20th Highlights: Memories

I try and keep my articles very impersonal, I tend not to use 'I' and not talk about my personal opinions. (If you want to read that, check out my twitter page). But for this final 20th Anniversary Highlights week, I've decided to break with that and talk about my memories.

I first visited Disneyland Paris for the 20th Anniversary Celebrations during the Halloween season, and was impressed by the golden banners and 20th decorations. It was a subtle type of decoration, yet noticeable. The music of the parades was perfectly chosen for a feel-good mood, the park looked beautiful. I settled down in Central Plaza that night, and watched Dreams! with my own eyes for the first time and was blown away by it's beauty and technology, I've seen a few night time spectaculars in my time, but this is up there with the best.

But, my personal memory comes from this article I posted on my personal blog, I've obviously edited it a little bit (and removed some irrelevant things from it), but I hope you find my personal memory of the 20th Anniversary enjoyable.

Creating unexpected Magical Memories

It's rare that something happens and I feel the need to write it down right away, but tonight that happened.
During the past year I've made plenty of memories.  Memories that will stick with me for a life time. Most of the things I do are planned, but today I didn't plan anything, and today perhaps I've made my favourite memory of all. But what constitutes as a magical moment? That depends on the person I would say. To me, a magical moment is a feeling you get. Every magical moment may feel different, but when it happens you just know. I felt it during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, I also felt it watching Disney Dreams for the first time. 

This afternoon I had planned an afternoon browsing the sales at the Val d'Europe shopping centre, and that did happened. Then I thought I'd browse the sales at Disney Village.
I had dinner, then saw the time. 18:30, so I thought at that moment I would go into Disneyland park and ride Big Thunder Mountain. I arrived at the ride at 18:40 and saw a 15 minute queue sign. Perfect, enough time to ride it and get out the park and get the bus at just gone 7. The queue was not 15 minutes, they had begun the process of shutting down the ride and removing the trains. I eventually boarded at 19:02. Disney Dreams (the nighttime spectacular had already started). The train leaves the station. This is where it begins, I saw the fireworks coming from the castle in the distance as my train whirled around the mountain. Brilliant! We arrived back, there were people waiting for the front and back carriages only. 'Mesdames and monsieurs, vous pouvez faire une deuxieme tour'.
Lesson 1:  Big Thunder Mountain is one of Disney's most popular rides. It's fast, family friendly and beautifully themed.
Lesson 2: You NEVER get invited to go again on a Disney ride.

So the train left the station again. This time even more fireworks, the fireworks in Disney dreams are colourful and rather beautiful, seeing these in the distance was a real treat. It is certainly an image ill never ever forget. As we arrived in the station people chanted 'RETOUR RETOUR'. We didn't get a third go, but the woman came over the announcement system wishing us a 'très très Bon soirée'. I then walked down

liberty arcade serenaded by a beautiful song from the film Tangled. I arrived at the bottom of a deserted Main Street and I didn't leave as intended. I stayed to watch the end of dreams. I was surrounded by about 15 other people all spaced out. And as I ended I just felt a strange feeling. I smiled and did that almost cry but not cry thing. It's a beautiful show, but nothing will compare to how I saw it tonight. Thank you Disney.
How do we mark memories? I got into the pin collection craze at the London 2012 Olympic Games, before that I had a few Disneyland Paris pins, but not really a collection. Since then, I have managed to create a rather large collection of pins. They say we can attach memories to a pin, that is true. That night I bought a Big Thunder Mountain pin, what you have just read is the memory I have attached to it. 

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I would be very interested in hearing your memories, is it a special 20th Anniversary event, or maybe something more personal? Leave a comment below, or send me a tweet @dlptownsquare 

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade!  
4: Magical Seasons 
5: Disney Dreams! 
6: 12th April 2012 
7: Disney Light'Ears

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20th Highlights: Disney's Light'Ears

The Glow with the Show technology debuted in Disneyland Resort in the Summer of 2012 to widespread
amazement when the annual pass holder preview video came online, the sea of ears glowing to the World of Color show looked simply stunning. After that, less and less people used them and then Disneyland Paris announced they were coming to our European resort from Summer 2013 under a different name 'Light'Ears'. Were they to be more popular in Paris?

The premise of Light'Ears is extremely simple, this Mickey Mouse eared headwear lights up to the rhythm of the Disney Dreams show, it reacts to beats, bangs and emotional moments. This is all done by infra-red sensors located inside the hat linking up to the Ear Mitters right down Main Street USA. The result is a beautiful show made even more beautiful by placing you right in the middle of it. See DLRP Magic's video from the launch press event. 

Have they taken off in Paris? Sales figures are very encouraging, thousands of pairs have been sold allowing guests to enjoy the magic throughout the summer. However, being in the park the ears seem more sparse, perhaps because of the summer crowds, they are more spread out and less noticeable.

Image: Disney

These ears bring the emotion of the show closer to the guest and bring colour right into Central Plaza and down Main Street USA in a very non intrusive way, the ears turn off and on, change colour and flash in ways that seem logical and non distracting. The big highlight of the Ears was the 'Friends on the Other Side' scene (which can be seen in the above video), the flashing of the warm orange colour mixed with fire worked very well.

Image: Disney

 As the park exits it's 20th Anniversary season, the Disney Dreams! show has given a lot of promise for the future, as have the Light'Ears. Seeing the technology in action is breathtaking and gives a desire to see the show again and again in new ways. We look forward to seeing new scenes programmed to the ears and even, perhaps, Disney Dreams of Christmas! with ear functionality.

You can read our review of Disney Light'Ears here, and our critical essay of Light'Ears here.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade!  
4: Magical Seasons 
5: Disney Dreams! 
6: 12th April 2012 
8: Memories

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20th Highlights: 12/04/2012

April 12th, for Disneyland Paris fans this date has a special meaning in their hearts. The optimism in the air at launch was replicated exactly 20 years on as Disneyland Paris hosted a special day of entertainment which delighted everyone from standard guests to the biggest Disneyland Paris fans.It didn't matter what you were interested in, Disneyland Paris had something very special for you to enjoy for one day only!

Image: Disney

There were multiple character meet opportunities in Main Street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland celebrates, these were short shows and opportunities to see rare characters up close and personal. This was one not to be missed by character and Disney lovers.

The highlight of the day for Disney fans was the Tony Baxter Masterclass event, Tony Baxter was a key figure in the creation of Disneyland Paris, and for fans to be able to meet him, and hear stories from the creation of Disneyland Paris was a rare treat. For fans who have yet to see the talk, this video from DLRP Magic! will get you up to speed. This event was hosted by 2011-2012 Disneyland Paris ambassadors Régis Alart and Osvaldo del Mistero in the presence of all Disney Parks ambassadors from around the world.

The other big event was the Cast Member flashmob, Disneyland Paris had spent a lot of money getting the park looking beautiful for it's 20th Anniversary, and into a place that its Cast Members would be proud to work, this showed at the opening of the park on 12/4/2012 as thousands of happy Cast Members descended onto Main Street USA. It set the tone for the year ahead.

Disneyland Paris has held many celebrations in the past, but perhaps the day that will stand out (in recent times) the most will be the 12th April 2012, it's rare for fans of the resort to get up close and personal to those in charge, and those imagineers who put us where we all are today. Let's hope that 2017 and the 25th Anniversary will provide fans with another of these rare opportunities.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade!  
4: Magical Seasons 
5: Disney Dreams! 
7: Light'Ears
8: Memories  

Continue

What's New, What's Next Day 2 Recap: Merchandising!

The event that has sent fantastic positive energy running through the Disneyland Paris twitter feeds continued today, whilst we recieved slightly less news, what we did read excited many Disneyland Paris fans.

Merchandising
The lucky bloggers and website owners met Régis Alart, a name not unfamiliar to Disneyland Paris fans as he previously worked as a Disneyland Paris ambassador and now works in the merchandising team, more specifically collectables. 

The Phantom Manor attraction merchandise is selling well, and this line will soon be extended. (As we've already seen with lanyards coming next week). 
There are new Vinylmations to come soon, including The Little Mermaid series, Pins have seen a strong 2013 and they seem to be very happy with the way that is going in Disneyland Paris. 

Today's big news was a new 'Art on Demand' service in the Disney Gallery Store in Disney Village. The system is simple enough, walk over to a screen, search through the listings and find a piece you like, select how you want it finished, and it's framing. Take the ticket to the counter and pay. Your art will be at your house in 2-3 weeks.  The beauty of the system is that, whilst over 200 pieces are on the system now, more can be added at any time without having to create more stock. The customer gets the art they want. 

You will be able to buy attraction posters (a long awaited feature from Disneyland Paris fans), and images of Walt and many more Disney related images. 

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
The invitees were then given a tour backstage at Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Disney Village, see Magic Forum soon for a full report on that. 

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is the second most popular show in Disneyland Paris after Disney Dreams! and will see a Halloween version added in October, the show will also soon get some new signage. 

Parks
Some news from yesterday that was reported today was that Tarzan the Encounter will return to Disneyland Paris soon. 
The Disney's Blockbuster Café has changed overnight! The High School Musical themeing has been removed and Iron Man has arrived. 

Again, if you liked this report, make sure you follow the people who reported it @MagicForum and @DesigningDisney - They have worked very hard to report these live tweets, and would probably really appreciate you taking the time to thank them. 

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October 2013 Pin Releases

Another month down, and we head into the Autumn months and Disneyland Paris's spooky Halloween season, and some exciting Halloween pin releases! Umm... well....

So, no new Halloween pins, however I understand that last years pins will be put back on sale, and we go straight into Christmas. I adore the 2013 Christmas visuals and this years booster set looks fantastic, the two stand alone pins are Chip and Dale and a Mickey and Minnie Pin (This one being remarkably similar to last years). Duffy is hugging a Mickey gingerbread man in his pin.
This months Princess carriage is Snow White, and looks nice (if you like princesses). The fantastic Phantom Manor lanyard has arrived, perfect for your attraction collection pins! I really like that the Phantom Manor spooky wallpaper has been used on the lanyard, I know there are lots of fans of this attraction and so this is going to sell very well.
Moving onto the end of the month and Frozen, Disney's 52nd Animated Classic makes it's debut in the pin trading circles. The Olaf pin is going to sell very well (and I think he'll be an incredibly popular character), especially since he will be hosting 'Disney Dreams of Christmas'. The Princesses Anna and Elsa appear on their own pin as well.

The good luck/bad luck series continues with Snow White, those of you who follow my pin posts know I'm a huge fan of this series and would love to add this to my collection as well.  The princess lockets continue too with Pocahontas being released later in the month.

And that's it for another month! I hope some pins on the poster catch your interest, I know I'll be buying those Christmas pins!

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20th Highlights: Disney Dreams!

A series of posts of 20th Anniversary highlights could not miss the new spectacular Disney Dreams! show. Disney Dreams! has put Disneyland Paris on the international map, fans of the European resort have longed for something world class, that would make Disney fans across the world jealous and want to come over and see our parks, with Disney Dreams! we got this, but it even exceeded the wildest expectations.

Whilst the story started long before that March night, that night was the accumulation  of many years work, Disneyland Paris fans sat on YouTube, eager in anticipation as to what would follow. It exceeded expectation, fans rejoiced and started booking trips to see the show with their own eyes. Over the year and a half it has been running the show has seen modifications, and has received many accolades including a IAPAA brass ring award. It has been an enormous spectator success with millions already having seen it and consistently scoring very high approval ratings meaning that for Disneyland Paris, the investment has been worthwhile.

Disney Dreams! is a reasonably simple show in it's storyline. Peter Pan's Shadow escapes and hits the second star to the right, unfortunately all the magic spills out and Shadow goes on a magical journey through many Disney classics and meets a range of characters, both good and evil. Can Shadow eventually put the magic back in the star?

The popular classics featured in the show include 'Be our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast in a foot tapping opening to our story, 'Friend like me' from Aladdin in a thrilling piece of show and effects. 'Out there' from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is an incredibly beautiful song in the French version combined with the mind blowing projections of the Notre Dame facade on the castle. The current 2013 version then launches into a fan favourite Lion King medley which gets the crowd dancing followed by a Brave section which is almost a breather but with it's funny moments. Doctor Facilier then changes the castle into a mechanical castle with breathtaking fire effects, before the villains take over a threaten to take Shadow. Before Peter and Wendy save the day and bookend the show, much like it started with 'The second Star to the right' and 'You can fly!'.

As we are taken on the journey through classic Disney films featuring the enchanted soundtrack scores from the films, all children (both young and the young at heart) will find themselves smiling, singing, dancing and enjoying the special effects that make this show much more than a thrilling story, but a technological marvel for all the senses. The show features: Mapping on the castle, water projections, water fountains, fire and pyrotechnics to name but a few, these features are carefully thought out and are triggered at moments where they make sense to the plot of the show, or moments where they add emphasis to a 'magical moment'. This is no typical firework show, this is a nightly spectacular that our resort can be proud of and will continue to evolve as time goes on (as can be seen through Disney Dreams of Christmas launching this November). The future is bright for Disney Dreams!, time will tell how the show will continue to evolve and impress audiences nightly.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade!  
4: Magical Seasons 
6: 12th April 2012
7: Light'Ears 
8: Memories  

Continue

What's New, What's Next Day 1 Recap: Refurbs, Refurbs and more Refurbs!

This week Disneyland Paris are holding a special event for selected websites and blogs entitled 'What's new, What's next' in which they tell the community which direction the resort is taking in the coming years. Without sounding like it's being exaggerated, lots of news came out of this today, and so it feels necessary to write a recap.

Hotel Refurbishment
As we know, Disneyland Paris is currently in the middle of a hotel refurbishment cycle that has currently seen the Hotel Santa Fe and Sequoia Lodge refurbished and slightly rethemed. This retheming will be applied to all hotels in Disneyland Paris in this order: Disney's Newport Bay Club, Disney's Hotel New York, Disney's Hotel Cheyenne and Disneyland Hotel. (Designing Disney & Magic Forum). This portion of the day was presented by Djuan Rivers (Vice President Hotels and Business Solutions), who was part of Euro Disney's Opening Team and Sylvie Massara (Art Director Resorts, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Development). Disneyland Paris were proud to announce that all hotels will soon have a free Wifi access service following a survey on guests and what they find important in a hotel (Sequoia Lodge will receive this before Christmas). Whilst nothing new has been added to the Davy Crockett Ranch cabins, guest satisfaction has improved by 10% following the refurbishment, this is a statistic repeated in other areas of hotel refurbishment. (Magic Forum)

When designing the rooms of the refurbished Sequoia Lodge, the theme that was designed upon was 'Art and Craft' something that is evident from the very stylish rooms, new this year was the Golden Forest Club, a premium service for those wanting a higher level of experience from their stay in the hotel.
The Hotel Santa Fe was seen as the perfect opportunity to utilise Disney Pixar's Cars franchise in the unique Route 66 environment, the hotel colours have been given a slightly softer touch (inspired by rocks from the film) with strips on top of the buildings for Cast Member safety, but have been themed to include Cars characters.

The next refurbishment program to be undertaken in the hotels is the most ambitious yet, everything will be given a makeover in the Newport Bay Club. (Parking, rooms, lobby and even the facade which will be stripped and then replaced). The rooms will be fitted with incredible technology which will detect things such as open doors in order to regulate the room temperature. The order of repair will be the Eastern wing first, in which the pool area will be spruced up, followed by the central area and the lobby, with the west side and convention centre coming third. Rooms will be given classy Disney touches such as a Mickey Mouse image and warmer colours.

The experience guests receive in the Hotel New York will soon completely change too, a question was asked if the Hotel New York facade will be replaced, to which the response was that no decision has yet been made.

Djuan mentioned that the aim is for guests to receive the same experience as they currently do when they visit a Disney Park in the United States, which can only be a great thing for our resort hotels. The investment Disneyland Paris has put into their hotels has been 'huge'. Other, minor, hotel news includes the Cheyenne Water Tower (which InsideDLParis recently reported has been removed) will be replaced as the old one was falling apart. 3 star Disney Hotels will no longer have shower curtains and will be fitted with glass screens.

Park News
Another part of the event was a lunch with Joe Schott, who is Disneyland Paris's Chief Operating Officer who gave some interesting information over an informal lunch. 
Main Street USA will shortly be entering an extensive refurbishment period. These refurbs will not at all be superficial, but will see things replaced with durable materials, this includes a total rip out of Town Square Photography Store which will then be made into a brand new store. This begins very soon with scaffolding being erected on Main Street USA 'in the coming weeks'. 
Indiana Jones et le temple du Péril will be levelled soon and rebuilt from real stone, the looped section of track will also be replaced. It was noted by Magic Forum, that Joe Schott was passionate about improving the quality of the parks and admitted that sometimes in the past things may not have been done right, but the park not be in the same condition as it is now in 4-5 years. 
You may have heard that the Stunt Show has seen some minor modifications recently, this is not permanent and will soon be back to normal.    Joe was very clear that the Mark Twain will never be scrapped as he sees it as an icon of the park, he added that in his opinion, the Mark Twain should have been refurbished before the Molly Brown. Magic Forum asked about the Geysers, to which the response was that they are not a priority and will never return in their previous form, however something unique will eventually replace them.
For those who have complained about the Space Mountain seats, these are soon to be replaced with something more comfortable. A new single riders line is being looked at once a year, the first will be Crush Coaster, which will also see a new entrance. Soon, the High School Musical theme in Disney's Blockbuster Cafe will also be replaced. New safety systems are to be installed in native rides (such as Big Thunder Mountain) which will make a restart easier after it has gone down. Armageddon was mentioned as a ride he did not like, but it's not a priority to replace now, emphasis is on new rides and additional capacity, nonetheless it will eventually be replaced. Star Wars and Marvel were mentioned, and that if they are to be done, it can't be a 'patched job'.

Halloween and Christmas
This presentation to the websites and bloggers was given by Christophe Leclerq and Emmanuel Lenormand. The first thing that was mentioned is that Halloween will grow during the next few years. Decorations will go up in Main Street Station and Town Square, expect lots of orange banners! Returning features are Goofy's Candy Machine and the Villains Meet and Greet (which will see a whole group of villains, and a band!). Duffy will debut a Halloween outfit, lamp posts will feature Mickey Pumpkin heads with fall leaves around it giving a classy look. Minnie's Couture has arrived where Winnie the Pooh usually meets, this is a meet and greet location. The Halloween Cavalcade will expand as time goes on, this year the Pumpkin men return and Donald, Daisy, the nephews and Uncle Scrooge will all appear on one float, there will also be a parade unit with Winnie the Pooh and some 'pumpkin girls'. The final float will feature Mickey, Clarice, Chip and Dale in what promises to be 'country fun'. The sound for the parade is called 'Vive la Vie' and will be sung entirely in English. The old villains float will not be used, as it doesn't fit the new parade look. Unfortunately, these cavalcade floats are stripped down Fantillusion floats.
This year the Nightmare before Christmas photo location will feature the fountain from the film, and during the Christmas season, Jack will be wearing his Sandy Claus costume. 

This year, Christmas runs from 10th November until the 6th January, the decorations on Main Street Station will be returning, but with a brand new logo. The new Christmas tree will finally arrive and will feature more decorations and special lighting effects. This tree will be lit up nightly in the new Christmas tree lighting ceremony named 'Les Voeux Magiques de Noel', this will not feature any characters, and will feature the voices of Pinocchio and Jimmy Cricket, it will be in English, French and Spanish, new music has been written for the show and will be a 360 degree experience so that everyone can profit from the show, no matter where they are stood. The Christmas Cavalcade continues to grow, the opening float will be the Snow White float from the Wonderful World of Disney Parade, and the Toy Soldiers are back, but with Goofy as the band leader. The Gingerbread men make their Disneyland Paris debut, then Santa Claus float and the Toy Story float, featuring even more Toy Story toys.  Disney Magic on Parade will also feature Santa Claus as it's opening.
Moving onto Disney Dreams of Christmas, Olaf will serve as the main character of the show, and will act as a sort of shadow figure. There will be nothing new in the Walt Disney Studios Park, but that is for next year.

Cast Member Recruitment
The making a dreams come true, is a real job advertising campaign continues, and continues to grow and is presented in different languages. The Casting department is also creating a brand new Recruitment application which will use augmented reality.  


All this fantastic information is brought to you by @Magicforum and @DesigningDisney on twitter. Please follow them if you enjoyed this information, and want to know even more about the goings on at Disneyland Paris.

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20th Highlights: Seasons!

If a company could own Christmas and Halloween, Disney would be the one that would want to have it. The 20th Anniversary brought a renewed focus on the two end of year seasons and the St. David's and Patrick's day celebrations, the magic of the 20th Anniversary increased for guests during these special times of year.

As guests walked onto Main Street USA during October 2012, they will have noticed that ghosts have invaded the street, not scary ghosts but friendly ghosts. Main Street USA had become a turn of the century ghost town, gone was the 'in your face' orange, in came a more classic Halloween for all the family. Our friendly ghosts had tried their hand at being a band, guides, being a mechanic and even baseball. Witches had invaded lamp posts and turned them green. Life on Main Street carried on as normal, with the slight addition of cackled laughter every so often. Main Street Station's 20th banner was joined by silhouettes of Disney characters in their best Halloween outfits going trick or treating. Central Plaza saw our Disney pals appear in giant Pumpkin form. Frontierland wasn't missed out either! The former 'Halloweenland' concept was scrapped for 2011, but the pumpkin men had still invaded the Lucky Nugget and the Fort. The restaurant offered a special meal featuring a specially designed burger and a ghostly cupcake for desert.
Entertainment wise, Mickey's Trick or Treat returned, as did the Villains and Jack Skellington. The Walt Disney Studios saw no new decorations, but had host two nights of horror in their 'Terrorific Night' joined by Disneyland Park's yearly tradition 'Halloween Soirée'. Disneyland Paris continues to build on last years successful decorations this year by modifying a few features, as well as the exciting addition of a Halloween Cavalcade.

As Halloween ended on November 4th, the Disneyland Paris overnight workers set to work to transform the park in under one week from a spook paradise, to an enchanting winter wonderland. Gone were the spooky new ghosts, and in came Mickey shaped garlands across Main Street, the erection of the well loved Christmas tree, the snowmen invaded Central Plaza and the joy of Christmas both filled the air, and entered the ears as Magic Everywhere! got a festive overhaul, the biggest news of the 2012 Christmas season was the addition of the Christmas Cavalcade. A classy new parade which instead of being character heavy, aired on the side of the classic image of Christmas with the Toy Soliders, Elves, Plane Toys and our favourite
characters all wrapped up warm in the best Christmas clothing. The floats are fantastic, and the music is delightful and warm. Disney's 20th Anniversary Enchanted Christmas had the bases built for future years growth and filled Disneyland Paris fans with promise for what the season could be in just a few years. This year Christmas grows even further with a new Dreams! show and new floats in the Christmas Cavalcade featuring our new Frozen friends!

In March, Disneyland Paris usually celebrates St. Davids and St. Patricks day, this year the video mapping technology used for Disney Dreams was applied to the castle to create an even more unforgettable fireworks spectacular.   Videos:   St. Davids Day Video (DLRP Welcome) // St. Patricks Day Video (DLRP Fans)

Whilst the 20th Anniversary and these improvements may have been just a happy coincidence, there is little doubt that the future of special seasonal celebrations in Disneyland Paris are going from strength to strength and that last year was just the start of a beautiful future. Some may complain that features have been removed, but those being added last year and this year more than make up for that. We cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade! 
5: Disney Dreams!
6: 12th April 2012 
7: Light'Ears 
8: Memories  

Continue

20th Highlights: Disney Magic on Parade!

After a run of five years, it was time to stop dreaming of the magic, and to start celebrating it, which is just what the new parade Disneyland Paris presented for the 20th Anniversary was all about. The emphasis certainly was on celebration, from the dancing, the floats and even the music. Disneyland Paris has turned 20 years old, it's time to celebrate that the only way Disney know how, with your favourite Disney friends!

On the face of it, large parts of this parade are imported directly from Disney's Once Upon A Dream parade which ran from 2007 until 2012, two floats of the new on Parade are 'new' (Opening and Final 'core' Disney character float), the other floats have had minor touches added to them relating to the 20th Anniversary such as Hamm using Disneyland Paris 20th Anniversary playing cards, small features but fantastic to see. The stars of this parade however are the fairies, watching them glide down the parade route is an absolute joy and creates an air of believability to the idea that they are flying.

Image: Disney

The new floats offer a perfect bookend of this parade, for a celebration of the twenty years of the resort, there is no better way to open than a part mockup of the turret of the castle. The castle is the icon of the entire resort and seems logical to focus the celebrations onto it. The parade reaches it's finale with the redesigned 'Dreams of Romance' float, say hello to the ultimate party float, with Mickey and friends in their wizard costumes and Mickey Mouse the centre point of the parade up on a pedestal. The parade nicely rounds off the magic theme with a special surprise on the back of this final float. Tinkerbell waves her magic wand as she waves goodbye to all the guests who had come out to enjoy the parade.

Image: Disney

The theme song for the 20th Anniversary, and the parade song for Disney Magic on Parade! is called 'Magic Everywhere'. It is both a song, a statement and synopsis of the park, not just the parade. Disney have proudly bragged about 'Disney Magic' for many years, thus the theme of the parade and the year. The catchy song, much like 'Do you Believe?' sneaks in yet another  Disney reference, namely 'Neverland's forever'. The song itself is incredibly catchy and full of joy, it's rare to not see families smiling and dancing during it.

Disney Magic on Parade! is a perfect celebration of Disneyland Paris and Disney magic in general, the already impressive floats have been given a new lease of life and a top tapping tune bringing us many years of joy and laughter. Parades are a huge part of a day in a Disney park often providing popular, guest pleasing entertainment. Disneyland Paris's show department usually pull out all the stops to give us world leading parades such as Disney Magic on Parade! and on this occasion, they have succeeded in bringing us a fantastic daily highlight which continues to grow with the already announced redesign of the princess float.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse
2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
4: Magical Seasons
5: Disney Dreams! 
6: 12th April 2012 
7: Light'Ears 
8: Memories  

Continue

20th Highlights: Disney's 20th Anniversary celebration train

Over the years, that little Casey Junior float first seen during the Wonderful World of Disney parade has gone through a few changes, one thing that has never changed is the reaction it gets from guests which is usually overwhelming joy.
The first time this train appeared as a daily character train was during the 15th Anniversary in 2007/8, characters were often picked at random adding in an air of unpredictability each day and providing reason to see the train each and every day. Since then, the train has been painted a few times. But the essence of providing characters remained the same and the character train concept has gone from strength to strength.

For the 20th anniversary, a simple question was asked: Do you believe in Magic? And therein lies one of the biggest strengths of this wonderful little parade of character meet and greets. As guests enter the park, or walk down Main Street (at the right time of day), they will hear the question and the fantastic song produced exclusively for Disneyland Paris and their 20th Anniversary. The song makes reference to 'Disney Magic' and the fun guests will experience at this special place. Equally for Disney fans, this song sneaks in a few incredibly obvious Disney references, and yet somehow creates a sort of charm of them that makes us smile and say 'Ahh yes'. It's a song that has defined the 20th anniversary, and I sincerely hope that it stays around.

Image: Disney

The train itself cannot be missed, the bright yellow sherbet dust coating stands out from everything, when gold and yellow was revealed to be a look of the 20th very few would have predicted the train looking like this. Some Disney fans didn't like the new look, others loved it; what cannot be ignored is that it is distinctive and loved by the audience the parade targets. The real stars of the show however, are our Disney character friends dressed in their 20th Anniversary 'Wizard' costumes. Three times a day Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale and Clarice welcome guests and meet them, and take photos across central plaza.

Image: Disney

Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train has become one of the hit attractions of the anniversary with it's bright colours, delightful music and fantastic characters. Disneyland Paris know these trains are incredibly popular, and as such it is likely to be back very soon. The question is, what kind of paint will Casey Junior be treated to when we next see him down Main Street?

'Now that you're here we hope you'll be staying, where the fun never ends'.

Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 
1: Meet Mickey Mouse 
3: Disney Magic on Parade! 
4: Magical Seasons 
5: Disney Dreams! 
6: 12th April 2012 
7: Light'Ears 
8: Memories  

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20th Highlights: Meet Mickey Mouse

Once upon a time, a theatre at the back of Fantasyland put on magical shows with Mickey, Minnie and other Disney friends. However, this eventually became unused, but Disneyland Paris had a unique solution, a meet and greet location with the most popular character. By using a large area of space, guests could be entertained and be immersed in a story during a Meet and Greet opportunity, a concept unique in Disneyland Paris. The story goes that Mickey is preparing for his next show on stage, but has made some time to meet his very special friends in his dressing room. Guests get a private one on one and photo opportunity with the most in demand character.
As guests approach the building guests see posters of the Disney gang wearing some familiar, yet unusual outfits giving an almost theatre poster aesthetic to the exterior of the building, as we enter we walk towards the main queueing area to find a stage with a screen showing a 45 minute loop of classic Mickey Mouse shorts in both French and English. As guests move closer and closer to the meeting location, they turn towards a backstage passageway where the walls are adorned with gorgeous posters for the classic shorts guests have just watched. As they enter the dressing room, many Disney references are cleverly hidden for Disney fans to spot.

Image: Disney

The main experience is short and sweet, yet incredibly enjoyable. Guests have very cleverly been 'tricked' into thinking this is a one on one experience. Meeting Disney's most popular character suddenly got so much easier, and yet much more personal. Gone are the scrums of people huddling around Mickey, and enters a relaxed experience allowing for special family memories to be created.

Image: Disney

Meet Mickey Mouse is just one addition during this 20th Anniversary celebration period which we feel has drastically changed an experience in the park for the better. Whilst the queue may be long at times, guests are entertained throughout thanks to the short cartoons, Disney fans will find contentment in the spotting of references to Disney history. On top of that, the experience feels private and as such, Mickey spends a good amount of time with all his friends making many guests days unforgettable.
This attraction has made great use of available space, and should be discovered by all Disneyland Paris fans.


Our 20th Anniversary highlights week runs from 23rd September until the 30th September 2013 and celebrates the best moments of the anniversary year, from special events to new attractions. Check back everyday for a new article. 

2: Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration Train 
3: Disney Magic on Parade! 
4: Magical Seasons 
5: Disney Dreams! 
6: 12th April 2012 
7: Light'Ears 
8: Memories  

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Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy - REVEALED

At last, the news we've all been waiting for. Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy has been named, and the first artwork revealed. The long awaited news came from Disneyland Paris's official news twitter feed @Disney_ParisEN and @Disney_ParisFR. The artwork features an oversized Rémy, Skinner and Linguini an the kitchen that we will be discovering next year. The attraction vehicle has seemingly been confirmed as a rat car (as leaked documents revealed earlier in the year). The information given by the twitter feed was "This world-first attraction will shrink guests to the size of a small rat and plunge them into the heart of a particularly excited...", well that's where it has been left in the English tweet, however the French tweet details that we're plunged into the world of a particularly animated kitchen.

Personally, I think the name needs looking at, for starters 'Toquée' doesn't really translate into English.A 'Toqué' is a Chefs hat, but can also mean 'nutty, zany'. Such puns don't translate in any language. A rough English translation would be 'Ratatouille: Remy's totally crazy adventure'. Secondly, it's length is not marketable, or memorable, European guests tend to shorten 'Cars: Quatre Roues Rallye' to 'Cars', even Big Thunder Mountain becomes 'Le train de la mine'. The lack of ability to translate the title has already been highlighted, using the example 'Cars Quatre Roues Rallye', anglophone guests can guess the meaning, this is likely to cause confusion. We can't wait to see the sign on top of the attraction.

Photo @CGonier

However, this attraction looks fantastic, the themeing continues to be unveiled day by day and looks authentically Parisian, we got our first look of props inside the attraction this week from Disney Magic Interactive which equally look fantastic.  This attraction shows much promise, I look forward to tracing it even further in the future. 

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Rewind: 15th Anniversary

You're invited. As simple as that, one of Disneyland Paris's biggest ever advertising campaigns had begun promising a year of celebration like no other. The fifth anniversary was celebrated by a 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' style celebration, the 10th was marked by a whole new Disney park opening. But none of these really made a big point about 'celebration'. For the 15th anniversary this was all to change, not only would we celebrate like never before, we'd enjoy no less than four new attractions, a new parade, new character experiences and new shows. The red carpet was rolled out, the castle decorated. The party was set to begin, and how best to announce the start of a party? With a evening extravaganza filled of wonder, music and Disney friends. (Video: DLRP magic)

 The launch was one of Disneyland Paris's most star-studded to date featuring performances from Daniel Powter before the opening of the celebrations to guests the next day by Miley Cyrus from the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.

2007 was a bumper year for new entertainment in Disneyland Resort Paris starting with a brand new parade, Disney's Once upon a dream parade, running from 2007 until 2012. Each all-new float was given a name relating to the themes it represented such as 'Dreams of Power', which featured the Disney villains. Whilst the theme song for the anniversary was 'Just like we dreamed it', each float of the parade featured its own soundtrack, a soundtrack that can still currently be purchased within the resort on the 'Les parades en musique' CD. (Video: DLRP Magic!)

In addition to the traditional daily parade, Disney characters could also be seen, for the first time, on the Disney Characters Express train, which took place on the Casey Jr. float from The Wonderful World of Disney parade. The soundtrack to this mini-parade, Tous en Train, was entirely new to Disneyland Paris having previously been performed at Tokyo Disneyland. For 6 years this parade has allowed guests to meet their favourite Disney characters, some incarnations the characters have been randomly selected (such as the 15th Anniversary version), others will see the same characters each day (Disney's 20th Anniversary Celebration train), for those 6 years, this has been one of the most popular daily entertainments in Disneyland Paris. (Video: DLRP Magic!)

Perhaps one of the more strange parades seen in Disneyland Paris during its history is 'Alphabet you are!', which, according to this DLRP Today! post towards the end of its run in 2007, often scored high of guest satisfaction. The premise of this mini-parade was simple, every morning letters would dance down Main Street USA spelling out 'Disneyland', each letter had a unique Disney character spin on them. (Video: DLRP Magic!)

On top of all the new entertainment, the Tarzan and Lion King stage shows were almost performed multiple times daily (as well as the Walt Disney Studios stage shows).

The big selling point of these celebrations were, of course, the 'new land' featuring two new attractions. Toon Studio opened on 9th June 2007, both Crush's Coaster and Cars: Quatre roues rallye opened at this time.

The Crush's Coaster has become synonymous of long queues and guests, young and old, wait to be part of this rush through the East Australian Current (EAC). This attraction has stroke a perfect balance between the thrills and storyline, as we board a shell and go through the reef where guests find Nemo and Squirt, suddenly guests meet our Shark 'friends' and glide through the EAC whilst spinning 360 degrees, such an attraction is unique to Disneyland Paris.

Cars Quatre Roues Rallye is a more simple attraction based on the world of Radiator Springs, but that certainly doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Guests queue through Flo's admiring the wall displays (which are often humorous) before boarding a car in an experience that is quite similar to the Mad Hatters Tea Cups in Disneyland Park, but perhaps slightly more thrilling.

Main Street USA received decorations in the form of giant banners up the street which lit up at night featuring the 15th Anniversary emblem and one of the 'mascots' of the celebration Lumiere. The biggest change was the classy castle decoration. The lower window being covered over by the 15th emblem and each turret receiving a Disney character holding a candle.

Each night, as Disneyland Park prepared to close it's doors to guests, a special celebration took place in which these candles would magically come to life with a bit of help from Mickey Mouse in a ceremony featuring dancing and characters 'Candellebration'.

In fact, Disneyland Paris extended it's 15th anniversary for an extra 12 months with even more new attractions and shows, it was even marketed as being bigger than the first year with the tagline 'The celebration continues BIG TIME!'. Urgency was added into the marketing from the outset of this extended celebration as the white rabbit holding a pocket watch appeared in the promotional material ensuring we visit the resort before we're 'out of time'.
This second year saw the launch of 'The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror' and Stitch Live! On April 5th 2008, Disneyland Paris inaugurated the Tower of Terror in front of the worlds press in perhaps one of the resorts most impressive attraction openings since Space Mountain. The opening featured a mix of actors and video mapping onto the attraction. (Video by DLRP Magic!)

Despite the April inauguration, this attraction actually opened in December 2007, Stitch Live! however, did open closer to the press event. Stitch Live! allows guests in Disneyland Paris to watch, and become part of, a transmission to outer space; not only that, but guests could actually talk to Stitch. . This attraction is offered in multiple languages and replaced the former Disney Channel Studio Tour, Cast Members working here still wear costumes featuring the Disney Channel logo.
This extended year also saw us wave goodbye to the Disney Cinema parade, but we'd have to wait until March 2009 for Disney's Stars 'n' Cars parade. Disney welcomed in the Enchanted Fireworks which ran from 2008 until 2011 before making room for Disney Dreams!

Overall, Disneyland Paris marked this year impeccably, including to Disneyland Paris fans by launching their blog which featured fantastic inside information. Whilst this blog is unfortunately now offline, fans can still watch the videos on Daily Motion.
The 15th anniversary of Disneyland Paris felt like the party of the decade, and provided the 20th anniversary with a tough act to follow. We hope the party atmosphere returns to Disneyland Paris in four years time for the 25th anniversary!

DLRP Rewind is a feature celebrating Disneyland Paris's past. Thanks for this article go to DLRP Magic! - The Number 1 Disneyland Paris guide website and their impeccable coverage of the 15th anniversary. 

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Coup de Cœur: Tower of Terror

Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of bustling, young movie town at the height of it's golden age. The Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in it's own right, a beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.

We enter a Hollywood boulevard, but perhaps not a Hollywood boulevard that you are familiar with, this is the Hollywood Boulevard of a bygone age, its golden age; the 1930s. Early department stores are ready, the recovery from the great depression is getting into swing and a great sense of optimism fills the street. Hotels, movie theatres are open and booming. Hollywood is announcing itself onto the world stage. As we walk down the street, the sounds of the movies greets us and the sense of both optimism and magic fills the air.  Just before we entered the street was a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, one of the great Americans and a real symbol of the American dream. As we walk further down the street, there are even more little Disney hints for us to enjoy.

The El Capitan theatre located at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard opened to the public in 1926 by property developer Charles E. Toberman, and was a thriving theatre with performances of plays that people would flock to, helped in part by the lavish interior, the likes of which had never been seen before. In the 1930s, the art of motion pictures arrived in Hollywood and El Capitan needed to keep up. After the premiere of 'Citizen Kane' at the theatre, it closed for renovations and to become the movie theatre it is today. Now, the theatre is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company.

As we walk along this street, we turn towards 'La Terrasse', here the world takes a pause of a wide open Hollywood terrace, perhaps to enjoy a refreshing cool drink in the sun, but something looms behind in the background; The Hollywood Tower Hotel.

All does not seem to be well at this glitzy hotel, we heard some screaming coming from high up. Not to worry, we somehow managed to get a reservation (that's not easy for this hotel, you can be on the waiting list for a long time!). A friendly bellhop greets us outside 'Bonjour'. Before we enter the lobby, we take a little look around the grounds.

The grounds are littered with signs for things such as 'Valet Parking', 'Swimming Pool', 'Tennis Courts', everything you'd expect a hotel of this class would have, the hits of the day, songs such as Vera Lynn's 'We'll meet again', are being played through a loudspeaker adding to the almost majestic nature of the hotel. Could it really be as grand as it seems from the outside?

As we approach the doors into the lobby, we can't help notice the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo in the concrete outside the front, again adding to the grandness of the hotel, the doors are ahead of us. We take that final step. We're here, ready to check in! But wait... something seems very wrong. 

In front of us, a card game. Abandoned. Cobwebs growing on the lamp, a cup of tea left on the the table. Suddenly the music doesn't feel as fashionable and now seems to create a more creepy atmosphere. We look up, the lamps are covered by cobwebs, and the wall is cracked. Unsure what we should do, and to satisfy our curiosity, we continue to look around. 

We slowly move towards reception. This was no accident, something terrible must have happened here. Why else would there be abandoned suitcases? Looks like we're not checking in here today. But what is this? A bellhop invites us forward and directs us to our left, to the hotel library. We're told the lift is out of order, well this is evident, the doors are bulging out. What happened here? We'll be taking the service elevator to our rooms, apparently. 

 

Judging by what we've seen so far in the hotel, we're really not sure if we even want to take the service elevator. But our curiosity drags us in. Suddenly, lightening strikes, the doors close and the television turns on. 

Tonight's episode of the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique, and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognise, is a maintenance service elevator still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard, because in tonight's episode, you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to... The Twilight Zone'. 

The doors open, we step out of the library and into a sort of 'backstage' in the hotel, the service area.  Despite us, and our fellow guests, crowding the area, there is an eery feeling. It's dark, the lights are flickering. That must have been some lightning strike, the place just seems lifeless. 

We're greeted by a bellhop 'How many?'. We reply 'One'. 'Mwhahahaha'. The once proud, friendly bellhops have been replaced by creepy, possessed bellhops. We are assigned the far right hand side elevator. And now, we wait.

Hang on a moment, we suddenly notice that despite the 12 floors displayed on the dial above the elevator, that our elevator has somehow reached a 13th floor. How could this be? The nerves start to kick in, perhaps it was a mistake to keep exploring, perhaps we should have turned away as soon as we noticed something was wrong. But we just can't help ourselves. We wait for the elevator. Suddenly 'DING', the doors open slowly. A bellhop awaits, but screams as the door opens. He invites us on board. Everything seems normal, well aside from the fact that this elevator has seats. In fact, we take our seats and are quite content. We get a safety briefing. 'Any questions? Too late!' as we move backwards? Like everyone, we've taken many lifts in our lives, none of them have ever moved backwards. We ascend, in front of us a mirror, lightning strikes, the lift violently shakes as we descend a floor. We start to think all this has happened before as a family of five appear 'five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, and this time it's opening for you'. Uh-oh. History is repeating itself. The elevator drops suddenly and quickly, before re-ascending. Now we realise what the screaming was. The doors open in front of us, an impressive panorama presents itself. We admire the sight of Disney village, of the Disneyland Hotel and of Front Lot. However, there just isn't enough time to take it in. 

Our nightmare ends with the lift going forwards, the bellhop once again appears. Counts us in and we leave with a warning. 'The next time you make a reservation at an abandoned hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know what kind of vacancy you're filling. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident of The Twilight Zone'. With that warning, we quickly leave the elevator and towards a guest area. 

We walk down the corridor, and back into the safety of a guest area, and a non-deserted guest area, as if nothing had happened.

But, as we leave we notice a big clue that not everything is as it seems. The hotel sign flashes 'Tower of Terror'. As we walk away down Hollywood Boulevard, we can't help but smile at the thrill we've just experienced.

This special Coup de Cœur was to celebrate Friday 13th, a superstitious day across the world. 
Coup de Cœur is a monthly feature celebrating what we love about Disneyland Paris. What do you love about Disneyland Paris? Leave a comment below or tweet us @dlptownsquare

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