Disneyland Paris has officially announced that the rumoured Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival will indeed open at Discoveryland Theatre on 2nd July 2016, replacing the Ant-Man movie preview which ended its overlong run this week.
Update: Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival will now open earlier, on 18th June 2016! Read More…
Looks like you’re going to have to finally buy the “Ant-Man” Blu-ray (available for almost five months). It’s reported that the “preview” of the Marvel Studios movie playing in Discoveryland on and off since June last year will finally be replaced soon, with the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, an import from Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, taking its place. Read More…
Looks like you’re going to have to finally buy the “Ant-Man” Blu-ray (available for almost five months). It’s reported that the “preview” of the Marvel Studios movie playing in Discoveryland on and off since June last year will finally be replaced soon, with the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, an import from Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, taking its place. Read More…
Looking to surprise a Disneyland Paris fan amongst your friends and family with a present that’ll actually be on their wish list this Christmas? Read More…
In a world first for Disney Parks, Disneyland Paris confirmed on Friday that Walt Disney Studios Park will soon welcome Spider-Man to an exclusive meet and greet location in Backlot.
This followed a day exciting enough to set the spidey senses tingling in the park itself, when Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, stars of The Amazing Spider-Man, paid an impromptu promotional visit for the film’s imminent sequel.
Giving Walt Disney Studios Park a rare air of real “Hollywood” excitement, the pair, who star as Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Gwen Stacy, conducted interviews in a red carpet event on Hollywood Boulevard.
Garfield later posed with Disney Voluntears and children from French organisation SESSAD inside Disney Blockbuster Cafe, just metres from where the Marvel meet ‘n’ greet tie-in is taking shape at the back of the park.
• Previously — Spider-Man photo location rumoured for Backlot in Walt Disney Studios Park
As reported previously, the new photo location will be housed within the disused side room of the restaurant. Disneyland Paris was typically vague in its announcement, stating on Twitter:
Very soon, Walt Disney Studios Park will be even more exciting with the opportunity for our guests to meet #SpiderMan himself !
And on Facebook:
It’s a first! Spider-Man is coming to pay us all a visit in Walt Disney Studios Park! Just a few more days and we’ll be sharing some truly epic moments with Spider-Man himself.
No dates were officially given, with only InsideDLParis reporting Spider-Man will meet guests from 19th April to 14th July 2014, a disappointingly short stay for the superhero.
Surprisingly, the tie-in appears to be taking place with the full support of Sony Pictures as part of a promotional deal with Disneyland Paris, proved not least by the appearance of the principal actors at the park. While The Walt Disney Company owns Marvel outright and has embarked on a new Spider-Man TV series, Sony Pictures continues to own the feature film rights.
Perhaps it’s due to this promotional aspect with the new film that Spider-Man apparently won’t be staying longer. Could Disneyland Paris extend his stay with their own money if he proves popular? Backlot needs permanent fixes, not temporary tie-ins, and making this unpopular land the permanent home of Marvel superheroes is without doubt the perfect fix.
For now, this new meet ‘n’ greet will be a tiny but welcome taste of what could be…
Update — An official press release confirms the 19th April to 14th July dates and suggests that visitors “will be able to go home with their photo on the front page of the Daily Bugle”, the New York newspaper renowned for publishing photos of Spider-Man. Is that press release bumph or a hint at a fun souvenir photo design? Not long to find out.
Video featuring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone at Walt Disney Studios Park follows… Read More…
Such surprise, relief and excitement when, for the first time in forever, Disneyland Paris was right on the Disney movie schedule ball in featuring Frozen so heavily during the last Disney’s Enchanted Christmas, a perfect match for the season.
A landmark spot in Disney Dreams! of Christmas and a new redecorated float with Anna and Elsa in Disney Magic on Parade! were the talk of the season, appearing even before the film’s release. It felt like the old days of the ’90s, when Disney’s latest animation releases from Aladdin to Hunchback and beyond were always featured in the park through their year of release.
Fast forward to the thawing days of March, Frozen has just achieved an incredible double: two Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song, and — no doubt even better to Disney’s eyes — passing the heralded $1bn worldwide box office total.
Frozen in Disney Dreams! of Christmas
Back at Disneyland Paris meanwhile, Disney Dreams! has reverted to its regular self — with new scenes The Lion King and Brave added last year.
Anna and Elsa still appear on their Disney Magic on Parade! float, shared with similar Walt Disney Animation Studios successes Rapunzel and Flynn, but they’ve still yet to step down from that float to actually meet and greet their increasingly adoring public.
That means, for all the hundreds of thousands of guests visiting the park during Frozen‘s finest hour, their one and only chance of getting a glimpse or even a photo of these new heroines is a blink-and-you’ll miss it appearance during the parade.
And would anyone thinking about visiting even know they’re there? The parade’s page on the official website, for example, doesn’t feature any photos of them or, err, any actual text whatsoever. There’s nothing official anywhere to actually tell people they’re there.
In classic style, they’ve seized an opportunity yet completely missed it at the same time.
Anna, Elsa & Olaf in Disney Magic on Parade!
Disneyland Paris is constantly trying to create a pressing, immediate intent for people to visit. A reason why people, who’ve often thought about visiting but hesitated — until their kids are older, until *ahem* a new attraction date is announced — would finally get up and go.
Given the astounding success of Frozen and “Let It Go”, the sheer number of people who must have seen and loved this brand new Disney tale, could this not be a good enough reason?
Doesn’t that parade appearance deserve promoting? Don’t Anna and Elsa deserve an actual meet ‘n’ greet? Wouldn’t it be a fantastic draw to bring the Christmas “Let It Go” scene (or a new scene) to the regular Disney Dreams! show, if only for this year?
When there’s an opportunity like this, don’t let it go…
First sand, now ice: The weather in north west Europe might still be unseasonally mild outside, at least compared to this time last year when we were being hit by heavy snow, but that hasn’t hampered the efforts of the “Ice Wonderland” Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival in Bruges, Belgium one bit. For the first time, Disneyland Paris has lent itself as the theme of the event, with the artists creating giant sculptures of its landmarks and characters. In a controlled environment of -6 °C, ice sculptors were allowed to work only limited hours due to the cold — but look at the results!
Following this Summer’s popular Sand Sculpture Festival on the coast at Blankenberge, the focus here is more on Disney characters than the parks’ lands and attractions. There’s the famous Partners Statue created entirely out of ice and a whole parade of stars from WALL-E to Toy Story, The Jungle Book to Beauty and the Beast and beyond. The event is being held in the Stationsplein at Bruges (Brugge) until 15th January 2012. You can find out more at ijssculptuur.be and, for a whole photo tour of the sculptures, be sure to check out Brakesection.be’s report from the event!
Never trust a pirate, eh. For months it has seemed a sure-fire certainty: Jack Sparrow audio animatronics to finally join Pirates of the Caribbean for 20th Anniversary! But now it looks like the big Pirates of the Caribbean refurbishment planned for early next year has been curtailed and the addition of Jack Sparrow animatronics cancelled — at least for 2012. According to several sources on the French Disney Central Plaza forum, including La Rouquine, the originally planned closure of 3 months early next year to account for the changes has now been cut back to just 2 weeks. Moderator Dash adds that he learnt last week the new additions were cancelled again due to budgetary reasons.
The movie overlay, which was given to the US versions as long ago as 2006, was never publicly announced by Disneyland Paris, only confirmed internally, so we should note that for us the resort is not technically “cancelling” anything. It was first strongly rumoured for the Paris version of the attraction during the 15th Anniversary, before again appearing to be on the cards for the New Generation Festival in 2010, and then again for the current Magical Moments Festival to tie in with the fourth film, “On Stranger Tides”. This year’s 20th Anniversary plans were the closest the make-over — which could include up to three Jack Sparrow audio-animatronics, Barbossa as captain of the marauding ship, a Davy Jones mist-screen projection and other technical upgrades — ever got to reality.
While Pirates purists might raise a bottle of rum to the news that the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction will remain (for at least a little while longer) in its own world, untouched by the movies’ characters, consider what you’re drinking up to, me ‘hearties. Is the cancellation of a three-month spruce-up for this 20-year old masterpiece really a good thing? Couldn’t it stand to benefit from new technology, from improved lighting, effects and music? A robotic Johnny Depp might be a price to pay for that, but it’s probably the only (marketable) way such an upgrade would happen right now.
However, continuing the annual almost-but-not-quite game, DynastyGo reports the refurbishment is not cancelled but simply postponed, to the next financial year. But what do you think — has Disneyland Paris already missed its “opportune moment” to capitalise on the success of Captain Jack?
Things you didn’t expect to read this week: AVATAR Coming To Disney Parks. Be it from frustration at the continuing success of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter or disappointment with a string of its own wannabe-epics from Dinosaur to Narnia to Prince of Persia, Disney has resorted to jumping in with James Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox to bring their $2.7bn blockbuster to its parks. Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida will be home to the first Avatar-themed land, with construction beginning in 2013 for an opening in 2015; conveniently in line with the release of Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 in December 2014 and 2015 respectively.
James and his producing partner Jon Landau and their team at Lightstorm Entertainment will serve as creative consultants on the project and will work side-by-side with our Walt Disney Imagineers as we dream up experiences that will take our guests deep into worlds of AVATAR like never before. There are also two sequels to the record setting first film in the works, which will offer more fascinating stories, characters and locations to explore in the AVATAR universe. Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort is planned as the site of the first AVATAR-themed land with construction expected to begin by 2013.
The land will likely take the spot previously reserved for Beastlie Kingdomme, a long-planned mythological section of the Florida park, and some fans will be anxious at the thought of a mega-bucks movie franchise muscling in on the refreshingly pure landscapes of Joe Rohde‘s Animal Kingdom. Parks and Resorts chairman Tom Staggs announced the attractions, eateries and shops of the land “will be fully formed and highly themed around the worlds of Avatar,” while Cameron stands to receive receive royalties based on merchandise, food and beverage sales.
Why this deserves note here, besides it being the biggest “What the..?” announcement for Disney Parks in years, is precisely because of that terminology: Disney Parks. Their official blog is so gushing in its excitement for “Disney Parks” having secured the franchise that the construction announcement for the Animal Kingdom land comes almost as a footnote. It makes pains to note this will be the “first” Avatar-themed land… so where will the second be? “The company said it plans to add ‘Avatar’-themed lands to other parks but provided no further details,” reports the OC Register. “We don’t have plans or speculation to announce,” Bob Iger said.
We’ll speculate for you then, Bob. However, narrowing down those “other parks” doesn’t leave you with many options, depending on where or how you think Avatar might fit within the existing Disney lands. For Tokyo, DisneySea would be the strongest possibility. For California, perhaps something indoor in Tomorrowland at a push. For Shanghai or Hong Kong, well, anything goes. And for Paris… Walt Disney Studios Park could be crying out a for a big-name franchise within its gates, something other-worldly to sit beyond an extended Hollywood Boulevard, but with money so tight and such a backlog of future projects already stacked up, would Disneyland Paris ever consider spending millions of Euros it doesn’t have on a non-Disney property? Maybe by the time Avatar 6 hits screens…
Yeah sure, John. During his European publicity tour for Cars 2, which included hosting a special showing of the film for fans in Paris, John Lasseter also dropped into Disneyland Park on Wednesday. Stopping for this photo at around 2pm with the 2011-12 Disneyland Paris Ambassadors Régis Alart and Osvaldo del Mistero, Pixar’s creative chief had the pleasure of seeing Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant nearing the end of its lengthy restoration, complete with newly-returned golden spires.
We also completely missed, in yesterday’s excitement, that this would have been John Lasseter’s first ever visit to Toy Story Playland, a land he had much creative input in. Better to see it here, and when the leaves are on the trees, than as a sore thumb at Hong Kong Disneyland…