be a distraction from the show itself?

It’s fair to say at least that, for such a high-rating signature attraction, Disney Dreams! needs more supporting merchandise, so this can only be a positive step in that direction. The ears were also only debuted in California last August, so the stated “Summer 2013″ makes for an unusually speedy rollout to Paris — now only the second Disney resort in the world to have them.

Now watch “Glow with the Show” in action at Disneyland Resort, California… CONTINUE READING…

VIA Disneyland Paris Press, Disney Parks Blog, Disney Parks (YouTube)

Hurry, you’ve not got long left to see Disney Dreams! — the original show that is. Disneyland Paris has now confirmed that the show will be updated for its first anniversary with two brand new scenes based on the Pixar film “Brave” and classic Disney animation “The Lion King”. The new segments are believed to be replacing the original “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book” numbers respectively, so you’ve only until around the end of March to sing along with “Step In Time” and “I Wan’na Be Like You” in person as fountains and projections fill the air. However the rest of the scenes — certainly the Peter Pan-themed “bookends” which tie together the various segments — are expected to remain the same.

Further information came to light today when it was revealed that the song featured from The Lion King will be “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”, certainly an ideal choice to replace the similar earlier Jungle Book hit. Six young finalists from the Dutch TV talent show The Voice Kids were given the chance to record it exclusively for the show at Abbey Road Studios in London (pictured below), where this time last year the entire Disney Dreams! soundtrack was recorded by Joel McNeely.

Meanwhile the Brave segment will be the first for a single film that isn’t a musical. A short Ratatouille scene was included in the original show, but is really little more than a transition.

Steve Davison, who masterminded the show, was at Disneyland Paris along with Chuck Davis, Senior Technical Director, during the heavy snowfall last month, making it a strong possibility they were working on the new scenes.

Premiering on 31st March 2012 to worldwide acclaim, Disney Dreams! has scored an impressive 93% guest satisfaction rating and is now confirmed to be continuing daily at Disneyland Park until at least the end of September 2013, when the extended 20th Anniversary celebrations close.

Update: InsideDLParis reports The Lion King scene will come first in the show and be made up of three songs — “Circle of Life”, “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” and “Hakuna Matata” — while the Brave scene will utilise two parts of the film’s score by Patrick Doyle — “Remember to Smile” and “Fate and Destiny” — along with “Touch the Sky”, the original song by Julie Fowlis. It’s likely the scenes will officially premiere on 1st April 2013 but may be introduced shortly before then as a “soft opening.”

• Watch our 4 different complete videos of the original Disney Dreams! here

• Watch the scenes rumoured to be replaced: “Mary Poppins” and “I Wanna Be Like You”

VIA Disneyland Paris Press, @HyperionPilot, @DisneylandNL, @Jorienvh_

Congratulations — if you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the 85% of Disneyland Paris fans who visit fansites at least once a week. Let’s hope you’re not also one of the unfortunate 8% of fans who have never actually visited the resort. There, just two of the many intriguing statistics recently dug out in a huge “infographic” of 7,760 responses to the official Disneyland Paris Fan Survey we were asked to help promote last year.

The full infographic is included below. Revealing that fans who responded visit Disneyland Paris on average 10 times a year, 71% are between 18 and 34 years old and 59% (versus 41%) are male, the results of the online survey also reveal what fans themselves want from Disneyland Paris and its communication with us. The official Facebook, YouTube and Twitter streams are given a perhaps surprisingly resounding thumbs up — 87% satisfied with the official Facebook page, 83% with Twitter — while a slightly lower 79% are satisfied with merchandise opportunities.

Though the simpler tickbox answers have generated some nice stats for this infographic, the more interesting text-based answers are what we hope the resort listens and learns from. Most fans, as well as desiring special treatment from the resort, also want to see it succeed and improve in itself. After all, the more successful Disneyland Paris is, and the more people who understand the “magic” of the place, the more confident we’ll feel in our own position as fans.

The suggestion of an official blog for news and backstage insights is still a great one, and probably brought up as much from our desire to read it as our belief that — like the excellent US Disney Parks Blog — it would help in the resort’s promotion and communication with the wider public.

Likewise merchandise, which it’s noted fans want to see more “geared to the resort experience” (ie. based around lands and attractions, rather than generic characters) — we want better merchandise so we can more happily part with our cash and support something dear to our hearts. Rather than improving for us, fans mostly want Disneyland Paris to improve for itself first.

Full infographic attached below… CONTINUE READING…

VIA Disneyland Paris (Original File)

Farewell, Rémy and Emile! Only a year ago it was a cleared parcel of earth at the back of Walt Disney Studios Park, today it’s an enormous shell of a showbuilding to envy the “it’s a small worlds” of the Disney Park world. Work on the Ratatouille dark ride celebrated another milestone last week as the two towering cranes we nicknamed Rémy and Emile were gradually taken apart and removed from the site and construction entered a new phase.

New photos were shared by @InsideDLParis over the weekend and our friends at Photos Magiques earlier posted a nice high-resolution zoomable image from their January trip.

However, as we return from an all-too-long hiatus (apologies — blame moving house, moving computer, playful spooks and all that), let’s first jump back to share some photos from our trip in December 2012. Keen-eyed Rémy fans will be able to spot many further changes in the past eight weeks, but for those who haven’t been watching and for the sake of history it seems a shame not to pin these onto the construction timeline before moving onto current developments, so here we go…

Rumoured to have the working title Ratatouille Kitchen Calamity, this major new “dark ride” is due to open in 2014 at the back of Toon Studio in Walt Disney Studios Park, next to Toy Story Playland and the backstage ‘Imaginations’ Cast Member building. Construction has required felling a large number of trees and moving the resort’s costuming workshop.

Also including a new restaurant integrated into the attraction, toilets and a Fastpass system, the development is costing up to €150 million. The ride itself has been rumoured to utilise everything from “trackless” ride vehicles to giant 3D projection screens in order to simulate a chase through the kitchens of a Parisian restaurant.

The exterior will be themed to a real Parisian square, complete with fountain.

Follow @DLRPToday on Twitter or ‘Like’ our Facebook Page to follow developments through 2013!

It’s not the rumoured share buyout, but it’s big: Euro Disney S.C.A., operating group of Disneyland Paris, tonight announced that a huge €1.3 billion of its epic debt pile will be refinanced by The Walt Disney Company itself, taking over from the banks which have stunted the resort’s growth. Given a longer lending term, less restrictive financial commitments and reduced interest payments, Disneyland Paris will be free to invest more in long-term growth and enjoy greater operational flexibility.

Rumours on the pages of TIME Business first suggested in August that The Walt Disney Company could be considering a complete buyout of the Euro Disney group, of which it currently owns just under 40%. Today’s deal is a different prospect entirely yet could still be one of the defining moments in the resort’s history. Saddled with debt since opening in 1992, Disneyland Paris has struggled to expand enough to fuel growth while keeping up debt and interest repayments. For The Walt Disney Company, this has left a hole in its finances where royalties from the European resort, frequently waived due to lack of funds, should have flowed in.

By effectively becoming Euro Disney’s primary lender, Disney will take on the financing of a vast pile of debt but will now be able to set more manageable terms for repayment, finally easing the resort’s cashflow into a timeline that can hopefully allow for real growth alongside repayments. That means the resort could more easily gather the funds, for example, to see Walt Disney Studios Park reach its potential as a true second gate, or expand its hotels to reap revenues from now-booming demand.

Today, the Supervisory Board of Euro Disney Associés S.C.A. met to approve the deal, which is expected to be completed on 27th September 2012, just in time for the end of the company’s financial year. The maturity date of the debt will be extended to 2030, while interest payments will be reduced by €45 million over the next five years alone. €217 million principal debt will be repaid over that period, allowing for €225 million in additional cash flow. Now enough for a Disney California Adventure-style expansion blowout, but enough to make a difference to the operation and expansion of the resort.

The Walt Disney Company’s royalty agreement with the group will remain the same under the deal, which will incur some €30 million in financial charges. As of 30th September 2012, the Euro Disney group will have a total debt mountain of €1.71 billion.

“This refinancing will enable us to reduce our financing costs and give us greater investment and operational flexibility. This is a key step in the development of our Resort that we pursue for the benefit for all of our stakeholders. I strongly believe this will be highly beneficial to the Company, its cast members and shareholders.”, commented Philippe Gas, Chief Executive Officer of Euro Disney S.A.S.

Philippe Gas added: “The Walt Disney Company, with this transaction, reaffirms its continued confidence in Disneyland Paris which has successfully become, over the past 20 years, the number one tourist destination in Europe, a growth driver of French tourism and an important ambassador of the Disney brand across Europe.”

VIA Disneyland Paris Corporate (PDF)

Ah, the Disney Store. Not the one in your nearby shopping mall, but the generically titled store that used to be the largest in Disney Village. Now effectively replaced and superseded in both size, style and location by World of Disney, you might well think this rather tired location will be at a loss to find a raison d’être. But, reopening after a short closure on 14th July, it now sees a renewed focus to character groups and a new dedicated Christmas section — the first outside the parks.

Little else has been renewed, however. All the old 1990s props and decoration — including the large spaceship mobile hanging in the centre of the store — remain intact. The ugly dayglo-coloured flat signage outside is still in place, still carrying the generic “Disney Store” name.

Some effort has been made to tie the interior together better, with a smart new mural or “fresque” installed above the displays around the edge of the store, signifying areas for franchises such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars and Cars or even individual characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. This is slightly different at least to the displays at World of Disney, which largely group items by categories such as homewares and favour resort merchandise over franchise ranges.

Meanwhile the small lower area of Disney Store, historically the original La Poste postal office, is now a dedicated Christmas space. Since the 15th Anniversary it has featured the current season’s merchandise, most recently changing to 20th Anniversary displays for a few months before this recent change. The modest decoration of lights, tinsel, trimmings and props isn’t bad at all, but only stuck-on snow in the window announces this as a Christmas shop from outside.

Presumably all of these changes are merely a stop-gap measure before it’s decided what to do with this space in the longer term. Perhaps split it into several smaller, well-branded boutiques? Or a large (and much-needed) new restaurant? Or why not demolish this whole oppressive, monolithic block and start again, using some of the empty backstage space to create more space out front? We can dream.

In the short term, the restricted opening hours, nondescript name (still curiously overlapping with the actual Disney Store brand) and dated interior almost give the feel of a cut-price outlet store. The store now only opens from 4pm onwards each day, an obvious sign that it’s living on borrowed time.

With rumours of a LEGO store to replace the similarly-inflicted Hollywood Pictures shop further along, let’s hope Disney Village’s true retail revolution is still to come.

PHOTOS Maarten for DLRP Today.com

It can be a beautiful piece of Disney architecture and filled with fun facts and details, but a shop is ultimately only as good as the merchandise its sells. How does World of Disney compare? DLRP Today.com reader Maarten has kindly captured a lengthy photo tour of the new store, showing us what’s on the shelves of this new flagship location for Disneyland Paris merchandise.

Though the store largely presents a kind of “best of” collection of merchandise available at an array of stores across the resort, organised largely by product type through hats, mugs, towels, and so on, it does also introduce a few of its own exclusive ranges. These displays, signified by special “World of Disney – Produits Exclusifs” placards, include items from the colourful Disney by Britto range, designed by pop artist Romero Britto.

One of the main benefits of World of Disney, besides perhaps not having to visit several stores to buy the merchandise that’s taken your eye, is that the aisles between the actual shelves are much wider and more spacious than in any other store at the resort.

Continues with 46 more photos… CONTINUE READING…

PHOTOS Maarten for DLRP Today.com