News / Peter Pan’s Flight

Disney’s Fastpass will not return to Disneyland Paris, the resort confirms, as it launches a new, paid replacement service titled Disney Premier Access that will cost visitors up to €15 per person, per ride just to skip a single queue.

Waiting for the best time to visit Disneyland Paris? This is the year. New additions, rolling upgrades and a root-and-branch refocusing on Disney quality are coming together to present the best time to visit Disney’s European resort in… 25 years? Read More…

Disneyland Paris has formally revealed a four-point renovation plan to “reinvent the magic”, covering ten key attractions in both parks. In planning for several years with the codename “Project Sparkle”, the major slate of refurbishments and updates will both restore lost details and add fresh new features, aiming to bring the Disneyland Paris experience fully in line with its American counterparts. Read More…

No sooner has the pixie dust settled on the announcement of a major programme of attraction refurbishments, Disneyland Paris has already changed the schedule. Dubbed the Experience Enhancement Plan on the UK website, the new updated list of closures sees several works slipping to later dates and some disappearing altogether. Read More…

Fancy staying up late in Disneyland Park? Normally you’d have to visit in October for a special after-hours party at either of the Halloween theme events, but that’s set to change this June. For 2011, a brand new party will mix two themes in one night: Mickey’s Princesses & Pirates Party. Both Adventureland and Fantasyland will reopen to ticket holders at 8pm with eight attractions, a huge selection of characters and a variety of special entertainments to keep you entertained right up to 11pm. Four parties are scheduled, for Monday 1st and Fridays 10th, 17th and 24th June. Tickets cost €25 or £22 and are available to buy now online, from your local booking hotline or at the parks. You can find the full programme of events and all the information over on DLRP Magic.com, here.

Although certainly the inspiration, this event shouldn’t be confused with Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party at Walt Disney World, which kept the whole of Magic Kingdom open and concluded with an exclusive fireworks show. Disneyland Paris previously looked at bringing this event over in 2009, when it was tentatively scheduled for February. Launching in the balmier evenings of June seems like a much more enticing proposition for budding rogues or royalty.

As you enter Disneyland Park right now, the view along Main Street USA is a scene of change — the banners and castle decorations of Mickey’s Magical Party finally in their last days after a year of ruining photos, and there on the right, two buildings enjoying a full refurbishment.

The first to be wrapped in scaffolding was Disney Clothiers, Ltd. back in mid-February. Since then, the white tarpaulin covering has been given a very smart dressing-up to resemble the hidden façade itself, on all three sides.

This has become a trend for all Main Street refurbishments in recent years and is a real sign of Disney-quality operations alive and well. The covered Disney Clothiers has even had its entrance widened to full width and false windows put in either side of the scaffolding!

Backing up a little, the big news on the street is Town Square Photography being given the exact same treatment. The famous Kodak-sponsored photography store is currently hidden behind a refurbishment covering for much of its exterior — only the blue “photographic studio” section next to Discovery Arcade on the left remains uncovered.

This is noticeably more ramshackle in appearance than the slick refurb covering next door, but it’s likely we’ll soon be seeing a similar fake Town Square Photography façade unravelled soon enough.

With no flowers yet in bloom, there are still plenty of changes yet to come for Main Street before the “New Generation” lands… as always, March is going to be a busy month.

Over at Peter Pan’s Flight, the work has been and gone. The ride re-opened from a regular refurbishment in the first week of February:

Changes outside don’t appear to have stretched above ground level this time, though the refurbishment did see all the queue line walls and barriers repainted in their original light green. Inside, all effects and lighting were fully freshened-up.

Over in Adventureland, a project begun last year has finally restarted — replacing the rough jungle terrain in numerous parts of the land. In recent years, the concrete paths have become almost as perilous as tackling the suspension bridge with a gang of schoolchildren, littered with holes and cracks…

Last year large areas of Discoveryland’s floor were replaced, including around Star Tours and entire area between Space Mountain and Orbitron. Some work was done here in Adventureland, near the Frontierland border, and it appears an even larger job is now ongoing, resurfacing the area front of Restaurant Hakuna Matata and therefore closing this important thoroughfare to Adventureland Bazaar.

Hopefully the area you see above, outside the fences, along with countless other places around the resort will be given the same treatment — this needs to be a rolling project given the state of many pathways.

Since the entire path here is closed, so too is Restaurant Hakuna Matata itself (not a rare event, in truth), with signs pointing across to Au Chalet de la Marionnette in Fantasyland — although you might just be better doing a u-turn and going to Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost, unless that’s also closed…

And finally, the date many people have been waiting for: Friday, 19th March 2010. That’s the date when the Castle bridge refurbishment is scheduled to end, finally reopening the main route into the front of the Castle after a major two-month project to partly rebuild and rewire it. It’ll miss St Patrick’s Day, but still — only two weeks to go…

Now an annual tradition in this era of theme years, March is when everything changes.

Photos by Dlrpteam for DLRP Today.com

First, a scheduled refurbishment for Peter Pan’s Flight, which began on Monday.

With major modifications in recent years such as the “air gates” in the loading area, the work this year is focusing on pure refurbishment. On the outside, general repainting and restoring details in the queue area.

The attraction reopens, all freshened up next Saturday, 6th February.

Retracing our steps through Fantasyland, we stumble upon the big one: the Castle Bridge. A couple of weeks ago we reported the sudden, unannounced closure of the bridge, which was swiftly wrapped in scaffolding and tarpaulin covers on all sides.

While the front of the bridge has a pleasing Sleeping Beauty theme, the sides are as wrapped up as could possibly be — we’ll likely see no sign of changes or improvements at all until they come down.

And when will that be? Still no date, sorry. But we do have a few new details since the last report. Though not being completely replaced as some rumours suggested, the bridge will see indeed a part of its structure replaced, along with extensive works to rewire and upgrade its lighting.

So, it could well be another month or more. And when the scaffolding comes down, it’ll look fresh and new but not any different — the original plans are being strictly stuck to.

Until then, as mentioned previously, there are still many places for that classic photo in front of the Castle, such as the Adventureland and Royal Castle Stage areas. Or stand a little further back up Main Street, U.S.A. and you won’t see it at all (although you might need to use someone’s head to block out the persistent Mickey’s Magical Party decorations).

Photos by Dlrpteam for DLRP Today.