Editor's Note: Today on D&M, the HKDL Grizzly Trail and Grizzly Peak artwork and model! And have a look on today excellent L.A Times article where you'll learn everything about Dick Cook laid off - because finally the truth seems to be that he WAS laid off.
Also, especially for new Disney and more readers who may not know my Disneyland Paris book, you will find below a "last call" for the last copies! Don't miss this fantastic book while it's still available!

D23 EXPO Special Report : Hong Kong Disneyland Grizzly Trail Artwork and Model

We wil have a look today at the Grizzly Trail artwork that was revealed in the Parks and Resorts pavilion at the D23 Expo, thanks to great high-res pictures shoot by Andy Castro.

Grizzly Trail will be one of the three new lands of HKDL and with the Grizzly Peak attraction it will be an interesting new version of a "Frontierland" theming. Before i go further i want to warn you that there will be major spoilers all along the article. If you don't want to know anything about the storyline, this is definitely not the right article! Also, click on each pictures to see them in big and explore details.

Here we go for the artwork, and i've also included new pictures of the Grizzly Trail model and my own comments on the renderings. Note that this time i have to speculate a bit on what is suppose to happen as i was not at D23 and didn't had an Imagineer to give me details on the attraction. So, very probably, the renderings below won't be in the right "order" of the different scenes of the ride.

This first artwork show the Grizzly Peak entrance. note that the whole area seems to have pine trees all around.



In this next scene we see the train going up the hill to enter the mine...



...where riders will encounter a first Grizzly bear. As you can see the train is arriving at an intersection where a bear scratching his back on the track switch will direct the train to the "dangerous" tunnel 4.



More sketches were done for that scene, here they are.









Here is a small maquette of that scene.




Also interesting is the scene small model. Apparently, when the train will turn left in the tunnel 4 it will go down at high speed.



Talking about the train, it's time to show you the model of one of the vehicles.



In this next scene - which i remind you won't be necessarily the one that will be after the previous one - the train is going up at high speed inside the mine, and it seems that the train will have then an outside drop.



Another interesting scene with the bears is this one where guests will see a Grizzly bear aboard a mine wagon trying in an unstable position to catch fishes...



Probably a few meters ahead, the next scene will show the mine wagon and the bear with the fishes all around his neck, a little bit groggy by the shock...



More sketches for this funny sequence. Talking about bears, theese one will be obviously audio-animatronics and i'm curious to know if WDI Imagineers will use the AA skeletons of the former DL Country Bear Jamboree bears. That would make sense, don't you think?





I'm not sure that the next artwork will show what happen next in the ride, but it's an interesting one as we can see the train going down at high speed and backward.



As we will see soon there will be lot of little geysers in the Grizzly Trail area, and the train will go through this area.



In this next scene the train is entering backward another mine tunnel - note all the dynamite and "powder" sign at the entrance, it will be important for the next scene...



...where the train will literally be catapulted out of another tunnel thanks (probably) to a supposed dynamite blast. It's also possible that this scene will be the beginning of the ride as it seems there will be a catapult launching...



This next rendering include different elements of the bears scenes all in one artwork.



Next picture shows the Grizzly Peak model with the train going up the first lift.



And this one show - i think - the part of the ride with the two tunnels and dynamite blast.



But there will be more in the Grizzly Trail area than the Grizzly Peak ride as a small town will be build. But for the first time in all Frontierland's history, this one will be full of fun water splash...



...most of them interactive...



...and a little geyser area.



Let's end this last HKDL artwork article with more pictures of the model.









All artwork: copyright Disney - Disney Enterprises.

Important Note: Due to the quality of the pictures above, i want to remind you as it is written on the "terms of use" page that, in the event you download any material from The Disney and more blog, the download of the material, including any files or images must be for your personal, non-commercial home use only. You may not and cannot sell, print or reproduce in any way any material downloaded from The Disney and more blog, and specifically any material copyright Disney , Walt Disney company or any other companies.


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Shanghaî Disneyland project draft layout

We're all waiting for the big announcement expected for this fall, but according to today's China Daily, i'm sorry to say that the Shanghaî Disneyland project is still in negociations!

According to the newspaper: "The Disneyland project planned for Shanghai is still undergoing negotiations, Xu Lin, top local official of the Pudong New Area District in Shanghai said yesterday, as reported by China Securities Journal.

Relevant departments of the district have reportedly been urged to carry out comprehensive cooperation to move the project forward. A timeline for the project was reported before but the local official gave no comment."

In two words, the Chinese officials have not signed yet. At least not all of them, as the deal is believed to have been given the green light in June by the powerful National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency of the Chinese government. All that is missing now is the approval of the State Council.

As a Shanghai-based analyst Zhu Lianqing said early this month: "Everything is in place except the East Wind". It's a famous Chinese saying which means that a move is imminent, but for one final missing ingredient.

Shanghaî Disneyland is one of the most secret WDI project and we don't have any details about its theming, but the park will be build in Chuansha Town, Pudong New Area, close to Shanghaî.

And for those of you who like maps i found on the Impossible Zone blog what is supposed to be the "engineering draft layout" - picture above - for the Shanghai Disneyland project. You can see on it the location of the future park, and it seems that a lake area is also envisioned.


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

Picture: copyright Disney - ARUP

D23 Expo : Imagineering - The Automatronic Show

We all love WDI Audio-animatronics, don't we? So, you should like this great Youtube video of the "Automatronic Show" that D23 Expo visitors had the pleasure to see inside the Parks and Resorts pavilion. The Youtube video from affectivehoque is showing the whole show.



Videos: copyright affectivehoque whom i thanks a lot!

New Toy Story & Toy Story 2 3D teaser !

Disney released a new Toy Story & Toy Story 2 3D teaser! Actually, there is also another one, only with Rex, but it can't be embedded (for now). However after you've watched the one below, just go HERE where you'll be able to see the other short with Rex.



Picture and video: copyright Disney-Pixar

Disneyland Halloween promotional video, 30 seconds of traditional Animation

You saw last week the Hong Kong Disneyland TV commercial but the one for Disneyland, Anaheim, is pretty good too. No horror film director for this one, but 30 seconds of pure traditional Animation with all the Disney Villains! Have a look!



Picture and video: copyright Disney

Laaaast call for the Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality book , signed edition !

As a lot of my D&M readers asked me if my "Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality" book is still available, here is everything you need to know if you want to order one of the last signed copy of this beautiful book. Please note that NO re-printing of the book is scheduled, and these last available copies may be the REAL last one!

Even at the park where i was two weeks ago, it was impossible to find a copy of the english edition. When i asked at the Storybook store if they had the english edition, i was told that they were out of stock.

So, if you don't have it yet and don't want to miss this 320 pages and 750 pictures book - including 250 renderings from Walt Disney Imagineering, i'm afraid to say that it's may be now or never...

As i am one of the two authors of the book, I will personnaly sign EACH copy with a special dedication to you or anyone you wish if your purchase of the book is for a gift.


I HAVE FEW COPIES OF THE ENGLISH EDITION. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE ENGLISH EDITION OF THE BOOK WITH THE TEXT IN ENGLISH:

Price for one copy of the english updated edition is 87 Euros + 15 Euros for shipping.

If you have a Paypal account you can proceed to the payment by paypal - paypal payment must be sent to the email adress: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

Important: Note that the price is in Euros, not in U.S $, so you have to choose the "euro" currency when you do the paypal payment.

I HAVE ALSO COPIES OF THE FRENCH EDITION. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE FRENCH EDITION OF THE BOOK - WITH THE TEXT IN FRENCH:

Price for one copy of the english updated edition is 87 Euros + 15 Euros for shipping.

If you have a Paypal account you can proceed to the payment by paypal - paypal payment must be sent to the email adress: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

Important: Note that the price is in Euros, not in U.S $, so you have to choose the "euro" currency when you do the paypal payment.

Please confirm me your purchase of the book and payment with an email at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

And, of course, thanks to confirm me your order and payment AND the shipping adress by email at the email adress: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

If you don't have a Paypal account, a bank wire transfert is possible, just let me know.

As i am the one who designed the book, i'm not really at the good place to send compliments about it, but if you are a reader who already own the book, please leave a comment at the end of the article to let other readers know what you think about it.
Previous comments can be read at the bottom of this page where the article below was previously posted.

So, here is a little description of the book, now - See below some pictures of the book pages - click on each of them to see the photo-montage pictures in big size.



The book is a gorgeous "coffee table book" with 320 pages and 750 pictures - of which 500 are park and attractions photos and 250 are Walt Disney Imagineering renderings!

The size is 9 x 12 inches, all pages are in color and it's hardbound with a glossy dust jacket. The text (by Disney historian Didier Ghez), was written after more than 75 interviews he conducted with all the Imagineers who created the park. He goes into just about everything you wanted to know about this unique place that many describe as the best "Magic Kingdom" ever created by WDI.

It took five years to create the book, but it was worth all the time we spent on it, and the book looks just as good as we had hoped for at the beginning - in fact Imagineer Bruce Gordon told us that it was "probably the best book ever done on a Disney theme park". Coming from Bruce who did with David Mumford the great "Disneyland, The Nickel Tour" book, it was more than a compliment.

The first chapter about Main Street has 52 pages and introduces the reader to the "legend" of Main Street, USA. You'll learn all about the Disneyland Paris Railroad, the unique "Discovery" and "Liberty" Arcades; find out about the architecture, the restaurants (like "Walt's," a tribute to Walt Disney, but also inspired by Club 33 in Anaheim) and the shops; with dozens of photos, renderings, models, and reproduced for the first time here, all the "cities of the future" posters located in "Discovery Arcade."



The second chapter on Frontierland discusses the park's western side with extensive sections about its major attractions, "Big Thunder Mountain" and "Phantom Manor." In fact the book has the longest sections ever put together in a book on all the major attractions. The Pirates of Caribbean section in the Adventureland chapter is 26 pages, Phantom Manor has 16 pages devoted to it, as does Space Mountain, it's a small world, etc. The photo material was so great that we kept adding more pages to the book, which was supposed to have only 240 pages when we started... we ended up with 320 upon completion!



The Frontierland chapter also covers the Mark Twain, the River Rogue Keelboats, Fort Comstock, all the restaurants, the shops and Cottonwood Creek Ranch.and featuring stunning photos of Disneyland Paris from the air by Yann Arthus Bertrand, author of The Earth from Above that make spectacular "double-pages," and allow the reader to discover the park from a whole different angle.



The Adventureland chapter is even more interesting, as many elements of the land exist only in Paris - such as the Bazaar and Aladdin to Africa and the ex-"Explorer's Club." Plus there's a long section about "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril," "Adventure Isle" and "The Swiss Robinson Treehouse" and, of course, "Pirates of Caribbean" the land's major attraction and featuring its amazing Audio-Animatronics! All in all there are 56 full pages about Adventureland, and as in the previous chapters, there are dozens of photos, lots of concept art, and many shots of Imagineers at work. There's even a great bonus here, with the Marc Davis artwork for "Pirates" also included.



56 full pages are also dedicated to Fantasyland. There's an extensive look at Sleeping Beauty Castle, sections on all the dark rides (Snow White, Peter Pan and Pinocchio), as well as a look at "Alice's Curious Labyrinth," the "Mad Hatter's Tea Cups," "Storybookland," and "Casey Jr." There are even 14 pages about "it's a small world" with stunning photos of nearly all the scenes in it. Here the reader can discover a new attraction that exists only at Disneyland Paris, with a great view from above of Alice's Labyrinth.

Discoveryland also gets 52 pages of special treatment, with sections on the Visionarium, the Nautilus, Star Tours, Space Mountain, and everything you wanted to know about the other attractions in this land – Autopia and Orbitron. In fact the Nautilus chapter takes you on a visit with photos of every room of this detailed walk-through and two double page photo spreads, one which makes you feel you're inside Captain Nemo's grand salon, and the other showing you a unique view of Discoveyland featuring the Nautilus and Space Mountain in a kind of "CinemaScope" view.



When the book was released in early 2002, the Walt Disney Studios didn't exist, so you won't see them in the book. But there's still one last chapter about the hotels of the park, and Disney Village too, with the great Buffalo Bill Wild West show that entertains hundreds each evening.

And because every day in a Magic Kingdom should end with a parade and fireworks, we have the Main Street Electrical Parade that close the book, with an Herb Ryman gorgeous painting!



Photos: copyright Disney