D&M Wish a Merry Christmas to all Disney and more readers, and with a little gift!

It's Christmas today and i wanted to wish to all of you a very Merry Christmas! Great updates are coming next week but, as there shouldn't be any Christmas without a gift, here is a little one. This is the famous Adventureland map which is displayed in Adventureland - click on it to see it in bigger size. It's the original high-res scan we did ten years ago for my Disneyland Paris book which, as you know, is on its way to be reprint and the article below will tell you all you need to know to own a rare collector's copy of the acclaimed Disneyland Paris book which is on its way to be reprint!



Artwork: copyright Disney

The Disneyland Paris Book "From Sketch to Reality" is Back, and in the Limited Collector's Edition !

Important Note: For the french version of this article click HERE. Pour la version française de cet article cliquez ICI.
Please note that copies in english of french edition are always available. As long as this message stays here it means that copies are available, so you can place your order directly. For those of you who have never seen a copy of the book you'll find below a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book.

So, I have a great news for all of you who are looking desperately to find a copy of the acclaimed "Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality" book, out of stock since more than a year. The book is now reprinted and will be available for shipping on May 7 ! - the book has been republished in its very rare collector's edition, the one impossible to find since eight years, so rare that it is sold on Amazon Market Place or eBay for prices between 500 and 1300 U.S $ !

Thanks to read all the lines below to well understand how to order a copy of this limited collector's edition of the book.

First, a few words to explain you how this re-publishing is happening. As you know the book was impossible to find whether it was in the park or anywhere else at a reasonable price, and obviously the publisher who had the rights wasn't planning to reprint the book. As this publisher wanted to sell the rights after long negotiations i've succeeded to find him someone interested by republishing the book. A new publishing company has been specially created for this and is called Neverland Editions.

In my talks with the new publisher he asked me if, at the first printing, the book had different editions. I told him that we did a collector's edition, and when i looked back in my 2002 files - the year the book was first published - i realized that at that time we've printed only 550 copies of the french collector's edition and 1270 copies of the english collector's edition. This collector's edition being limited at 2000 copies in french and 2000 in english there is still 1450 copies in french and 730 copies in english which are allowed to be reprint and commercialized. These are the one which will be reprint and only these collector's edition will be reprint, not the "regular" edition.

For those of you who don't know what is the collector's edition here is more details: the collector's edition is printed on a luxury glossy paper, it has a gold printing on the cover and dust jacket, is limited at 2000 copies in english ( and 2000 in french ), each copy has a number, AND each copy include four beautiful "lithographs" of WDI artwork for the Walt Disney Studios. Each of these lithographs can be put under frame. Also, the contents of the book will be exactly the same than the first collector's copies printed ten years ago.



The book is now printed and will be released or shipped late April 2012 when we will receive the bounded copies from the printer and of course we will let know everyone when the books will be shipped. Please note that the book will NOT be sold at Disneyland Paris. The merchandise department, for reasons which are difficult to understand has decided to don't order copies of the book. We'll be happy if there is any changes but apparently the merchandise products plan for 2012 is now finalized and it's too late to change it.

Here is how to do to order the book:

So, how to pre-order a copy of this collector's edition? First, send an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com ( with as subject: "dlp book order" ) to let us know that you want to pre-order a copy, how many copies you want, in which language ( english or french edition? ) , and your shipping address. Please also note that a pre-order needs to be paid to be consider as an order.

To celebrate DLP 20th Anniversary - and Disney and more 5th Anniversary! - during all the month of April the book price is at its previous pre-order price of 100 euros plus 10 euros only for shipping to France and 15 euros for a shipping if you live in foreign countries all over the world.

How to proceed for your payment: We prefer a Paypal payment. Paypal is a very safe way to pay without giving your credit card number. For a payment with Paypal the total amount must be sent through Paypal at the email adress: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

NEW! You can now order the book directly from this page and proceed to the payment with Paypal by clicking on the "Buy it Now" Paypal button below! Don't forget to let us know your shipping address and to confirm your order and payment AND to say if you want the book in english or french edition by sending us an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

If you don't have a Paypal account: either you know someone who have one and through which you can send the payment, or you can pay with a bank wire transfer ( no foreign checks, sorry ). If you want to do a wire transfer please let us know in your email and we will send you the bank infos.

Thanks to all of you, and below you'll find a description of the book as well as visuals of the inside pages ( click on the mosaic pictures to see them in larger scale ).

Edited April 1st: We've just received two sample final bounded copies from the printer! The printer has sent them to me for final approval before the shipping which will be next week and we expect an arrival of all the copies in Europe as scheduled at the very end of April. And they did an incredible job, the printing and binding is just perfect! I did a video to show you the final product, exactly the same one than you will receive if you order the book, and you can watch the video below!




Although you've probably heard about this beautiful book, many of you may have never seen a copy of it. So we've done a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book! The book includes 750 pictures of the park, including 250 gorgeous renderings of Walt Disney Imagineering and stunning pictures of the park seen from above. The book is so big that it took us seven and a half minutes to show you the full book, and that's without stopping turning each pages! So, if you want to have a closer look at a page don't hesitate to stop the video. Finally, because we didn't had any more a collector edition copy the video is showing the regular edition of the book, not the collector's edition that you will receive if you place your order, but the inside pages are exactly the same.

Alain Littaye




Description of the book:



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 also an Herb Ryman gorgeous painting in the very last pages!



Order the book directly from this page and proceed to the payment with Paypal by clicking on the "Buy it Now" Paypal button below! Don't forget to let us know your shipping address and to confirm your order and payment AND to say if you want the book in english or french edition by sending us an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

Pictures: copyright Disney

Video: copyright Alain Littaye 2012

Disneyland Paris, De l'Esquisse à la Création Réédité, et en Edition Limitée Collector !

Note: For the English version of this article click HERE. Pour la version anglaise de cet article cliquez ICI.
Des exemplaires de l'édition française - ou anglaise - sont toujours disponibles, et aussi longtemps que ce message apparait ici cela veut dire que des exemplaires sont disponibles, donc vous pouvez en commander un directement si vous le souhaitez en utilisant le lien Paypal situé plus bas. Vous pouvez également voir ci-dessous une vidéo montrant l'intégralité du livre.


J'ai une nouvelle qui je pense devrait ravir tous ceux d'entre vous qui recherchent désespérément le livre "Disneyland Paris, De l'esquisse à la création", épuisé depuis maintenant plus d'un an. Non seulement le livre est maintenant réimprimé et la sortie du livre est prévue pour début mai - mais il y a mieux : le livre est réédité exclusivement dans son édition collector, celle qui est épuisée depuis huit ans et qui est tellement rare qu'elle se négociait récemment plus de 500 euros sur Amazon.

Merci de lire attentivement les lignes qui suivent pour bien comprendre le mode opératoire afin de commander un exemplaire de cette édition collector qui sera en quantité limitée.

Quelques mots tout d'abord pour vous expliquer le comment du pourquoi de cette réédition. Comme vous le savez le livre était devenu introuvable que ce soit dans le parc ou en librairie et de toute évidence l'éditeur qui détenait les droits n'avait pas franchement l'intention de le rééditer. Comme celui-ci cherchait à vendre les droits, après de longs mois de négociations j'ai réussi à lui trouver quelqu'un intéressé de rééditer le livre et une maison d'édition qui s'appelle Neverland Editions a été créée spécialement à l'intention de cette réédition du livre.

Dans mes conversations avec le nouvel éditeur celui-ci m'a demandé si le livre avait originellement fait l'objet de différentes éditions. Je lui ai donc parlé de l'édition collector et en recherchant dans les documents datant de la première impression je me suis rendu compte que lors de la première impression il n'avait été tiré de cette édition collector que 550 exemplaires en français et 1270 exemplaires en anglais. L'édition collector étant limitée à 2000 exemplaires en français et 2000 exemplaires en anglais il reste donc 1450 exemplaires en français et 730 exemplaires en anglais en droit d'être imprimés et commercialisés et c'est ceux-ci qui vont donc faire l'objet de la nouvelle impression. Seule l'édition collector sera rééditée, pas l'édition dite "normale".

Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas l'édition collector voici ses caractéristiques: l'édition collector est imprimée sur un papier encore plus luxueux que l'était l'édition normale, a une impression couleur or sur la jaquette et la couverture, est limitée à 2000 exemplaires en français ( et 2000 en anglais ), chaque exemplaire est numéroté, ET chaque exemplaire contient quatre "tirés à part" de magnifiques concept-arts réalisés pour la conception des Walt Disney Studios, chacun d'entre-eux étant encadrables. De sucroit, le contenu du livre de cette nouvelle impression sera strictement identique aux exemplaires de l'édition collector imprimés il y a 10 ans.



Date de sortie du livre: 7 Mai 2012, car nous souhaitons évidemment qu'il soit disponible durant le 20ème anniversaire. Notez que dans l'état actuel le livre ne sera PAS en vente dans le parc. Le service merchandise, pour des raisons que pour être franc j'ai un peu de mal à comprendre a décidé de ne pas commander le livre. Nous ne désespérons pas de les faire changer d'avis mais visiblement leur plan merchandise pour 2012 est arrêté, et il est trop tard pour le changer.

Comment faire pour commander un exemplaire de cette édition collector? Tout d'abord, envoyez un email à: neverlandeditions@gmail.com ( avec en intitulé "commande livre dlp" ) pour m'indiquer votre commande, le nombre d'exemplaire que vous souhaitez commander, en quelle langue ( édition française ou anglaise? ) , votre mode de règlement (voir ci-dessous) et l'adresse d'expédition. Pour qu'une commande soit prise en compte il faut nous faire parvenir votre règlement.

Pour effectuer le règlement: pour célébrer le 20éme anniversaire de Disneyland Paris, et pour une période limitée le prix par exemplaire est de 100 euros (au lieu de 120) plus 15 euros de frais d'envoi pour la France en colissimo recommandé R2. Pour tout envoi à l'étranger les frais d'envois sont de 15 euros également

Comment régler? Notre préférence va à un règlement effectué par Paypal. Paypal est un moyen extrêmement sûr pour effectuer un règlement sans communiquer le numéro de sa carte de crédit. Pour un règlement par Paypal, le montant total incluant les frais d'envois doit être envoyé à l'adresse email suivante: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

NOUVEAU! Vous pouvez maintenant passer commande et régler directement par Paypal depuis cette page en cliquant sur le bouton Paypal "Buy it Now" ci-dessous! N'oubliez pas de préciser ou de nous envoyer votre adresse d'expédition en nous informant de votre commande et paiement ET de nous dire si vous voulez le livre en édition française ou anglaise en nous envoyant un email à: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

Si vous n'avez pas un compte Paypal: soit vous connaissez éventuellement quelqu'un possédant un compte Paypal par l'intermédiaire duquel vous pouvez effectuer le règlement, soit vous pouvez régler par chèque ou virement. Merci de m'indiquer dans votre email si vous souhaitez régler par chèque ou virement bancaire ( pas de chèque sur un compte étranger, merci ). Les coordonnées bancaire, RIB, etc… ou l'adresse ou envoyer votre chèque vous seront communiquées. Un point important: veuillez noter qu'en cas de règlement par chèque celui-ci ne sera pas encaissé avant le début de l'impression du livre.

Merci de ne pas trop attendre la dernière minute pour commander le livre car le nombre d'exemplaires disponibles de cette édition collector est limité. Merci également, si vous connaissez des amis qui recherchent le livre de les tenir au courant de cette réédition.

Ci-dessous quelques photos montrant l'intérieur du livre ( cliquez sur les images mosaïques pour les voir en grand). Et pour ceux qui n'ont jamais vu le livre voici une vidéo de présentation qui vous montrera TOUTES les pages du livre - navré, le commentaire est en anglais car la vidéo sera postée sur mon site Disney and more, mais comme je le dis toujours les images sont en langage "international"! La vidéo montre l'édition "normale" du livre (pas l'édition collector que ceux qui commandent le livre recevrons) mais le contenu intérieur est strictement identique que celui présenté dans la vidéo ci-dessous. N'hésitez pas à stopper la vidéo pour vous arrêter sur une page si besoin.

Alain Littaye

MAJ du 2 Avril 2012: Nous venons de recevoir de l'imprimeur deux exemplaires témoins du produit fini, envoyés pour un dernier check-out avant que la totalité des exemplaires soient expédiés. J'ai fait une vidéo montrant le produit final - le méme que celui que vous recevrez - et vous pouvez la visionner ci-dessous!




Ci-dessous la premiére vidéo montrant l'intégralité des 320 pages du livre.



















Passez commande et réglez directement par Paypal depuis cette page en cliquant sur le bouton Paypal "Buy it Now" ci-dessous! N'oubliez pas de préciser ou de nous envoyer votre adresse d'expédition en nous informant de votre commande et paiement ET de nous dire si vous voulez le livre en édition française ou anglaise en nous envoyant un email à: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

Pictures: copyright Disney

Video: copyright Alain Littaye 2012

HKDL Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor Update !

Here it is, my long promised HKDL Mystic Manor update! It took a little time and i'm sorry about that but you will have below fresh news on this awaited HKDL attraction.

But first, let's start by some news about Grizzly Gulch, the next land to be open at HKDL. As you'll see on these screen captures from Michael30183 latest video that i have embedded below Grizzly Gulch is appearing little by little and some of the tunnels as well as the mountain with its grizzly head are almost finished. Grizzly gulch little town is also on its way to be ready for painting.









Now, you might have read on forums that "Grizzly Mountain Coaster has been changed to "Woody's Western Railroad". Guests will join Woody, Jessy, Bullseye, and other characters on an exciting western adventure...". Well, according to my sources this is all wrong and definitely nothing has been changed to the story line of Grizzly Gulch coaster. Considering that Toy Story Land is just a few yards from Grizzly Gulch i have to say that these changes introducing Toy Story characters would have been extremely surprising, but no, nothing is changed and the Audio-Animatronic bears will still be part of the ride. And before we talk about Mystic Manor here is the full HKDL video update of Michael30183.




Don't miss my Christmas sale on the two iPhone - iPad applications now at $0.99 or 0.79€ only until January 1st !






Talking about rumors, one about Mystic Manor appeared recently: the look of the two main Mystic Manor characters - Henry and Albert the monkey - would be "toonified". Well, this one is true, and not only it is but concept arts of how they will look - and even a sculpture of the monkey - are now displayed in HKDL Art of Animation gallery on Main Street, right behind Mystic Manor model as you can see on the pictures above and below. So, basically, the look of Albert the monkey has changed from a realistic one as seen on the renderings displayed at D23 Expo two years ago...



...to this new "toonified" look below.









Except the toonified style of Henry and Albert, some of the figures will have changes in their appearance, such as the Lava God in the tribal room, and apparently this is done to avoid a look too "human"...



Sometime ago I've also been told that cuts have been done on the original Mystic Manor concept, which would mean that there might be changes on the ride itself. I thought that may be they won't use anymore the always expensive trackless vehicle system - see above Mystic Manor vehicle model - or that the cuts were done on something else...

Well, i've been confirmed that WDI had planned to cut the Solarium scene of the ride due to the inflation in China which affected the cost of the project. But luckily the contract was signed before the inflation got too serious so all the scenes should eventually stay together, including the trackless ride system. In the renderings of Mystic Manor displayed at D23 Expo the Solarium scene was missing, and the totally different appearance of Albert in the solarium later-released rendering show that this scene was not drawn together with the rest of the renderings shown at D23.



In fact, except the toonified Albert and Henry, everything remain the same as announced. Mystic Manor is not a ghost story like the Haunted Mansion and you can expect more an eerie atmosphere than a creepy one. So, it does not have to be too realistic and HKDL guests could have fun with the supernatural power from the magic music box, Henry and Albert are assisting to smoothen the story and the ride system and show special effects should be the main focus of the ride.

And when Mystic Manor will open you ask? Well, Grizzly Gulch is planned to open next summer in 2012 and so far Mystic Manor opening date would be spring 2013. Actually, the ride system not only has been kept but it's installation is almost done. Some figures would be placed into the ride before the end of the year and all the works could be finished before next fall. And, talking about Mystic Manor works, let's have a look at a selection of recent pictures which will show you that HKDL Imagineers are working hard to have Mystic Manor facade painted as soon as possible. There is a reason for that as i will tell you in a few seconds.









Now, as i've told you Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point will open in summer 2012 and spring 2013. Because Mystic Manor is located right between Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land before Mystic Manor open there will be two dead ends in Toy Story Land and Grizzly Gulch. And HKDL operations is aware that it might be a problem for the guests which wouldn't be able to move directly from TSL to Grizzly Gulch.

As HKDL does not want this to happen, that's why the facade of Mystic Manor is painted now to be finished when Grizzly Gulch will open next summer. A path between TSL and Grizzly Gulch going though Mystic Point will be created so HKDL guests will be able to use this path to go from these two lands to each other. And i think this is an excellent idea specially when you see how many people are daily in TSL as the recent picture below will show you.



Although Mystic Manor will be the E-Ticket ride there will be much more to see at Mystic Point. HKDL guests will enter the Garden of Wonders, a garden full of relics and statues that hide a hidden world of illusions. Recently new artwork was released, showing more of this mysterious "Garden of Wonders".





One more picture about Mystic Manor with this photo of the Mystic Manor wallpaper. Yes, it has some reminiscences of Haunted Mansion famous wallpaper, and if you download the pic it also will make a nice screen wallpaper on your iPhone - or any other smart phone!



Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Manor should be a big hit when they will open, and they better be as the Hong Kong Government has said that they will no longer inject capital for HKDL after Mystic Manor, meaning that HKDL will have to find the money by itself to build anything new. That said, it doesn't mean that there won't be new attractions at HKDL in the near future, and in fact there even might be a new one before Shanghaî Disneyland open, as there is still some land available in Adventureland or other areas of the park... But it's too soon to talk about this one so, sorry, i keep it secret for now until it will be confirmed!


Don't miss my Christmas sale on the two iPhone - iPad applications now at $0.99 or 0.79€ only until January 1st !



Pictures: copyright Disney, Keith Lee, Michael30183

Video: copyright Michael30183

New Batman "The Dark Knight Rises" Trailer !

If you're a fan not only of Batman but also of Christopher Nolan movies you'll be pleased to know that the trailer of The Dark Knight Rises - which will be released in July 2012 is now available.

You can watch it below and guess what, i even have a great wallpaper picture for you!

A teaser was also released and you can watch it HERE.

Pictures and video: copyright Warner Bros

Guess where you'll find a ride that doesn't exist in any Disney theme park ?

You've probably heard that Kim Jong Il, the north Korean dictator died today - well, actually he died last saturday but it was announced officially today. North Korea is the last stalinist regime in the world and frankly i think it'll be hard to find something to envy in the hard lives of poor north korean people, except may be the lack of traffic jams in cities which always look deserted.

You might want to know if they have theme parks in North Korea? Well, the best you'll find is in Pyongyang and we can't call them theme parks because they're not. These are more funfairs with rides which looks 50 years old like the one above and below...



However, they do have rides more recent in Kaeson funfair, of course all manufactured in occidental countries. Now, believe it or not but they even have a ride system that doesn't exist in any Disney theme park! It's a coaster ride, and it's a "flying coaster"! The people below are "ready for launch" and look "happy happy" in Pyongyang favorite ride.



Of course this flying coaster is the exception that confirms the rule and North Korean amusement parks mostly look exactly as you think: incredibly old, no ride refurbishment seems to have been done since 30 years, and most of all, the parks are deserted. You'll find an interesting report on all this on Stefan's Theme Park Guy website from the picture above is coming. Also, there is on the iTunes Appstore an excellent Fotopedia application with hundred of pictures shot by excellent photographer Eric Lafforgue - who shot the two first pictures above - that will show you more about North Korea, undoubtedly the most secret country in the world, and also the most unpredictable...

Pictures: copyright Eric Lafforgue, Theme Park Guy