Wednesday, 6th June 2007. With just 3 days to go before the official opening of Toon Studio, construction walls finally disappear in the crossover between the “old” and “new” areas, forming one single, complete Toon Studio for the first time. Not only that, but crews had been busy overnight bringing in a brand new set of posters for the lighting rigs. We saw the first Snow White poster several weeks ago, and now Toon Studio is sporting a larger collection of the posters, their designs actually imported from Hong Kong Disneyland’s esplanade banners.

With construction walls gone, Willy’s Butte (the rock formation of Cars Race Rally) can now clearly be seen from the original Animation Courtyard area, forming a barrier between the courtyard and the Radiator Springs canyon beyond. The fences here, originally a clean blue behind the fences, have been weathered and rusted up for an authentic Route 66 desert feeling, especially when complemented by the wealth of planting (including many cacti) amonst the sandy soil.

The repaint of Animagique is finally completed, just in time, and we can now see the full extent of its makeover. Whilst Art of Disney Animation features blue with pink and Crush’s Coaster uses blue with blue, Animagique is set apart with its look of blue and purple. With construction fences around the Flying Carpets‘ oasis gone, we can finally enjoy this unique area in the Studios to the full – an Adventureland-style area to hide from the “Action!” elsewhere.

A final detail added to the land is the rename of the Studio Catering Co. locations. The two trailers now positioned in the land (one next to Art of Disney Animation, one beside the Toon Town gate) both feature a matching red and white colour scheme, and have been rechristened ‘Toon Studio Catering Co.’ with a slightly more prominent sponsorship by Coca-Cola. It seems that whilst Disneyland Park can have themeing delights like Cool Station and L’Arbre Enchanté, Walt Disney Studios Park must stick with a 2D sign.

Still, the new name at least separates Toon Studio even more from the rest of the park. But “the rest of the park” hasn’t been completely forgotten lately – lighting rig posters have now returned in almost all places, following their gradual demise and ultimate wipe-out through 2006.

Finally, a look at all the brand new Toon Studio character posters so far, compiled by our partner WDS Fans. The characters featured are: Snow White, Jiminy Cricket, Tinkerbell, Goofy, Cinderella, Buzz Lightyear, Ariel, Woody, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh and of course, Mickey Mouse. Who’d have thought it – decorative banners without Lumière?!

So that’s it, Toon Studio appears to be complete – finished, polished, rehearsed and ready to open…

Photos by WDS Fans and Scrooge on DMI, 5-7/06/2007.