The event took place earlier today, with the dome lifted from the backstage area behind Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic to the top of the tower and fastened in place to several vertical metal fixings which have been visible for several months. The dome is actually only the first of three to be used in the design of the Pueblo Deco Hollywood Tower Hotel (the design used by California and Paris). The second is located on the front-left of the large showbuilding whilst a third sits atop the Art Deco tower at the front of the construction (which is currently still a black metal framework).

Further progress elsewhere on the Tower has also been made in recent days. Surprisingly, scaffolding has now been fully removed from the right-hand balcony section at the top of the tower. Whilst this section is now sporting pale yellow paintwork and a darker trim on the faux pueblo tiling, it still requires much more work before completion. The base of the section, which juts out from the tower’s tallest point, is clearly unfinished, and the entire section is still in need of weathering and ageing to give it a colour and effect similar to the darker, more sinister finished design.

The advancement of primer and early paintwork across the entire left side of the building has continued, with a large portion now under the wrapping of white sheets, suggesting more intense work is now starting on the detail and finish of the walls.

With the dome in place, colour arriving and details still being added, the Parisian tower is beginning to resemble the finished design quite spectacularly.

All photos above from www.lesamisduvaldeurope.com via TheOneWhoKnew at Disney Central Plaza forum.

UPDATE 26/11/2006 23:14GMT:

The domes didn’t stop there! Over the following 24 hours, the final two domes were lifted and fixed into position on the future Tower of Terror, completing the trio.

Remarkably, the small art deco tower at the front of the building which supports the third dome has yet to become any more than a simple metal framework!

Also since the last update, some news which I’ll quote from WDS Fans:

La Terrasse: That’s a Wrap?

The concept of a small number of false Hollywood facades in the space between Disney Bros. Plaza and Studio Tram Tour has been rumoured for some time, but now new plans are also calling for the demolition of La Terrasse, to make way for a true Hollywood entrance for the Tower of Terror.

La Terrasse is the partially covered seating area in front of the Tower of Terror construction site and is located right at the heart of the park, open from Day 1 as an outdoor dining area and a teaser of things to come. If green-lit, these new plans, confirmed by Kinou on the WDS Fans magicforum, would transform this area with a small series of “movie set” Hollywood façades similar to those seen in Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney’s California Adventure park.

Latest photos from thebatman_1 on MagicForum.

Close your eyes, make a wish, and see it come true in our birthday year – this is a party where everyone’s invited! The party treats are all wrapped up and ready, so what are you waiting for? Don’t miss this magical chance to share in Disney’s past, enjoy the “presents” and celebrate the future.

This is the 15th Birthday Official Brochure 2006/2007…

Front Cover

The front cover is truly stunning. They’ve taken the centred, circular design from the previous two brochures and applied a shiny, glossy, Disney-character-filled 15 logo. The choice of colour is brilliant – not a “true” gold (which would have clashed with Disneyland’s 50th), it fades from a yellow-orange to yellow. And, unlike all previous brochures, the front and back covers are both glossed and very shiny.

Fold-Out Welcome Page

Again, this is stunning. We haven’t had fold-out pages at the front of a brochure for a few years, but they’ve used it exceptionally well here, giving a nice “reveal” to all the 15th Anniversary magic. The fully-extended page is truly a work of Disney (marketing) art!

Contents / Experiences

The contents page is filled with even more characters and is, as usual, very well-designed. The page also intoduces the 15 icon, which you’ll spot throughout the entire brochure wherever there’s something new or special for the anniversary year.

The whole brochure uses an embossed effect in the design that gives a very bright, glossy look to all the pages that looks both magical and modern. After looking at this brochure for a while, the rest of the world suddenly looks much gloomier.

Disney Parks

Donald makes an appearance to introduce the Disney Parks. This is probably the only disappointing page in the brochure, using a bad photoshop image of the Castle and Earful Tower – there’s no character decorations and apparently CinéMagique is now located beneath the walls of Sleeping Beauty’s kingdom.

Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park opens with a bang, using the full Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade visual to fill the entire page, almost as if they designed it solely for this brochure. Also mentioned is the “Daily Party Ceremony” and more Disney characters, whilst the second double page lists the key attractions, beginning with 2006’s Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast.

Walt Disney Studios Park

Kicks of with a very eye-catching double page dedicated entirely to Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally. The good use of the Crush visual makes it clear this is the key attraction here, whilst the second page puts Moteurs… Action! in the spotlight.

Seasons

Despite this brochure only covering the Summer and Halloween seasons, there’s still something fun to see on the Seasons page – a new, updated version of the Stitch Halloween visual. Unlike the original, which can be seen here, this one features a more 3D Stitch clutching to the top spire and swiping at the Pink Witches with his claws… King Kong, anyone?

Beyond the Parks

Beyond the Parks begins with a very magical page featuring lovely colours and a nicely contrasting Dumbo visual. Disney Village is the same as ever, whilst the resort shows its new, hip side with the options for “Chillin'”. It’s ok, that photo of Notre Dame is nice enough for them to be forgiven for sounding like an embarassing parent.

Hotels & Resort Map

The Disney Hotel pages are a vast improvement over those of the earlier Autumn/Winter brochure, with each hotel now getting a full page to itself and the design simplified and beautified with better photos, more colour and some nice graphics. The Other Accommodation pages have only changed very slightly, the most major change being Hotel L’Élysée (a Euro Disney SCA Hotel) given its own page.

The Resort Map has also been updated. Not only with a beautiful new starry background, but in its actual design, since the detail of the two Disney Parks has been increased massively and the biggest surprise – Toon Studio is now featured! You can find a full article about this here.

Booking

The characters continue to dominate on the Booking pages, which go on to feature details of Half Board, Extra Magic Hours, etc. in the same design format as the parks and attractions pages earlier.

Price Guide / New Eurostar Page / Magical Options

The well-designed Price Guide from the Autumn/Winter brochure has been retained and has (like most pages) been sprinkled with references to the anniversary. A new, colourful page has been introduced to advertise the direct Eurostar service to the resort, which was recently made more magical thanks to a live band, character appearances and a greater Disney presence at London Waterloo International.

2007 Calendar / Contact Details

The calendar is no longer as full as it used to be in years gone by – these days the resort prefers to simplify to seasons only, to save re-prints if show and parade details change. The final page, featuring contact details, is nice and up-to-date, already featuring a screenshot of the new official website.

Back Cover

The back cover borrows from last year’s Happiest Celebration On Earth, with the final slogan – The only one missing is you! – in a modern and fun design.

So there we have it – the Official 15th Anniversary Brochure. If they’re producing something this good for their 15th, imagine what we’ll get for the 25th!

Celebration Score: 10/10

The best print advert for Disneyland Resort Paris ever created. Fun, well-designed, full of Disney characters and previewing two new attractions, a brand new parade and so much more. It’s everything we’ve wanted for the past 5 years.

I guess that proves dreams really can come true.

You can order the new brochure by clicking here. International versions may vary in design, and should also start becoming available to order between now and January.

Walt Disney World‘s new “Where Magic Lives” 2006/07 Official Album features a good number of new tracks, the most interesting of which for Disneyland Resort Paris fans being the “Lights! Motors! Action!” suite. The music was, of course, originally composed and created for the Parisian attraction, but with its duplication for the Floridian Disn ey-MGM Studios the music flew across the Atlantic too.

This isn’t just a small snippet of music like we’re used to in Paris, either – the track runs a whole 11 minutes 12 seconds and features the full soundtrack of the show’s key stunt sequences. The Ballet Chase, Blockade, Motorcycle Ballet, Pre-Show music and more – it’s all covered. The trademark “dun… dun dun dun!” is most certainly there, as are the high-pitched electric guitar pinches of the Burning Man sequence, the tension-filled bass beats of the Blockade and countless hints of Bond.

It says something about the effort Disneyland Resort Paris puts into its music releases that it took almost five years and a whole other Disney resort for this original, Disney-licensed music to become available. With a 15th Anniversary Album rumoured for 2007, this track would be a simple and easy way to finally bring new music and a breath of fresh air to the resort’s stagnant CD collection. Whether Paris will take this not-so-top secret envelope remains to be seen.

So until then, you could try Walt Disney World mail order: wdw.mail.order@disney.com

Image source: MagicMusic.net Forums

You can see the new CD’s full tracklisting here.

Saturday November 4th 2006

Mickey winner pink
Reference number 209401006066
Price : 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Mickey winner blue
Reference: 209041006067
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Saturday November 18th 2006

Minnie Shopping
Reference number:209401007002
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Mystery Pack 1
Reference number: 209401007045.
Price: 12.50 euros.

Mystery Pack 2
Reference number: 209401007046
Price: 12.50 euros

Stich Invasion WDS2 Catastrophe Canyon
Reference number:209401007017
Price: 10.50 euros
Limited Edition 900 ex.
» Click for Image

Set Pins Cuties
Reference number: 209401007008
Price: 18 euros

Set Pins Standard Character
Reference number: 209401007009
Price: 18.00 euros

Saturday November 25th 2006

Tinkerbell Flower
Reference number: 209401007007
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Minnie Disguise – Belle
Reference number: 209401007012
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Minnie Disguise – Cinderella
Reference number: 209401007013
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Minnie Disguise – Sleeping Beauty
Reference number: 209401007014
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Minnie Disguise – Snow White
Reference number: 209401007016
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

Minnie Disguise – Tinkerbell
Reference number: 209401007015
Price: 6.00 euros
» Click for Image

No word yet on what the two “Mystery Pack” releases will be, but this announcement does at least confirm that the second Stitch WDS Invasion pin will be Catastrophe Canyon. I try to keep personal opinion out of these articles, but what are the chances of the flash flood getting him, do you think?

Anyway, more pins featuring the Studios is a good enough event to endure more endless Stitch releases, and allows for some interesting possibilites… Aerosmith Stitch? Stuntman Stitch? Flying Carpet Stitch? Pink Elephant Stitch? or maybe even Julie Delpy Stitch?

(Marne-la-Vallée, November 8, 2006) Euro Disney S.C.A. (the “Company”), parent company of Euro Disney Associés S.C.A., operator of Disneyland Resort Paris, reported today financial results for its consolidated group (the “Group”) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006.

Revenues increased 4.5% to € 1,087.7 million in fiscal year 2006 reflecting increases in theme parks attendance and hotel occupancy. Theme parks revenues increased 5.4% to € 579.2 million, following an increase of0.5 million in attendance, which reached 12.8 million in 2006. Hotels and Disney Village revenues increased 4.2% to € 412.2 million due to a higher occupancy rate of 83.5% compared to 80.7% for fiscal year 2005, as well as increased guest visitations at Disney Village.

Operating margin before depreciation and amortisation increased 29.6% to € 147.9 million from € 114.1 million as a result of growth in revenues combined with a slight increase in costs and expenses. Operating margin before depreciation and amortisation as a percentage of revenues increased 2.6 percentage points to 13.6%.

Costs and expenses for fiscal year 2006 grew 1.6% compared to the prior year reflecting management’s ongoing focus on cost containment. The Group’s operating margin improved € 29.5 million to a loss of € 2.4 million for fiscal year 2006, from a loss of € 31.9 million in the prior year. Other net financial charges increased over the period due to a higher effective interest rate on the Group’s debt.

For fiscal year 2006, net losses of the Group amounted to € 88.6 million. Excluding the non-recurring, non-cash gain in fiscal year 2005 that resulted from the Group’s 2005 legal and financial restructuring (the “2005 Restructuring”), net loss on a comparable basis attributable to equity holders of the parent decreased 20.5% from the prior year to € 73.1 million. Net loss on a comparable basis attributable to minority interests amounted to € 15.5 million.

Cash and cash equivalents increased by € 24.2 million from the prior year to € 266.4 million.

Commenting on the results, Karl L. Holz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Euro Disney S.A.S., said:

“We are pleased with our year end results and we look forward to maintaining this momentum as we continually reinvigorate our Theme Parks. We believe that our growth strategy is delivering its benefits as we remain focused on improving our margins, while continuing to provide our guests with a unique experience. These efforts contributed to a 30% improvement in our operating margin before depreciation and amortisation.
This year, we benefited from several events, such as the launch of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast®, and introduced various original offers that appealed to our visitors. Next year, we are hosting the most magical celebration in our history to commemorate our 15th-year anniversary. We are also developing thrilling new products, including a parade in the Disneyland Park and three attractions in Walt Disney Studios Park. All these things plus more combine to create the Disney dream holiday for every family.

Our encouraging results have been achieved thanks to the dedication and hard work of our cast members, who continue to make our theme parks the most popular tourist destination in Europe.”

Further Analysis
Theme parks revenues increased 5.4% to € 579.2 million from € 549.7 million in the prior year, primarily as a result of increased attendance and average spending per guest on admission. Increases in attendance levels are largely the result of new marketing and sales initiatives aimed at attracting the local French market, special offers and the opening of Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast®.

Hotels and Disney Village revenues increased 4.2% to € 412.2 million from € 395.4 million in the prior year reflecting higher hotel occupancy and guest visitation at Disney Village.

The increase of 0.5 million in theme parks attendance primarily reflects the solid performance during the second half of the year. Attendance by French visitors increased 12% over the prior year resulting in a French visitors’ share of total visits up from 39% to 42%. This was mostly as a result of special offers targeted at local markets, including a new ticket, the “Francilien”, marketed in the Ile-de-France region, as well as special offers made to certain workers councils (“Comités d’Entreprise”).

Hotel occupancy rates increased 2.8 percentage points, which translated into an additional 59,000 room nights compared to fiscal year 2005. This increase was mostly driven by higher attendance of Spanish visitors, who predominantly stayed on-site.

Theme parks spending per guest increased 1.1% driven by a moderate price increase in theme parks admissions, partially offset by special offers.

The 2005 Restructuring, Cash Flows and the Future

Based on existing cash positions, liquidity from the undrawn € 150.0 million line of credit from The Walt Disney Company (TWDC), and provisions for the unconditional and conditional deferral of certain royalties and management fees and interest charges pursuant to the 2005 Restructuring, management believes the Group has adequate cash and liquidity for the foreseeable future, subject to the Group’s compliance with its debt agreements as discussed below.

The Group has covenants under its debt agreements that limit its investments and financing activities. Beginning with fiscal year 2006, the Group must also meet financial performance covenants that necessitate improvements to its operating margin. Subject to final third-party review as provided in its debt agreements, the Group believes that it has complied with these covenants for fiscal year 2006. This compliance was achieved through revenue growth which outpaced the increase in the Group’s costs and expenses during the period.

For fiscal year 2007, if compliance with financial performance covenants could not be achieved through increased revenues, the Group would have to appropriately reduce operating costs, curtail a portion of planned capital expenditures (outside those contained in the Group’s multi-year investment program [Toon Studio, Tower of Terror]) and/or seek assistance from TWDC or other parties as permitted under the loan agreements.

Although no assurances can be given, the Group currently believes that it will meet its financial performance covenants in fiscal year 2007 through increased revenues and continuing cost containment, without the need for any of the additional measures referred to above.

You can read the full report from Euro Disney S.C.A. as a PDF here.

Sunday, 5th November 2006

A well-timed end to Disneyland Park’s Halloween season, the fog lasted all day on Sunday and gave some interesting views of Toon Studio, especially with Tower of Terror fading into the distance. In the first photo you can see two openings in the rockwork – one for the coaster and one for the attraction’s exit.

Monday, 6th November 2006

After a slow week during French holidays, Monday saw the fog lift and the first few pieces of scaffolding on the Studio 5 façade disappear as construction picked up at full speed again. The new colour scheme of Art of Disney Animation certainly separates the area from the rest of the park, and with the slightly whimsical design of Studio 5 next to the Sorcerer Hat – finally a true Disney feel.

Tuesday, 7th November 2006

Yesterday’s action was only a prelude to today, it seems. All the scaffolding on the front of Studio 5 was gone at park opening, giving us a glimpse at the final “look” of the attraction and a better view at the detail of our new soundstage.

Notice the shadow under the rim and plaque of Studio 5 above? It adds some good depth and distinction to the building’s features, and it’s actually just an Imagineering trick. The first one of the project so far? Hopefully the first of many.

On board the Carpets, the wise placement of Cars Race Rally stands out again now that the foundations and boarding canopy are complete. The attraction faces directly to Flying Carpets, whilst a tall canyon-themed berm around the back will shelter the entire area from the 2002 Animation Courtyard area.

And what of that 2002 Animation Courtyard area? The area that is supposed to currently be enjoying a full placemaking enhancement project? Nothing much to report, i’m afraid. Whilst a gap in the fences at Disney Studio 1 reveals the large amount of new trees are infact already planted, a look over and under the two sets of fences shows there’s still a lot of work to be done. During the week, the only changes here were a few plastic tubes being layed around the trees and moved around.

Whilst what appears to be a new maintenance ladder was lowered into place during the afternoon, the construction workers seemed to be enjoying their job – climbing up, over and around the rockwork, some of which (the finished section near the front) has now been covered in protective tarps.

And so there you have it – one week at Toon Studio, from all across the park and through sun, fog and darkness. There are still seven months to go until the official opening, but already the new studio is making its mark and a huge impact on the park. As every other guest stops to look at the concept art on the construction walls, we can only hope they’ll return to experience it for real… only 30 weeks to go!

Bright blue skies one day, fog the next. Thousands of local French guests one day, scores of Brits the next. At Toon Studio, you see painting here, painting there, and endless games of scaffolding moving around all over the place. With more time, you can also appreciate more how the new construction fits into the park, such as from the arena of Moteurs Action or the backlot route of Studio Tram Tour…

Wednesday, 1st November 2006

Where else to begin than with that obligatory shot over the Art of Disney Animation fence? We have a lot to thank emergency exits for. Three trees have already been planted next to the dark ride building of Crush’s Coaster, and you can see even the metal surround waiting to be added.

Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, on the other hand, has an added advantage to its short waiting times compared to Dumbo next door – a great view over the construction site. Last week, the metal framework of the attraction’s outdoor queue canopy was added, which will eventually be themed to a fishing pier, with guests queueing underneath on the dried-up seabed.

Looking across to Art of Disney, you can see not only the new Arabian lamposts (similar but certainly not identical to Adventureland’s) but also the queue buildings and boarding area canopy of Cars Race Rally, which faces directly towards the Flying Carpets to create a reassuringly designed space.

Thursday, 2nd November 2006

No changes today, but a funny look towards Toon Studio from Disney Bros. Plaza to celebrate the Art of Disney Construction Fences. The time change earlier in the week also allows us to finally get a good view of Toon Studio in the dark.

Friday, 3rd November 2006

Before you even enter the park, the new construction is very noticable. And I don’t mean Tower of Terror – Studio 5’s height and vibrant blue colour really attracts your attention from the resort hub.

Inside the park, finishing touches were being made to the paintwork on Studio 5’s façade, whilst the deserted (no pun intended) Flying Carpets, hidden behind the sea of construction walls, are probably hoping more popular times are ahead.

The changing colours of Art of Disney Animation will be featured in an article all of its own, but for now this new unifying Toon colour scheme is already working well. From the top of the Moteurs… Action! arena, Studio 5 is a new icon on the surprisingly impressive Walt Disney Studios skyline.

Jumping onboard Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic, fans can now ignore Jeremy Iron’s increasingly frigid commentary and instead enjoy panoramic views from the lesser-seen side of Toon Studio. The left-hand side wall of Studio 5 was being painted last week and is now complete, leaving only the back wall of the coaster building without paint.

After enjoying Jeremy Irons in a jester outfit, the tram pulls out of costuming to give guests a great view of the new queue buildings for Cars. The curved façade is likely Luigi and Guido’s store, whilst the circular building is the entrance to Doc Hudson’s new driving school, with the large metal pole eventually holding a huge 3D neon version of the Cars logo high into the air – another new icon for the park. Back at the fan-favourite view, and some of the scaffolding and tarp on the rockwork has been removed to reveal over half is now painted in the final, deep blue colour.

Leger have specialised in coach visits to Disneyland Resort Paris for over 14 years, but also sell Eurostar, air and self-drive packages. They waste no time in mentioning their many awards, including Best Group Operator 2006 from Disneyland Resort Paris itself.

As for the brochure, it all begins, as usual, with the front cover. They’ve chosen the nighttime Dumbo visual, an image with beautiful colours and a nice composition. Perhaps it’s strange the 15th Anniversary logo has been replaced by a generic Disneyland Resort Paris one, but the cover is still eye-catching and pretty.

Front Cover

Unfortunately, the removal of that 15th logo was a sign of things to come. Open up the brochure, and… it’s a normal Disneyland brochure. Turn the page, another page, more pages, further and further… where is the 15th Anniversary? Not a single mention, anywhere.

They’re selling packages for 2007 alright – right up to Halloween 2007, infact. A double check of the cover reveals this is indeed their November 2006 to December 2007 edition. But after searching the entire brochure again and again, I have still yet to find a single mention of the new parade, two new attractions, or anything to do with the resort’s biggest event (and biggest selling point) since Walt Disney Studios opened.

Disneyland Park page

There could be a logical reason behind the non-inclusion of the anniversary, but as it stands, this is a brochure selling packages right up to October 2007 without a single mention of the reason everyone will be going to the Paris resort next year. Leger obviously have access to the marketing material, since it’s displayed right across the cover. Where is the rest of the celebration, then? Stuck on a Leger coach on the M1?

Hopefully Leger will put this right with a second edition of the brochure (which is actually rather colourful and pretty) before the end of 2006. Until then, they won’t be gaining any celebration sales for themselves or the resort.

Celebration Score: 1/10

If you’re in the UK, you can order the brochure for yourself here.