Our very first glimpse at one of the dark ride scenes inside the second portion of Crush’s Coaster (after the initial outside drop and before the spinning coaster section) comes from the French weekly weekend magazine VSD, which presents a special article dedicated to the backstage happenings of the Paris resort in commemoration of its upcoming anniversary.

Like the Dutch newspaper supplement we saw just last week, it seems Disneyland Resort Paris have been generous with the press images they supplied, giving a glimpse at attraction refurbishments, a parade waiting backstage and – of course – this first look at progress inside Crush’s Coaster.

As one of the concept creators checks plans for the colourful dark ride scene, another worker sprays paint on the detailed coral decor behind. The colour scheme is generally blue, with particular undersea plants highlighted in vibrant, saturated pinks, yellows and greens. The scene is very much reminsicent of that recently installed underwater in the Submarine Voyage lagoon of Disneyland Resort in California, though its use in a traditional dark ride design can clearly be seen.

The painted wall at the rear shows the minimal depth of the actual scenes – using advanced lighting and show design the Imagineers have been able to create very shallow scenes which, when correctly lit, appear to have the depth of the real Big Blue, allowing more space for a longer dark ride section on a comparatively small location.

The second image isn’t quite so beautiful, but is certainly a very exciting glimpse into the coaster building of the ride. With full work lights on, you can see the completed track we last saw disappear behind the concrete walls in July 2006. The large first drop can be seen middle-right, whilst turtle shell ride vehicles appear to be sitting on the brake run bottom-right, covered in protective plastic. Gantries, ladders and netting fill the roofspace, with some blue lights visible at the far end of the building.

Finally, a huge black diagonal tube can be seen on the left of the photo, enclosing the lift hill and providing the walls of the sunken submarine themeing inside. Bruce the shark, seen on-site just last month, can even be seen in position outside the submarine, waiting for the first guests to pounce on.

These photos are the latest in a growing series of unprecedented backstage previews from the resort, covering the breadth of its new 15th Anniversary attractions. Covering both sides of this unique attraction, they appear to prove that not only do we have a pretty thrilling coaster to look forward to, but that it has a beautiful Big Blue dark ride introduction to go with it.

Many thanks to abu on Disney Central Plaza forum for photographing these images.