News / Walt Disney Studios Park

Toon Town in Paris comes not in the form of a real land but instead in the form of a giant backdrop, most of which was lowered into place and positioned piece-by-piece yesterday on the metal framework we mentioned in the last Toon Studio update.

Matching almost exactly the illustration seen recently on the work-in-progress 2008 map, the backdrop features a series of colourful, exaggerated buildings nestled behind the Toon Studio wall and surrounded by the Toon Town hills. As a worker lowers a section of the purple building into place, the true scale of the backdrop can finally be seen.

Of course, you’ll still be able to walk around in Toon Town, since Toon Studio is technically a movie studio located within the fictional town. With this in mind, more and more Toon touches are now making their way to the land. Whilst the entrance area with its Fantasia styles is a more serious look at the art of animation, Toon studio bears all the quirks and fun of a madcap movie studio run by the animated stars themselves.

Recently installed, seen above, are some bendy and twisted lampposts in blue and yellow, filling the area reserved for character locations and bordered by the wall which has now taken on a classic WDS shade of yellow. The work-in-progress map also showed a yellow and blue security booth in this area, where the (faux) main entrance gate is located.

Elsewhere in Toon Studio, progress can be seen all around. From Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, the queue of Crush’s Coaster is surrounded by palms and planting, though you can probably still spot the new lamps also installed here recently – and perhaps the new backstage gatepost added onto the wall bordering the Genie’s film set.

In front of the film set, the recent three-week refurbishment brought not only a general cleap-up but also new changes to the Agrabah Oasis planters, first unveiled in January. The deep red railings have now been painted silver, whilst the planters have finally been covered in sand for an authentic Arabian feel. The lookout platform next to the attraction, closed for almost a year now, has also been repainted from blue to a light purple, blending well with the blue of Crush and the green railings of Flying Carpets (photo here).

The biggest news from the reopening of Flying Carpets, though, is that guests now have the exciting opportunity to walk on the brand new flooring of Animation Courtyard. Whilst not currently what many might have expected for the land, particularly its colour, the different levels of shading from the granite tiles and asphalt mixed with the lines and strong geometric shapes do hint quite nicely back to the art of animation itself. Was this intentional? Who knows!

The Photos Magiques camera also captured a group of Imagineers with some of the construction crew inspecting the new floor, which does certainly succeed in breaking up the vast mid-section of the land and lending the area a more “courtyard” feel – ironically enough when the “Courtyard” name is about to be dropped.

And we’re not done yet… what about Animagique? Covered in scaffolding for a repaint earlier this month, the entire front wall of the building now sports the trademark shade of Toon Studio blue, whilst the large number 3 has been repainted to the same style as the new Studio 5 (Crush’s Coaster)… but not replaced. Studio 5 uses “Walt Disney Script” for its number, whilst Studio 3 will, for now, remain in its original “Impact”-style typeface. No changes have yet been made to the rest of the attraction building.

Finally, we end with an excellent overview of the entire placemaking project from Flying Carpets Over Agrabah, clearly showing the current position of all the construction fences. Yellow “Hollywood Studio” fences have captured the entrance and Sorcerer Hat of Art of Disney Animation this week, as the new flooring expands and more placemaking work begins. For a very short time, guests must enter the attraction by walking towards Studio Tram Tour and then doubling back through the attraction’s outside queue area, behind the current Hollywood Boulevard works.

So there we have it – Toon Town has arrived, a whole new floor is laid and endless new tweaks and enhancements continue to appear. Those Toons sure know how to get their way…

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see the whole lot here.

One of the most unmissable new sights from Animation Courtyard for many weeks now has been the bright, turquoise gas station canopy of Flo’s V8 Café. Now with a full roof and a clean, modern finish, the canopy has, since our last update, also received some new decor on top, matching exactly that of both the film and the concept art. The spark plugs are mounted on enlarged bolts since, like the film, certain elements of the sets are based on the parts of a car.

The bolts have been given a weathered paint job transitioning from steel grey to a dirty brown, whilst wires can be seen in place all over the spark plugs. Just like the CGI film, neon lights will zig-zag up each spark plug before forming a zig-zag star burst around the top of the plug.

Next door, the part of the building where guests will enter the queue, roughly based on Ramone’s House of Body Art (which is itself based on the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas), has now taken its final colour and a similar amount of the Imagineer’s trademark weathing treatment. An incredible reproduction, at least from the angle visible so far, of both the location in the film and the real-life inspiration, the accuracy will no doubt help greatly to make sure guests feel as if they’re on a real movie set for the CGI film.

But what do all good movie sets need? A backdrop! Be it a sandy Agrabah or a colourful Toon Town, the Imagineers of Toon Studio already realise how a good backdrop can create an enveloping themed area in a relatively tiny space. Next on the list – Cars Race Rally! Already to be seen rising in the first photo above is the impressive steel frame for this huge new backdrop, due to rise far higher than the buildings themselves to truly reinforce both the grand feeling of Route 66’s scenery and the canyon theme of the ride platform area.

Hiding in the background of various pieces of concept art since the ride’s announcement, the backdrop will be inspired by the film’s Cadillac Range, a series of jagged rocks atop a canyon wall.

Here’s a fun fact – did you know, this is also based on a real-life Route 66 location? No, not an impressive canyon, but instead a piece of public art called Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, where passers-by can see a series of cadillacs cut in half, jutting out of the arid desert landscape. The owners even invite visitors to graffiti the vehicles, meaning their appearance has changed quite a few times in their life. Hopefully guests at Walt Disney Studios won’t be invited to do the same…

From reality, to CGI, to reality – only Disney-Pixar do it this way!

Photos 1-3 by Photos Magiques. You can see even more here.
Photo 4 from Route 66 News blog.

These rumours began back in January 2006, suggesting the daytime parade of Florida’s Disney-MGM Studios could be heading to Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris for Summer 2007, exactly five years after its current parade, Disney Cinema Parade, began. Details soon changed, and as the year progressed it seemed more likely the Hollywood cavalcade could arrive in March 2008, to close the 15th Anniversary festivities in glitzy style.

Now, amidst rumours of the Florida park changing its name to Disney-Pixar Studios, Al Lutz on MiceAge.com brings what appears to be a confirmation – that the parade will be replaced in Florida, at least:

“DCA’s Block Party Bash isn’t being mothballed in the parade warehouse however. It will be boxed up and shipped out to Florida next winter where it will debut in the Disney Pixar Studios park for the spring.

“Yep, the Disney/Pixar Studios. Say it again, and then yet again, and learn to love it, because as we mentioned before, that’s the new working title for what used to be known as the Disney MGM Studios theme park. When the Florida version of Midway Mania opens in May, 2008 the plan is to debut Block Party Bash at the same time to clearly cement the Pixar presence in the rebranded theme park.”

Block Party Bash is the interactive show-parade which launched at Disney’s California Adventure park on 5th May 2005 for the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland Resort. Similar to Paris’ 2001 Toon Circus, it stops several times along the parade route for the cast to perform dance numbers and acrobatics. It will be replaced by a new Pixar-themed parade in California in late 2007, shipped to Florida for early 2008… giving Disney Stars & Motor Cars three months to travel to Paris. Convenient, isn’t it?

Disney Stars & Motor Cars Parade itself is based on the classic Hollywood cavalcades of glamorous stars in extravagant motor cars, with each car themed in a colourful, over-the-top style to the characters on board. It was launched in 2001 at Walt Disney World, as part of their “100 Years of Magic” celebration. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, the concept was used for Paris’ Good Morning Walt Disney Studios, even using a mix of the same music, and it is perhaps the huge success of this morning parade which created the desire for the inspiration behind it to come to Paris. Interestingly, Good Morning Walt Disney Studios currently appears not to be returning for 2007.

There has been no indication yet how the parade could be performed in Paris – will it replace Disney Cinema Parade, or be performed as a second parade, perhaps in the morning again? With Disney Cinema Parade facing its 5th birthday in June, the park seems ready for a change, and such a Hollywood-style cavalcade could be a perfect topping to the just-completed Tower of Terror and Hollywood Boulevard. Ironically, this would mean that just as Disney-MGM loses its Hollywood-that-never-was to a Pixar invasion, Walt Disney Studios enjoys a total Hollywood extravaganza. With Stitch Encounter also in the mix, this would give a new parade and 2 new attractions for two consecutive years.

So watch this space – in exactly 12 months’ time, the red carpet looks almost certain to be rolling out again, as a spotlight shines on a totally different dream…

You can see a full gallery of photos from what could be the second new parade of the 15th Anniversary on Photos Magiques here.

Our very first glimpse at one of the dark ride scenes inside the second portion of Crush’s Coaster (after the initial outside drop and before the spinning coaster section) comes from the French weekly weekend magazine VSD, which presents a special article dedicated to the backstage happenings of the Paris resort in commemoration of its upcoming anniversary.

Like the Dutch newspaper supplement we saw just last week, it seems Disneyland Resort Paris have been generous with the press images they supplied, giving a glimpse at attraction refurbishments, a parade waiting backstage and – of course – this first look at progress inside Crush’s Coaster.

As one of the concept creators checks plans for the colourful dark ride scene, another worker sprays paint on the detailed coral decor behind. The colour scheme is generally blue, with particular undersea plants highlighted in vibrant, saturated pinks, yellows and greens. The scene is very much reminsicent of that recently installed underwater in the Submarine Voyage lagoon of Disneyland Resort in California, though its use in a traditional dark ride design can clearly be seen.

The painted wall at the rear shows the minimal depth of the actual scenes – using advanced lighting and show design the Imagineers have been able to create very shallow scenes which, when correctly lit, appear to have the depth of the real Big Blue, allowing more space for a longer dark ride section on a comparatively small location.

The second image isn’t quite so beautiful, but is certainly a very exciting glimpse into the coaster building of the ride. With full work lights on, you can see the completed track we last saw disappear behind the concrete walls in July 2006. The large first drop can be seen middle-right, whilst turtle shell ride vehicles appear to be sitting on the brake run bottom-right, covered in protective plastic. Gantries, ladders and netting fill the roofspace, with some blue lights visible at the far end of the building.

Finally, a huge black diagonal tube can be seen on the left of the photo, enclosing the lift hill and providing the walls of the sunken submarine themeing inside. Bruce the shark, seen on-site just last month, can even be seen in position outside the submarine, waiting for the first guests to pounce on.

These photos are the latest in a growing series of unprecedented backstage previews from the resort, covering the breadth of its new 15th Anniversary attractions. Covering both sides of this unique attraction, they appear to prove that not only do we have a pretty thrilling coaster to look forward to, but that it has a beautiful Big Blue dark ride introduction to go with it.

Many thanks to abu on Disney Central Plaza forum for photographing these images.

Is this an anniversary “just like we dreamed it” ? Surely, it has to be even better! Not only are four new attractions due to open in the next 12 months, but half of the park is currently being transformed with new themeing to form Toon Studio and Hollywood Studio. And if that wasn’t enough, perhaps the one remaining disappointing corner of the park has finally received the final nail in its coffin…

Just last week, our partner site WDSFans.com reported that the final closure date for Walt Disney Television Studios (the Television Production Tour) has now been confirmed to Cast Members. The attraction, which was never a great success (and became a source of both humour and embarrassment for fans), will officially close for good on 16th April 2007 to allow preparations for Stitch Encounter to begin. Farewell Julie… may your glorious singing and unforgettable hairstyles bring great joy to all in Yester-WDS!

For months now, the opening date of Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally has been thrown around all over, from an originally confirmed 10th June opening to the more recent rumours of a 17th June opening, as Disneyland Resort Paris sat quietly in the corner and laughed… But perhaps there was a reason – since today, on the 5th birthday of the park, they have finally broken the wall of silence and announced a final, confirmed opening date… 9th June 2007!

The announcement comes from the official anniversary website, Disneyland15.com, though it appears the previously confirmed press event of 16th/17th June 2007 will still go ahead. The reason for this week delay is perhaps the grand opening of TGV Est on 10th June 2007, a new high-speed line to Eastern France that will open up many new destinations to both Paris and the resort itself. To ensure maximum possible coverage for these two incredibly important new attractions, then, the press will have to wait a week longer than guests for their grand premiere.

So – birthday popcorn all-round! This production is finally coming together, and with all the style and grace you’d expect from a tribute to the magic of the movies.

It was over one year ago now that the first preview of the upcoming attraction was added to the construction site – a giant billboard on top of La Terrasse. Reading “Préparez-vous pour le grand saut! … Get ready for the BIG DROP!” and showing a darkened illustration of the finished Hollywood Tower Hotel, the board mentioned neither an opening date or the attraction’s actual name.

Now, a second phase of preview decorations have been added to the expanded construction walls mentioned yesterday, with a strictly more extravagant Hollywood style. Although, having said that, the new decorative boards which stand out the most are the grimy, rusty Service Elevator doors modelled on those in the attraction itself.

Credit to burne on Disney Magic Interactive Forum for capturing these latest photos from the park.

Taking up two wall sections each, the false doors feature a large number “13” as a foreboding warning, and are joined by large reproductions of the recognisable “HTH” (Hollywood Tower Hotel) symbol on either side.

Several of these “Service Elevators” are featured along the length of the fences bordering Disney Bros Plaza and Place des Stars, whilst between them, separated by three fence sections, are smaller placards displaying a visual of the final attraction and some brief preview text.

In a modern early-20th Century typeface and enclosed within a fitting Art Deco border, the text takes its inspiration from the infamous speech of Rod Serling (or at least the actor portraying him) heard during the attraction’s pre-show video and on board the elevators themselves. Whilst it certainly doesn’t tell us anything new about the attraction, by removing all details of what exactly happened “on that fateful night”, suspense is taken to new heights…

Hollywood, 1939.
Amid the glitz and the glitter of
Hollywood at the height of its golden age, The
Hollywood Tower Hotel
was a star in its own right.
But something happened.

Something dark.
Something unexplainable.
Something terrifying.

And it’s happening once again.

But this time…
It’s happening to you.

The
Twilight Zone
Tower of Terror

These signs are the very first mention of the attraction’s name within the park – no longer will passing guests point towards “The Big Drop”. And perhaps more importantly, The Twilight Zone itself is very prominently mentioned, finally putting to rest the discussion of its inclusion in the Paris version that has been simmering ever since the new attraction was first announced in January 2005.

The full French name as rumoured many months ago is also confirmed. Taking the style of “Les Tapis Volants – Flying Carpets Over Agrabah“, the official in-park name will therefore be “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Un Plongeon dans la Quatrième Dimension” (A drop into The Twilight Zone). Try saying that after you’ve just fallen from the 13th floor!

However, in a similar style to “Buzz Lightyear Bataille Laser“, the attraction will be advertised in France with the much more marketable “La Tour de la Terreur”, ensuring the audience understands the concept whilst keeping a quick and punchy title.

For guests wondering what on earth the enormous 183-foot construction is, these fantastically well themed fences (at least considering DLRP’s history in this department) should now provide a vital preview over the next nine months.

Conveniently, they’ve also been added just in time to catch the extra Anniversary guests of April, before then lying in wait for the stampede of newcomers to Toon Studio in June – hopefully giving them all a reason to return when those Service Elevator doors open. Through quite a powerful editing of the text to describe simply “something”, the suspense and tension of The Hollywood Tower Hotel should now be capturing guests long before the January 2008 opening.

Of course, we know exactly what this “something” is, right? We know of the lightning strike, the disappeared guests and the plunging elevator. We all know exactly what happened on that terrifying October 31st in 1939…

Or do we?!

See – the mystery is working already!

Photo 1 by Photos Magiques. All other photos by burne, Disney Magic Interactive Forum.

Seen from the Vinci parking garage of Disney Village, construction on the foundations for the new street sets and landscaping is already well underway. All of the previous planters, flooring and landscaping around La Terrasse has been removed, leaving the bare shell of the Art Deco building. Large digging equipment is on-site and the first significant blows for the foundations have been made, as can be seen under the fences surrounding the queue of Art of Disney Animation (photo 2).

This spot in particular will be for the storefront of the recognisable “Gone Hollywood” boutique at Disney’s California Adventure, whilst the La Terrasse area will become home to a new Pueblo Deco facade around the existing body of La Terrasse itself, creating a new Mediterranean-flavoured space with only minimal access through to Tower of Terror – the main entrances, instead, will be via a path leading from Place des Stars to Studio Tram Tour, right past the front gate of The Hollywood Tower Hotel.

The current impact of this work on the park experience is pretty unmissable, though some recent improvements to guest experience have been made. The oval 15th Anniversary signs seen on the fences around Fantasia Gardens have now appeared along these walls, whilst several fences directly in front of the Tower have been given a very clever service elevator overlay (see photo on magicforum here). For guests heading towards Studio Tram Tour, a new configuration with the path presents a far more organised approach. The entire stretch is now devoted to the attraction’s queue, easing guest flow and allowing it to be separated into a clear entrance and exit.

To give a grand sense of scale to this project, or at least show the vast area of Walt Disney Studios it has the chance to influence, this final view from the skies (by Disney Central Plaza’s resident aerial photographer, Jollyroger) gives a perfect overview of the entire construction.

You could almost see the Studios as a present without a box or any wrapping – unfortunately, half the fun is unwrapping a present, right? This construction right at the heart of the Studios will, hopefully, tie it all together to create a much more satisfying package. The area now surrounded by construction fences is almost as large as the rest of the park’s paths put together… If this project was about “filling in the gaps” of a park between its otherwise very successful attractions, it appears to have already succeeded!

Photo 4 by Jollyroger on Disney Central Plaza forum.

All other photos by Photos Magiques. You can see more here.

Beginning with the familiar view over Cars Race Rally, something here will catch your eye as interesting progress. The whole area has suddenly become surrounded by large wooden poles and posts of various sizes, most surrounding the ochre desert rocks. Though we can’t be sure if they’ll remain this size, they appear to be ready to act as path barriers and to help restrain the extra greenery due to arrive in this area, eventually forming a large natural sheild around the canyon from the courtyard outside Animagique.

However, a series of far larger poles could have a different story. Roughly bordering the future Route 66 leading from the Crush’s Coaster entrance to the far edge of the Cars area, their height gives the impression of large telegraph poles, a common sight along Route 66. Though perhaps currently, at least, their vast height is too large even for this when compared to the miniaturised canyon below. We’ll definitely keep you posted on this one. (oh yes!)

The poles even appear to tower above the Toon Town backdrop, seen above, which has now added a few more metal frames to its collection. These will eventually be the supports for various buildings in the faux environs of Toon Studio.

A few short steps and there’s even more progress to see, this time with paint and primer. Paint, for the side wall of the Crush’s Coaster dark-ride building. After the installation of the stunning “fresque” early last month, the wall to its left has finally received colour, leaving only the longer section of the building, to its right, without its ocean blue finish.

The primer is, of course, for Disney Studio 3. After several months of “will they”/”won’t they”, the front wall of the Animagique theatre was finally wrapped in scaffolding late last month and has already lost its classic yellow to a fresh coat of white primer. The building will almost certainly be repainted in the same blue as Art of Disney Animation and Disney Studio 5, completely tying the land together in a single, different colour scheme. No signs of work on the rear wall facing Front Lot have yet been reported, and, since blue here would throw off the entire park entrance, it’s safe to say this will remain yellow.

Now, whilst not an incredible step in the transformation of the land, it’s nice to see that the new planter in front of Art of Disney Animation (added last October) has now received some extra plants amongst its tall, stylised trees. No signs of a barrier around the planter yet, though this will perhaps be added along with the Sorcerer Mickey statue and his arch of stardust.

Time for the most major part of our update today – a unique look at the rapid progress made on Cars Race Rally recently. Specifically, the queue line buildings and boarding area. The photo above shows the circular entrance building with the pistachio-green Flo’s V8 Café canopy on the far right. Concrete flooring and queue line barriers can already be seen, and some very traditional Route 66 tiles have already been applied to the bare concrete of the circular building.

Finally, two photos exclusive to DLRP Today from Photos Magiques! Over the temporary fence next to Art of Disney Animation, the zoom lens focuses in further on the queue and boarding area, giving a very first look at the more industrial, “backstage” area of this Pixar “film set”. To familiarise yourself with the layout of the attraction, take a look at the map here.

In the first photo, one of the two boarding areas and the ride’s main control booth can be seen. The boarding areas will be used to group the correct number of guests ready for the two pairs of turntables, and the gas station themeing of Flo’s V8 Café can already be clearly seen. Rounded concrete footers and gas pump-themed supports will enclose guests, whilst the booth is themed somewhat like the pay kiosk of a Route 66 filling station. Buttons and control equipment can already be seen inside.

The second photo turns the lens as far to the left as possible, with the attraction entrance and Radiator Springs storefronts directly ahead. Upon entering the queue, guests will walk through several indoor corridors inside these “film set” buildings, before then stepping outside to this “backstage” canopy-covered area. The bare concrete form of the paths can be seen, and many of the queue line railings are already in place.

All three of these photos also show the height difference very clearly – once out of the higher entrance building, the paths lead down a small gradient into the Flo’s V8 Café boarding area seen above. This adds not only to the effect of the “canyon” ride area but to the general immersiveness of the entire Toon Studio area.

So much progress from every angle! And all in a park named after the champion of progress, Mr Disney himself. The themeing seems on an entirely different level to the rest of the current park, taking you into different, foreign lands, and they’re still not done! The next few weeks should see even more construction walls descend on the land, as the tarmac flooring is replaced with a more “Disney” alternative and Flying Carpets Over Agrabah receives a long-awaited, three week refurbishment.

And so, to end, a photo dug up from the WDSFans.com archives, taken little over one year ago, that truly shows the power of progress…

Click Here and remember what we’ve left behind!

All photos by Photos Magiques. You can see the full collection here.