News / Disney Studio 1

In our last report on the iconic entrance building’s plight, we discovered scaffolding climbing up its façade again. Not for a new billboard, we believed, but for a long-awaited refurbishment. Correct! What we would not have expected, for a building treated so badly by Euro Disney SCA over the past five years, would be a brand new –temporary — covering for the building.

A huge fabric/tarpaulin covering, hiding the scaffolding completely, decorated with a huge image of the building itself. See it from a distance, and you can’t even tell it’s there — Disney Studio 1 looks as if it’s back to its glory days already!

As you get closer to the park, the effect of removing the second ‘Cars’ billboard truly becomes apparent. For the first time in years, we see beautiful reflections in the glass at the front of the building and the entire Place des Frères Lumière finally once again feels like the extravagant, beautiful, sunny entrance plaza to a true Disney theme park it should be.

But wait — it gets better. Around the back of the building, we can spy a match-up we’ve been waiting years to see. The façade of Disney Studio 1… and a “Wet Paint” sign!

The turquoise/green doors and ‘Studio 1’ signs were repainted here last week. There’s currently no word whether the huge wall of scaffolding might also move around here to repaint the arguably much worse-looking walls above, but let’s hope so.

To decorate the giant soundstage — at the time of construction, the largest in Europe — with a huge temporary façade during its refurbishment obviously shows that this first image guests receive as they step through the turnstiles is indeed very important. The same way Fantasia Gardens is a beautiful and inviting entrance to Disneyland Park, designed by the Imagineers because of their realisation that Europeans liked to be enchanted a little before parting with their money, Front Lot should be a glossy and relatively commercial-free area.

So, let’s keep it this way, please. No more billboards!

[Photos: DLRP Today]

Step into Walt Disney Studios Park today and you won’t see 2/3 of Disney Studio 1 covered by a billboard. No, instead you’ll see almost the entire façade covered with scaffolding.

Progress? Actually, yes!

As far as most reliable sources have indicated, the scaffolding has actually repositioned itself and grown to allow not for a new billboard — at least, not yet — but for a full refurbishment of the soundstage façade — it’s first since opening in 2002!

The following two photos, taken yesterday by dlrp team on Disney Central Plaza, show how scaffolding has been removed from the green windows and instead begun to climb either side of the area previously covered by the billboard:

The columns either side of the entrance doors remain visible and scaffolding has yet to reach as high as the number ‘1’ plaque atop the building, which does have some visible dirt.

At the end of yesterday, Friday 4th July, scaffolding was also clearly ready to begin climbing the left side of the building, just visible in this photo from mouetto on the same French forum:

To begin such a large-scale refurbishment now, just as one of the resort’s two busiest seasons is beginning, seems an odd planning move to say the least. For all the months of advertising ‘The Celebration Continues’ and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, those guests who booked earlier this year won’t get the ideal introduction to the new, improved Walt Disney Studios Park.

The removal of the billboard, surprising in itself after all this time, also brought another surprise — the façade actually isn’t looking too bad at all. At least not compared to the awful state of the façade on the opposite end of the soundstage, or that of Studio 3 (Animagique) facing onto Front Lot.

Though perhaps badly timed, this is hopefully just the first step in one of the greatest outpourings of yellow paint witnessed since 2002.

[Photos: dlrp team, mouetto, Disney Central Plaza forum]

It began with scaffolding, building and building, higher and higher… Was it a refurbishment? Was it a set of gallows for Michael Eisner? No and no – it was a record-breaking new attraction for the Studios! One of the biggest billboards in all of France!

Originally celebrating the release of Chicken Little, by 3rd April 2006 the little Billboard had grown in size further and changed his affections to Pixar’s Cars. Still towering over Front Lot after 12 months, the future of the billboard seems uncertain.

With no major animted Walt Disney Pictures release for many months, what are we to expect? ‘Cars’ could stay until the DVD release of the movie. It could even stay until June 2007, when the ‘Cars Race Rally’ attraction actually opens at the park.

Whatever the future holds in store, happy birthday, Billboard! You’ve brought us more respect than ever before for the elegance and beauty of Front Lot!

xxxxx