Thursday, February 22, 2018

Breaking: Tropical Hideaway to Replace Aladdin's Oasis in Disneyland's Adventureland !



Disney Parks announced that there will be soon be a new area to explore at Disneyland's  Adventureland! The former Aladdin’s Oasis will soon be transformed to The Tropical Hideaway!

This new experience will soon appear along the tropical shores nestled between the Jungle Cruise and “Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.” This one-of-a-kind destination will be a popular rest stop for Adventureland locals and weary explorers alike. Guests will be able to rub elbows with their favorite skippers in an exotic traders’ market, featuring all of the sights, sounds and flavors of the tropics.



A closer look at the rendering seems to indicate there will be an Audio-Animatronic parrot to entertain guests, may be one who escaped from the Tiki Room nearby... For sure we'll keep an eye on this Tropical Hideaway and will let you know when there will be more news about it!

Pictures: copyright Disney

New Renderings for Walt Disney World Awaited Star Wars Resort !



Disney Parks released two new visuals for the highly awaited Star Wars Hotel, to be build near Disney's Hollywood Studios Star Wars land: "The immersive experience offered at this hotel will stand out among all of our resorts around the globe. As you can see, families visiting this resort will board a starship alive with characters and stories that unfold all around them during their voyage through the galaxy – and every window has a view of space!"



Watch the animated image on the video below showing the guests arrival at the hotel, supposedly being a starship floating in space. Guests apparently will reach the "starship" thanks to a shuttle bringing them to the starship where they will stay. All this of course will be made thanks to special effects designed by WDI wizards.




“It’ll be unlike anything that exists today. From the second you arrive, you will become a part of a Star Wars story! You’ll immediately become a citizen of the galaxy and experience all that entails, including dressing up in the proper attire. Once you leave Earth, you will discover a starship alive with characters, stories, and adventures that unfold all around you. It is 100% immersive, and the story will touch every single minute of your day, and it will culminate in a unique journey for every person who visits.”

The resort will also be seamlessly connected to the highly anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, allowing guests a complete Star Wars experience. Guests visiting the resort will be welcome to participate as a resident of the galaxy by dressing in Star Wars-inspired attire. Inside their room guests will see through the window the infinite space and what's happening "below".




Considering that what guests will see through the hotel / starship windows will be projections some wonder if guests might suffer of claustrophobic effect. My answer is: if the visual  illusion is well done they shouldn't have the feeling to be captive in a closed space. That said, a good air conditioning with a cool breeze will surely help to cool down claustrophobic anxiety if it happens .

I remind you the previously released renderings showing the hotel "lobby", play areas and another one showing the guests room.









Pictures and video: copyright Disney

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Disneyland Paris Update! Phantom Manor Renovation, and more...



Here we go for a new Disneyland Paris update with, as always pictures shot by Max, D&M contributor and DLP Welcome webmaster. The big renovation in the park right now is Phantom Manor, closed until next October, and this a truly major renovation that was really needed, outside and inside the manor, now hidden behind a wall of scaffoldings.

Of course DLPI will refurb all Audio-Animatronics inside and we can hope that they'll upgrade some special effects too, just like they did in the U.S not so long ago. Of all DLP E-Tickets attraction Phantom Manor is the last one to get a renovation and you may have noticed that all the others E-Ticket attractions not only had a full refurbishment but major changes or additional scenes, whether it is Big Thunder with the new explosive finale, Pirates of Caribbean with the new auction and Barbossa scenes and Jack Sparrow Audio-Animatronic, Space Mountain with the Star Wars update or Star Tours with the 2.0 version of the ride. Will it be the same with Phantom Manor and will they change or add scenes in DLP beloved attraction? Answer next October when the doors of the manor will reopen!


In the meantime a wall of fences not only forbid access to Phantom Manor area, including the cemetery but also to the Riverboat landing which apparently will also get some refurbishment.





Specially designed posters placed on the fences inform the guests about the renovation.













A closer look on the roof reveal that they will have not only to repaint it but also to replace the roof tiles as they are literally falling down! To avoid that guests will be hurt by falling tiles they've placed some nearly invisible net to hold the tiles and prevent them to fall as much as possible...




They had a quite similar problem on Tower of Terror not so long ago, and they used similar nets.




From Big Thunder Mountain we can see behind the Mark Twain riverboat, still waiting for a full renovation before it'll be too late. DLP said that they don't forget it and that it will be done but i'm afraid that the riverboat still has some years to wait before being restored to its original glory.



At Adventureland, the suspension bridge is closed once again, this time for renovation of the wooden structures of the accesses. That should not take too long.










The wood of this little boat decor element is unfortunately now rotten and the bottom has cracked...






Nothing special to report in Fantasyland, except that the castle still does not have its golden arrows since December.







The 25th anniversary shows were back at the Royal Castle Stage when Max shot the pictures, for the greatest enjoyment of the visitors!




















nIf you want to enjoy the 25th Anniversary shows do it soon as, starting March 31st and until May 31 Disneyland Paris will enter in its "Pirates and Princesses" seasonal event, see new visual below with Princesses ( women ) ready to fight Pirates ( men ) which match - probably involuntary - the spirit of times...



You've seen in D&M previous DLP update the incredible pictures of the park under snow, and DLP released a short official video filmed during the snowy days.




Let's end the visit in Disneyland Paris park with the always lovely Boardwalk Candy Palace, one of Main Street U.S.A shops which looks the same as it was on opening day!


















At the Walt Disney Studios it's still the Season of the Force, watch Max videos below showing the decorations and the First Order March.






I also remind you that on March 30 the first of a series of special events to celebrate The Hollywood Tower Hotel 10th Anniversary! An unforgettable costumed party, with a special 1930s Hollywood theme! Available for 39€, tickets for this special evening are now available at the Annual Pass Office at City Hall and Studio Services at the WDS park entrance, or through the Infinity Annual Pass phone line.



Talking about the Walt Disney Studios, following the announcement of the Iron Man ride which will replace the Rock and Roller Coaster - see previous article HERE - DLP released a new video in the "Once upon a time..." series with DLP Imagineer Laurent Cayuela providing details about WDS Backlot land, precisely the one to be transformed soon in Marvel land, so in a few years chances are that it won't look the same anymore...




Max will be back soon with a new DLP update, and in the meantime if you don't own it yet, order your copy of the acclaimed Disneyland Paris book while it is still available in its English edition. The French edition is now out of stock but if you're French, and wish to purchase the book in its english edition a PDF file of the full French text of the French edition will be sent to you.

Lecteurs Français: Etant donné que l'édition française est épuisée, un fichier du texte complet original en Français sera envoyé aux acheteurs Français ne comprenant pas l'anglais.
Egalement, Il me reste trois exemplaires de l'édition collector française, état neufs, 250€ pièce, si intéressé me contacter à l'adresse email ci-dessous.

To place your order for the DLP book, please send me an email at: amplittaye@gmail.com with your shipping address. The price during the  special offer is 75€ ( instead of 100€ ) and shipping worldwide is 22€ ( except Belgium and Italy for which it is 29€ ).

You can pay with Paypal, credit card or bank transfer. For Paypal payments please send directly the full amount  including shipping ( 97€ worldwide, except for Belgium and Italy for which it is 104€ ) at: nme4@wanadoo.fr  If you wish to pay by credit card and bank transfer, let me know in your email and i'll tell you how to do.

Also, each order will receive two surprise gifts - actually there is more than two - and these are GREAT gifts that each DLP fan love!



Here is all you need to know to order a copy of the "Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality" book for those who have never seen the book. First, it's a gorgeous 320 pages coffee table book with 750 pictures of the park including 250 WDI artworks, all DLP attraction posters, and dozens more of sumptuous artworks! The text by Disney historian Didier Ghez tell the story of the creation of the park from dozens of interviews of WDI Imagineers who built the park. It's also probably the best gift you can find for a Disney Parks fan - and it is true! Have a look below to the mosaic pictures showing a selection of pages of the book.








If you've never seen the book before, don't miss the video below showing the full 320 pages of the book!




Pictures : copyright DLP Welcome

Videos: copyright DLP Welcome, Disney