Editor's Note: I have great panoramic shots of Disneyland Paris for you today.
And, talking about DLP it seems that the park is planning to re-open Captain EO on June 25th. Why June 25th? Because it will be the 1st Anniversary of Michael's death.

Disneyland Paris Panoramic Pictures

Here is something i wanted to do before i stop posting new articles, early next week. What better way to show Disneyland Paris to those of you who have never been in this beautiful park than panoramic pictures? The pictures below, that i've shot yesterday afternoon, show only DLP Magic Kingdom but it will give you the feeling that you're inside the park. Of course, click on each picture to see them in big size. Feel free to download the pictures but don't post them on other web sites, thanks.

These pictures were shoot in less than three hours with a Sony DSC-HX1 camera. Its panoramic mode is just fantastic, you just simply press the shutter button and "sweep" the camera horizontally or vertically and the camera assembles the shots into a single frame which can cover up to 224 degrees field of view. Amazing. Sometime, when somebody is walking while you shoot the panoramic he may be cut in half on the final pic but it seem that they've resolved the problem on the new Sony DSC-HX5V released in March. As these cameras also film in high-definition and cost only around $400 (370 euros) it's a perfect toy to shoot great pictures in the parks.

Fantasia Gardens, Disneyland Hotel and Park Entrance





Main Street U.S.A and Liberty Arcade









Frontierland







The Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery





A fun effect of the panoramic sweep mode on a picture showing the arrival of Big Thunder Mountain train.










Adventureland









Fantasyland







Discoveryland










At the exit of the park, the Disney Village, the night entertainment area.




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

All pictures: copyright Alain Littaye - Disney and more

The Disneyland Paris that never was - Part Five : Adventureland and Fantasyland

This article has been moved and enhanced with new concept-arts. If you're coming from Screamscape or Mice Age or any other link to read this article, please go to the new and much better version of the article, just click HERE.

Thanks!

Will this new Apple patent revolutionize guests experience at Disney Theme Parks ?

As everyone knows Apple Inc is one of the most secret company in the world. Steve Jobs protects all Apple inventions and want them to be known only when it's the right time and to be honest i think he's right. BUT as i am also a huge Apple fan i'm also happy to learn what Apple's future is made of. And for this, the great Patently Apple web site is just perfect. Like any company Apple must protect their new inventions and the best way to do this is to register a patent at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. Each day Patently Apple is tracking new Apple patents and for sure it's the best way to learn before anyone what will be Apple's next amazing product. Recently Apple registered a patent for a new application, and this one could revolutionize your future visit at a Disney theme parks!

This new Apple's application is called "Concert Ticket +". As patently Apple explains it "The system that is laid out in this extraordinarily detailed patent, points to a new iTunes based web service for tickets... Apple definitely envisions a way to revolutionize the entire current concert ticket process so as to eliminate paper while enhancing the concert or event experience. But the patent goes far beyond concerts as well - so as to cover sporting events, and... theme park admissions and rides"! Considering that Steve Jobs is not only Disney's biggest stockholder but also a member of the WDC board you begin to understand why it's interesting to have a closer look to this new patent...

First, to help you to understand how it works let me give you more details about the part of the patent about concerts as the theme park part of the patent works on the same technique. You will see below the explicit patent picture, and here is Patently Apple explanation (the numbers in the text refers to the picture below):
"Apple's patent FIG. 8A shown below illustrates an iPhone obtaining and storing electronic tickets. The electronic tickets may be any data identified as electronic tickets and may include, for example, encrypted or unencrypted XML files which may be associated with a particular device or user account. An iPhone may obtain electronic tickets from an NFC enabled ticket (#106), by scanning a paper ticket (#108), by receiving an electronic ticket via e-mail (#110) or via the Internet, or by purchasing an electronic ticket from the kiosk or unmanned kiosks presented earlier.

In Apple's patent FIG. 8B we're able to see a variety of benefits that may be associated with the electronic tickets stored on the iPhone. After receiving electronic tickets using one of the manners depicted in FIG. 8A, additional benefits may be obtained by communicating information associated with the electronic tickets to a web service.

To provide a brief example illustrating the electronic ticketing system of FIGS. 8A-B below, a user may purchase an NFC-enabled ticket (#106) for a concert. The user may tap the NFC-enabled ticket to an iPhone running a ticket management application which may cause the iPhone to receive ticket information from the NFC-enabled ticket. The iPhone may next authenticate the ticket with a web service such as iTunes. Thereafter, the user may use their iPhone to gain entry to the concert through the ticket turnstile noted below (#94) - and obtain additional benefits as outlined below.



I-tickets may provide additional benefits, such as digital content which may include a live recording of the event, exclusive interviews with artists associated with the event, or studio recordings by artists associated with the event. The electronic tickets may offer other benefits, such as discounts on merchandise related to the event, discounts or prepaid refreshments for the event, discounts or prepaid merchandise like a T-Shirt for the event, and other related content, such as a digital map (#120) to the event or of the venue including your seating positioning relative to the stage".



Now, let's see the part of this patent about theme parks, which is from patent points 464 through to 478. You have the patent text below but as it is typical patent language i suggest you read it slowly if you want to understand something!

In two words this new application will allow you to order and store in your mobile device (IPhone or others) the entrance ticket to Disney parks but not only. Instead to make the queue to buy the ticket you will present your IPhone at the entrance and they will scan the image and barcode and that's it! This will be great for normal guests but of course if you're an Annualpass holder you don't really care about that. As you will see what's next is more interesting as "the electronic theme park ticket - that you will have stored on your IPhone or other mobile phone may also include such benefits as special ride tickets or prepaid or discount refreshments". Also, "other benefits which may be associated with the electronic theme park ticket may include photos of the user on certain rides, as well as certain entertainment which may become available while the user waits in line.



"In-line entertainment may include, for example, complimentary or for-purchase digital content such as music, videos, or games". "A map to or of the theme park may also be associated with the electronic theme park ticket. Prepaid or discount parking or transportation may also be associated as a benefit with the electronic theme park ticket".

Also "the supplemental ticket data associated with an electronic ticket may include the GPS coordinates delineating where the event may take place. With such information, the electronic device, upon receiving the electronic theme park ticket, may also automatically instate an "out of office" reply to all incoming email or phone calls, indicating that the user is currently unavailable while the user remains within certain GPS coordinates delineating the bounds of the theme park. Additionally, as some theme parks may be affiliated with movie studios, the electronic theme park ticket may include a benefit such as special movie releases. Such special movie releases may become available, for example, when a user enters the theme park using the electronic theme park ticket".

With this App guests will be able "to obtain photos associated with recent theme park rides. As the user passes a ride exit, the unmanned kiosk or the exhibit station may be nearby. The unmanned kiosk and the exhibit station may enable the user to exploit a variety of benefits associated with the electronic theme park ticket". Thanks to the data supplied by the ticket to credit an account for an online media service, such as an iTunes.RTM. account, associated with the ticketholder with the images at a later time, the user may retrieve the images from the online media service from his electronic device. The electronic device may display a screen when, as discussed above, the electronic device interacts with the unmanned kiosk or the exhibit station located near the ride exit. Text may indicate the name of the ride. A button, labeled "See Photos," may enable the user to view photos from the ride. Another button, labeled "Suggested Rides," may recommend similar rides and provide maps to the rides".



"It should further be appreciated that the screen may be additionally or alternatively displayed while the electronic device is operating in a tour mode and the GPS coordinates denoting the end of the ride are detected by the location-sensing circuitry. The electronic device may compare the location data observed by the location-sensing circuitry and various locations denoting ride exits, noted as GPS coordinates in the supplemental ticket data. A hyperlink to a website or other server from the supplemental ticket data may provide up-to-date photo data from the ride".

"A number of benefits that may be associated with the electronic theme park ticket may ...become available to the user. While still at home, the user may prepay for parking and for enough refreshments for the whole family. The user and family may drive to the theme park aided by a map to the park. Upon arrival, because the user has prepaid for parking, the handheld device may display an electronic coupon indicating the user has prepaid for parking when the user arrives. Alternatively, the prepaid parking may be redeemed by tapping the NFC-enabled conference ticket to a kiosk or unmanned kiosk, which may verify that parking has been prepaid by contacting the web service".

"The user and family may gain entry to the theme park using the handheld device using the techniques described above. Once inside the park, the user and family may avoid certain ride lines with special ride tickets and, while waiting in line throughout the day, may take advantage of special in-line entertainment such as a trivia game against others waiting in line. After riding certain rides, the user may purchase photos of his family's recent ride experiences by tapping the handheld device to an unmanned kiosk stationed at the exit. Meanwhile, though the user may not have set an "out-of-office" reply before going to the theme park, the handheld device may automatically set an "out-of-office" reply when the user entered the park, based on user preferences. Finally, when the day winds down and the family is ready to go, certain special movie releases may be offered for purchase on the handheld device on the way out. As the user and family drive home, one of the recently-purchased special movie releases may play in the car".

If you own a IPhone or another mobile device that you can connect to a ITunes account all what you've read above should be possible. Instead to buy a ticket at the entrance booth or stop to pay for the parking you wil show your mobile device and the electronic or parking lot and that's it! And not to mention all what was described above and the goodies you may receive on your mobile device while waiting in line... Now that you've read the above description of the patent you probably understood how this new Apple patent might revolutionize your future Disney parks visits.

Do we all say "thank you" to Steve?


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


Pictures and part of the text coming from Apple patent: copyright Apple Inc

Important Note to all Disney and more readers: We now enter in the last ten days of D&M, after what i will unfortunately stop posting new daily articles on Disney and more at the end of this month - if you haven't read my message yet please read it HERE. So, if you don't own a copy of the Disneyland Paris book and wish to order one it's now or never! If you like Disney and more, you will LOVE the book full of high-res pictures and LOT of WDI artwork! Please read the article below to know how to order the book.

Looking for a great Disney book ? Then, the Disneyland Paris book is the perfect gift for any Disney fan !

If you're looking for a great gift to offer to anyone you love - including you! - my "Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality" book with its 320 pages and 750 pictures - including 250 renderings from Walt Disney Imagineering - would be a GREAT gift for any Disney fan!

I still have copies of the book, and, as i am one of the two authors of the book, each copy will be sign specially for you or anyone you wish. Of course, don't forget to tell me the name to whom you wish i dedicate the book.

An important note before i go further: If you're not in a rush to get the book, choose the flat shipping option (also indicated below) which usually takes between 3 to 6 weeks delivery (depending if you're living in Europe or in the U.S) and is also much less expensive.

And now, here is a description of the book and everything you need to know 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!


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 and Shipping: is 15 euros.

If you have a Paypal account you can proceed to the payment by paypal - paypal payment including your choice of shipping 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.

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

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


PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE COPIES OF THE FRENCH EDITION, SORRY. IF YOU STILL WISH A FRENCH COPY? PLEASE LET ME KNOW? I'LL TRY TO FIND A COPY FOR YOU.

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!



Pictures: copyright Disney

First Look at Disney Cruise Line's " Villains Tonight! "

The new Disney Cruise Line's musical spectacular "Villains Tonight!" is now playing aboard the Disney Magic, so let's have a first look at it thanks to this Disney Cruise Line video.



And if you are interested to know more about its making-of, there is also a DCL video for that!



Picture and videos: copyright Disney