It's not every day that something new open at Disneyland Paris so DLP fans will be pleased to learn that the new Princesses Pavilion currently under construction since six months at Fantasyland is scheduled to open if there is no delay in one month, on October 8.
Located where was previously the It's a Small World post-show the Princesses Pavilion should delight young boys and girls as they will be able to meet and greet with their favorite Princess. Well, actually it will be a bit more complicated than that as they won't have really the choice of Princess as we will see below even if the official release say: " Just as every little girl dreams of becoming a fairytale heroine, few men can resist the charm of meeting a true Princess. Where else than in Disneyland can you meet your favourite Disney Princess? Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Tiana… they’re all waiting to meet you. A royal invitation to live and capture the most enchanting of Disney moments."
Thanks to my good friends of Disney Central Plaza forum who found at Chessy's City Hall some of the WDI renderings ( the park must deliver drawings to Chessy city hall each time they build something new ) you'll see below a bit more of how this Princesses Pavilion will look. The first rendering shows the exterior of the pavilion, partly inspired by Sleeping Beauty Castle architecture. There will be two doors but DLP guests will enter only by the one on the right, the one at the left will be used only by the Princesses and cast-members.
The queue decor inside is quite sophisticated and it's partly the reason why it took so long to build this pavilion. As you will see on the WDI rendering below, all along this queue decor DLP guests will see a medieval decor with stone columns and draperies with in each alcove some brilliantly lighted iconic items related to each princess - for instance you'll have the crystal shoe of Cinderella or the rose of Belle. And right behind them, beautiful stained glass windows showing the castle of each princess. According to the master plan we can count eight alcoves for eight princesses - Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana, Jasmine and Mulan (or Raiponce). Also, some new background music has been specially composed for the pavilion.
The next picture shows the master plan of the inside queue. Guests will enter and follow the green path. Then, if there is no wait they will access directly the Princesses area. But if there is some wait they will take the yellow path leading to another door and then enter to the princesses meet and greet area. Exit will be through the path where you can see the red arrows. The inside queue capacity is supposed to be approximately 308 people with also the capacity of 67 more in an outside queue. And about the hour capacity of this new Princesses Pavilion it seems that DLP Imagineers have calculated a one hour wait to go through the green area, and more if guests have to go through the yellow one. Which means that the hour capacity should be pretty low as you can expect that young girls will probably take their time when they will be with their favorite princess.
Once you will arrive at the end of the queue some heavy wooden doors will open and you'll enter the Princess private area where there will be two alcoves - one for each princess - with stone arch, draperies and a different background for each alcoves. It's important to note that, although there will be two princesses, each in their own private alcove, that young boys and girls will meet only one of them, and then exit the pavilion. Even more important it will not be possible to know what princess you will meet, meaning that it will be a surprise, but also that little girls won't have the "choice", which also means that they might not meet their "favorite" princess. Here are the two renderings showing the two different alcoves with princesses.
Finally, a DLP photographer will be there during the Princess meeting and will take a picture which will be sent instantly by WIFI at the Princess Pavilion shop where each family will be able to order a print if they wish to do so. Thanks God, DLP guests will also be authorized to shoot pictures of this memorable princess meeting with their own digital camera!
Although this Princesses Pavilion is definitely not the E-Ticket ride awaited by DLP fans it might be a nice addition to DLP Fantasyland which for sure will delight the young boys and girls on their next trip at DLP.
Artwork: copyright Disney
All my thanks to Mouetto from Disney Central Plaza!
