The pixie dust has settled. The
announcement has been made.
Disneyland Paris turns 25 years old in 2017 with a line-up of new and reimagined attractions and entertainments. Looking beyond the sparkle, will this really be the resort’s time to shine?
Whereas the
15th Anniversary package came together
as and when visuals were released to the travel trade, and the
20th Anniversary‘s events were
only confirmed by a holiday brochure published without ceremony, the
25th Anniversary already shows a very different strategy.
Much has changed (SO much, in fact) in the five years since the last anniversary celebration, that the resort previously had barely any tools at its disposal to create the anticipation around an announcement like this. Now, with its active social media channels and excellent company blog, things are very different.
Euro Disney, still the name of the operating group behind the resort,
took the unprecedented step of teasing a “great announcement” a full week in advance on Twitter. After seven days of speculation, Monday rolled around with fans at fever pitch: a captive audience, already logged in, ready to share, comment and — hopefully — like.
This well-planned launch, with articles ready to go
out to the press and
other Disney blogs, represents an important step-change for a resort which, with its poor self-promotion, was often its own worst enemy. The coming of a new Présidente behind the company, Catherine Powell, having
previously worked in sales and distribution, can be no coincidence. Bravo for this, before we even begin.
But then the content of the announcement, did it live up to expectations?
• Previously — Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary announcement: new parade, shows & attractions confirmed
Setting aside the feelings of those who thought the “surprise” might
not be the 25th Anniversary launch, it feels like the announcement of the new festivities generally lived up to expectation. Did it
exceed them? No, definitely not.
Visually, the announcement was sadly lacking. An
invitation to “hear from our Présidente Catherine Powell” might have suggested some kind of presentation, live or recorded, or at least a bit of video content for us to pore over with new images and Disney creatives extolling the “amazement” to come.
No,
just a press release — some things never change. But more disappointingly, the images released to accompany it looked like they’d just been hastily assembled from other resort’s image libraries. They
must have some concept art for the new
Disney Stars on Parade, but no; no new image released — just a photo of the
similar float in Florida with its
Cinderella Castle clearly in the background.
Likewise for
Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain; a marketing visual from California with its completely different style of roller coaster trains.
Disney Illuminations got off a struggling start with an image that looked no different to the existing
Disney Dreams!, right down to the
“Second Star to the Right” at the top of the castle. Worst was
The Starlit Princess Waltz, with an image that looked like the kind of hasty backstage concept working that you’d normally only see leaked on a forum.
Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary key visual
Luckily, the key 25th Anniversary image itself really is a thing of beauty. Though already seen at the
D23 Expo’s Disney Parks and Resorts presentation in August 2015, here it is again finally released officially by Disneyland Paris itself, with a little added sparkle.
The silver “25” logo itself still requires a moment of appreciation. Gorgeous and elegant almost doesn’t do it justice, the three-dimensional swirls feel genuinely clever. A solid progression from the now
rather flat 15th and
brash-looking 20th logos; all the more impressive that it was already finalised over a year ago now.
As for the line-up, there was no
Steve Jobs-style “one more thing”, in fact barely anything beyond what had
already been leaked several months earlier. But we did learn the final official titles of the events, and some important confirmations about their content.
Next, let’s take a look at each one…
Continue to: Disney Stars on Parade
- Looking beyond the sparkle
- Disney Stars on Parade
- Disney Illuminations
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
- New Shows & Entertainment
- Experience Enhancement Programme
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Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary key visual