News / Refurbishments

And there we were, thinking the end of the 15th Anniversary on Saturday would be the last we’d see of any red carpets for a while… wrong! The new Central Plaza Stage has now been given its final top: a water-proof, slip-proof red carpet with Mickey Mouse shapes and outlines in golden yellow.

The stage, at least, won’t be anywhere near as brash and modern as some of the Mickey’s Magical Party advertising. Its sides — pre-formed plastic/fibreglass-type panels — are remarkably faithful to the original Imagineering designs nearby, continuing to present little medieval inlets and holes in a similar style to the lower brickwork of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant and particularly Le Théâtre du Château nearby.

Above, a larger opening can be seen — likely the place where characters will disappear under the the stage only to reappear via the vertical lift in the centre of the main stage later in the show.

And, if they’d rather use the stairs, they’re in luck — contrary to earlier views we’ve seen, a full side-on view as above reveals these are far wider and lower than expected, making the climb up or down from the new stage far easier than the tricky old steps.

The work for the arrival of It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends doesn’t stop here, however. As reported previously, the pathways to the South either side of Central Plaza are being widened to allow more guests through whilst the plaza itself is filled with guests watching the show.

Particularly between Main Street, USA and Frontierland, the entire area is now surrounded by construction walls and tarpaulins, with not a single chance of a view inside.

• See Mickey’s LED-illuminated new costume for the show here!
• See a full video preview of a segment from the show here!

Pictures: PhotosMagiques.com

Advertisements for Mickey’s Magical Party are generating a lot of interest in the resort right now, no doubt helped along by that 40% discount offer.

Just a few seconds ago, for example, an email dropped into the inbox of thousands of Disneyland Resort Paris fans and visitors in the UK:

The email shouts “With Mickey’s Magical Party, we’re bursting with New experiences, New shows and a New attraction!”, linking across to the official celebration website — which itself was updated just a few days ago to include some extra videos and photos.

But what about their paid-for advertising campaign? The UK office have sent us a little update on what to expect: “Throughout February and March, we’ll not only be on key TV channels but also in popular magazines, posters in your local supermarkets and online.”

So, open up a popular magazine this month and you might just be treated to be a double-page advertisement for the celebration and the resort, using a shiny new visual of colourful balloons floating through the sky.

Photo: Kris, magicforum.

This new print ad doesn’t specifically mention any of the new events, choosing to lead just with the bright new key visual. The biggest balloon in which cleverly reflects a depiction of the main It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends show on Central Plaza, with Timon, Baloo and Aladdin in the background and crowds of eager guests reflected in its ears.

Here’s the full image exclusively on DLRP Today, without the print campaign text:

Notice that the stage appears closer to its final design than the earlier marketing images, yet Sleeping Beauty Castle is shown very prominently — without its confirmed decorations.

You’ll probably agree the general colours and style of this beautiful new key visual are also far subtler and nearer to the classic “Disneyland Paris” image we remember — those bright and colourful balloons are still present, but don’t overpower the image.

Images © Disney.

Has someone at Disneyland Resort Paris been reading the several less-than-optimistic murmurings about the upcoming Mickey’s Magical Party online? It looks like they’re bolstering the escape routes in anticipation…

No no, of course not. This past weekend, more construction walls arrived around Central Plaza to close off two secondary paths which lead to Frontierland and Discoveryland avoiding the main hub. You might have used them to leave quickly on a Summer evening, or to rush to your first attraction in the morning — you can spot them on our Main Street, U.S.A. map, and they’re one of the unique features of Paris’ hub.

View by Casey’s Corner

Not so much accepting that downbeat fans will want to skip the Party then, more accepting (again) that Central Plaza was never built to handle these large, popular shows at its core.

For Candleabration, such a huge gathering of guests blocking all routes into the park is usually fine, since there’s only one show a day and it happens just before everyone leaves.

View by Frontierland entrance

But think about the new show — It’s Party Time… with Mickey and Friends. Up to five performances a day, all the popular characters — perhaps even (if we’re lucky), the main core of the Plaza (its raised curb/sidewalk area) being closed completely to guests, allowing everyone an even view.

There’s going to be an awful lot of people crowding the foot of Main Street, U.S.A., meaning those who’ve already seen the show, or don’t want to see it, will have to all squeeze down these extra routes.

View by Plaza Gardens/Tips Board

The only thing known about this work is that it will “widen” the paths. Concerns about the lack of space for popular shows here was only raised as recently as this Christmas, when, for safety reasons, the park’s record attendance meant that none of the scheduled performances of Enchanted Candleabration were advertised on the park programme, in case such a large volume of people appeared that all walkways were blocked.

Photos by Scrooge, Disney Magic Interactive forum.

Though Stitch Live!, the interactive “living character” show at Walt Disney Studios Park, was an instant hit upon opening last March, its pre-show areas inside the re-purposed Walt Disney Television Studios building weren’t quite as successful.

Part of this was fixed in August 2008 when the main pre-show video — an advertisement for Disney Channel — was completely replaced by a new introduction featuring the stars of Lilo & Stitch beginning the storytelling before you enter the main theatre.

Now, you can finally take a seat while you enjoy this part of the show! Most guests would previously congregate at the back here before, leaning awkwardly on the covered windows, so this is a smart sign of spotting where the guest experience can be improved — if only with a simple bench.

The outside waiting area has also received a new screen as part of the latest changes. In its 2002 incarnation, this area featured a block of nine rear-projection screens which were both rather faint and rather dated in appearance from their introduction.

This time, the Imagineers have gone with a giant plasma/LCD flatscreen, housed within an indented border. The frame which surrounded the old screen has been entirely changed and the screen now displays an animated space scene and displays updates counting down each minute until you can proceed inside.

However, the screen does appear to have some issues with reflections in this covered outdoor space… and was it a good investment just to flash up how many minutes we’ve got left to wait? Why not explain how TV satellites work, or the history of Disney and television, such as the old ‘Disneyland’ TV show?

• Discover our brand new guide to Stitch Live! — find out how the technology works, the defunct attractions which used to be housed in the building and more!

Photos courtesy of our friends at WDSfans.com!

Hearing the news of hip hop beats and jazzy street dance that are to come when It’s Dance Time… in Discoveryland premieres, the dreams of visionaries and the historical future held by Discoveryland may have cracked just a little.

But, if the latest word is true, it won’t the more classical, Verne-inspired area of the land welcoming DJ Stitch and his loud party tunes, but the other side of Discoveryland… that arguably even more strange, 1980s/90s corner which houses Star Tours and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Discovery fans, breathe a small sigh of relief.

Current work going on over by Star Tours has seen the entire ground dug up around its towering entrance sign, from Videopolis right across to Star Traders.

View from the Fastpass entrance to Space Mountain:

Photo by Mathieu, Disney Central Plaza forum

And, in a light dusting of snow, from Discoveryland Station:

Photo by dlrp team, Disney Central Plaza forum

This would be a completely new location for a live show in the park, since the few other entertainment events held in the land have been positioned further toward its entrance. You could even suggest that, by positioning a live Stitch-hosted show here, they might also be trying to drum up more trade for Star Tours and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience themselves, both taking noticeable dips in guest numbers in recent years.

Why do they need to dig up the ground, if this is work for the new show (which is supposed to be hosted by Stitch atop a moving podium, with just coloured dance mats on the floor)..? Unfortunately, we don’t know yet. If only this were a true Tomorrowland like all the others…

Photos as credited.

The noise began way back in the early months of 2008. Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, the walk-through and maze at the back of Fantasyland, entirely unique to the Paris park, had not had a good Winter. Paint was peeling, props were dying, lights were dark and green dirt was growing.

On 20th February, we brought the pictures and calls for a refurbishment from the French Disney Central Plaza forum to an English audience with our Wish List article “Return to Wonderland”.

The noise continued for several months on magicforum, Disney Central Plaza and beyond, as fans brought home pictures of the labyrinth’s desperate state in a desperate hope that someone at Disneyland Resort Paris would stumble upon the problem. We touched upon it again in our latest Wish List entry, “Priorities of paint”, charting the confusion of seeing unimportant areas repainted before the attraction that needs it most.

Well, today we’ve got some exciting news via our partners. It appears the calls have been heard. Be it Bob Iger’s recent visit to the resort, the considerable noise from the fan community, a maintenance crew member suddenly discovering the problem, budget finally being made available or it just simply “being time”, the refurbishment is coming!!

To be exact, Alice’s Curious Labyrinth is now scheduled to close in September for ONE MONTH (an entire month!) to allow for a complete refurbishment. The source for this news, magicforum admin Kristof, also confirms that several brand new replacement props are already waiting backstage to be installed.

Forget your unbirthday, now this calls for a tea party!

[Pictures: DCP members]

On a sunny day in the height of Summer, crowds bustling around the walkways, a calm breeze in the air, there’s no better place to be at Disneyland Resort Paris than aboard one of the riverboats.

However, fans will know all too well that the stories surrounding one of these two majestic ships could compete even with those of her namesake — Molly Brown. We learnt in March 2005 that this unsinkable grand dame was not immune to an engine overheating, and, as she sat paralysed in the middle of the river for well over six months, we learnt she was also at the mercy of the legendary Marne-la-Vallée weather.

Jump forward to June 2007, however, and we were heralding her return with a triumphant comeback article speaking of the lengthy refurbishment and bright new coat of paint all over. Now, in Summer 2008, how is she looking?

Generally, quite good. But look closer, and you see the cracks beginning to show again — or rather, things growing in them.

Because, whilst Molly Brown still looks bright and clean enough from her refurbishment in 2007, a steady collection of weeds growing out of her inner side could suggest it’s time for another quick refresh.

Whilst paint needs repainting, weeds just need pulling. The majority of them grow from the cover around her side-wheel paddle, but also from the edge of her lower deck, on the side which faces toward Big Thunder Mountain, away from Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing — but too far for a maintenance crew to reach? Apparently so.

Unfortunately, they aren’t even unique to the side of this riverboat which faces away from the mainland. Look at the photo below left, and the first plant life on her other side is also beginning to grow.

Climb aboard Molly Brown and you’ll probably never notice, we know, we know. Although it does seem even her on-board commentary now needs a little refresh too — Old Joe’s dog disappeared from his fishing pier many months ago, and now it seems Old Joe is missing too, though his fishing line remains!

It’s just a shame for riverboat fans that, in this case, that old “if it’s broken: don’t fix it, remove it” motto that plagued the resort in the early part of this decade doesn’t apply to simply pulling a few weeds. Don’t miss the boat again, Disney — nip it in the bud.

[Photos: DLRP Today.com]

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]