We stay at Disneyland Paris today, and this time it's unfortunately for bad news. Daniel Delcourt from DLP Operations announced recently at the InsideEars event that the Barber Shop currently located in the Emporium - with an entrance on Flower Street - will be relocated inside Liberty Arcade - picture above by Nicolas Bailly. And i'm sorry to say that fears of DLP fans that they'll put the Barber shop where the Statue of Liberty Diorama currently is were justified, as it is exactly what they are going to do.
OutsideEars posted the blueprints - you'll see them below - showing that the Barber shop will indeed be rebuilt there, which is a big mistake in my opinion ( and even more when you'll learn why they do this ) as the whole Liberty Arcade is originally a tribute to the Statue of Liberty and its design, construction, etc, with in the center of the Arcade this Statue of Liberty Diorama. In two words, it was not only a great theming idea, it was also full of meaning.
Now, apparently DLP will keep the main scene of the Diorama, and i'm not sure if they'll keep also the Mannequins watching the inauguration - i wouldn't bet on it - or only the Inauguration diorama scene in front of them - picture below shot by Photos Magiques.
But, wait, what a scene of the Statue of Liberty Inauguration would do in a Barber shop?!? I know they're keeping it because, hey, we're in Liberty Arcade and the scene is nice so it'll make a nice backdrop ( and probably also to avoid fans uproar ) but, isn't anyone at DLP thinking if it has any meaning? The question of meaning is more important than it seems because this is THE main problem of the world we live in ( and not only at DLP ). When there is no meaning then things don't have any sense anymore, and contrary to what you may think, Imagineers always design a park or a land with this question of meaning always in their minds.
So, gone the meaning, and unfortunately the beautiful and gorgeously designed entrance of the Statue of Liberty Diorama - picture below - will also be gone, completely, the mural and red curtains and flag - as the blueprints show there will be instead the windows and entrance door of the Barber shop. That's truly a big loss of theming, i can tell you.
With a bit of luck they may keep the others murals on the left and right that you can see on the pictures below shot like the pics above by Maureen from Hello Disneyland - see more pictures of the Statue of Liberty Diorama in her article HERE.
The Barber shop might get a bit more visibility because being located in the center of Liberty Arcade guests will see it from Main Street, but ONLY when the doors between the Arcade and Flower street will be open ( and they're often closed in winter because of cold temperatures ).
Now, about the blueprints posted by OutsideEars, here they are, and they're quite explicit. On the first one below you can see both the current location of the Barber shop and its future one, where the Statue of Liberty Diorama currently is.
The next blueprint shows the Barber shop entrance. As you see the great Statue of Liberty mural at the entrance of the diorama will disappear.
The next blueprint shows the inside of the shop and you can see - where is written "zone decor" - that the diorama itself will be kept. With or without the mannequins is another question.
And of course the question is: why do they do this, why do they move the Barber shop, and partly destroy this charming Statue of Liberty Diorama. Well, as explained by Daniel Delcourt, it's done to increase the shopping area of the Emporium, meaning that instead of the current beautifully themed Barber shop, you'll have more shelves with plushs, clothes, etc, any kind of merch you can think of. In two words, this is all done to make more money, period. And we're not even talking about getting back 20 or 30 square meters for the Emporium but roughly only 8 or 9 square meters, which for the most will be square meters on which the guests will walk, as they'll put shelves only on the walls. I can understand that they took their calculators and realized they would make more money by selling merchandise than the revenues made out of the Barber shop, but frankly, all this mess only for 8 miserable square meters?!? Honestly, it's not even stupid, it's ridiculous.
Below, a video showing the Statue of Liberty Diorama - yes, it's a bit dark and it's normal.
Below, a video showing the Statue of Liberty Diorama - yes, it's a bit dark and it's normal.
Pictures: copyright Nicolas Bailly, Photos Magiques, Hello Disneyland, Disney
4 comments:
This is very sad indeed... Paris has the most beautiful Main Street of all, it will now loose a unique experience and with it some of it's charm. This is simply awful. To add a positive note: this is still better than what happened in Magic Kingdom when they wanted to add shopping space to the Emporium... But still, personally i'd rather see the Country Bears leave Magic Kingdom than this! Shall we start a petition?
Regards Pierre
Unfortunately, it sounds like Bob Chapek has made it his primary mission to get as much money and profits from the resorts as possible (even with all the "unprecedented" investments in theme parks and resort expansions). Less original ideas, more Intellectual Properties, more timeshares, more merchandise space, and high prices everywhere. Considering how much the division made for Disney, he's done a fantastic job and clearly wants to be the next CEO. Hopefully, Disney stays true to form and gets someone with media experience (Michael Eisner, Bob Iger) so the next CEO might even come from FOX.
"There are three internal candidates who could eventually take the reins from Iger: Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer efforts, which include the streaming services; Bob Chapek, Disney’s parks and resorts chairman; and Peter Rice, a longtime Fox executive who joined the company this week as chairman of Walt Disney Television." -LA Times: www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-disney-fox-iger-20190319-story.html
I must say it is sad to see the barbershop go. In all those years for me, it was a nice piece of prop as it was never open. I can not say the same about the statue of liberty display. I have been there only once to see what was there to be disappointed, to say the least. My only hope is that they will also change the front in Mainstreet than so you will see the barbershop a bit better in its new location
This is a disgrace. Even if they wanted to move the Barbershop, they could have used the little shop on the left of the diorama selling glass items along Liberty Arcade.
I expect the new location to be less immersive. Things may just be displayed there for the sake of it, without any real logic, and it may look lackluster compared to the original Barbershop. Will they be able to reproduce that Chicago-style atmosphere?
What's more, the blueprints clearly show that not all elements from Dapper Dan's Hair Cuts will fit into that space (for example, they can only fit two mirrors intead of three).
The last concern is for the barber himself. Should the lighting be dimmer in the new location (no direct sunlight), I know it would make it more difficult for him to work there.
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