The ceremony on Main Street began with the letters of the new Alpha Bet You Are street performers wandering and interweaving down the street, before forming the word “Disneyland” at Town Square. The mayor from the morning opening ceremony returned to introduce the spectacle, introducing each letter as it twirled and bowed for the frantic cameras on the press platform.

As the 15th Anniversary Pre-Parade, with its marching band, special anniversary float and hundreds of volunteers rolled into view, the letters moved to one side and the entire cavalcade came to a highly choreographed stop, providing the press with a perfect view along Main Street. With everyone in place, the mayor next introduced the host of the event – Arnauld Gayet, one of the two Disneyland Resort Paris ambassadors for 2007.

Stepping up onto Mickey’s special anniversary float (the redecorated Snow White float from Disney Princess Parade), Arnauld announced in both French and English, “Hello everyone! I am very happy to welcome you all here today to celebrate our 15th anniversary. Please, give a very warm welcome to our special guest – Miss Andie MacDowell!”

Andie MacDowell, famous American actress from such early nineties blockbuster hits as Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral then joined Arnauld on the float as the marching band played, to launch the anniversary and introduce the new parade premiering in just a few minutes. “I am very happy to be here,” she announced in French and English, before apologising for her language skills – “Please forgive me, because my French is horrible and it’s such a beautiful, beautiful language. I’m really happy to be here and I’m going to try with some really bad French, but I want to tell you that my kids and I love Disney and we’re going to be here with you enjoying the park – so if you run into me please say hello, I’m not afraid of being spoken to! So if you see me, say hello!”

Andie continued, “Ok, so here’s my bad French,” before describing how being at the park was a dream come true and that “it’s a small world” was the favourite attraction of her and her children, with several pauses to apologise for language and a final apology of “Sorry it’s not sunny!”

The choice of Andie to host the launch was interesting – not just because of her rather hestitant French, but also since she almost appears as a symbol of the early 1990s – just when Euro Disney first opened its gates. As the “godmother” of our anniversary, she could almost be to Paris what the 1950s/60s-associated image of Julie Andrews was to Disneyland California’s 50th.

Arnauld next handed over to Mickey Mouse himself, “As Walt Disney once said, it all started with a mouse… so Mickey, what’s next?”. Mickey began in his usual lively tone “Hi everybody! Bonjour! Gee, I just love a celebration! And look who’s with me today, a very special guest – Ashley!”. The special guest, a young girl wearing a white fairytale dress similar to that of the girl in the resort’s TV commercials for the anniversary, then climbed up to the top of the float and slid down its special red carpet slide to join Arnauld, Mickey and Andie. Mickey announced “And now, who better than a child to tell us all about dreams, wishes and storytelling?” with Arnauld translating in French.

Andie stepped forward and asked, “Bonjour Ashley, now I’m going to ask you a very important question – how does every fairytale begin?”, then in much improved French (the actress had obviously practiced this line), “Quelle est la phrase qui commence tous les fées?”. With a confident and punchy answer, Ashley replied – “Il était un fois, once upon a time – or – once upon a dream!” as Arnauld continued “Yes Ashley, it’s just like you dreamed it!” before reminding Mickey that it was time for him and his Disney friends around the float to get ready for their big entrance in Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade.

With Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy and Chip n Dale running off to the Discovery Arcade exit, the marching band played a final medley of “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah” and everything was ready for the final countdown to the big fifteen. As a sense of anticipation filled the air, Andie and Arnauld kicked off the countdown, as the 500 volunteers and Cast Members in blue and yellow coats let off their balloons year-by-year with Ashley counting up the numbers from one to fifteen.

As the count hit fifteen and the sky was filled with balloons, the soaring music of the television commercials and Candleabration – from Universal’s Peter Pan live-action film – filled Main Street and the giant balloons atop the roofs of the turn-of-the-century buildings exploded one-by-one, launching a mist of golden confetti across the street.

Then, once again led by perfect showman Arnauld, the cast and crowd joined together for a rousing rendition of “Joyeux Anniversaire / Happy birthday to you”, sung in perfect Disneyland Resort Paris style – French and English combined. Arnauld announced “And now, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Disneyland Resort Paris, we are proud to present in just a few minutes… Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade!”, and the opening lyrics of “Just Like We Dreamed It” began.

The blue and yellow-dressed volunteers walked around to their reserved spot outside Main Street Transportation, continuing to smile and wave to the crowds in a jubilant atmosphere, whilst a special second pre-parade of colourful characters filled the street, as everyone waited in anticipation of the brand new parade…

Photos by Photos Magiques or © Disney.

The time: 14:45. The place: Disneyland Park parade route. The spectacle: spectacular! Whilst the clouds above grew thicker and rain began to pour down, Disneyland Resort Paris had the perfect treatment to lift spirits – and get the 15th Anniversary launch off to an unforgettable start.

As the clock hit quarter-to and the sence of anticipation along the parade route grew stronger, the sound of live music suddenly began in the distance and a classic Disneyland-esque marching band strolled into view. Dressed all in red, white and gold, the marching band has long been a Disneyland tradition – although the last memorable performance in Paris was perhaps as long ago as the 5th Anniversary pre-parade of 1997.

Playing jazzed-up Disney melodies such as the “Mickey Mouse March” and “Under the Sea”, they led the way for the Fab 5’s special anniversary float – the redecorated Snow White unit from Disney Princess Parade, retired just one week earlier. The characters wore their blue “Year of a Million Dreams” and Candleabration costumes, dancing around the red carpet slide at the centre of the float, which had also been decorated in large blue plaques featuring the new resort logo.

After the float – a sea of blue and yellow! Disney Cast Members from across the park joined together with Disney VoluntEARS from across the region to help parade hundreds of white, yellow and blue ballons with fifteen larger balloons – counting up the numbers from 1 to 15. Everyone involved got blue hats, yellow scarves and a special blue raincoat decorated with the two anniversary logos.

The pre-parade marched all the way to Main Street USA, in front of the press podium, where it met Andie MacDowell and resort ambassador Arnauld Gayet for the grand launch ceremony.

Photos 1-5 by Photos Magiques.

Come a little closer, step into the wonder of everything that’s waiting for you, through those 15th Anniversary-themed doors of the Main Street boutiques…

Well, a new CD Single, at least! The first release of new, never-before-available music in over 15 months, infact. Featuring simply the standard version of the Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade and Candleabration song, ‘Just Like We Dreamed It’, along with an instrumental version, the CD is priced at the standard 5,50€ and presented in a pastel and navy blue cardboard sleeve with the “15 Magical Years” merchandise logo and illustrations of Mickey and Lumière.

The back cover features full lyrics, but also credits for the song. So, for the first time, we can learn that not only was the music executive produced (as expected) by the resort’s musical director Vasile Sirli, but also by well-known Disney theme parks musician Bruce Healey, most famous for his work on Disney’s Fantillusion.

We also learn that the vocals on the song were recorded by Renee Sandstrom and Ruben Martinez and, of course, the first thing to do here is a quick google of those names… Could either of them beat the “fun fact” power of Dancin’ (A Catchy Rhythm)‘s Joey Diggs being most famous for the “Always Coca-Cola” song?

Whilst Ruben Martinez is hard to source, only popping up on a handful of Disney remix CDs such as Mickey’s Dance Party, Renee Sandstrom (better known as Renee Sands) seems to be quite the cult star. A singer from a young age, she has cult status for starring as a young girl on the late 1980s MGM show “Kids Incorporated”, which it seems was picked up by The Disney Channel after its first season. Wikipedia introduces it by describing “The series revolved around a group of children and teenagers who performed in their own rock group, Kids Incorporated.”

And now, the voices of both singers – both with previous Disney connections – can be heard several times daily in Disneyland Park, as well as countless homes across Europe and the world, thanks to this CD!

So is this it for 15th Anniversary music releases? Certainly not! Another interesting detail on the CD is that it carries the catalogue number EDDA036-2, whilst the last CD release, a re-release of the Disney’s Fantillusion Parade CD, carried the number EDDA034-2, leaving a gap in the line and hinting towards another CD yet to come. Another sneaky hint is the shiny sticker on the plastic wrap of the new CD, proclaiming “15 Magical Years in Music”. For the resort to produce a special sticker just for this CD is unlikely, and whilst this CD features brand new music, the sticker appears to hint towards a release featuring music from throughout the fifteen years.

Perhaps those whispers of a special album, or even double album are getting a bit louder, then. We’d better keep our eyes (and ears) open…

You can find more information about the CD, and every other music release in the resort’s 15-year history, on our own Disneyland Resort Paris CD Archive, which also features 30-second previews from each track.

Approaching the park through Fantasia Gardens, the rush of guests was already much stronger than the day before, with extra ‘Guest Flow’ Cast Members even positioned out front to direct guests. At the top of the gardens, it immediately became clear Disneyland had been very busy overnight, with the new, recorated, Lumière entrance adding a new touch of gold and blue to the 15-year-old Disneyland Hotel.

The banners seen on the resort hub and around Central Plaza had also now made their way to the gardens, surrounding the Disney Legends statue whose wand pointed upwards to a blue sky… that wouldn’t last (look out for another article with slightly sunnier pictures than 31st March soon!).

New park entrance decoration and banners

The entrance itself is a brilliant overlay of the 1992 original, replacing the old Euro Disney-years’ castle silhouette with a new 3D Lumière and two new oval plaques displaying the 15th Anniversary logo and castle. The plaques appear as if they’ve been on the entrance for fifteen years themselves, the design is so in tune with the entrance. For once, seasonal decorations that won’t make an Imagineer cringe!

The surprises didn’t stop with the new entrance. Stepping through the turnstiles, guests were greeted by one of the rarest sights from the resort’s history – a live dixie brass band performing at the foot of Main Street Station! Fresh from their brief appearance at the earlier Red Carpet Ceremony for the press, they gave a hint of the things to come during this day of new surprises and returning favourites…

Dixie brass band under Main Street Station

Not everything in the park for the anniversary was quite so complimentary to the theme, though at least they were trying. The huge white press platform erected a day earlier was given a new covering of “15” logo symbols, to make clear it was only a temporary feature for the anniversary press event. Lights surrounded the platform, important for the cloudy day, whilst film crews already began to prepare their waterproof camera covers for the afternoon’s launch ceremony.

Press viewing platform takes over Town Square

Lights were also positioned along the length of Main Street, as were large blue and white balloons containing confetti, to be burst during the launch ceremony later. A temporary projection and filming booth on the roof of North-East Main Street provided the location for many of the official press photos to be featured in later articles, as well as the source of the startling projections seen during the night’s special performance of Candleabration.

Lights and balloons prepare for the afternoon’s opening ceremony

Walking further on, right down the middle of Main Street USA, as it happened, and suddenly another lost favourite from the past strolled into view – turn-of-the-century townspeople! Fresh from their appearance in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, they took a stroll back along the street and clearly relished the chance to meet and greet with guests… and the Emporium statues.

Turn-of-the-century townspeople stroll Main Street, including the Mayor

At the end of Main Street, standing to one side from the press cameras and presenters still on the cobbles, the rarely-seen mayor took the chance to chat with guests after the opening ceremony. The entire park opening ceremony and much of the events to follow were all surprisingly traditional and almost entirely in tune with the park and its lands. This anniversary is clearly about the classic magic of Disneyland, rather than giant birthday cakes and ill-fitting Jester hats.

Finally, how to top-off one of the most exciting and bustling early-morning walks down Main Street for years? Can you say… marching band?! Originally a daily feature at the park upon its 1992 opening – much like the original Disneyland – they were lost amongst the financial choas that ensued. The most recent memorable performance of a Disney marching band in the park was perhaps as far back as the 5th Anniversary. But, for one day only, Disneyland Park once again had its very own marching band.

The video below shows a glimpse at their walk around Central Plaza, but their star performance – with an even larger group of muscians – was without doubt during the special pre-parade at 14:45, to be featured shortly.

Video features:
1. Park Entrance
2. Main Street Station Band
3. Mayor of Main Street & Press
4. Marching Band

An exceptional welcome to what would become an exceptional day. Love or loath the press invasion, their power to kick the park into full motion is always appreciated!

Disneyland Park ready to begin its biggest party ever

As the press filled the end of Main Street, a bright red carpet stretched off into the distance towards the Central Plaza stage and Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant, creating an image like that of the striking print advertising for the anniversary. The ceremony was hosted by the Mayor of Main Street, only seen on the most rare occasions, along with one of the two 2007 Resort Ambassadors – Wendy Courquet, first introduced during The Christmas Parade of 1st January 2007.

The show began with a special marching band, not seen at the park since perhaps as long ago as the 5th Anniversary, who provided music for the equally rarely-seen Victorian townspeople to dance to.

Miley Cyrus joins the Fab 7 on the red carpet

With cameras frantically zooming and photographers clicking away, the stars of the show strolled onto the red carpet – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Chip n Dale, joined by 15-year-old Miley Cyrus, star of Disney Channel’s hit show Hannah Montana. The Fab 7 wore their new, blue “Year of a Million Dreams” costumes, as seen in the new nightly Candleabration ceremony show. Following them was a colourful gang of Disney characters old and new, from Lilo & Stitch and Chicken Little to the Three Little Pigs and Genie, helping to recreate the red carpet scene from the resort’s current commericials.

Miley with Mickey & Minnie / Cutting the ribbon with Wendy Courquet

After posing for the cameras, Mickey stepped forward with Miley and ambassador Wendy. Making a short speech in English, Miley said “I am very excited to be celebrating this day of dreams with you. I would love to wish a very happy fifteenth anniversary to Disneyland Resort Paris, especially since this year is my fifteenth birthday too,” before the Mayor of Main Street proclaimed “C’est Magique! Miley, Mickey, Wendy, it’s time to – cut the ribbon!”

The drums of the marching band swelled to a climax as Miley cut the ribbon and the anniversary celebrations officially began, with all of the characters, Victorian dancers and stars joining together to dance to a live brass band rendition of Mary Poppins’ classic “Spoonful of Sugar”.

Press overrun Main Street / Rolling up the red carpet

With the ceremony over, guests could finally move forward to enter the park or get a glimpse at the red carpet being rolled up, as film crews continued to capture the events and find suitable backdrops for their presenters. Amongst the well-known faces watching over events amongst the crowds – Vasile Sirli, the resort’s Musical Director, and Karl Holz, CEO of Euro Disney SCA.

Photos 1-3 © Disney.

Video features:

1. Disney Characters’ Express rehearsals

2. Spit ‘n’ Polish for Main Street and First Press Filming

3. Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade final rehearsal clips