Pin Releases - January 2014

We're heading towards the final week of the year, and so it's time for another new pin trading poster. And it's good news all round, this month sees some absolutely fantastic pins!

Saturday 4th January really is a bumper pin day in Disneyland Paris with no less than 7 pins released.
The first of which is a Paris limited edition piece featuring Quasimodo in front of Notre Dame, this is a nice looking pin, but is perhaps a slight bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the weeks releases. Another Hunchback pin will be released on the same day as the Disney Store's website collection continues over in Disneyland Paris (making completing the set for the majority of Europeans a much more difficult task - and a move I'm really not fond of). The pin itself is rather nice and features perhaps one of the most beautiful scenes of the Dreams! show. This will be very highly sought after. The final limited edition pin of the month is actually last month's Happy New Year pin, which will actually be released in the New Year - a move which makes a lot of sense.
The attractions collection continues for a second month with three stunning pins depicting Pirates of the Caribbean, Crush's Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Collectors will be pleased to see this beautiful collection continue to evolve. The final pin to be released on the 4th January is the traditional yearly sorcerer Mickey pin. One I'm sure many of you will be adding to your collection.

Saturday 11th January sees a Mickey and Minnie chef pin being released, excellently timed for the Ratatouille themed ride later in the year.

Finally Saturday 25th January sees the continuation of the Good Luck/Bad Luck series that we have seen been released over the last six months or so. These pins have not proven to be the most popular despite their rather nice design.

Overall, a fantastic month for pins, and I can honestly say that it is a month in which I would buy all the pins given the opportunity. 2014 seems set to be a fantastic year for pins. See our preview of what's to come later in the week.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Continue

Save Town Square Photography!

One of the things that was confirmed during the What's New, What's Next event that took place in Disneyland Paris in September 2013 was that Main Street USA was to get a complete refurbishment. Disneyland Paris fans rejoiced at those words; the down side of that announcement was that Town Square Photography was to be completely ripped out and would start life again as a brand new store.  The new store Flora's Boutique will be designed as a Parisian boutique selling the resorts range of Paris merchandise.

So goodbye Eddie Sotto's Town Square Photography that has delighted Disneyland Paris, and photography fans for over twenty years, and hello a new boutique. A French group named ED92 - Pour un retour aux standards et aux valeurs de 1992 à DLP (ED92 - For a return of the standards of values of 1992 at Disneyland Paris) have started a campaign to save this store  - A campaign that I wholeheartedly endorse. Has photography evolved within the past twenty-one years? Beyond recognition. Walt Disney himself once stated that Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. However, one could argue that Main Street is almost a museum, it is a memory of the past and whilst yes, it can evolve. Should that be at the price of one of the best pieces of imagineering in existence? In the past that Main Street seeks to represent, these types of photography stores will have existed, and thrived. Town Square photography contains phones in which you may listen to conversations, old photography devices, and Eddie Sotto's office. 

I'm not arguing that the store needs to change it's product line, I'm arguing that it should not be at the expense of beautiful themeing. Take Main Street Motors, it's a beautiful shop - but does not sell cars. There is a real risk that we are about to lose something quite beautiful. Disneyland Paris is not a museum, but it does (to some extent) represent the past, and can educate youth as to what a turn of the century town will have looked like.  Let's not lose that. 

How can you support this action? - By joining the facebook event

As a rule, I tend to avoid posting about these sorts of petitions. I believe that this store represents the best of Disneyland Park, and would not like that to change. 

Continue

Pin Trading Releases - December 2013

It's the final month of the year, and it's time for a brand new month of pin releases. This month sees a fantastic mix of pins, so without further or do, here are December's releases.

Saturday 7th December sees a huge day of releases, with the Christmas 2013 lanyard (that has actually been available in the resort for some weeks now). A Violetta pin, which is a Disney Channel television show - This one looks a tad plain but should satisfy fans of the show. Next up, is a pin I'm incredibly excited about - the Attraction series has returned! I'm not so much of a fan of this one, but it's still a must have as far as I'm concerned. A Paris Mickey pin which looks a lot like the Signature collection logo for the 20th Anniversary. Finally, the final seasons of 2013 pin for Winter seeing Sneezy with a snowman. I have all the Season pins so far for 2013, and I'd love to add this to my collection.

Saturday 14th December sees 3 princess carriage pins, featuring Merida, Mulan and Pocohontas. These are nice looking pins which will make princess fans happy. Again.

Finally, Saturday 21st December sees a big limited edition pin release. The final princess locket in the series (that began back in January) will be released featuring Tinkerbell (not that she is actually a princess). The Bonne Année pin looks simply amazing, it's very Dreams-esque. I will need to find a way to add this to my collection. Finally, a Frozen pin depicting Anna and Olaf, which is sure to sell out incredibly fast.

A good month of pin releases, with the return of the attraction pins, as well as the final season and Happy New Year pin.

Will you be adding any of these to your collection?

Continue

Disneyland Paris November 2013 pins

As we move away from the Halloween season and ebb ever closer to Disney's Enchanted Christmas and 2014, another set of pins are due to be released in the resort. As usual, the poster has been released:

Quite honestly, whilst I like most of this months pins, I'm not blown away by any of them I'm afraid. Let's take a closer look week by week.
Saturday 2nd November sees the release of the 2014 pins, each year Disney Parks creates a new 'look' for the year, and whilst I really like 2014's look, 2013 just had that bit extra. However, that doesn't translate into pins, and I really feel like the 2014 pins are very nice to look at. I especially like the use of the Sorcerer Mickey image in the pins, and like the 2014 'Disneyland Paris' pin, perhaps this is a collectible set across all the resorts? The booster set really catches my imagination, I really like the characters in front of various Disneyland Paris landmarks. I will certainly be adding that to my collection.
Saturday 16th November sees the release of another good luck/bad luck pin, this time featuring Belle. I'd be interested to see the good luck side if the 'bad luck' side is Gaston. The Beast makes both perfect sense and no sense since Belle never wanted to be locked up. I really, really like the Mickey Mouse birthday pin and hope it is still available the weekend afterwards when I will be in the resort, however I suspect it will not be. It looks to be a lovely pin, perfect for the Disneyland Paris audience.
The final weekend releases take place on Saturday 30th November and feature yet another Princess locket, this time featuring Merida from the film Brave. The final locket should be released next month (and will be Tinkerbell). Speaking of Tinkerbell, the Christmas limited edition pin will be released this weekend as well. I find it a rather uninspiring pin for a limited edition, despite it's nice design.

The Pascal pin is a preview release for the 'Rapunzel's Christmas' pin event which will take place in Disneyland Paris on the 14th December (poster below). Whilst this event will feature Rapunzel heavily, something bugs me about the price for what seems to be a very simple pin. However, an ebay search on release day will prove that it will be a very popular pin. (Rapunzel is VERY collectible in the Disney pin world).

Overall, I'm happy with the pins, but only one jumps out as a must have. What are your thoughts?

Continue

September Pin Trading Releases

That's all folks! The Summer holidays are over and we're back into Autumn and another month of pin trading releases. We've been blessed with great pins so far this year, with some fantastic collections appearing on the poster each month, is September any different? Of course not!

Whilst the princesses continue throughout 2013 at Disneyland Paris, they have been joined by an excellent looking Halloween Duffy, which looks an utterly charming pin. These Duffy pins of late have been very well designed. The usual Dwarf season pin, this time Doc will be welcoming us into Autumn and it's beautiful yellow-orange colours. Dusty the Plane will be flying into Disneyland Paris boutiques in an open edition pin that's sure to attract the childrens attention. The excellent good luck/bad luck spinner series continues with this Aladdin/Genie pin.
Thought the Princess Medallions were finished? Of course they aren't, this time Mulan will be getting her medallion, Disney Dreams! is finally getting a lanyard featuring all the beautiful images and characters from this specatcular night time show. Fans of the Nightmare before Christmas will be happy as well, with three pins dedicated to the film, perfectly timed for it's 20th anniversary.

We love this month's pins and lanyard, a real must for our collection is the Autumn Doc pin (Seasonal pin collection!), as well as the Nightmare before Christmas 20th anniversary pin. We'd also love to add that lanyard to our Disney Dreams! pin collection.

What are your opinions, tweet us @dlptownsquare or leave a comment below

Continue

Envie de + 33: Light'Ears to be sold online and more!

At the turn of the season Disneyland Paris annual passholders receive a little package through their door from the park. We get this little magazine (totally in French) called Envie de +, this is essentially a promotional magazine for the parks, giving their passholders reasons to come back and spend some time in the parks (We need a reason?!). The summer edition is of course focused on making the most of the remainder of the 20th anniversary celebrations, and discovering the big new addition of the summer Disney's Light'Ears.

The magazine gives annual passholders hints and tips to make the most of a day in the parks (such as reminding them that they may also partake in the Extra Magic Hours). Most of the information is promotional, but we do occasionally learn something about the goings on in the resort. (The Halloween and Christmas editions are particularly good for this). So, let's get into the little discoveries.

Disney Store website to stock Light'Ears

Disney Light’Ears sont en vente à la boutique Emporium, dans une sélection de boutiques au prix public de 20€ (l'avantage permanent Passeport Annuels’applique) ainsi que sur DisneyStore.fr.

We already know that the Light'Ears are on sale on Main Street for €20, and annual pass reductions apply (10% for Francilien and Fantasy, 20% for Dream). But the big news is one that Disneyland Paris fans had hoped for, that Light'Ears will be made available online! The magazine being French based lists disneystore.fr but seeing as the stock on the European Disney Store websites are identical and are based out of a United Kingdom warehouse, we can assume that the Ears will make their way to Disneystore.co.uk and Disneystore.de ! Great news if you want to buy them in your own currency before you go and save some money for more holiday goodies!

Tasty food!

Whilst not exactly 'news' the magazine has a little bit of text about the 'Snow White Tempation' that we can experience in the California Grill restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel. The treat is an apple mousse with a chocolate centre, but no ordinary chocolate! We won't spoil the surprise for you, but why not give it a try next time you are at the parks?
The magazine also details a little bit about the new 'Hep Cat Corner' in Disney Studio 1 where we can buy delicious VitaminWater drinks. A Hep Cat was the name given to jazz fans in the 1940s and 50s, the new kiosk is named after the Club HepCat

Annual Passholder Offers!

The Disneyland Paris annual pass is THE way to save money in the resort. Since the magazine and all Annual Pass literature is in French, we've translated the summer offers for you.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show with Mickey and Friends: Between the 1st July and the 8th September, a reduction of 50% is given in category 2 of the 21h30 show for the passholder and 5 guests. (€29.90 per adult instead of €59.90 and €23.40 per child instead of €46.90). Reservation at the ticket office or by telephone 01 60 45 71 00 (Don't forget to add the French calling code, which is +33).

Disney Hotels: -25% for Francilien and Fantasy passes. -35% for Dream passes off a room in a Disney Hotel. Reservations: 01 60 30 60 69 (Again, don't forget the French calling code +33)

Panoramagique: This summer discover Disneyland Paris from the Sky with upto 25% off!
-25% for Dream Annual Passport, so €9 per adult instead of €12 and €4.50 per child instead of €6.
-15% for Francilien, Fantasy, Découverte and Classic Annual Passport. €10.20 per adult instead of €12, and €5.10 for a child instead of €6.
Offer valid for the annual pass holder and up to 5 guests from the 1st July until the 30th July 2013. As usual, Panoramagique's opening is subject to weather conditions.

Boutiques: -10% for Francilien and Fantasy, -20% for Dream in all boutiques in Disneyland Paris.

Restaurants: -€0.50 from the VitaminWater drinks at the HepCat corner kiosk, this offer is valid all summer. €3.19 per bottle instead of €3.69.
-10% in all Disney park, Disney Hotel and a selection of restaurants in Disney Village.

Tickets: Why not bring 5 friends with you to the park? €21 for friends of Dream, Fantasy and Francilien passholders
€25 for friends of Découverte and Classic pass holders.

(5 friends per week, maximum of 20 friends during the offer period, a week is Monday-Sunday. Offer not valid the day of purchase of your annual passport.  Offer does not include the 13th July).

All the offers listed about are subject to terms and conditions which can be found in your copy of Envie de +, this is a English translated guide and does not substitute reading the offer conditions as distributed to all annual passholders and available on the Disneyland Paris website.

The Disneyland Paris summer has begun, all that's missing is you!

Continue

Hollywood pictures to close THIS Sunday.

The news came from Disney Central Plaza's twitter feed this afternoon, it is the final weekend of trading in the Hollywood Pictures store in Disney Village, once closed the works will begin to transform it into the new Lego Store opening this autumn. Hollywood pictures was part of the original festival Disney when it opened in 1992 which celebrated America through stores themed to various parts (as can still be seen in Billy Bob's Country Western Saloon and Chicago Steakhouse.


What are your opinions on this store?
I personally will miss it, I really liked the theming, but also a Disney store that seemed to specialize in Male clothing which is something really lacking in the high street Disney stores which tend to focus on children (and when not children, ladies clothing!). I've bought some fantastic t-shirts from there such as a Mickey mouse playing basketball t-shirt. I will be sad to see it go, but I'm also excited to see the opening of the Lego store which seems to have become a staple of the Disney parks in the United States.

Continue

Pin Trading: Rapunzel pin SOLD OUT

Today saw the much awaited release of the Rapunzel medallion, part of the overall princess collection. The pin trading team, knowing that this would be a popular release, limited the sales to two shops: The Pueblo Trading Post in Frontierland of Disneyland Park and World of Disney in Disney Village. (Being a restriction weekend for all annual passports except Dream).
The pin trading team operated a ticket based system for the release, as you turned up to the store, you were given a paper ticket guaranteeing you pin. Shortly after 10am all the tickets were distributed at Pueblo Trading Post, therefore the pin is SOLD OUT.

For information World of Disney were given 200 copies of the pin and distributed their tickets ahead of their 9am opening. Pueblo Trading Post had the rest of the pins and ticket distribution took place in the Main Street arcades due to the enormous number of collectors present today.

As far as I know, the Monsters University student cards remain on sale, and should be at all boutiques that usually sell limited edition pins. 

(Image, Copyright Disney)

Continue

Summer 2013 Sales begin at Disneyland Paris

Over in France the Summer sale season has begun in shops, and that includes the all the shops in Disneyland Paris. These sales continue through to July 30th 2013, so there is plenty of time for those of you visiting during the early part of the summer holidays to pick up a bargain or two. Even more good news for annual passport holders is that your usual reductions also apply on sale items. So if you have a Dream annual passport, an item with 50% off will become 70% off.
Thanks to the folks over at the Disney Central Plaza forum, we know some of the reductions that are in the shops.
Please note that all these offers are subject to change at any point at the discretion of Disneyland Paris. DLP Town Square cannot personally verify these prices, we are relying on those posting images across social media, however we hope that this serves as a guide to those interested and are visiting the resort in the coming month. 

Disneyland Paris notepads reduced to €5
Brave pencil cases reduced to €5
Mickey Mouse laptop covers reduced to €7
Mickey Mouse 2013 Diary reduced to €5
Brave and Frankenwenie notepads reduced to €2.
Marie Pillows reduced by 50%
Fix it Felix plush reduced to €7
20th anniversary light up magic wands reduced to €1

I will update this list as and when further news arrives, Disneyland Paris sales span all boutiques across the resort and often begin in the middle of the week. I imagine this weekend is when we will find out more offers that are available, however I think it is safe to say that many 20th anniversary items will be reduced.

Continue

Disneyland Paris Pins, July 2013

As we go speeding into another month, It’s time for the new poster for July, after a monsterific month in June, what does July have in store?

As you can see, Paris, Paris and just a little bit more Paris. I’m quite a big fan of the older Paris pins and I do hope they stay around. If I had to criticize these new pins, I’d say that there is more to Paris than the Eiffel Tower, but I actually like them. The Dumbo pin is a 600 edition and I expect to see this sold out in one day, it’s a beautiful design. A rare Friday release to celebrate the first anniversary of the World of Disney store, personally I don’t understand the thinking behind this one, but it’s a lovely looking pin. The following day, another big release as we head towards the end of the Princess locket series (Just snow white to go!) and the Cinderella good luck/bad luck pin which I think will be a spinner. More princesses in the form of the continuation of the carriage pins. A stamp set to celebrate the city of Paris yet again looking to me like the idea here is to replace the current 20th anniversary stamp lanyard set.
Finally, the jewel of the month to me is the Indiana Jones et le temple du péril anniversary pin. This one looks beautiful.
If you have tickets to the Indiana Jones event, have a great time!

Continue