The new 2007/2008 Resort Map comes from this special page on the official Val d’Europe website, which looks at the economic and social impact of Disneyland Resort Paris on its surrounding area after fifteen years of development. Perfectly illustrating the impact, and giving a truly unique gift to fans, is the presentation of two maps showing the resort firstly at its initial state upon opening in 1992, and secondly after fifteen years of development, in mid/late-2007. Even locations such as the Gaumont Cinema and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril have been removed to give an accurate look back at the resort in 1992.

The maps therefore take a different angle on the resort to the usual style, with Davy Crockett Ranch and Golf Disneyland no longer pinned on at the edge but fully mapped out with all their surroundings. Val d’Europe has been updated with far more detail than before, including the bar opposite the RER station and the circular Place de la Toscane, inaugurated just last year, whilst even small business parks and local communes have been added to the plan.

Fans of the Disney side of the resort aren’t left out either – if the sight of the hallowed Tower of Terror on a Disneyland Resort Paris map wasn’t big enough to turn this into an annual holiday, the entire esplanade hub area and Disney Hotels district has been re-mapped to be far more detailed and true-to-life.Compare these maps with the current 2007 version for a look at the improvements, which will hopefully be carried over to the true 2008 Resort Map later this year.

The Tower itself is seen from behind, with a bright red chosen for the roof of its lobby (likely just to add colour to the map) and “The Hollywood Tower Hotel” sign moved to compensate for the angle. The Disney Village parking garage has finally been added, but Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is now absent once again from the map whilst the left wing of Disneyland Hotel has been cut off by Toon Studio.

The page at the Val d’Europe website also features a press release about the developments of the past fifteen years along with several quite spectacular images, perfectly timed, too, for today’s earlier announcement that the Pierre & Vacances-partnered Nature Villages project is still on course.

As Disneyland Resort Paris prepares to face its most important year yet, it’s good to look back on how much has already been achieved…

You can download the maps in large PDF format here.

All maps and photos © Disney. Thanks to Japper on magicforum for the link!

The development, covering land and forests surrounding the current site of Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch, is described as “a first-of-its-kind resort based on sustainable development”, developed in collaboration with continental Center Parcs owner Pierre & Vacances.

Covering an area of 520 hectares, the Center Parcs-style nature resort could eventually be home to over 5,000 tourism apartments and homes with 130,000 sq.m of leisure facilities, split into several zones based on the themes of water (a Center Parcs-style water park), sport & health (spas and sports activities), earth (farming, rural life) and forest (Davy Crockett Ranch).

The project could eventually create up to 9,000 jobs in addition to the 12,300 currently at the resort. The first development could be launched as early as 2010 with up to 2,300 apartments and homes, with plans also allowing the possibility of Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch to be expanded and absorbed into the resort. Currently, the resort features 8,000 hotel rooms across its Disney, Val de France and Val d’Europe Hotels, meaning the full build-out of the “Villages Nature” project would almost double the resort’s capacity.

Although it has been reported a separate company would be established by the two groups to run the proposed resort, it has so far not been confirmed how the collaboration would work from either a business or marketing point of view – would the Disney brand be utilised? How much does Euro Disney SCA stand to gain from saturating its market with almost double the current accommodation capacity?

The next steps, however, make clear that this project will not be born overnight, listing countless areas of consideration and feasibility still to be investigated before a general agreement can be signed and the project will truly begin development.

Pierre & Vacances already has a presence at the resort with its Val d’Europe City ApartHotel complex, but a development on such a vast scale as this could effectively take the resort segment of Disneyland Resort Paris one of two ways – help it soar to new heights, or strangle it before it even gets standing.

The press release in full:

The Villages Nature project has reached a new milestone with the signing of a non-binding letter of intent by the French State, Euro Disney and Pierre & Vacances.

Paris, February 13, 2007 … The non-binding letter of intent signed today by the public parties, Euro Disney Associés S.C.A., and Pierre & Vacances, confirms the French State’s and local public parties’ interest and support for this project, which could potentially generate up to 9,000 direct and indirect jobs. This non-binding letter of intent allows the project to move forward with a new study phase where parties will work together to define the conditions for development and implementation of this project that could lead to a ‘general agreement’ (Accord Cadre).

The project would create, 6 kilometres from the Disney Theme Parks, a ‘˜first-of-its-kind’ resort based on sustainable development, which would be complementary to the existing European tourist destination Disneyland Resort Paris.

Exploratory phase by private and public parties (2003-2006)

Collaboration between public and private parties started in 2003 with several conceptual and feasibility studies that focused on the social and economic environment, sustainable development impacts, local development, and market studies.

Market studies indicated the high potential of the concept for families with young children as well as adults from France and throughout Europe.

A unique and innovative concept

Villages Nature is a pioneering ecotourism concept that is European in scope and based on harmony between man and nature. The main themes are water, earth, forest, and the recreational and leisure activities tied to these themes.

During the exploratory phase, world-renowned experts were involved to structure this innovative approach to sustainable development. The WWF/BioRegional ‘One Planet Living’ (OPL) methodology was used and resulted in a ‘Sustainable Action Plan’. This methodology would apply transversally to development, construction, and operation of the project, which constitutes a first for a tourism project.

If approved, the project would provide a low construction density (under 10%) on 520 hectares, and several phases with a total of up to 5,000 apartments and homes in tourism residences and around 130,000 sq.m. of recreational and leisure space, developed on 520 hectares.

Villages Nature aims at helping structure regional development.

The first phase of development would concern an area of 183 hectares (including possibly Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch) with up to 2,300 apartments and homes in tourism residences and recreational and leisure facilities developed in several lots. This first phase could be launched in 2010.
Next Steps

Over the next two years, a steering committee made up of public- and private-sector parties involved in the project will meet on a regular basis to define the conditions for development and implementation of this project into a ‘general agreement’ (Accord Cadre).

Several studies and processes will be conducted before final approval of the project can be given:

– Feasibility of land acquisition process and legal framework of land use,
– Land development conditions,
– Definition of primary infrastructures,
– Public transportation access,
– Financing of sustainable development investments,
– Marketing, financing, and economic studies,
– Real estate, tourism, and economic environments.

Upon completion of these additional steps, the parties will decide upon final feasibility and opportunity of the project and, if so, set a timeline and terms of a ‘general agreement’ (Accord Cadre).

Also available as a PDF here: http://www.eurodisney.com/data/308.pdf

The statue is shown being sculpted by an Imagineer in a full-page image, with a coloured concept art opposite giving an impression of the finished product. The statue is large, very rounded and depicts Mickey pointing his wand into the air – which rumours persist will be followed by a trail of gold stars leading across the parade route and into the planter outside Art of Disney Animation.

The preview for the article reads: “Tooning Up: A sneak peek at the new Toon Studios that will debut in June at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris with the executive producer Corey Sewelson;”

This marks the fourth statue of Mickey to be featured in the park, after his appearances at the Front Lot “Fantasia Fountain”, Disney Bros Plaza “Partners Statue” and miniature Art of Disney Animation Character statue. It will be installed at the park sometime in March, serving as a grand entrance for Toon Studio, with the name itself featured on the blue stone base below Mickey.

The first page of the article also features a previously unseen piece of concept art for Toon Studio, focusing on the Animation Courtyard side of the area. It shows not only the entrance statue, but the Peter Pan figures flying around the Sorcerer Hat, extra planters, beautified flooring and even a fountain in front of Animagique!

Look out for larger versions of the images featured in the article here and on www.wdsfans.com within the next few weeks.

“Who celebrates a 15th?” they may cry. But, if there were ever fears this anniversary would be a non event, these can truly be cast aside. Worries that guests won’t know what’s going on, a la the US “Year of a Million Dreams”? Not needed. Every document, every cup, every nametag, every park ticket, every park map, every lamppost… the Anniversary will seep into every single corner of the parks and resort.

To begin, the 15th Anniversary Celebration souvenirs that will cost absolutely nothing! (Well, perhaps in the case of the cup it’ll cost the price of a cup of coffee.) With two months to go until the official launch, the anniversary branding has already popped up on paper drinks cups and napkins at the resort’s restaurants, with candle-holding characters on the cups and a nice two-colour design for the napkins. Yes, you know a Disneyland obsession is bad when you get excited by these.

For Annual Passholders, aside from the 15th Anniversary-edition passes already available for newcomers, stationary and promotion has also adopted the 15th Anniversary colours, design and characters.

Whilst the first souvenirs are already available – albeit in scarce limited edition – in the form of the Anniversary Countdown series of pins. 100 days came in January, followed by 50 Days this month and due to be completed with countdowns 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 days before the big day itself.

And if all this wasn’t enough, how about 12,000 walking advertisements for the anniversary? Yes, the Cast Members! Their new 15th Anniversary nametags were presented with much fanfare recently, and many have already swapped their previous 50th Anniversary “Happiest Celebration On Earth” badges for the new design – from 50 years to 15 overnight!

Unfortunately, I’ve received word from a Cast Member in Paris that the badges have been recalled and will soon be replaced again. It seems the “Where dreams come true” tagline used on the nametags is already in use by another company, and so a quick redesign may apparently be required to avoid any unwanted legal action. The ongoing use of the slogan on the Disney Parks website and elsewhere may suggest an agreement has since been made between the two parties, although it should be noted that all mention of “Where dreams come true” has now been totally removed from Paris’ 15th Anniversary logos and copy. Never a dull day at DLRP, eh?

So, now we have 12,000 walking mentions of the 15th Anniversary added to those tickets, maps, decorations, souvenirs and all-important napkins on the ground. But it doesn’t end there – the Anniversary will even take flight, 100 metres into the air above the resort, to be exact! The unmissable PanoraMagique balloon at Disney Village will be joining the celebration with a special overlay adding a new design around its middle, featuring several large “15” emblems joined together by a stylish red fabric (-styled) band.

We were promised a celebration as big as the historic 5th Anniversary – but as time passes and plans build, this is looking as big as – or perhaps even bigger – than the celebration Disneyland waited 50 years for. Luckily for us, we now only have to wait 50 days!

Cup photo by DJinspace on Disney Central Plaza forum, name badge and napkin photos by Photos Magiques.

Last week press photos revealed the life-size Luigi soon to be arriving in the Studios, and now we can see how the Imagineers are preparing his beloved House of Tires in Toon Studio. Three decorative tires have appeared atop the Mediterannean-styled building, wrapped in plastic for protection until the basic themeing surround them is complete.

Next to Casa Della Tires, two more facades are in preparation from the world of Radiator Springs. Though they can’t be pinned down exactly yet, the larger central storefront seems to belong to Lizzie’s Radiator Springs Curios, whilst the smaller facade to its right is harder to distinguish – is there a slight resemblance to the Radiator Springs Traffic Court, perhaps?

On the ride itself, progress has been made with the installation of the ride’s main control booth, seen in the final photo below. Nestled between the two boarding areas in the canopy of Flo’s V8 Café, it appears to feature a turquoise and cream colour scheme similar, perhaps, to Flo herself.

Whilst the past few weeks has seen the ride area filled with more scaffolding, both around the V8 Café canopy, on the miniaturised Willy’s Butte rock formation and in the foundations of the turntables themselves, La Rouquine at Disney Central Plaza forum today reports that work has started on installing the technical elements of the ride system in the two pairs of concrete platforms. The metal canopy for Flo’s V8 Café has received the first spots of turquoise paint similar to the control booth below, and, despite appearing to be complete, the rock formation continues to be wrapped in more scaffolding and tarps.

“More than 2000 miles all the way”… the finish line is still a long stretch away!

All construction photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more here.

The exciting unveiling today, captured by thebatman_1 in these photos posted on MagicForum, completes another piece of the puzzle for this new attraction, “turtally unique” to Paris.

The fresque is quite unlike anything used on a Disney attraction before, comparable only to the Hollywood backdrop on the Hyperion Theater at Disney’s California Adventure, or the billboard-style entrances of our own Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster or Studio Tram Tour.

It already appears a good attempt to solve the problem of how to theme a studio soundstage whilst still remaining within a “real working studio” theme, and with none of the vast expanses of bare walls seen elsewhere in the park upon its opening.

The covering to be used for the bare concerete walls still surrounding the main fresque on the front section of the building has yet to be confirmed.

All photos by thebatman_1 at magicforum. Join the discussion here.

But before that, a quick look at how general construction on the new attraction is going. More scaffolding has just appeared around the exit of the ride, between the metal roof of the queue and the rockwork covering which guests will walk through to re-enter the park. Towards the back of the new area, the wall surrounding “Toon Studio” can be seen, now looking ready for paint after being moulded and given texture. The actual “Toon Town” backdrop will be constructed behind.

Inside the queue itself, the huge amount of new planting is certainly giving no favours to anyone wanting a sneaky preview from Flying Carpets Over Agrabah. It appears, though, that the first railings have just been put in place, and work on the sculpted plaster on the wall of showbuilding continues. Eventually, the area will look like the basin of a dried-up fishing pier, with moulded concrete floors to look like wooden decking and the outer wall of the building themed to a large pier wall.

Backstage, usually a no-go area for pictures of any kind, a very recognisable prop for the sunken submarine-themed lift hill was caught on camera by EricLovesTZToT…

We reported back in October that Bruce would be 4 metres long, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint! At the time the photo was taken, he appears to be a simple shell, with workers fitting him out ready for installation.

And finally, here it is – the very first glimpse of a Crush’s Coaster turtle shell in action, sweeping down the curved outside drop, caught by Jeremy06b on the French Coastersworld forum. It passes by the workers watching from behind the fences before dropping into the sudden dip in the track and off-camera…

You can see the test in video here: Download .Mov Video

It seems recent days have seen an increase in the number of tests taking place, and since Disney attractions are always tested rigorously for around six months before their official opening, this probably won’t be the last we see of Crush’s turtle testing.

Bruce shark photo by EricLovesTZTOT, Ameworld forum. Testing photos and video by Jeremy06b, Coastersworld. Latest construction photos by Photos Magiques – more here.

When the first construction walls arrived on the future site of the park’s new Hollywood Boulevard almost two weeks ago, they covered barely half of the walkway between Disney Bros. Plaza and Studio Tram Tour. Reports suggested the schedule called for work mainly around Studio Tram Tour until May, when the entire street would be blocked for full-scale construction. The entrance of the “Behind-the-Magic” studio tour itself was moved to the old Fastpass canopy, and everything seemed ready to go.

Next, we heard work was postponed until the very end of January. Now, we’ve got more construction fences than have perhaps ever been seen before – including those still at Toon Studio and the Animation Courtyard entrance.

The fences are now cleverly covering every section of the areas where Hollywood-themed sets and façades are reported to spring up, from the future location of “Gone Hollywood” next to Art of Disney Animation to the Hollywood Hills backdrop in front of the Studio Tram Tour station itself.

Work has now begun on removing trees in the area, specifically those on the La Terrasse side, keeping the roots intact so that they can be used elsewhere on the resort. Behind the fences on the Art of Disney Animation side, little has changed so far.

Meanwhile, guests can finally enjoy a cosier, more interesting walk around the Studios, surrounded by specially re-painted walls featuring customised signs pointing to the hidden attractions. Sure, they’re construction fences, but it’s already more exciting than empty tarmac, right?

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more here.