Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Update !

There we go for a new Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Update thanks to new pictures from Max Fan, D&M contributor and Dlrp Welcome webmaster. Let's start with the Disneyland Park and, first, an important news for those of you coming to the park by car as the police installed a new radar on the big avenue at the exit of the highway, the one leading to the parks. The radar flash the car from behind, so be careful next time you come to the park. Here is a map of where the radar is located, thanks to Raphael from the DCP forum.

At the entrance of the parks in front of Disney Village a new gate has been designed to be installed but DLP can't install it as for unknown reasons the construction has been blocked by prefectural order! Here is the concept-art of it, and i really wonder what could have blocked the authorization to build these quite classic gates...

They were expected for the summer season and here they are, the Disney Light Ears to be used during the Disney Dreams show, now sold in the park or at the World of Disney store for not less than 20 euros ( $25 ). I wonder how many they will sell...

Let's enter the Disneyland park and a good surprise awaits us at Town Square as musicians are playing in the gazebo at the center of Town Square.

Let's move to Frontierland at the Lucky Nuggets Saloon where an orchestra is also playing on the saloon stage. Sure, it was much better when the original show was there but it's also better than nothing at all, as it has been for many years until now.

Big Thunder Mountain re-opened in Frontierland but works on the new access for disable guests are still going on.

Near the River boats dock you can see a AA goat who seems to have escaped from his location on Big Thunder Mountain second lift near Mill building and Schak, where she usually pull clothes...

Max also posted on Youtube yesterday a new video showing DLP Fantasyland and the full It's a Small World ride. Here it is.




Let's move to the Walt Disney Studios to see at what point are the works on the Ratatouille ride buildings. Here is how it looked two weeks ago...

...and here is how the facades looks now - the picture below was shot yesterday. Small progress apparently but they're also taking care of others facades not shown on this shot.

Others pics from the construction site.

Max also did a excellent article about a presentation done recently by DLP to let us know  about DLP environmental actions and commitments. Max was there and his article is great and even so good that it was a bit too long to be translated! But there is plenty of pictures of what they've seen that special day including backstage pictures like the one below showing the backstage greenhouse where plants await to be ready to be installed in the park. So, if you read french do the jump to Max article right HERE, you will not regret it and learn a lot of things that you didn't knew, too! And Dlrp Welcome is also celebrating its 4th Anniversary today!

See you soon for a new DLP update but in the meantime i remind you that there is now less than twenty copies of the Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality book available in its english collector's edition, and if you don't own the book yet, it's now or never! Don't miss the $45 Discount on the Disneyland Paris book! Order in one click with the Paypal button below !  

Don't miss the Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book, in which you have the whole park in 320 pages with 750 photos including 250 WDI renderings. Last english collector's edition copies, french collector signed copies are also always available. And i do a special price right now on it with a $45 / 40€ discount on the normal price, so order your collector copy while there is still copies available as we're really running low on the english copies. You'll find below a one click Paypal button as well as a video showing the whole book. And you can have more infos about this gorgeous 320 pages book HERE.

Choose between french or english edition -Price include shipping

1 copy ENGLISH edition Disneyland Paris book, include shipping €100.00 EUR 1 SIGNED copy FRENCH edition Disneyland Paris book, inc shipping €115.00 EUR 1 NON SIGNED copy FRENCH edition Disneyland Paris book +shipping €90.00 EUR

Pictures: copyright Max Fan - Dlrp Welcome

Artwork: copyright Disney

Editor's Note: I'll be back tomorrow saturday with a new DLP update, but in the meantime i've posted on my Innoventions blog the first trailer of what will be very probably one of the most controversial movie of the year... Have a look HERE.

The Tiki Gods of Disneyland Enchanted Tiki Room

I always loved the Tiki gods of the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, the ones located in the garden before you enter the show. Disney parks just posted this good video showing all of them and how they are animated, so have a look!

They were inspired by South Pacific legends and designed by Imagineers Marc Davis and Rolly Crump. Marty Sklar wrote the dialogues and the plaques. The names of the gods are:

Pele: This Hawaiian fire goddess lives in the Kilauea volcano and likes to torment her neighbor …

Ngendei: from Fiji, he is the creator of all the gods. He’s also got a big job as balancer of the whole world. That pressure combined with the torment he suffers from Pele – it’s no wonder there’s an earthquake every time he moves.

Maui: The Polynesian trickster who gave people time and roped the playful Sun.

Rongo: The Polynesian god of agriculture, also known as Lono in Hawai`i, is also the provider of food. He also discovered electricity, naturally.

Koro: The Midnight Dancer, under whose spell all ladies and men learned to dance.

Tangaroa-ru: Also known as Mapui-Kaufanga in Maori tales, she is goddess of the east winds, which bring rain.

Hina Kaluua: This Hawaiian mistress of rain, from Hilo, Hawai`i, keeps it in the family – her daughter, Hina, is the mother of the trickster, Maui.

Tangaroa: The father of all gods and goddesses, he took the form of a tree (a tree that no one ever did see)

Another artwork showing the Tiki drummers that one can see inside the show.

And now, here is the Disney Parks video!

Picture and video: copyright Disney 

Paramount Park Project at Alhama de Murcia in Spain is Dead

Remember this big Paramount Park project at Alhama de Murcia in Spain that i told you about last month - see HERE ? Well, i'm afraid to say that the project is probably dead as Premursa "the Developer and Promoter behind the Paramount Murcia theme park project - also the President of one of the Investment companies behind the €50 Million development" filed for bankruptcy! Tumbit Spain add that "following yesterday's news, Jesus Samper declined to make any comment to journalists, instead suggesting that they speak with Santa Ana Alicante - the co-investors who had assumed responsibility for the promotion of the development".

In two words, the project is probably dead, it's a pity as it looked interesting but the concept itself is probably copyright Paramount so we might see it appear in others Paramount Park projects. Although the project at Alhama de Murcia received the green light of the city council last month what is happening is not very surprising considering the real estate situation right now in Spain. Good news, though, for DLP as it's also one less European competitor for Disneyland Paris, let's see now if the other Paramount Park project, the one in London will happen or not...

Picture: copyright Paramount parks

The Lone Ranger Mojave Desert Scene Making-Of

Disney released this short making-of of the Lone Ranger Spirit scene in the Mojave Desert. Lone Ranger will be released soon, and personally i'm awaiting it!

Video: copyright Disney

"Pixar, 25 years of Animation" Exhibit Coming to Paris, Open Nov 16 !

Those of you coming to Paris this fall or next winter to visit DLP will be happy to know that the "Pixar, 25 years of Animation" exhibit will open in Paris November 16 and will stay until March 2, 2014. The exhibit will open in a place called Art Ludique.

The exhibit is currently at Amsterdam, and here is a video showing it in Amsterdam.

Animation Update: Frozen Teaser Trailer, Planes 2, and more...

The first teaser for Disney's Animation Studios "Frozen" has been released and i sincerely hope that the movie will be better than this 1.51 min. May be you'll be enthusiast but personally seeing a reindeer acting like a dog looks to me like a wrong good idea. Even worst, this teaser might give a wrong image of what the movie really is. Or may be it's me who's wrong... 

Anyway, according to the synopsis Frozen tell the story of "Fearless optimist Anna who teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter". 

You'll see Olaf the snowman in the teaser below... 

...as well as Sven the reindeer 

...but not the human characters Anna and Hans, so you'll need to wait a bit more to know what will be the exact tone of this new animated movie which will be released this fall.

On this next one Hans is riding Sven the reindeer.

Always about animated movies Disney announced that Planes will have a sequel to be called "Planes 2 : Fire and Rescue" which will be released summer 2014, and in 3D. Considering the title "Fire and Rescue" no need to be a genius to guess that that this Planes sequel will talk about planes which are sent to extinguish forest fires.

Originally the two films were supposed to have a direct to video release and this might explain why this Planes 2 will be ready for next summer 2014.







Finally, Monsters Inc is released in three days and a ne - last? - clip has been released and this one is called "Star Player". Here it is.




Pictures and videos: copyright Disney

Disney Get The Green Light For Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal Renovation Project

It took ten years but that's it, Disney finally got the green light to renovate the Grand Central Air Terminal which is located  in Glendale, north of Los Angeles. More from Gizmodo.com:

"Originally opened in 1929, the terminal was the main public building for the Glendale Municipal Airport which dates from 1922. Outside, the building is remarkable for its blend of Art Deco and Spanish Colonial architecture. The terminal's interior layout was a template for the layout for the future of airports with separate areas for ticketing, eating, and waiting. In its heyday, the terminal was used by high-flying celebrities, including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and Howard Hughes.

The terminal was closed to commercial aviation in 1944, and Glendale Airport was shut down permanently in 1959. Unfortunately, over the years, the Grand Central Air Terminal building has fallen into disrepair. Below, a shot of the original waiting room, now completely abandoned".

"After buying the land in the 1990s, Disney entered into a development agreement with the City of Glendale in 2000 to rehabilitate the building by the end of 2015. Disney wanted to build the land out for a new Grand Central Creative Complex, but because of the building's historic status, it had to cut a deal with city officials. Amongst the concessions Disney granted were that the land had to have an airplane "from the era" outside.

The Disney plan was approved back in March by the Glendale Historic Preservation Commission and in addition to structural improvements and seismic upgrades, the building's exterior will be restored to its former aesthetic glory from the clay roof tiles to the steel windows to the stone and stucco ornamentation. A nearby building will be demolished to provide a nice view of the building to passersby."

"Inside, the terminal will be retrofitted as offices for Disney employees. There will also be a visitor center and event space for the surrounding creative complex."

"According to the agreement with the city, Disney will need to provide "limited" public access to the building when construction is complete. Let's hope Disney takes that mandated service seriously."

Text: copyright Gizmodo.com

56 Years Ago The House of the Future Was Opening at Disneyland

56 years ago the Monsanto House of the Future was opening at Disneyland and stayed at the entrance of Tomorrowland during ten years. Here is a tribute to the "House of the future" with historical pictures and a real treasure videos!



The attraction offered a tour of a home of the future, set in the year 1986, Built of plastics, a revolutionary material at that time, the four wing"ultra-modern" House of the Future was on display from 1957 to 1967 at the entrance of Tomorrowland.The House of the Future featured the latest in furniture and appliances along with intercoms and other gadgets that were not common in 1957. For instance, it featured household appliances such as microwave ovens, which eventually were invented and became commonplace.




The house survived the introduction of New Tomorrowland in 1967, but closed shortly after, as Monsanto's attention shifted to their new sponsored attraction, Adventure Thru Inner Space. The building was so sturdy, that when demolition crews tried to knock out walls with a wrecking ball, the ball bounced off. Hacksaws were required to take the building apart, piece by piece.

However, it didn't remove all the house. The support pillars were rated for earthquakes, so when the construction reached them, most couldn't be removed. These few remaining pillars are still visible in Neptune's Grotto, the location of the exterior gardens of the house.

A good friend and faithful Disney and more reader also sent to me this rare article that he found in an old issue of Popular Science Magazine. And it's a very interesting one. Not only because it talks of the Monsanto House of the Future, but because the date of the article is April 1956! And so what, you ask? Well, you see, Disneyland's House of the Future didn't opened in 1956 but in 1957, one year later! Which means what? On the cover of this April 1956 issue, the title was "1956 Home Show" and the article was called "Plastic House of the Future" and not the "House of the Future". The good question of course is: Did Walt learned about the Monsanto's house thanks to the article or did he knew about it before? We'll probably never have the answer, but the article is fascinating. Have a look and don't miss the page with the plan of the House of the Future!

A while ago i've found the image below. This one is not related to the House of the Future, but it's from the same era and the picture - which show another kind of "house of the future" is pretty cool, so i add it here. Double-click on it to see it in big size.



This last picture shows the great replica designed by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily for Disney shopping.com fduring Disneyland 50th anniversary!

And now, here is a great document with this two part Monsanto video that will show you how amazing - specially in 1960's - the House of the Future was. Don't miss it, it's just like if you were there, inside the House of the Future, 50 years ago!








Photos: copyright Disney

Video: copyright Monsanto and Disney

All my thanks to Macmouse4 for the great Youtube video