We’re dedicating this week on
DLRP Today to
Disney Dreams!, the main event of the
20th Anniversary that is set to
transform the end of your day in the parks from 1st April 2012. But this hotly-anticipated new nighttime spectacular, from master of the artform
Steve Davison, has already created a surprise or two in Disneyland Park. Following several months of
mysterious ground works, leading a trail across Central Plaza, trees were completely cleared from a wooded area on the
Frontierland side of
Main Street, U.S.A. in mid September last year. By December, all was revealed: or was it?
On Wednesday 7th, a sharp, square building suddenly appeared on the plot, in a not-too-fetching shade of green to match the construction walls around it.
“Quelle horreur!” we wailed — but only for 24 hours. In a spark of pre-fabricated Imagineering magic, the building — a grand new show control centre for
Disney Dreams! — had taken on a whole new look the very next day. Just compare the two photos below by
@InsideDLParis:
Now wood-panelled in green with crisp burgundy details, it certainly stands out but looks perfectly at home here on the fringes of Main Street. Capturing all the classic motifs of the street’s turn-of-the-20th-Century architecture, it has the elaborately-framed windows, porch awning and a curved copper roof, complete with spiky ironwork and bulbous flairs cut into its carpentry.
Though perfectly functional — check out that bank of seven huge windows on the front, giving an unparalleled view over the
Disney Dreams! “arena” — this beauty has more than enough details to make it a decorative addition to the plaza, too. The circular window nestled in the roof is a delicate finishing touch, and the cabin could look even better in the warmer months ahead if softened up with flowers or more greenery. It’s certainly a huge upgrade in the former show control booth for Central Plaza Stage (pictured below), which has been blocking the pavement for several years. Removing this uninspired obstruction will free up even more space to watch the new show.
But how does it fit into the “story”? With its wooden trellis arch and location right in the middle of Main Street’s Central Plaza park, perhaps we could imagine it’s the gardener’s lodge — rather than a high-tech show control booth soon to be sending
fountains, fireworks and lasers soaring.
It has already had the chance to test some elements of
Disney Dreams!, at least. The still below, from last month’s
promo video, shows a technician lining up the numerous projectors which will map HD video onto the towers and turrets of
Sleeping Beauty Castle using the state-of-the-art “Hippotizer” system.
Come April 1st, the tension inside will surely belie the gentile appearance, as it will all rest on this unsuspecting little park lodge to launch
Disney Dreams! off without hitch…
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