Three more copies of the Disneyland Paris book available !

I've succeeded to find from the publisher three more copies of the now totally out of stock Disneyland Paris book "From sketch to reality". One is the english edition with the english text and have minor scratch on the spine of the cover, no dust jacket, but is perfectly okay inside, and the two others are perfect copies of the french edition with the text in french and include the dust jacket.

The price is 87 Euros + 15 Euros for the english copy and 150 Euros + 15 Euros for the french edition copies. I've spent a big part of the day looking all around the publisher stock and these are now the very last copies he had. If one of you is interested, send me an email at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr as it's probably the last chance to get a copy of this great book, so don't miss it!

For more details about the book please look HERE.

EDITED: Sorry, the last english copy is now sold. Only the french copies are still available.

New Imagineering Behind the Scenes Video : How the Hitchhiking Ghosts Come to Life at WDW Haunted Mansion

Walt Disney Imagineering just released a new video going behind the scenes at the new and amazing hitchhiking ghosts effect in WDW Haunted Mansion. The effect, now in place since two weeks, is unbelievably cool and all Haunted Mansion's fans around the world will love it.



WDW Magic filmed the new hitchhiking ghosts effect and posted the video two weeks ago. If you've not watched it yet on Youtube here it is below.



I'm sure that DLP fans would love to have the same effect at the end of Phantom Manor and some weeks ago i told you that the park was planning to enhance Phantom Manor effects - and introduce new effects, too, at Big Thunder Mountain. There is little doubt that this new hitchhiking ghosts effect would be part of it. Unfortunately i have bad news for you as the latest news say that both Phantom Manor and BTM new effects are on hold for now and won't be installed for DLP 20th Anniversary. It's a bit a pity as both PM and BTM needs really some enhancements. Let's cross our fingers, may be they will change their mind, they still have time to put these amazing effects in place at the end of Phantom Manor.

Picture: copyright Disney

Videos: copyright Disney and WDW Magic

Is WDI Developing Attractions Inspired by Marvel Super-Heroes ?

The next D23 Magazine Summer issue will be released soon and some of the articles should be really interesting. In one of them called "What a MARVELous world!" Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, is interviewed and "has big hopes for Marvel now that they're part of the Walt Disney family, including having Marvel's stable of iconic characters become fixtures at Disney theme parks around the world".

The guys at IGN had an exclusive advance look at the interview Feige did for the upcoming D23 issue in which Feige says: "It's the biggest dream of all. We get to tap into this spectacular team that is better than anyone else on the planet at bringing fantasy to life, not only on the big screen but in the real world," said Feige.



Feige continued: "The notion of walking into a theme park and going into Asgard or the X-Mansion—Disney does this better than anyone. That is why I've gone to Disney parks multiple times every year for my whole life. It's that next step in fully immersive storytelling, whether it's a dark ride, a stunt show, or a thrill ride. The options are endless when it comes to how Imagineers can turn our characters, our adventures, and our films into amazing experiences."



Now, that's not all. In the same "What a MARVELous World!" article we learn too that Stan Lee also talks about "his excitement to be working with WDI Imagineers: "It's great for Marvel to have access to Disney's brains, because they're pretty smart, and it's great for Disney to have all these characters, with their built-in audience. It's one of the wisest things that either company could have done"...The article's glimpse into future plans for this historic team-up shows why Disney, Marvel and fans alike are looking forward to super hero-sized results."

We knew it had to happen, that some day WDI attractions themed on the Marvel Super-Heroes universe will appear in a Disney theme park. And, after all, when we see what Universal did at Islands of Adventure with the Spiderman ride there is no doubt that WDI could create great rides inspired by Marvel super-heroes.

The only question is not really "when?" these attractions will come as it will probably take some years before we see the first "Marvel" attraction in a Disney park - but more "where?", where these Marvel rides will be installed. Laughing Place is asking "Is Marvel Heading to Disneyland?". Let's hope not as the only place in Disneyland for a Marvel ride would be Tomorowland and i would prefer Tony Baxter's Wall-E attraction project inside the former Carousel of Progress building than an Iron Man ride. California Adventure would be a better choice but where at DCA? They probably would have to create a new "Marvel" mini land...

Or may be these WDI Marvel rides concepts - if WDI Imagineers are really working on that - will be developed for DLP third gate? Remember that DLP CEO Philippe Gas said some months ago in a Telegraph article that "DLP's third park could be a Marvel super-heroes theme park". In this case, considering that DLP third gate won't open before 2020 i'm afraid we will have to wait quite a while to ride these upcoming-or-not WDI Marvel attractions.

May be we will learn more in the next D23 summer issue, available on May 3!

Pictures: copyright Disney-Marvel

Cars 2 Update : New "London" Posters and Characters

Pixar released new visuals of Cars 2 linked with the "London" sequence, beginning by two new vintage posters above and below.



Also released visuals of new British Cars characters and let's begin the presentation by the Royals. First one is of course the Queen - voiced by Vanessa Redgrave: "With the final stage of the World Grand Prix racing through the historic streets of London, England, the Queen is quietly elated she was invited to preside over the finish line by Sir Miles Axlerod. Painted in shades of the most royal blues and never without her jeweled crown, the Queen is the definition of decorum and regality, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy a bit of first-rate competition!"



Next Royal is "Prince Wheeliam": "Prince Wheeliam of England is an avid racing fan. He can’t believe his luck that the final race of the one-of-a-kind World Grand Prix is happening on the streets of London. Though he must remain impartial when by his grandmother the Queen’s side, he is privately rooting for his fellow Brits Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Gearsley to cross the finish line first."



From Buckingham palace guards here is "Sargeant Highgear": "Sgt. Highgear is a member of the regiment assigned to London’s landmark Buckingham Palace. With a recognizable tall bearskin cap atop his scarlet body, he stands guard at his sentry box with pride and conviction."



Next is "Topper Deckington III": "Topper Deckington III is a classic British double-decker bus in a vivid shade of red who relishes in his daily Killswitch route through London’s famous bustling Petroldilly Circus."




Last one is called "Chauncy Fares" : "No one knows the sites, streets or shortcuts of London better than the jovial Chauncy Fares, a quintessential London black cab."



Pictures: copyright Disney-Pixar

New Details about Star Tours 2 - Plus: how to create your own Star Tours 2 Galactic Passport !

Editor's Note: Want more details on Star Tours 2: The Adventure Continues? Want to create your own Star Tours Galactic Passport? Then jump to my new articles on the D&M Star Tours web site HERE.

And if you've not seen it yet i remind you to don't miss the D&M ollectibles sale HERE as it may be your last chance to find a copy of the now totally out of stock Disneyland Paris book!

SDL Artwork high-res files reveal more Shanghaî Disneyland secrets

When Disney released on April 8 the first Shanghaî Disneyland artworks i had, probably just like you, a mixed feeling. I was happy to see - at last - some SDL artwork and on the other hand i was a bit frustrated by the low resolution which didn't helped to see the concept in details. I thought we would have to wait until 2016 to discover high-res artwork, but, no, finally Disney released high-res files of these renderings! And it changes everything, as we can have now a crystal clear view of the SDL project - at least as it is now!

So, here we go again for a new exploration of the SDL artwork and as you will see these high-res files reveals more about what kind of attractions we can expect at Shanghaî Disneyland. First rendering on the top is the high-res version of the full Shanghaî Disneyland bird's eye view of the park.

As you will see when you will enlarge the pictures these renderings are very probably digital paintings. Even more, nothing - except may be the castle - seems to have a definitive design. As we know Disney doesn't want to reveal SDL design too clearly to avoid copycats of the concepts - which is perfectly understandable - but my guess is that WDI SDL Imagineers may still be in blue-sky mode on some of them and, as Jim Hill would say, we'll try to don't get "shanghaied" by what we will see now. However, i think that a big part of the ideas that we can see on these renderings should stay in the final concept.

So, let's begin by the beginning, i.e the entrance. As we know, tihere is no Main street U.S.A but as you'll see on the top of the image, after the main gate and before the big green space area in front of the castle, there is some buildings on the left and the right and SDL might have, finally, something which seems to be as long as half the length of Main Street, with a different design of course.



Before we enter the park, let's have a look at an interesting area located just on the left of the entrance. If the SDL map below is right it should be "commercial facilities", right at the exit of the park, may be a kind of equivalent of our Disney Village at DLP, i.e an area where SDL guests will find merchandise shops and restaurants.



Here is again the SDL map that i've posted last month showing where will be what, including SDL hotels. As you will see an hotel with view on the park is envisioned by WDI Imagineers.



We will come back to the castle with others renderings but apparently the "Fantasyland" part of the park will be, as usual, located behind the castle although there will be some classic Fantasyland rides around it. If you enlarge the image you'll see on the right of the castle something which definitely looks like a labyrinth. Will they put there the Alice's Labyrinth that we have at DLP or will it have another theme?



Let's move on the left. Where we find generally Tomorrowland SDL guests will have their Adventureland! And this is now for sure as we can see clearly on this part of the rendering a Pirates fortress, a gallion in te lagoon close to it and a Mayan pyramid on the very right. All this seems to confirm that Pirates of Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure will be part of Shanghaî Disneyland on opening day. I've read on forums that some people were thinking that the big dark mountain on the foreground might be an Expedition Everest but, first, this mountain doesn't look at all like the one of Expedition Everest and, two, may i remind you the feelings of chinese officials about everything linked with Tibet? If there is an attraction that i'm pretty sure we will never see at SDL it's really Expedition Everest, at least in its original theme as WDI could use the track with another theming.



Let's go now on the west part of the park where we find generally Frontierland or Adventureland. Instead, SDL guests will find in this area SDL Tomorrowland as there is no doubts that this is the Tomorrowland area of Shanghaî Disneyland.



A closer look reveals not a lot, except that this big dome building on the left should be SDL Space Mountain. Here, too, the design is obviously not the final design. On the picture above you'll note that a kind of Astro Jets / Orbitron ride might be at the entrance of the land. However i will not be surprised if this land received modifications in years to come, so let's say it's just a first look, which is better than nothing!



Always from this SDL bird's eye view rendering, let's have a closer look at SDL lake and pier. The fountain at the center was already identifiable on the low-res version but we can see clearly that the big boats will not look like American steam river boats. Also, we might have smaller boats moving on the lake like they do on WDW Seven Seas Lagoon.



At the far right of the lake is another pier and, behind, it might be the hotel with view on the park that we saw on the map. I know it doesn't look really like a hotel but WDI is probably keeping secret the original design.



Let's go back to the center of the park and the castle with a new high-res version of another rendering we saw last week.



Here is a close-up on the castle and what looks like multi-colored water falls in the front might mean that there will be a big fountain pond at the foot of SDL castle.



Always in front of the castle the next image shows not only small chinese pavilions but also a path with cherry trees in blossom and, if you look well, an area with Disney characters topiaries!



We already saw them last week but here is a better view of the Fantasyland Carousel. You'll note also on the picture others carousels in the background....



..and the Dumbo ride, both located in this 46,000 square meter of green space at the centre of the park - also designed to be a cultural hub and a reminder of "the themes of sustainability and nature that will be integrated throughout the park" as Iger said.



The third rendering released last week is also available now in high-res and it allows us to have a closer look at the castle. Here is the full picture in its high-res version...



...a close-up on the castle...



...and an even closer view on the castle's entrance.



So, let's see what we know now about Shanghaî Disneyland according to these renderings. If there is no changes SDL guests should find:

- A gorgeous fairy-tale castle with in front of it small chinese pavilions, Disney characters topiaries, Dumbo and Fantasyland Carousel rides as well as others carousels.
- An Adventureland area on the east side of the park with, very probably, Pirates of Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure
- A Fantasyland area behind the castle, including an Alice-like or other theme labyrinth
- A Tomorrowland area on the west side of the park with, very probably, Space Mountain as well as an Orbitron ride or similar
- A merchandise and dining area at the left of the entrance

That's not a lot and i wish we knew more about the rides themselves but for now, that's the best we can do with the artwork available!

Artwork: copyright Disney

Johnny Depp as a Romantic Jack Sparrow photographed by Annie Leibowitz

New pictures from Annie Leibowitz in the Disney Dream portraits series, and this time it's Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. On the picture below the woman with Johnny is not Penelope Cruz but Johnny's friend and artist Patti Smith. Both pictures have a romantic mood that personally i like a lot.




Pictures: copyright Disney