News / Fan Events

If you’re a Shareholder or an Annual Passholder, no doubt you’ve been going “Totalement Toquée” for a few weeks now, waiting to hear exactly when you’ll get your first chance to experience Ratatouille: The Adventure.

Putting an end to what, unsurprisingly, sounds like an onslaught of requests for information, Disneyland Paris has confirmed today the all-important dates.

In a brief notice, Annual Passport previews for 26th – 29th June 2014 are confirmed:

Due to a lot of requests, please note that there will indeed be Ratatouille previews for Annual Passholders (Dream, Fantasy, Francilien) from June 26 to 29.

More information about the registration process will be sent soon by the teams in charge.

Meanwhile, members of the Shareholders Club for Euro Disney S.C.A. were sent their full registration details this morning, with the “Actionnaires” event taking place on 28th June.

If you’re a member of the club, you should have received an email with the full details, though these are also available on the club’s official website under “Your Personal Space”.

Online registration for this event is mandatory, on a first-come-first-served basis, and must be completed no later than Monday, 23rd June 2014.

On the date, Saturday, 28th June, attendees will be able to check in from 9.30am at the entrance of Walt Disney Studios Park, with both the attraction and Bistrot Chez Rémy reserved for shareholders between 10am and 2.30pm (thanks to @Jorienvh_ for these details).

So, let’s recap all the Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy dates in full:

• 17th June 2014 onwards — Cast Member previews
• 21st – 22nd June 2014 — Grand Opening / Press Event weekend
• 26th – 29th June 2014 — Annual Passholder previews
• 28th June 2014 — Shareholders Club preview
• 10th July 2014 — Official Public Opening Date

All of which leaves a mighty space to fill of almost a fortnight between the last preview on 29th June and the official 10th July opening, during which we can surely expect some wider public “soft openings” — when regular park guests are invited to unofficially ride the attraction, allowing a final test and adjust phase before opening.

It can’t be stated so confidently that Bistrot Chez Rémy would be included in this, although you’d think Disneyland Paris would want to continue trialling that too — it’s spectacularly important that they get this restaurant right, first time, and the general public can often behave and react to concepts very differently than invited guests and Disney fans.

Regarding the release of preview dates, hopefully the teams involved at Disneyland Paris have learnt a lesson that guests prefer this information sooner, rather than later — say, a month in advance at the very least — especially when complicated travel plans and accommodation bookings from outside France have to be made.

So there we go, folks — now tell us below, when will your first “Ratmobile” ride be?

Disney’s Newport Bay Club continues to plot its course toward a full renovation of its more than 1,000 rooms and three wings. Disneyland Paris spent a day noting the improvements on its Twitter feed this Monday, starting with the publication of the new room concept art above.

Indeed after some of our recent comments on Twitter, this article could well be titled “Disneyland Paris publishes concept art shocker”, but no — there are exciting, big changes going on at Newport Bay Club, the largest of the Disney Hotels, and which in truth always felt just that bit too big and a bit wishy-washy with its style. As well as updated décor, furniture and facilities, this complete renovation should bring more Disney warmth and character to its hallways.

In the rooms, the fresh but faded original colour scheme of stark whites is being completely renewed with rich blues, nautical bronze and warm walnut wood. It’s like a touch of Disney Cruise Line elegance at Disneyland Paris.

Fans got a first look at one of the trial rooms, pictured, in September last year. The 524 rooms of the East Wing officially closed on 1st November 2013 until further notice, with the works planned in three phases, including the Central and West wings, to minimise disruption.

It’s not just Mickey ears on the bedposts. Just like the recent renovations of Disney’s Sequoia Lodge and Disney’s Santa Fe, a new character-filled border lines the room; here with fun classic Disney characters in watery porthole scenes.

Most furniture has been completely replaced, with a less monolithic television cabinet and drawers, and a vastly improved, far more useful corner dressing table and plush chairs. Carpet is richer and more ornate, as is the crisper new curtain pattern.

Neat, custom-designed throw cushions are modern, as are the clean white sheets and matching runner (not quite ready at the time of the room preview above).

Bedside lights are warmer and still nautical, yet in a rather more natural way.

Compare the new rooms with the (current) old design, below.

That’s an incredible improvement all-round; adding only faint Disney character touches, removing tired examples of 1990s taste and implementing a far more timeless aesthetic.

It’s not just the rooms seeing refurbishment works, either. Photos Magiques reported that the New England theme hotel will see work to its exterior wood panelling and lighting, while the lobby and reception desks will see changes to improve guest flow.

Disneyland Paris also shared the picture below, showing works to the hotel’s popular pool area where scaffolding took one month to install. As well as “filtration systems and maintenance being changed and adapted to new standards”, the pool area will see some “acoustic comfort” improvements, we’re guessing to reduce echoes from its ceiling.

After the works, it will also be possible to access the outdoor pool directly from the inside, something which apparently hasn’t been possible for years due to safety reasons.

Note that along with the pool and health club closure pencilled in until roughly October, the Yacht Club Restaurant is closed until 31st July 2014 and Cape Cod restaurant will be closed 3rd March to 31st July, during which time breakfast will be provided in the hotel’s adjoining convention centre.

What with free wi-fi already on-board, the horizon looks bright for Disney’s Newport Bay Club and what must be the most impressive and well-judged of the resort’s hotel makeovers to date, with modest character additions and much-needed improvements.

Up next in the coming years will be Disney’s Hotel New York, the “art deco” hotel which desperately needs some fresh sparkle to bring it out of the ’90s and up to modern grade for its price bracket. Can’t they work just that little bit faster…?

• On Photos Magiques: More photos of the new rooms — Look back at the current rooms

PHOTOS @Disney_ParisEN (Twitter), Photos Magiques

EXCLUSIVE — Marianne Sharpe and David Sultan of the Disneyland Paris merchandising team preview the new Disney Light’Ears at an informal panel discussion just for fansites. Learn about the design, development and production of the ears, how they work and what we can expect when they launch this July at Disneyland Paris.

• Watch, like and share on YouTube here!

Congratulations — if you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the 85% of Disneyland Paris fans who visit fansites at least once a week. Let’s hope you’re not also one of the unfortunate 8% of fans who have never actually visited the resort. There, just two of the many intriguing statistics recently dug out in a huge “infographic” of 7,760 responses to the official Disneyland Paris Fan Survey we were asked to help promote last year.

The full infographic is included below. Revealing that fans who responded visit Disneyland Paris on average 10 times a year, 71% are between 18 and 34 years old and 59% (versus 41%) are male, the results of the online survey also reveal what fans themselves want from Disneyland Paris and its communication with us. The official Facebook, YouTube and Twitter streams are given a perhaps surprisingly resounding thumbs up — 87% satisfied with the official Facebook page, 83% with Twitter — while a slightly lower 79% are satisfied with merchandise opportunities.

Though the simpler tickbox answers have generated some nice stats for this infographic, the more interesting text-based answers are what we hope the resort listens and learns from. Most fans, as well as desiring special treatment from the resort, also want to see it succeed and improve in itself. After all, the more successful Disneyland Paris is, and the more people who understand the “magic” of the place, the more confident we’ll feel in our own position as fans.

The suggestion of an official blog for news and backstage insights is still a great one, and probably brought up as much from our desire to read it as our belief that — like the excellent US Disney Parks Blog — it would help in the resort’s promotion and communication with the wider public.

Likewise merchandise, which it’s noted fans want to see more “geared to the resort experience” (ie. based around lands and attractions, rather than generic characters) — we want better merchandise so we can more happily part with our cash and support something dear to our hearts. Rather than improving for us, fans mostly want Disneyland Paris to improve for itself first.

Full infographic attached below… Read More…

Videopolis Theatre in Discoveryland saw a packed house at 10.45am on 12th April 2012, as the Disneyland Paris Ambassadors welcomed legendary Imagineer Tony Baxter to the stage for a one hour discussion of its history, creation and progress “from concept to reality”. From broader points about the challenges his team faced in bringing a Disney park to Europe, he went on to discuss his favourite hidden details in the park, anecdotes of meeting Walt Disney, and even shares his very own version of the contested Phantom Manor storyline…

Couldn’t make it there yourself? We’re proud to present our own, exclusive video of the entire event for you now, above — including the special appearance of all the worldwide Disney Ambassadors from every resort to pose questions to Tony himself.

Disneyland Paris president Philippe Gas, the Disney Characters, two thousand Cast Members and even the French Air Force stunt display team came together at 9.45am on Thursday, 12th April 2012 to celebrate exactly 20 years to the day that Disneyland Park — then Euro Disneyland — opened its gates to the public. Experience the whole event, including the welcome speech, the spectacular flashmob dance to “Magic Everywhere!” and the truly epic walk along the purple carpet, cheered along by Cast Members from every department, as if you were there with our exclusive original video.

• More videos, reports surprises from 12th April 2012 to come, including Tony Baxter’s ‘Disneyland Paris: From Concept to Reality’ discussion at Videopolis!

Disneyland Paris president Philippe Gas, the Disney Characters, two thousand Cast Members and even the French Air Force stunt display team came together at 9.45am on Thursday, 12th April 2012 to celebrate exactly 20 years to the day that Disneyland Park — then Euro Disneyland — opened its gates to the public. Experience the whole event, including the welcome speech, the spectacular flashmob dance to “Magic Everywhere!” and the truly epic walk along the purple carpet, cheered along by Cast Members from every department, as if you were there with our exclusive original video.

• More videos, reports surprises from 12th April 2012 to come, including Tony Baxter’s ‘Disneyland Paris: From Concept to Reality’ discussion at Videopolis!

If you’ve already enjoyed our video of the Disney Dreams! World Premiere, filmed from the middle of Central Plaza, then prepare for a whole new angle on the dreams. The next evening, for the show’s 1st April Opening Night and first two public performances, we waited with the eager crowds for almost an hour before the show began to grab a spot right on the front row.

Standing here, at the foot of the bridge to Sleeping Beauty Castle, the projections are clearer than ever, the pyrotechnics thrillingly close and the fountains towering overhead! And with the gasps and cheers of the larger crowd, our second complete 1080p HD video of the show gives you a whole different atmosphere with the 20th Anniversary nighttime spectacular, too. The view isn’t necessarily “better” than elsewhere, just different. That’s the beauty of this show: you get a great view from anywhere in front of the castle, and there’s space for around 15,000 people. It’s huge.

So sit back as we invite you there, to the Opening Night of Disney Dreams!.