20 Years of Disneyland Paris in just four minutes ! Plus: DLP 2011 Annual Report

Disneyland Paris has released the 2011 Annual Report and this year, instead than releasing the AP on a PDF they've created a new web site on which you will find several videos, including a introduction by DLP CEO Philippe Gas. Among the videos there is one which shows 20 years of DLP in just four minutes. It's of course a bit fast but it seems that it's now the big fashion to do this kind of editing ( i saw another one yesterday which was showing all the new features of the upcoming new Mac OS " Mountain Lion" in just two minutes! ). Of course when a video editing goes that fast it doesn't have any sense, except to be sure that the viewer will see everything to the end. When we live in a world where everyone complain if an internet page don't upload In less than one second you must not be surprised if these kind of video editing will happen more and more...

That said, here is the video, and good luck to identify each scene of these "20 years of DLP"!


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You've probably note the name of the video: "Disneyland Paris Generation" and they're right those who are now 20 were born when Disneyland Paris opened By the way, when you'll jump to the Annual Report web site HERE don't forget to click on the top on the little english flag to access the english version!

Talking about DLP i remind you that my DLP book is currently on its way to be reprint and that it's the right time to place your pre-order for a collector's copy. The book will be reprint for sure next month, and that's one more good reason to pre-order your collector copy right now, specially considering that during the pre-order period which will end in a few weeks you also have a 20% discount on what will be the final price of the book. I repost below the video showing you each page of the book and to know how to order and send your payment please go HERE. Paypal or bank wire transfer payments are accepted.







Picture and DLP 20 Years video: copyright Disney

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril : The Mystery of the Second Temple

One of my Disney and more reader who own my DLP book and have a good eye sent me this question: "On page 138 of your book the rendering of the Temple of péril on the top of the page seems to show TWO temples instead of one. Do you have any idea if this means that WDI originally envisioned to build two temples instead of one only?"

Well, Jim, it's for sure a good question, as indeed two temples are clearly visible on that rendering. And, of course, if a WDI artist painted it, it's because the imagineers did envisioned another temple.

However, it seems that it is only after that the first temple was built that they began to really work on a new temple addition. Why? because the first temple was an instant hit at DLP's Adventureland but had one little problem: the hour capacity. And of course, the best to resolve this problem would have been to build...a second temple!

So, in Glendale, imagineers not only thought seriously - as they always do - about this new temple, but a model was built. And what can we saw on this model? Well, the two temples, of course, with the new one joining the first temple at a 90 degrees angle - imagine a "L" letter upside down, the vertical part of the letter being the first temple and the horizontal part being the new temple. However, there was no link between the two coaster tracks. Instead, the imagineers designed two totally different rides for both temples, with the possibility for the guests to board either at the first or at the second temple.

Another interesting point in this never built concept was that imagineers were not sacrifying the space to eventually build Indiana Jones Aventure in the future. In fact, if my memory is right, one of the "towers" of the second temple would have serve as the entrance for a future IJA attraction.

Now, as we know, this second temple was never built, and the main reason, as usual with DLP was - guess what? - money! At the end of the 1990's Disneyland Paris was in serious trouble financially speaking, and the park's management choose the option to add capacity with more seats for each train. They also choose to have the ride going "backward" , and indeed it was much cheaper to turn each train than to build a brand new temple!

Is there any chance that we see this other temple build in the future? Frankly, i wouldn't count on it, but who knows, as they say at WDI, "a good idea never die". That's right, but sometime a better idea can replace another one an dif DLP finally decides one day to bring Indiana Jones Adventure in Adventureland this for sure will be better than a second temple.



That said, did you know that some great scene concepts for the "first" temple were unfortunately cancelled - like the one below? You'll find this scene and many others in my DLP book and this is what makes "From Sketch to Reality" a great book as you will find in it hundred of WDI artworks, including WDI concepts that never were realized! I also remind you that the pre-order period will end in two weeks and with it the 20% discount that anyone have when you place a pre-order. So, go ahead and place your pre-order now for your collector's edition copy! To know how to order and send your payment please go HERE. Paypal or bank wire transfer payments are accepted.





Artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Imagineering Video

Until now, i must admit that i was not specially excited with this new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive game. The previous one - Kim Possible - never looked really exciting to me but to be honest the game was designed more for young teens than for me. But the more i learn about Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom the more i like it. Okay, it's still an interactive game for young children, but apparently more than 95 minutes of original animation were done, and it looks really good.

As Kevin Yee said in a recent article the game will delight children under eight years old but if it has been designed with "spirit" it's very welcome! Below, a new Imagineering Video released by Disney Parks will learn you more about these "Sorcerers"!




Video: copyright Disney

Epcot Horizons Resurrected

Thanks to Screamscape i've discovered last week the amazing Horizons: Resurrected web site. And let me tell you that the project and the work of Chris Wallace is truly amazing as he is literally recreating Epcot beloved attraction - no kidding!

You saw last week the amazing work of the CGI Star Tours which was great, but here you can actually move inside Horizons building, enter, go back if you wish, and with a move of your mouse look at the ceiling or the floor, turn at 360 degrees, etc... In two words it's exactly like if you were back in this attraction which should have never became an extinct attraction - but that's another problem.



You have to know that it is a work in progress, i.e that Horizons recreation is not finished yet. Chris has already done the Horizons building, all the entrance, the pre-show room and the boarding room - and you can actually board inside one of Horizons vehicle which will begin to move like in the real ride - and also the very first scenes with Jules Verne and the vision of the future from the 50's.



Which means that Chris has still a lot of work and it will probably take him some months or years to finish this Horizons resurrection. That said, you have all the audio file till the end, even if the scenes are not recreated yet. The program is using a small software called Unity which you 'll be ask to install and it'll take just five minutes and it's free. Once it's done you'll be able to live this amazing experience to re-discover and move inside an attraction which would be gone forever if someone like Chris didn't had the brilliant idea to bring it back to life!

Horizons Resurrected web site is HERE and for those who have missed it i remind you my former tribute to Horizons with plenty of pictures of the ride as well as a video that you can see HERE.

Pictures: copyright Horizons: Resurrected

Pixar Short " La Luna " New Clip

La Luna is Pixar's latest short animated and also probably the longest with 7 minutes long. The short is nominated for an academy award and it tells "the fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?"

Enrico Casarosa, La Luna director began at Pixar Animation Studios in January 2002. He began doing starboards for Cars and Ratatouille and i have the feeling that La Luna will have plenty of poetry, in two words the Pixar that we all love!







Pictures and video: copyright Disney - Pixar

A Tribute to John Horny

Here is a tribute to a great artist that i wanted to do since a long time: John Horny is not only a fantastic painter but he has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering on many Disney theme parks projects including Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Westcot, and many more. We will have a look today at some of his works for DLP beginning by one of his most known painting, i.e the great Pirates of Caribbean artwork that you can see above. Note that it's here the high-res file we used in the DLP book so it might take some time to appear on the screen.

Among the other artworks that John did for DLP was a series of paintings for Frontierland or Adventureland which served as inspiration for WDI Imagineers that were designing the lands. Let's begin by those for Frontierland which shows a series of Frontierland characters. The first one below is of course related to the Lucky Nugget Saloon.



...Just like this other artwork showing one of the girls of the saloon...



This next painting shows the blacksmith - you can see his workshop located almost in front of Big Thunder entrance.



DLP fans will recognize on this next painting the architecture of the Fuente Del Oro and, yes, the character swashbuckling on the roof in the background is Zorro!



This Indian Navajo painting is related to the Indian teepees at the entrance but also the area in the back of Frontierland, near the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue where there was a shop, now unfortunately closed, selling indian/mexican merchandise.



This last character painting is showing a medecine man selling his supposed magical potions.



For DLP Adventureland John Horny also did some brilliant artwork, and you'll find some of them in my book but here is two less known paintings, the first one below showing of course a Jungle Cruise scene. I remind you that the Jungle cruise attraction has been envisioned for DLp before WDI Imagineers changed their mind and decided to don't bring the Disneyland beloved attraction in DLP Adventureland.



This next one is even more rare as it shows what could have been built instead of the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Péril coaster ride. Back in the 1990's John has been asked to create a rendering showing a coaster set in a dinosaurs paleontological field. Finally, the Indy ride is the one which was built but we could have had this Dinos coaster instead of the Temple du Péril.



Among others Disney theme parks John Horny also did some renderings for Westcot, like this one done for the Westcot Europe Bay part...



...or this one created when Hong Kong Disneyland was in its early stage. If you look well you'll see that a Lion King Pride rock might have been build in front of Tarzan Trehouse, but also that a Big Thunder Mountain was envisioned as a "future attraction" and you can see its silhouette in the background.



Most of these images are coming from John Horny website on which you can see many more of his work whether it is for Disney or Landmark, including artwork for Disney theme parks that never were.

You can also find more renderings from John in my DLP book, currently on its way to be reprinted and i remind you that you normally have just two weeks more to place your pre-order for a collector's copy. The book will be reprint for sure next month, and that's one more good reason to pre-order your collector copy right now, specially considering that during the pre-order period which will end in a few weeks you also have a 20% discount on what will be the final price of the book. I repost below the video showing you each page of the book and to know how to order and send your payment please go HERE. Paypal or bank wire transfer payments are accepted.







Pictures: copyright John Horny - Disney

1960's United Airlines Jungle Cruise Ad

Here is a nice old United Airlines Ad to begin the week. Back in the 1960's United Airlines was an official partner of Disneyland and United being an airline company flying around the world the link with the Jungle Cruise was natural.

Picture: copyright Disney - Thanks to DCP Facebook page!

HKDL Golden Mickey's Show - Full Show Video

The Golden Mickey's show at Hong Kong Disneyland is one of my favorite. It's a real good show, the kind of "real good show" that we'll be happy to have at Disneyland Paris! Until recently it was hard to find on Youtube a video showing the full show in one video. It was possible to find the whole show cut in 5 or 7 parts and in not very good definition, but not in one part. Then Harryreddevil came and posted one week ago his video showing the whole show in just one part, and so it's the right time to discover this great show if you've never been to Hong Kong Disneyland! Definitely watch it in full screen mode.




Talking about Hong Kong disneyland, don't miss the great HKDL Wallpapers Application for iPhone - iPad, you'll find it on the iTunes Appstore! See article here
Direct iTunes link HERE!



Video: copyright Harryreddevil

Picture: copyright marjramos.com

Whitney Houston Dies at 48 - A "Cinderella" Tribute

As you've probably heard this morning, singer Whitney Houston died at 48 at the Beverly Hills hotel and it will be a sad news for her millions of fans around the world. Although Whitney was not one of my favorite singer i always thought that her voice was great - and she was really beautiful, too!

As we are on Disney and more i tried to find if i could find a link between Disney and Whitney and, guess what, there is one as she played - and co-produced too - in Disney's 1997 musical production of Cinderella! And, no, Whitney was not playing Cinderella but the Fairy Godmother - no kidding.



The movie was a TV production and a remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, and Whoopi Goldberg was also playing...Queen Constantina. I would not say that it was the movie of the century but it's not bad either and if you wish you can watch the full movie below. for those who don't want to watch the whole movie, Whitney Houston is shortly appearing just before the movie begins and then jump between 0.33 min to 0.45 min to see her as the Fairy Godmother and the magical transformation of Cinderella.




Pictures and video: copyright Disney