Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney studios update

Hello all, here is a new DLP update. So, let’s begin by the Walt Disney studios where all the works on both the Tower of terror and Hollywood boulevard placemaking is going really fast.



Since my last update , the “Hollywood tower hotel” letters are now in place, and we can say that all the exterior painting of the tower is almost finished.



As we know, the WDS have the california adventure version of the TOT , and the interior decor is expected to be the same. During the ride itself , the two “stops” before the fall will use the same special effects, but there will be one difference - at least with the florida version - in the ghost hallway sequence. In Florida after the ghosts appear/disappear in the hallway, and after the hall itself disappear there is this effect of the window at the end of the hall which moves a bit before exploding ( a reminiscence of a “twilight zone” series main title ). In Paris, no more “exploding window” , but the image of an elevator (with the ghosts from the past inside ) who fall down. It seems to me that it’s a good idea as - although the european audience know the Rod Serling series - i am not sure that they wiill have remember the main title image of this window.

One thing that i’ve always wondered since they announced the building of the TOT at the WDS is how they were going to justify this huge “hotel” with the theme of the park, i.e supposedly some movie studios set. Finally, it seems that the chosen “alibi” is this one: “the Tower of terror is a movie set, and today, we are filming an episode of the Twilight Zone”, and that’s it! For me , the explanation seems a little bit short, but i suppose that there was not a lot of “options” !

The famous gardens won’t be as big as in Florida, and, due to Paris weather, it seems that the trees will be of different species, too. On these pictures below, of oourse the garden is not finished yet.




The Hollywood boulevard placemaking will probably be finished in one month from now, and already new buildings are ready and some “El Capitan” signs have appeared on the facades.





The trees behind Walt statue located at the exit of studio 1 have been removed , as they were hiding the perspective of the new boulevard. It’s really much better, now, and guests can have an idea of what will be this new part of the park.



However, this Hollywood boulevard will be not as long as it looks. When you look at the picture, it seems to be 300 feet long. In fact , due to the magic of “forced” perspective and very well done “surface glitter” , the “boulevard” is only 60 feet long - from the sorcerer’s hat of the animation building to the end of the street.

If you look closely to these buildings below , they look pretty real and 3D, aren’t they?




But in fact they’re almost totally flat , it’s pure “surface glitter” , but it’s wonderfully done and the optical illusion works perfectly, until you see them on a different angle where the trick begin to appear...but nice work, really.



One of the best view one can have of the TOT is when you exit the Toon studio towards the Tram tour station.



In fact, at the end of the Hollywood blvd , guests will walk inside a small tunnel . Over it, a backdrop painting of the hollywood hills in two parts - to give more perspective illusion - will be place - the metallic structure are already there, waiting for the backdrop which will arrive soon.




Another interesting view of the TOT is from the animagique building .



And Peter and Wendy seems to fly over the Hollywood hotel!



The Tower of terror and the Hollywood blvd are scheduled to be ready for november 16 and the official opening for the guests is december 22. Of course, there will be soft opening the week before for the annual passholders, etc...but the surprise is coming from the date of the opening event with the press and vip as it will be on ......april 5th, 2008 !..., 3 months and a half after it open to the guests!
For sure a premiere in a Disney inauguration history - it was scheduled first for january. The marketing dept probably realize that january was the coldest month in Paris and that it was a better idea to keep the official opening for the 16th anniversary in april and the beginining of the high season. It’s also a way to have the 15th anniversary celebration last six more months. However , don’t expect the park to open the Tower of terror in december without letting the rest of europe knowing about it, and a big advertising campaign will be launch probably in december.

In the first park the Halloween season will start soon, and already some decor elements are in place on the top of the Lucky Nugget saloon




As well as this huge structure - already there last year and the year before . For those of you who missed the previous update last year this kind of pipeline is supposed to collect the “orange” paint coming from big thunder mountain.




A “Halloween hair style “ for kids will take place in this specially designed building.



We will come back to DLP halloween event in a next update, but before we fly to Hong Kong, let’s have a last look at the other end of Frontierland . At the previous “critter corral” location, works are almost finished for .......for what, by the way? Depending on the sources , some are saying that the new totally-wood buildings are for a “Halloween village “ and then a “Santa Claus” village. But others say that a Woody round-up inspired by the Toy Story character will open soon, probably similar to the one at Disneyland , Anaheim.



See you soon for a new update!