That poor Earffel Tower. As if being replaced first by the Tower of Terror and then by a monstrosity of a Sorcerer’s Hat in Florida wasn’t bad enough, its sleeker, more beautiful, 66-ft tall Parisian form has just been knocked off the “park icon” top spot for the first time, well and truly overshadowed by The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror almost three times its size.

Since mid-2001 we’ve known Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant and the Earffel Tower as an unstoppable duo, splashing themselves across merchandise, logos and more as perfect icons for the two Disney Parks. Now, with Tower of Terror just six months away, the people behind the magic just can’t use it fast enough. Delayed by almost four years, their E-Ticket starvation has finally been filled, and they’re going to make sure everyone knows about it…

And so, for this 2008 Calendar at least, the clean and simple lines of the Earffel Tower fall to the dark and menacing Tower of Terror, illustrated before a full moon with one of the ‘O’s in ‘Hollywood’ blown out.

Inside, the format of two pictures per month has returned, with the Tower of Terror (shown using the photo from Disney’s California Adventure featured above) paired up with Phantom Manor for the first time as a double-act of “atmospheric chills”.

With Phantom Manor’s lines falling more frequently of late, such a double-act could certainly work well, much the same as the way Space Mountain: Mission 2 and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith appear to have thrill-seeking guests running between the two.

This “beacon for the show-business elite” is also, already, a beacon for the merchandising elite.

Calendar photo from the latest Photos Magiques trip report; Tower photo © Disney.