Return of the Man with the Hat ?

Hey, what about getting some news of an Indiana Jones 5? I know, i know, the number 4 was disappointing but who knows, may be they will have a great idea - and a better script - for the no 5?

And that's precisely what Georges Lucas is supposed to have. According to Harrison Ford in his latest interview on MTV last week, "Georges have a crazy idea for the Indy 5". Ooops, a "crazy" idea fom Georges Lucas is not necessarily a good news!

Anyway, have a look at this short interview in which the man with the hat tells more about his wishes for the next Indy.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Video: copyright MTV

Picture: copyright Lucas Film

Charming Disney Parks commercials, Disney Cruise Line new Disney Villains show, and more

I have to admit that Disney Parks commercials are getting better - or more imaginative - since last year. A good example is this fun WDW commercial for the with the 4Day DreamPass ticket for Florida residents, with CGI animation of Jungle Cruise "animals". Have a look, you'll love it. And Hat Tip to John Frost's excellent Disney Blog.





Another example is this other one for the resort offer "buy a 3-night package and get 2 more nights free" where a family fly to WDW with a little help of Dumbo. Okay, these are only commercials, but at least they've tried to do them with a bit of subtlety...



At Disney Cruise Line, Disney Villains cast a comical spell on a new stage spectacular aboard DCL Ships. The malevolent world of the Disney villains takes a comical spin in “Villains Tonight!,” a musical spectacular that Disney Cruise Line is premiering in spring 2010. The revue-style show will debut during the March 27 voyage aboard the Disney Magic and will delight guests aboard the new Disney Dream cruise ship in early 2011.

“Villains Tonight!”, produced by Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, is the first full-scale musical production dedicated to the Disney villains. The show is a family-friendly, fun-filled musical extravaganza that places these famous evil-doers in some irreverent funny moments.



Disney Cruise Line assembled an all-star creative team headlined by the Broadway writing duo of Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen (“[title of show]”). They are joined by director Allison Narver, choreographer Karma Camp and musical director Ben Cohn.

“Villains Tonight!” begins as Hades and his faithful sidekicks, Pain and Panic (“Hercules”), welcome new souls (the audience) to the Underworld. But instead of a frightening realm, guests will discover that Hades has turned the Underworld into an upbeat and happier place. The lively fun comes to a halt when The Fates arrive and predict that Hades will lose his position as Lord of the Underworld if he doesn’t ramp up the evil factor.

Worried by the news, Hades checks his Evil-O-Meter and discovers it is running dangerously low. So he comes up with a plan: He’ll conjure up the very best of the worst – the most powerful Disney villains – to help him replenish the world of evil. What ensues is a comical journey as Hades, Pain and Panic embark on a quest filled with wacky antics and amusing musical numbers featuring everyone’s favorite Disney villains and their sidekicks.



“Villains Tonight!” features a “Who’s Who” of the Disney villains, including Disney’s newest crook, Dr. Facilier from “The Princess and the Frog.” The show also features classic divas and scoundrels like Ursula (“The Little Mermaid”), the Evil Queen (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”), Captain Hook (“Peter Pan”) and Scar (“The Lion King”).

During “Villains Tonight!,” the 977-seat Walt Disney Theatre becomes a hilariously wicked world through the use of elaborate sets and special effects, extravagant costumes and a fun-filled, contemporary musical score. The show’s scenery takes guests on a dazzling journey through many villainous worlds, from the deck of Captain Hook’s ship to Scar’s Elephant Graveyard to Ursula’s Undersea Lounge.

“Villains Tonight!” features irreverent versions of classic Disney villain tunes including a dance club version of “Cruella De Vil” (“101 Dalmatians”), a Copacabana-inspired take of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (“The Little Mermaid”) and an electrifying version of “Friends on the Other Side,” from Walt Disney Pictures’ newest animated feature, “The Princess and the Frog.” In addition, Bell and Bowen developed two original songs especially for the show, “Welcome to the Underworld” and “Villains Tonight.”

Pictures and videos: copyright Disney

Editor's Note: Today a great article with stunning artwork where you will learn how former WDI Imagineer Hani El Masri - lead designer on TDS Arabian Coast - changes his medium and created an amazing work of art! Don't miss it!

When an Imagineer changes medium

Disney and more readers knows well Hani El Masri thanks to the two previous articles i did about his work as a WDI Imagineer on the first Toon Town concept as well as on Blizzard Beach and Tokyo Disney Sea.

Hani left Walt Disney Imagineering some years ago and is now living in Cairo, but we will have a look today to his latest - and incredible - creation and how an Imagineer change his medium. First i have to tell you that Hani when he still was at WDI was lead designer on Arabian Coast for the Tokyo Disney Sea project. What is less known is that Hani designed an incredible concept for the Sindbad attraction and i will probably do an article one day about this "Sindbad attraction that never was". Unfortunately WDI choose another concept, closer to an occidental/hollywoodian vision of the legend of Sindbad, and soon after that Hani left WDI.

But the famous tales of 1001 Nights has always been one of Hani's favorite and since then Hani wanted to give a grand tribute to one of the most famous collection of stories in the world. In January of 2009 the idea - and the project - took shape when Hani began to design what will be a huge Egyptian tapestry, a work of art.

Inspired by Classical Folk Tales the Thousand and One Nights and executed in the traditional blind stitch patchwork technique of Egypt called Kheyameya, this one of a kind unique tapestry was finished recently and is now available for purchase. The piece stands an impressive 5 meters tall by 8 meters wide (16.5 feet x 26.2 feet), weighs 45 Kilograms, and was composed with a staggering 102 unique colors.

The scene of the tapestry is dedicated to the opening story of the Thousand and One Nights, The story of the stories, and the circumstances that led Scheherazade to tell the king her nightly tales, not just to save her neck, as it is thought, but also to cure him from his blinding jealousy.

And how do you create such an impressive and huge tapestry, you ask? Well, like anything in art it all starts with an idea, a sketch, a line drawing and then a full color painting. Here is below the "line" only version...



...and the final painting with colours. The pictures are in high-res and i strongly recommand to double-click on the pictures to explore this fantastic scene in details.



Then the Kheyameya workers began to create the patchwork. By the way, the word Kheyameya has its origins in the Arab word for 'tent' (Khaymah), you are probably familiar with it from the name of the famous twelfth century Persian poet and scientist Omar Khayyam, since his family made tents in Nichapour, Persia.

In the wider Middle East, the craft consisted not only in the fabrication of large tents, but also decorating the inside walls with traditional patterns since the main use of these tents was to host large family gatherings and social events like weddings,
religious celebrations and funerals.

Today, across the Middle East this craft is disappeared due to changes in our modern lifestyle. Fortunately Kheyameya has survived in Egypt, as an entire section of medieval Cairo has morphed into another tradition of home furnishings. From wall hangings to bedspreads, tablecloths and pillowcases, the colorful pieces artistically and painstakingly hand stitched with traditional geometric patterns, ancient symbols or skillful combinations of both, are everywhere in Egyptian homes and have become some of the best tourist souvenirs you can buy in Cairo bazaars.



The work itself begin with a line drawing. The line work then enlarged to the right size on blueprint paper and the lines are patiently perforated to create a stencil.
The stencil is in turn transferred to the base canvas using a simple dusting technique and the little dots are clear enough to be the guide for redrawing the patterns onto the fabric.



Next, every shape is assigned a different color and neatly covered with a colored piece of fabric, usually a cotton twill, linen, silk or muslin, which is blind stitched to the background canvas in a thread of the same color as the swatch.
By the time the tedious work is finished, the result is delightful, lively and extremely durable

The result of the finished tapestry is spectacular as you can see on the picture at the top and on these close shots showing details of the tapestry.











The work lasted nine months and on the next picture Hani arrive at the work-shop and is amazed by the magnificent work.



On this last picture, Hani El Masri stands near the now finished tapestry.



As i've said this is a one-of-a-kind piece of art and the tapestry is now on sale for a price of $150.000. No need to say that the buyer better have a huge room in his house but the tapestry could be perfect in the huge lobby of a luxury hotel or - why not - inside a theme park decor!

You can see more pictures on Hani's web site HERE and anyone interested by this beautiful Egyptian tapestry will find on the site a link to contact Hani.

All pictures: copyright Hani D. el Masri

DLP Update : A look at Disneyland Paris future

As promised, we will have a look today at Disneyland Paris future. Recently, two DLP fans web sites - Disneytheque and DLRP Today - did articles about it and since then all DLP forums keep talking about it. Although all is not wrong in the Disneytheque article the one from DLRP Today seems to be more accurate. You can have a look at them HERE and HERE.

Toy Story Playland or Toy Story Mania?

This year, in June or July, the new Toy Story Playland will open at the Walt Disney Studios with what will be, basically, three carnival rides themed on the Toy Story theme. There is no doubt that WDI Imagineers will do a great and probably enjoyable theming on this little land and DLP fans will be happy to have three new rides at the WDS, but they will be a little bit less happy when they will know that, at exactly the same location, Toy Story Mania was also envisioned to be build.



Considering the financial situation of the park and the huge price difference between Toy Story Playland and Toy Story Mania nobody needs to be a genius to understand that once again it's the budget price which had the final word. Although i'm sure that young kids will enjoy Toy Story Playland rides we must not forget that all three will be outdoor attractions and when we see the incredibly freezing temperatures we have this winter in Paris we can wonder if Toy Story Playland was finally the right choice for the guests.

Ratatouille, 20th anniversary attraction?

Disneyland Paris 20 th anniversary will be in two years from now and of course the biggest DLP fan question remains the same: what will be the 20th anniversary attraction? Since months everyone wonder which one between the Ratatouille and Little Mermaid dark rides will be the next E-Ticket and i'm sorry to say that, if no announcement have been done it's probably because nothing yet is totally sure.

As usual it's all about money and although 2009 guests attendance was good, last year financial results were not fantastic. So, what is doing the park when they need to build a E-Ticket attraction and don't necessarily have the money for? Well, they do exactly like we do when we want to buy a new home or a new car, they go to see their bank and ask if they can borrow some money! They did a financial plan which was sent recently to the banks, and now everybody - including us - is waiting for its approval and the funds which will come with it. It will take probably some months to have the bank's answer but the park still have some time before the works must begin to make sure that a new E-Ticket will open on time in April 2012.



However, considering that almost two years are generally needed for this kind of attraction, next June will probably be the dead line to begin the works. And, depending where these will be, DLP fans will know immediately - even with no official announcement - what is the final choice. I'm still betting on the Ratatouille dark ride not only for reasons explained in one of my previous article but mostly because the attraction is now on WDI schedule. Historically, when an attraction appear on the WDI schedule it means that the attraction has received the green light from the park. So, if you have to bet on one attraction as the next DLRP E-Ticket, i think you can put your bets on the Ratatouille dark ride. And for more infos about the ride itself, have a look to my previous article HERE.

What about Soarin' ?

Since Walt Disney Studios opening the room to build a Soarin' attraction was kept. the good news is not only that the room is still available but also that the park is still considering to build it......someday. The new "Soarin' over the World" movie is expected to begin in 2013 at Disney's California Adventure and i really think that the main reason why Soarin' is not built yet at the WDS is simply because the new movie is not yet available. DCA and Epcot will probably have it first and then, with a bit of luck (and money!) the ride may come to the WDS. However, all this didn't stop WDI Imagineers to work on the design of the building facade - i remind you that WDS location for Soarin' is in Production Courtyard between the Cinemagique and Stitch live! buildings - and from what i've been told the facade will be beautiful, with an art-deco style just like the buildings nearby. You can find more details about the "Soarin' over the World" movie in the article i did some months ago HERE.

Anything new in 2011 ?

2010 will see the opening of Toy Story Playland - with also the New Generation Festival - but what about 2011? Well, considering that the next year will be the 20th anniversary we can expect that the park will save its money for the big event. However something highly expected will open in theatres in 2011: the new Pirates of Caribbean movie.

It's time to remember that Disneyland Paris is now the only park which didn't "update" the attraction with the Jack Sparrow / Barbosa audio-animatronics. Considering the huge success of the first trilogy and the low budget of this update i was surprised they didn't do it before... until i thought they may envision to do it later. 2011 could be a perfect date for this POTC update and would be a good way to have something new in the park for a low amount of money. We'll see if it'll be the case.




Star Tours 2 at Discoveryland

Star Tours 2 will open next year at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios and the big question is: when will it come to DLP Discoveryland? I think there is litlle doubt that Star Tours 2 will open at Discoveryland - not only because the attraction really needs an update but also because the budget of this new version won't be excessive - but the only question is when? In the Disneytheque article they announce it for 2013 and they may be right on this one. As the park did with the 2007 15th anniversary which has ended early 2009 (!) the 2012 20th anniversary will probably run through 2013 and a Star Tours 2 opening on that year would be a good way to expand the "birthday party". However we must not forget that 2012 is the 20th anniversary of the Disneyland Park (and not the Walt Disney Studios) and so it would be legitimate that DLP Magic Kingdom have a new attraction on that year. We'll see what happen.



As for the attraction itself - read my previous article for more details about what has been "unofficially" announced - one thing is sure: Star Tours 2 will have not only the new podrace 3D movie presented last September by Jay Rasulo at the D23 Expo, but several different movies - i would say probably four different movies. And this will be a good thing, specially when we think that we've spent the last 20 years with the same ride movie! Until now, Star Tours was probably the only travel agency of the universe offering only one destination!

However, don't expect each movie to be totally different as what will change in each of them will probably be only the "middle" part - the opening and the end of each movie should be the same. Which by the way is logical as our Starspeeder will be supposed to lift off each time from the same base. But, of course, the guest will have a different experience with each movie.



And what about the pre-show, you ask? Well, the biggest elements of the pre-show like the real-size Starspeeder and 3CPO - will remain but you can expect a re-design of some elements. The big Starspeeder in the first room of the pre-show will have a slightly new design on his front as well as the big screen next to it - the one announcing Star Tours destinations - where we can expect a incredibly high-definition screen, and more. Changes will also occur in the second room - the Droid room - and inside the Starspeeder simulators Captain Rex will have a totally different design which is a really good idea as its current style looks more like a robot escaped from the 1979's "Black Hole" movie...

I've also heard that the queue may be interactive and that ,depending of your choice, you will be sent to a Star Tours destination or another. Although i think it would be a good idea it may be difficult to put in place, not to mention the additional budget for this interactivity. As i don't have confirmation on this interactive queue, please consider it for now only as a "rumor".

New Convention Hotel and Disney Village.

Both Disneytheque and DLRP Today articles talked about the future Convention centre and hotel, but i think it's DLRP Today which announced the right location - see DLRP Today map below. This Convention centre and hotel project exist since many years but for the theme of the new hotel, nothing has been announced yet. But considering its location close to the Walt Disney Studios it won't be a surprise if WDI Imagineers choose an art-deco style which will fit perfectly with the WDS buildings style nearby. I, personally, love the art-deco style and nothing could make me more happy than to have a new hotel with the style of the Ambassador Hotel at TDL or the Hollywood Hotel at HKDL. The convention centre and hotel are supposed to open before 2015 and have an investment of 100 M Euros.



In a previous article i told you that the park is also working on an expansion of the Disneyland Hotel, and it's still in the plans. When it will have the green light this new wing which will be build on the hotel parking lot will be a kind-of boutique hotel with its own restaurant and swimming pool and room prices as high as the one of the DLH Castle Club. They were looking for an opening on the 20th anniversary but i cannot confirm you that this will be the case.

As for the Disney Village we're still waiting for the long rumoured changes beginning by the World of Disney shop which will be build in front of the Gaumont Theatres. Once the World of Disney will be open many of the others shops - beginning by the Disney Store - will definitely change but so many different concepts were envisioned since the last two years that i prefer to don't announce you anything before they are really sure. The only thing which is sure for now is that big changes will happen soon to the Disney Village.

A Night Show for the Walt Disney Studios?

Recently i saw on french forums a rumor talking about a lake that should be build behind WDS Hollywood Blvd and Tower of Terror. Well, DLP fans will be happy to learn that more than a simple rumor it's a real project. The Walt Disney Studios generally close each day around 7 p.m, mainly (but not only) because the park don't have a night show. So, the plan is to build a lake which will host not Fantasmic! but the World of Color show - yes, the same one opening in April at DCA.

Why World of Color instead of Fantasmic!, you ask? Well once it is built the World of Color show need less cast-members, so the operation cost won't be as high as Fantasmic! Still, DLP executives are probably waiting to know more about the maintenance cost of World of Color at DCA and then, eventually, and if the funds are available, World of Color will come to the WDS. As this is a long term project, don't expect it before at least 2015. But it's a good news that Imagineers are working on a WDS night show as the park really need one

O-kay, that's all for today. Always remember that DLP choices may change depending of the financial results and funds available or not. Each of my DLP updates are a "picture" of the situation at the time i post it. Next DLP update won't be before some months, the needed time to have confirmed infos and not simple rumors.

In the meantime make sure to check the special offer about the great Disneyland Paris book if you don't own it yet! You will find it right HERE.

Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Pictures: copyright Disney, Lucas Film and DLRP Today.

A Sneak Peek to Disney's California Adventure Future

The Disney Parks Blog was obviously created by Disney to control the release of informations, but there is nothing wrong with that, it's their company, it's perfectly natural. Sometime it looks a bit corporate like last friday article about "New Chairman Tom Staggs Visits Walt Disney World" but generally they do a pretty good job. And sometime we can find interesting stuff like in the January 4th article called "What’s Coming Up at Disney’s California Adventure Park".

The article had a special video about DCA's future, and anyone who watched it in full screen mode and knew to click on "pause" at the right time could discover interesting shots. That's what we're going to explore today - please note that some pictures may not be perfectly sharp as the screen captures were not easy to do.

Let's begin with the future entrance of the park. We all know the entrance model of the new DCA but the shot you can see above - note the red car model in the back - is pretty good. More interesting, this rendering - always of DCA's future entrance - the building in the background is the Carthay Theater.



Great close shot too of the Red Car/Trolley artwork. Works for it began recently at California Adventure.



Next on the video, some interesting shots of the awaited Little Mermaid attraction. The rendering below shows the "Under the Sea" scene of the ride with Sebastien...



...just like this picture of an Imagineer at work on the model of the scene.



But it was in the Cars Land segment that we could see some very interesting artwork. Beginning by a rare night-view of the land (may be this artwork like some others below is on display at DCA's Sky Blue Cellar but personally it's the first time i see it).



We can see John Lasseter talking about the Radiator Springs Racer ride and how great it will be - and he is right, the ride will be GREAT, but behind him some WDI artwork was display, showing scenes of the outside part of the ride.



The camera had the good idea to do a zoom on some of the artwork. Although Disney reveal some scenes in this video, please note that it doesn't necessarily mean that all of them will be kept in the final version of the ride. However, i hope that this scene showing the two cars entering a cave with stalactites during the last part of the ride - the "race" part - will remain in the final version...



...just like this other scene - always referring to the "race" part of the ride - where the two racing cars seems to get "out of the road". Of course it's an illusion, they're not really leaving the tracks, but it's a VERY good idea, it's probably not very difficult to do and i hope they will keep it in the final version.



Only one shot referring to the dark ride part of Radiator Springs Racer was shown, and that's fine as i think the less we will know about that part, the better it will be if we want to keep a (very good) surprise. Anyway, the artwork shows a night scene with Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera, and yes, these will be "automatronics", just like the one of Lightning McQueen you saw at D23 Expo last September.



Finally, we could see in the video three WDI Imagineers working on the Radiator Springs Racer model and a simple look at it makes you understand what a huge piece of rockwork it will be, probably the biggest one that WDI Imagineers have to build - since Expedition Everest...



You can see the full Disney Parks blog video right HERE.

Don't miss tomorrow or thursday my Disneyland Paris update about the future of the resort!


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

All pictures: copyright Disney

Disneyland Paris Update : A Frozen Magic Kingdom

How cold is it at Disneyland Paris Magic Kingdom right now, you ask? Well, as you'll see on the pictures below: that cold. Really really cold. So cold that i'm very happy that David from the excellent Ravenswood Manor web site sent me these great pictures so i don't have to go there to shoot them myself!

And David's pictures are beautiful: Above and below Big Thunder Mountain under snow and ice - even the Rivers of the Far-West are frozen!





Not so far from BTM, the Colonel Hathi Pizza Outpost in Adventureland is far from tropical temperatures...



...And in Fantazyland the entrance of It's a Small World Celebration is also covered by snow.



However, as cold as the temperatures are right now in Paris, it's also the best time to shoot amazing pictures of the park so don't hesitate to go at DLP!

As promise i will post later this week another DLP update about the future of the resort, but in the meantime don't forget to check the offer below about the great Disneyland Paris book if you don't own it yet!

Again, many thanks to David, make sure to check his fantastic web site about DLP Big Thunder mountain and Phantom Manor HERE


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

All Pictures: copyright David "Ravenswood"

Looking for a great Disney book ? Then, the Disneyland Paris book is the perfect gift for any Disney fan !

If you're looking for a great gift to offer to anyone you love - including you! - my "Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality" book with its 320 pages and 750 pictures - including 250 renderings from Walt Disney Imagineering - would be a GREAT gift for any Disney fan!

I still have copies of the book, and, as i am one of the two authors of the book, each copy will be sign specially for you or anyone you wish. Of course, don't forget to tell me the name to whom you wish i dedicate the book.

An important note before i go further: If you're not in a rush to get the book, choose the flat shipping option (also indicated below) which usually takes between 3 to 6 weeks delivery (depending if you're living in Europe or in the U.S) and is also much less expensive.

And now, here is a description of the book and everything you need to know to order one of the last signed copy of this beautiful book. Please note that NO re-printing of the book is scheduled, and these last available copies may be the REAL last one!


IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE ENGLISH EDITION OF THE BOOK WITH THE TEXT IN ENGLISH:

Price for one copy of the english updated edition is 87 Euros

About the shipping:

IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY TO GET THE BOOK: Air-mail shipping (3 weeks delivery) is 25 Euros.

IF YOU'RE NOT IN A HURRY TO GET THE BOOK: Flat shipping (5-6 weeks delivery) is 15 euros.

If you have a Paypal account you can proceed to the payment by paypal - paypal payment including your choice of shipping must be sent to the email adress: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

Important: Note that the price is in Euros, not in U.S $, so you have to choose the "euro" currency when you do the paypal payment.

If you don't have a Paypal account, a bank wire transfert is possible, just let me know.

And, of course, thanks to confirm me your order and payment AND the shipping adress by email at the email adress: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr


PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE COPIES OF THE FRENCH EDITION, SORRY. IF YOU STILL WISH A FRENCH COPY? PLEASE LET ME KNOW? I'LL TRY TO FIND A COPY FOR YOU.

As i am the one who designed the book, i'm not really at the good place to send compliments about it, but if you are a reader who already own the book, please leave a comment at the end of the article to let other readers know what you think about it.
Previous comments can be read at the bottom of this page where the article below was previously posted.

So, here is a little description of the book, now - See below some pictures of the book pages - click on each of them to see the photo-montage pictures in big size.



The book is a gorgeous "coffee table book" with 320 pages and 750 pictures - of which 500 are park and attractions photos and 250 are Walt Disney Imagineering renderings!

The size is 9 x 12 inches, all pages are in color and it's hardbound with a glossy dust jacket. The text (by Disney historian Didier Ghez), was written after more than 75 interviews he conducted with all the Imagineers who created the park. He goes into just about everything you wanted to know about this unique place that many describe as the best "Magic Kingdom" ever created by WDI.

It took five years to create the book, but it was worth all the time we spent on it, and the book looks just as good as we had hoped for at the beginning - in fact Imagineer Bruce Gordon told us that it was "probably the best book ever done on a Disney theme park". Coming from Bruce who did with David Mumford the great "Disneyland, The Nickel Tour" book, it was more than a compliment.

The first chapter about Main Street has 52 pages and introduces the reader to the "legend" of Main Street, USA. You'll learn all about the Disneyland Paris Railroad, the unique "Discovery" and "Liberty" Arcades; find out about the architecture, the restaurants (like "Walt's," a tribute to Walt Disney, but also inspired by Club 33 in Anaheim) and the shops; with dozens of photos, renderings, models, and reproduced for the first time here, all the "cities of the future" posters located in "Discovery Arcade."



The second chapter on Frontierland discusses the park's western side with extensive sections about its major attractions, "Big Thunder Mountain" and "Phantom Manor." In fact the book has the longest sections ever put together in a book on all the major attractions. The Pirates of Caribbean section in the Adventureland chapter is 26 pages, Phantom Manor has 16 pages devoted to it, as does Space Mountain, it's a small world, etc. The photo material was so great that we kept adding more pages to the book, which was supposed to have only 240 pages when we started... we ended up with 320 upon completion!



The Frontierland chapter also covers the Mark Twain, the River Rogue Keelboats, Fort Comstock, all the restaurants, the shops and Cottonwood Creek Ranch.and featuring stunning photos of Disneyland Paris from the air by Yann Arthus Bertrand, author of The Earth from Above that make spectacular "double-pages," and allow the reader to discover the park from a whole different angle.



The Adventureland chapter is even more interesting, as many elements of the land exist only in Paris - such as the Bazaar and Aladdin to Africa and the ex-"Explorer's Club." Plus there's a long section about "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril," "Adventure Isle" and "The Swiss Robinson Treehouse" and, of course, "Pirates of Caribbean" the land's major attraction and featuring its amazing Audio-Animatronics! All in all there are 56 full pages about Adventureland, and as in the previous chapters, there are dozens of photos, lots of concept art, and many shots of Imagineers at work. There's even a great bonus here, with the Marc Davis artwork for "Pirates" also included.



56 full pages are also dedicated to Fantasyland. There's an extensive look at Sleeping Beauty Castle, sections on all the dark rides (Snow White, Peter Pan and Pinocchio), as well as a look at "Alice's Curious Labyrinth," the "Mad Hatter's Tea Cups," "Storybookland," and "Casey Jr." There are even 14 pages about "it's a small world" with stunning photos of nearly all the scenes in it. Here the reader can discover a new attraction that exists only at Disneyland Paris, with a great view from above of Alice's Labyrinth.

Discoveryland also gets 52 pages of special treatment, with sections on the Visionarium, the Nautilus, Star Tours, Space Mountain, and everything you wanted to know about the other attractions in this land – Autopia and Orbitron. In fact the Nautilus chapter takes you on a visit with photos of every room of this detailed walk-through and two double page photo spreads, one which makes you feel you're inside Captain Nemo's grand salon, and the other showing you a unique view of Discoveyland featuring the Nautilus and Space Mountain in a kind of "CinemaScope" view.



When the book was released in early 2002, the Walt Disney Studios didn't exist, so you won't see them in the book. But there's still one last chapter about the hotels of the park, and Disney Village too, with the great Buffalo Bill Wild West show that entertains hundreds each evening.

And because every day in a Magic Kingdom should end with a parade and fireworks, we have the Main Street Electrical Parade that close the book, with an Herb Ryman gorgeous painting!



Pictures: copyright Disney