News / Merchandise & Boutiques

The brand new souvenir calendar for 2009 is now available in the shops and boutiques of Disneyland Resort Paris! Every year, regular as clockwork, we get another one to add to our collection. From 2002, they featured the Earful Tower and Walt Disney Studios Park for the first time. Then, in 2008 — all change! The water tower landmark of the Studios replaced by its towering Hollywood Tower Hotel neighbour.

In 2009, the change remains in place, albeit with a more colourful new illustration:

After all, you’re more likely to buy something with that fabulously-themed, thrilling, star attraction on it, than something with a simple water tower, right? Earful fans, have no fear, he’s still around as the “true” park icon, on tickets, maps, logos and so on, but there’s no arguing The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror‘s immediate status as an icon of Disneyland Resort Paris.

Inside, things remain almost equally unchanged. Many of the pictures are exactly the same as 2008, whilst some have simply switched around (compare July and August with your 2008 calendar, for example).

Some of the more generic photos on the 2008 edition are replaced by new images for things like Stitch Live! and Toon Studio, whilst Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast is now represented by a visual from the Florida attraction (notice the stuck-down guns) rather than the old image of Buzz actually outside the Paris attraction.

It’s available now for €6.90, at least rather more economical to collect than pins, eh?

[Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com]

That poor Earffel Tower. As if being replaced first by the Tower of Terror and then by a monstrosity of a Sorcerer’s Hat in Florida wasn’t bad enough, its sleeker, more beautiful, 66-ft tall Parisian form has just been knocked off the “park icon” top spot for the first time, well and truly overshadowed by The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror almost three times its size.

Since mid-2001 we’ve known Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant and the Earffel Tower as an unstoppable duo, splashing themselves across merchandise, logos and more as perfect icons for the two Disney Parks. Now, with Tower of Terror just six months away, the people behind the magic just can’t use it fast enough. Delayed by almost four years, their E-Ticket starvation has finally been filled, and they’re going to make sure everyone knows about it…

And so, for this 2008 Calendar at least, the clean and simple lines of the Earffel Tower fall to the dark and menacing Tower of Terror, illustrated before a full moon with one of the ‘O’s in ‘Hollywood’ blown out.

Inside, the format of two pictures per month has returned, with the Tower of Terror (shown using the photo from Disney’s California Adventure featured above) paired up with Phantom Manor for the first time as a double-act of “atmospheric chills”.

With Phantom Manor’s lines falling more frequently of late, such a double-act could certainly work well, much the same as the way Space Mountain: Mission 2 and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith appear to have thrill-seeking guests running between the two.

This “beacon for the show-business elite” is also, already, a beacon for the merchandising elite.

Calendar photo from the latest Photos Magiques trip report; Tower photo © Disney.

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.

The lower section of Disney Store at Disney Village has been transformed almost into a dedicated 15th Anniversary boutique, both with its standard Lumière banners, wall decorations and floor stickers and with its new golden yellow colour scheme outside. Like almost every boutique across the resort, Hollywood Pictures has a special area reserved for the general merchandise line of the 15th, complete with 3D Lumière decorations and banners.

Disney Store decorations / Hollywood Pictures sale display

The same selection is available almost everywhere, and much of it is currently aimed at children, with colouring books, clothing and stationary completing the standard range of merchandise. More variety has just arrived though, such as a new clothing line with a more “adult” anniversary logo – featuring the date of 2007 and “15 Magical Years”. Strange, since the Anniversary continues into 2008, but with several different t-shirts and sweatshirts already available this provides welcome variety to the offering.

Generic 15th merchandise / New 15th clothing line

A little more exclusive and exceptional Anniversary merchandise has also just appeared, such as the 15th Anniversary wine revealed a few weeks ago, now available from Disney’s Newport Bay Club, Disney’s Sequoia Lodge and Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne. The first wine with the Disney stamp on it, this has yet to actually be spotted inside the Disney Parks, perhaps suggesting it’ll be a resort-hotel-only offering, to keep the more traditional Disney execs happy.

15th wine at Sequoia Lodge / Pair of 15th glasses at Harrington’s

But how to drink the wine in perfect Anniversary style? Head to one of the more exclusive stores, such as the glass workshop section of Harrington’s Fine China & Porcelains in Main Street USA, and you’ll find these beautiful pairs of glasses with the 15th Anniversary logo etched into the glass, supported by none other than Mickey and Minnie Mouse themselves.

Limited edition Swarovski pendant

And finally, for the most exclusive of all Anniversary merchandise and souvenirs so far, splash out on a limited edition Swarovski Crystal pendant featuring Tinker Bell, created exclusively for the resort and its 15th Anniversary! The price tag? Probably larger than the pendant itself…!

In 1992 Euro Disneyland raised eyebrows by being the very first Disneyland to allow alcohol to be served inside its gates, though only at its six/seven table service restaurants. Other Disney parks have since followed, and alcohol can now be ordered with table-service meals at Tokyo DisneySea, Disney’s California Adventure and three of Walt Disney World’s parks.

Now, to honour the 15th Anniversary of the Parisian resort “dans une manière très française”, another daring initiative is being launched, this time as a key merchandise or gift item in the rapidly-growing collection of 15th Anniversary souvenirs. Presented in a beautiful, dark glass bottle with silver seal and white etched logos, the first branded wine from Disneyland Resort Paris comes in a presentation package and displays a lot of “taste” before you’ve even managed to pop the cork.

Following a premiere at the January Cast Member Rendez-Vous event, it will be launched imminently as a red Merlot and a white Sauvignon, available for 15 Euros from both table-service restaurants and boutiques.

An excerpt from the latest Backstage magazine, previewing the wine:

Have a wine time

Wine is synonymous with all sorts of celebrations. And because this year we’re enjoying our biggest birthday bash ever, we’re also launching our first branded wine.

Disneyland Resort Paris’ first ever bottle of branded wine is launched in boutiques and table-service restaurants throughout the Resort from early March. The wine, available as red Merlot and a white Sauvignon, actually premiered Backstage at last January’s Rendez-Vous des Cast Members event.

From the bottle to the contents, every inch of this product is something special. The front of each celebratory bottle is beautifully etched with the 15th Anniversary Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant. “We wanted the bottle to be very modern, and a lot like a bottle for olive oil – another great French delicacy,” explains Nathalie Scialom, Food & Beverage Communication Manager.

The responsibity of selecting the wines went to a group of experts that included Bacchus-qualified Food & Beverage Cast Members. The group of wine experts, trained by our Company to understand and speak about wine, met for a tasting sesssion and made their selection.

The wine retails at 15 Euros (in restaurants and boutiques) and comes in a presentation package. It is therefore the ideal gift for any celebration.

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If the two varieties of branded wine are a success, who knows where this new merchandise line could go… Pirates of the Caribbean-branded rum?

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.

No no – don’t worry, this is really just the latest creation in the long Disneyland Resort Paris tradition of year-specific merchandise, as reported in Joel’s latest Photo Hunt update. Each year, the resort creates a new character-based logo to use on all kinds of merchandise – from photo frames and photo albums to keychains and calendars. This year, the numbers of the year have taken on the appearances of Goofy, Minnie, Donald and Mickey, with legs, ears, bows or hats to distinguish the famous hidden characters. In the background, the recently introduced drawing image of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant and Front Lot has been used.

Interestingly, there is no mention of the 15th Anniversary on next year’s merchandise, meaning that, if 15th Anniversary merchandise is created, it will be as an additional line to the 2007 (and later 2008) items.

As you can see from the sleeve, the main feature lasts 28 minutes, with the advertised 9 bonus videos totalling 26 minutes of footage. The main feature is said to use a story to guide you around the resort, with Chip ‘n’ Dale stealing a boy’s camera to lead him on a wild adventure across both parks.

The 9 bonus videos include: The Making of the Film, The Seasons of Disneyland Resort Paris, The Parades of the Parks, The Construction of Sleeping Beauty Castle, A Visit to the Disneyland Resort Paris Hotels, and more. The whole disc is presented in 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio, with the newer footage appearing to be letterboxed.