The Disneyland Paris ships were not in a good condition, and that’s an understatement. But this all changed last year when the Molly Brown was reintroduced to the park. The ship was complete stripped down to its bare bones and beyond, and then completely rebuild from the ground up. The Queen of the River was dedicated in front of a crowd full of Disneyland Paris fans on 25 March 2011. That was also the day when the refurbishment of Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship was announced and previewed. The ship was in fact in such a bad condition, it was decided she had to be stripped down and completely rebuild as well, but this time out of special materials that would stand the harsh Marne-la-Vallée weather.
The scaffolding that hid the construction came down only a few days before the launch of the 20th Anniversary. It revealed not only a brand new ship, but a new colour palette as well. The colours were chosen in such a way they could be associated with Peter Pan, but also with Pirates of the Caribbean.
Moving on to Disney’s other ship that was in need of a refurbishment: Nautilus in the Discoveryland lagoon. Although a rebuild was not needed, some cleaning, repainting and fixing the bubblers that surround the submarine for once and for all was long overdue. The walk-through attraction “Les Mystères du Nautilus” was refurbished a few months before.
And finally, work has started on the refurbishment of Mark Twain, which will undergo the same as Molly Brown went through last year. This time however a huge temporary tent has been resurrected over the dry dock, themed to an old barn, complete with a reference to two great Walt Disney Imagineers: Jeff Burke and Pat Burke.
Take a look at the marvellous work done by Walt Disney Imagineering Paris and the maintenance teams:
Photos Magiques 