Today is the perfect day to browse through some old photos from Disneyland Paris’ Halloween season in 2003. Continue reading “Happy Halloween from 2003”
Category: Disneyland Paris history
Before Olaf, Woody and Santa Claus invaded the Cottonwood Creek Ranch area, it was home to a cute little petting zoo filled chickens, rabbits, ponies, cows and goats. Continue reading “Remembering Critter Corral”
Town Square Photography, the iconic and unique shop on the corner of Main Street, U.S.A. closed earlier this year to make way for New Century Notions – Flora’s Boutique.
Re-discover our homage to Town Square Photography in this blog post from January.
Both the Main Street Transportation Building and Boardwalk Candy Palace are currently being refurbished. Recently a themed scrim was placed over the scaffolding so that it blends in with the rest of the Main Street, U.S.A. buildings.
Fans praised Disneyland Paris for doing this, but did you know this isn’t the first themed scaffolding at the resort? There have been quite a few the past years. Check out these photos from our archives:
Now that Ratatouille: The Adventure is officially open for all guests it’s time to take a look back at how that area looked like before La Place de Rémy in all its beauty was build in that corner of Toon Studio.
This is the plot of land where Toy Story Playland has been build. The costuming building can be seen in the background. This is where La Place de Rémy is build.
The trees on the right were removed to make way for Toy Story Playland and La Place de Rémy.
Part of the original version of Studio Tram Tour Behind the Magic featured a look inside the Disneyland Paris costuming department. Guests could see Cast Members working on park costumes behind glass windows. The workshop was eventually cleared and moved to another location. The space is now partly used for the area’s restrooms.
When Toy Story Playland opened in the summer of 2010 it was now possible to look over the blue construction fences.
As part of the Toy Story Playland expansion, the first theming appeared on the street running next to the costuming building, which was temporary repainted and a Studio sign added to its façade.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of Donald Duck and that calls for a celebration. Donald first appeared in Disney’s animated short The Wise Little Hen. It took a few others shorts before he became a regular character.
To celebrate this incredible milestone we’ve dug into our archives for some of Donald’s best (pantless) costumes he’s been wearing at Disneyland Paris the past ten years or so.
On 1 June 1995 Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune launched its first rockets to the moon. The story of the attraction was based on Jules Verne’s From Earth the Moon and featured a soundtrack inspired by the themes of the movies Krull and The Rocketeer.
In 2005 the attraction was updated with a new story, special effects and a new unique soundtrack by Michael Giacchino.
There are rumours that, 20 years after the original version opened, a new story will once again replace Mission 2 for the 25th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris. But so far these are just rumours…
Happy Birthday Space Mountain!
Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade originally premiered on 31 March 2007 for the 15th Anniversary celebrations. It featured 8 units with Disney and Pixar characters representing 7 different dreams: Imagination, Laughter and Fun, Friendship, Fantasy, Power and Romance. Each float was equipped with a special scent that matched the theme. For example the Villains float smelled like sulphur, while the Pinocchio float smelled like varnish.
The music was different for every float and was made out of short music pieces bridged together by the Once Upon a Dream jingle. A show stop was performed as well and ended each time with a blast of streamers. The prestigious Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London performed the score led by Steve Sidwell.
During its operating years the parade saw a few changes. Puppeteers and stilt walkers disappeared and Maleficent was removed from her float for a brief time after a serious incident in 2010 when the character fell off the float. In 2009 Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen were added to the Dreams of Romance unit. Halloween and Christmas units were also added over the course of time.
Disney’s Once Upon a Dream lasted in its original form until March 2012 when it was converted into Disney Magic on Parade. A few of the original floats where kept, others where changed completely like the Dreams of Romance and Imagination floats.
There are 70+ pictures of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade in our gallery! Check them out here.
Walt Disney Studios Park guests can now visit the main star of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 inside Disney’s Blockbuster Cafe as part of a promotion for the movie. But did you know that a couple of years ago a similar event took place for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe?
Right across Disney Blockbuster Cafe sits a large photo location themed to an ice cavern but without any notion why it’s there. Actually about 9 years ago this was the setting for a meet ‘n’ greet with the villain of the Walden Media and Disney produced movie: the White Witch or the Queen of Narnia as she calls herself.
The character meet ‘n’ greet lasted until the movie was released. All signs referring to The Chronicles of Narnia were removed a couple of years later when Disney decided to drop the franchise.
Did you ever meet the Queen of Narnia?
When The Legend of the Lion King opened in 2004, statues of wild animals wearing clothes and behaving like people were placed at the entrance of Discoveryland, pointing to Videopolis where the show was playing.
Inside the restaurant part of Videpolis, more statues where placed which depicted animals carrying their meal order or eating it from a table.
The statues remained for more than a year before finally being removed with the exception of the main logo.
Today will be last operating day of Town Square Photography, a shop that used to be hugely popular in the early years of Disneyland Paris for guests who forgot their photo camera’s or film rolls. Today in the age of digital photography and iPhones, and due to Kodak pulling out of the resort as a partner and sponsor, Town Square Photography’s core business became irrelevant. Pins, plush and green-screen souvenir photos couldn’t stop the shop’s demise.
Although it was certain the shop had to reinvent itself, for many fans it came as a shock that the store would not only be replaced by a new concept, it would be gutted on the inside as well. Although no details have been confirmed, we will likely see all the current turn of the century props and references (partly) ripped out, including the fictitious shop-owner’s office which was installed by Walt Disney Imagineer Eddie Sotto himself.
Town Square Photography is also an important part of the Main Street, U.S.A. story. It is one of the only shops that features a reference to the early ages of electricity, with electric wiring running over the ceiling in plain sight instead of being hidden. This was a common practice by home owners in the early 1900’s to “show off” to visitors that they could afford electricity.
It’s inevitable, a fan favorite shop is closing. The reasons are clear. No sponsor, a core business that’s way out of date and possibly part of a corporate deal? The new shop, Flora’s Boutique, will sell “Paris-inspired souvenirs”, does that ring a bell? Why yes, a similar shop will open soon in Walt Disney Studios Park called “Chez Marianne Souvenirs de Paris”. Coincidence?
Take a final tour of this beautiful, lavish shop. An Imagineering master piece and something that hasn’t been done ever since at Disneyland Paris and probably will never be done again.
In our sixth “12 Days of Christmas” post, we go back in time to the Lights of Winter.
The Lights of Winter were a series of arches on Main Street, U.S.A. that were first introduced for the Christmas Season of 1993. They would light up as part of the different Tree Lightning Ceremonies that took place over the years. They were eventually replaced in 2005 by the Princess Chandeliers.
Interesting fact: Epcot got similar Lights of Winter in 1994, one year after Disneyland Paris.
Photos Magiques 