Saturday, October 9, 2010
Disneyland Paris 2010 Halloween
Disneyland Paris Halloween season began one week ago and this year the famous pumpkin men disappeared from Main Street USA! DLP guests will find them mainly in Frontierland as well as the meet and greet with Jack Skellington and Sally is relocated near the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue instead to be in Phantom Manor's graveyard where they were last year.
Let's have a little tour of the most interesting Halloween decor in Frontierland!
The afternoon parade include a new float with Disney Villains like Dr Facilier or even Jack Sparrow...On another one Jack and Sally, and right behind the Halloween ballet of the pumpkin men ends the parade.
Here is a short video from CharactersPhotosBlog showing the new Halloween float.
There is also a Halloween show on Central Plaza, the "Disney Villains Halloween Showtime"; here is a Youtube video of it filmed by gochaton.
DLP guests can find Halloween merchandise in many shops around the park, but at Main Street Emporium the Christmas merchandise area is already set.
The next article, will talk about DLP's future and 20th Anniversary but, talking about Christmas, i remind you that if you're looking for a great Christmas gift for anyone you love - including you! - the "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 some copies of this hard to find 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.
Price for one copy of the english updated edition (with the text in english) is 87 Euros + 15 euros shipping to any country. Payment can be done with Paypal or by wire transfert if you don't have a Paypal account.
You can see some inside pages of the book on this D&M page HERE and to order the book please email me at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
Paypal payment can be sent to: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
All pictures: copyright Alain Littaye - Disney and more
Videos: copyright CharactersPhotosBlog and gochaton
Libellés :
disneyland paris,
Disneyland Paris 2010 Halloween
Friday, October 8, 2010
ElecTRONica starts at Disney's California Adventure - First Videos!
Flynn Lives at the Hollywood Studio backlot at Disney's California Adventure. elecTRONica starts tonight but the awaited TRON event had a kind of premiere last night. Honor Hunter from Blue Sky Disney was there and you can read his report HERE. Honor was not alone of f course and among the hundred of special guests of this preview some had the good idea to film parts of the show.
Ezgoo who was also there last night and filmed the video below says: "I was able to get a sneak preview of the upcoming "elecTRONica" event and it does not disappoint. The world of Tron immerses you from the start. Flynns Arcade is fully functioning an waiting for your tokens. The Muppet Theater has been transformed to take you you into the game grid with never before seen footage from the film including live effects. elecTRONica is basically a dance party that will take place on Fri, Sat & Sun in the park."
Okay, so let's have a closer look to this TRON dance party inside DCA! The two first minutes with the dancers are not the most interesting but wait till the "portal" open.
Also part of the elecTRONica show the "Laser Man" impressed the audience last night. And what he's doing is indeed impressing, so don't miss this next video!
It's not the happening of the century but, still, it's cool...This is the kind of event they could do easily at DLP's Discoveryland, specially in the area of the Videopolis Theatre. Are they going to do anything themed on TRON at DLP? Hmmm, sadly, i would not bet on that.
Pictures: Copyright Disney
Many thanks to Ezgoo and others for the Youtube videos!
Libellés :
disney's california adventure,
ElecTRONica,
tron legacy
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Disneyland Paris launch its Christmas marketing campaign
Although the Halloween season just began, Disneyland Paris launched this week its Christmas marketing campaign under the theme "Live your biggest Christmas ever". You can see above the poster created for this 2010 Christmas event, which looks nice if we except that some elements are not at their right place - the Disneyland Hotel is behind Big Thunder instead to be at the entrance of the park, Main Street Station is located on the left of Town Square where the City Hall is in real and Mad Hatter tea cups are located on this poster on Frontierland's backstage! But it's just an advertising poster so it's no big of a deal.
So, DLP Christmas season will begin on November 7th and anyone coming at that time who will order a package hotel + park tickets before December 15th will have a 30% discount AND it's free for children under 7! If you're planning to come at DLP next Christmas with your family it could be a good deal.
Can you expect anything new for this year Christmas season? Well, the huge Christmas tree will always stand on Town Square (though not as huge as on the poster above!), Fake or real snow depending of the weather will fall on Main Street U.S.A and the Lights of winter will light Main Street and Sleeping Beauty castle, just as they always do.
However new characters will appear in the park. Although Diisney's new animated Raiponce will not be released in Europe before the end of the year DLP guests can expect to meet Raiponce characters in the park as soon as November 7th. And more precisely on the Castle Theater located on the front right of the Castle. In Fantasyland Belle's Christmas Village will reappear and children of all ages will be able to meet Santa Claus in its workshop located at Frontierland's Critter Corral.
2010 is the "Year of the new generation" and every "new generation" characters will come together in a show on Central Plaza. The end of the show promise to be magical when the characters will magically transform the castle in an "ice" castle thanks to the well known lighting effects. Other shows including "Mickey and the magic of Winter" at Chapparal Stage and Fantillusion parade in the evening will also be part of the Christmas Celebration.
But for Disney parks fans the most interesting is probably "It's a Small World Celebration". Like at Disneyland, It's a Small World is specially transformed for Christmas season. Except that it's done totally differently than at Disneyland. As i know that you don't like to wait i have already for you an HD video of "It's a Small World Celebration"! This video - watch it in full screen mode - was filmed last year but the "Christmas" changes in the show should be exactly the same. So, even if you can't come to DLP next Christmas at least you will see this "Small World Celebration".
And, talking about Christmas, if you're looking for a great Christmas gift for anyone you love - including you! - the "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 some copies of this hard to find 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.
Price for one copy of the english updated edition (with the text in english) is 87 Euros + 15 euros shipping to any country. Payment can be done with Paypal or by wire transfert if you don't have a Paypal account.
You can see some inside pages of the book on this D&M page HERE and to order the book please email me at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
Paypal payment can be sent to: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
See you next week for a big update (and good news!) about DLP's future!
Pictures: copyright Disney
Video: copyright Disney and more
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Editor's Note: Today's article is a D&M Exclusive! Imagineer Pat Burke shares never-seen-before pictures of the incredible Iron Man built by Legend Tom Scherman and tell us everything about a memorable "race" at Ward Kimball's Grizzly Flats Train depot!
Note that Tom Scherman's Iron Man is supposed to be Captain Nemo's creation and have no relation with Marvel's famous super-hero.
Note that Tom Scherman's Iron Man is supposed to be Captain Nemo's creation and have no relation with Marvel's famous super-hero.
Tom Scherman's Iron Man - and the Great Race at Ward Kimball's Grizzly Flats Train Depot - by Imagineer Pat Burke
Back in 1983, just after Walt Disney World opened it's new Epcot and World Showcase, we also got Tokyo Disneyland completed and we were going successfully. Work at Imagineering was again in a slow period, so in 1984 as WED became WDI, Ward Kimball and Tom Sherman talked about some way to introduce Tom's steam powered Iron Man in a movie pilot. Tom's Iron Man was inspired by Jules Verne and was designed as if it was created by Captain Nemo of the Nautilus, to help with his work on Vulcania Island. The Iron Man could also pull additional wagons of supplies for the Nautilus.
Picture on top: A close up of the Iron Man's creator and legendary Nautilus expert having created them at both Paris Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Seas, is Tom Sherman. His attention to detail is just as fine on this creation with all its riveted plating and reinforcements. Even the smoke stack is fashioned like a period top hat with rivets and brim. The eyes are constructed of 2 coach lamps to give vision at night while traveling or doing stationary work. The nose and mouth are made of a steam whistle to give voice and command to the Iron Man. His steam cyclinders placed on the back are much like Nemo's air tanks placed on his divers. The stomach is one big boiler with it's riveted inspection plate and cast No.5. Does this mean there may be 4 others before him back at Vulcania Island?
Tom had previously developed a TV pilot for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo, that he showed to a few of us at WED in about 1978. He had hoped to make a Saturday weekly TV 1 hour show for kids and Nautilus fans of which he had many. Tom hoped Tony Baxter could show his pilot to then Disney President Ron Miller, as Tom felt Disney should do the show. I don't know what happened with that connection, but then it may pop up again as ideas are never lost at WDI.
Tom had borrowed a bunch of Harper Goff's original Nautilus drawings and sketches, and went to Japan to do some lectures on the subject. I met him in Tokyo at that time and he showed me his own new mechanical wonders like the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" burrowing machine and others including the Nautilus, which eventually became later a part of Tokyo Disney Seas. I also saw Tom's "Burrowing" machine show up on an album cover in Japan and told him about it. I was interested in the sketches of Tom's Steam Powered Iron Man that was of the same period as the Nautilus. He remembered that and gave me a call in about 1985, and asked if I would be interested in helping him stage his steam powered Iron man in a Race at Ward Kimball's "Grizzly Flats" with his coal burning steam locomotive Emma Nevada. I thought that sounded great as I had never been to Ward's and would love to take it all in. Ward's contributions to The World Of Motion pavilion were a big favorite of mine.
Above: This was one of my favorite moments of the day as I captured Ward Kimball in his bowler capturing Tom Sherman with his creation Iron Man No.5.
Tom arranged to pick me up with his steam powered Iron Man in many pieces in the back. When we arrived at Ward's, he already had a bit of a crowd waiting for the Great Race and even more for his Emma Nevada to come out after many years in a dead calm. He had to get that day a special permit from the city to fire her up with coal. Ward had us drive back to the train barn and there I helped Tom assemble his Iron Man staged to look like it was pulling an old horse drawn wagon. I didn't realized it was so tall, and luckily Tom had created it from Scott Foam with a rubber like Grip glue mixed with asbestos covering the outer surfaces of many riveted plates and fittings in Nautilus tradition. His attention to detail was beyond fantastic with the materials he was using.
Above: Engineer Tom Sherman prepares his Iron Man No.5 for the Great Race as fans look on. All of the steam powered controls and cylinders are mounted on the back side as he makes final adjustments. Tom's attention to detail with the cluster of steam gauges reflects his talents with the Nautilus at Disneyland Paris.
As you look at Tom Sherman's Iron Man, on the top of his head is a "stovepipe top hat" as they were called in Lincoln's day and worn by other people of stature in the middle of the 18th century. While the Iron Man is a non functional concept creation by Tom, it is the center of all this celebration captured here. The Iron Man unlike the trains does not need rails to travel on. Much like a steam powered Case, Russell, or Minneapolis Traction Engine it can go where trains can't. Tom's Iron Man does have to be hooked up to a wagon which would house the power supply as a tender to a locomotive with wood and water to run the steam power. Pictured is a wood wagon which Ward Kimball had handy for this shoot, but in reality it would be steel wheeled and constructed much like those behind the 22 foot Minneapolis traction Engine that I purchased for DLP's "Thunder Mesa" in 1992.
The Iron Man's legs would move back and forth in a 4 mph top speed in a forward or reverse movement much like the speed of the Minneapolis. The smoke would exit out of the top of the hat on his head. The arms would have been used to pull it's power supply wagon of coal and water as pictured, or to carry tools that it could operate like a burrowing apparatus or do heavy lifting of steel for construction. The Iron man's operator would sit just behind him in the wagon seat. From there he could stand when needed to operate all the controls on the back side or refuel the boiler. On the front, just like Ward Kimball's No.1 and No. 2 locomotives, is a boiler clean out door with Iron Man's No.5 number plate.
Above: The Chloe is being brought out of the carriage barn for a fuel stop by the wood pile before pulling up to the starting line.
Chloe is Ward and Betty's 1917 Baldwin 0.4.2 RT Sugar Plantation locomotive No.1, which was named after their daughter Chloe. She arrived at Grizzly Flat's around 1948, which was just before the train depot was errected. As the "Emma Nevada" went out of service the "Chloe" came into service in 1956. The "Emma Nevada" came down with some mechanical problems combined with neighbors negative reactions to her coal smoke and cynders. The "Chloe" ran on wood and was less of a topic of debate. I'm sure we have all tasted that before. On this special day, Ward's daughter Chloe told me she had been at Walt Disney World during much of its original construction before it opened in 1971. Her son Nathan Lord also operated the locomotive with her brother John Kimball at "Grizzly Flats" and were present for this event.
Above: The Chloe team taking a break back in the cab after refueling.
Above: Engineer John Kimball and team building up some steam in the Chloe, as I take a shot from the Brakeman's position just behind the tender.
Above: Great shot of the Chloe and "So Dear to My Heart" station, along with 2 man hand cart and pull car. Ward and John have gone inside station momentarily to reset station signal for the race. John will later demonstrate the art of pumping cart with hands and feet at the same time. I missed that shot as I was so amazed.
Above: The Emma Nevada is pulling out of the carriage barn as I look down from it's box car in my brakeman position. The Grizzly Flats station is ahead on the right and the long and narrow track is lined with orange trees as Iron Man looks on.
The "Emma Nevada" is Ward and Betty's adopted 1881 Baldwin 'Mogul' 2.6.0 coal burning locomotive. Formerly the "Sidney Dillion", Ward renamed her the "Emma Nevada" engine No.2, after a famouse1800's opera star and she was their pride of "Grizzly Flats". After rebuilding her, he painted her in a theme like other engines of 1870's. The headlight has Ward's figural paint work on it an she is truly a lady. The engine ran from 1942 to 1951 at Grizzly Flat's, so seeing her here on this special day was a great event and I was glad to be the brakeman.
Above: The pride of "Grizzly Flats", the Emma Nevada, is lined up with the Iron man hours before the race commences.
Above: Engineer Tom Sherman and apprentice get an early start making adjustments on the Iron Man, as the Emma Nevada pulls up.
As you can see captured in these photos, Tom and friend are really in their element oiling away and making sure the Iron man will be ready for the Race that day. Ward and his family were all involved in the event as well, and made this all possible. Everyone was a winner that day.
After putting on the final top hated head, Tom hooked up lines to a container in the wood wagon, that had dry ice in it that with water induced by a controlled line, would cause smoke to come out of the top hatted chimney stack. Tom got on his engineering outfit complete with giant R.R.oil can and began oiling up his riveted man and adjusting the valves with a friend also seemingly oiling away. Ward got his Emma fired up and checked out while doing his spot oiling, and rolled her up to the starting line even with Tom and his Iron Man. He then fired up his Chloe, named after his daughter, and brought her out and up to the starting line. Ward and his son John were also dressed up in their engineering gear and I was able to document and photograph the "Great Race" start. I got a fun shot just behind Ward, who was on one knee taking Tom's picture. What a great shot of the steam powered man against the steam powered train and all the engineers, with No.1 Chloe standing proud in support.. Never asked Tom how fast his creation could go, but wish I had.
Above: Engineer Tom Sherman taking a moment to inspect his competition , as the Emma Nevada, Pride of Grizzly Flats, is showing a sign of building up steam for the race.
Above: All the Kimball Engineers pull the Chloe up to the starting line and commence with some fine attention before the race begins. The Iron Man and Emma Nevada stand by and ready. Well wishers begin to collect along the trackside.
Above: Engineer Tom Sherman is inspecting his wagon connections at the base of his Iron Man. Enginner Ward Kimball is greeting some early well wishers from the Emma Nevada. Engineer John Kimball and his team ready the Chloe with some final inspections and tests.
Ward Kimball asked me if I would like to be his brakeman up on top in case he needed some braking to slow down. It had been over 20 years since the Emma had taken the trip down the straight and narrow through Grizzly Flats and the orange trees which lined the track. Engine No.1, the Chloe named after Wards daughter, had made recent runs as a wood burner, and the trees cleared her fine. Ward and John were in the cab and commenced pulling on the throttle and we started rolling. I had to sit down above them on the box car and hang onto the brake wheel as the orange trees started pelting me and casting oranges all over the place. I looked down into the cab and saw Ward and John just laughing away having a great ole time engaging the Emma Nevada.
Above: With a full head of steam the Iron Man poses with the Emma Nevada and Chloe at the starting line as Engineers take a final pose. Where is Ward Kimball hiding?
Above: The race is about to start. Engineer Tom Sherman and his apprentice ready Iron man No.5. Veteran Engineer Legend Ward Kimball with his Emma Nevada No.2. Wards son and fellow Engineer John Kimball looks out the cab on the Chloe No.1. (click on this great picture to see it in larger scale)
As we approached the end of the track he shouted and signaled to me to put on the brake which just spun as I turned the wheel and I got worried if we would stop. I learned later that he had air brakes and my job was honorary on the Emma Nevada. Glad I had my camera to record it all. What a Great Day that was, Tom and Ward were in one of their finest moments!
Discover more Tom Scherman's fantastic creations on the great Tom Scherman web site where this article is run simultaneously.
Watch a great HD video of Tom's best achievement, Disneyland Paris Nautilus HERE
More on Ward Kimball's "Grizzly Flats" train depot:
"Grizzly Flats" originated back around 1938 when Ward and Betty Kimball had layed down a section of track in the middle of their orange trees for their 1881 Coach and new arrival the steam locomotive"Sidney Dillion", soon to be renamed the "Emma Nevada". As their establishment began to grow, they proclaimed it the "Scenic Wonder of the West".
Above: Close up of Ward Kimball's great architectural detail given to the 1948 Disney movie "So Dear To My Heart" train depot now gracing Grizzly Flats. It was later copied for the Disneyland Fronteirland train depot, and used as a model for Paris Disneyland's "Thunder Mesa Station".
Where did the train station come from?
Back around 1948, Walt Disney had Ward draw up a train station for his movie "So Dear to My Heart" which the studio was making. As it was just a set, Ward had only drawn 3 sides to the station along with a great roofline. It was based upon a Lehigh Valley Railroad flag depot at Pottsville New York. After the filming was completed and Walt and Ward attended the Chicago Railroad Fair, Walt in a good mood, decided to surprise Ward and had the studio break down the building and truck it over to Ward's "Grizzly Flats". Ward was surprised and commenced with laying down a foundation slab for it. All in pieces and even having drawn it, Ward found it a puzzle. When craning the roof down the walls collapsed and Ward had to rebuild it much better using all the existing doors and windows along with the roof. Now it was a real "Grizzly Flats" station.
Above: The Kimball Family confers on the Chloe in front of the "So Dear To My Heart" train depot at Grizzly Flats. Ward Kimball is on the backside with conductors hat.
Later on when Walt was building Disneyland and needed a station for Frontierland, He asked Ward if he could have it back for the new park. Ward had to finally tell Walt what happened to his original gift. So Walt had Ward dig out his original drawings and use those to duplicate the station in Frontierland along with a delivery station across the track. It's interesting as that station was also used as a model for our Euro Disneyland Frontierland "Thunder Mesa Station" , which opened in 1992. DLP's Frontierland Show Producer Jeff Burke, also had starred in a 1983 movie about 2 brothers in the Civil War for the American Adventure attraction movie in Florida's Epcot World Showcase which Ward was also working on and is a favorite of mine. The film also had a segment taken at "Grizzly Flats'" station. How great is that!
Above: Grizzly Flats depot train signal suspended from side of station. Ward was setting it to show no stops for the race. 2 way Lantern on top is for night time use for stop or go on through.
I invited Ward Kimball out to Disney's Tujunga facility in 1990 where I was staging all the DLP Frontierland Americana and had all the Railroad equipment I had collected for the train stations in that park. Of particular interest to Ward was a hand lever operated semaphore and chain ratcheted mail bag signal, which he thought would look good at "Grizzly Flats". He also liked the windmill with original steel bolted frame, oak banded water tank, and wood wheeled water wagon for the "Circle D Ranch". We exchanged windmill stories on how he obtained his and how mine came to be, and I guess you could say we covered everything from"Grizzly Flats" to DLP's Thunder Mesa".
Photographs property of John Patrick Burke
Pat Burke text: copyright Disney and more and John Patrick Burke
Libellés :
Captain Nemo,
disney nautilus,
tom scherman,
tom scherman iron man,
ward kimball
Monday, October 4, 2010
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 NOT IN A HURRY TO GET THE BOOK: Flat shipping (4-5 weeks delivery) is 15 euros.
IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY TO GET THE BOOK: Air-mail shipping (2 weeks delivery) is 38 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
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