Lights… Camera… Ready for Christmas? The seasonal events at Disneyland Park have been a huge success right since the park’s opening, but with a second park now looking for a more festive spirit come the dark days of Winter, what direction should this production take?

Jérémie Noyer talks to Emmanuel Lenormand about developing new scenes at the Studios…

What does the Christmas market in Walt Disney Studios Park hold for us this year?

For me, Christmas markets are a sublime tradition from the East of France and Europe. In particular, I saw sumptuous Christmas markets in Germany. It’s really “the” Christmas celebration through the products, but also through the smells, the colours, the flavours…

So I tried to transcribe this spirit to Walt Disney Studios Park, in Production Courtyard. It’s a vast space, which fits an event like this well; and even better, it’s right next to where Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars happens.

How did you develop this concept compared to last year?

Last year, it was more about a test. This year we tried to make it more magical and more “cinematic”. We really want the guests to feel they’re in a movie. That’s the way we imagined this Christmas market, like a “Christmas Lane” edged with chalets on which we’ve put together a great lighting design. And this lane of chalets ends with the Christmas Tree.

Last year, the tree was an allusion to the cinema with rolls of films as Christmas balls. This year we’ve created a tree completely different from the one of last year, and at the same time, completely different from the one of the Disneyland park, with a perspective and a colour in the blues. It’s magical in particular at nightfall, at about 4-5 pm.

And to be in perfect adequacy with the Disneyland Park, there’s also a small Post Office in the studios. If Father Christmas is in the Disneyland Park, his elves will go to Walt Disney Studios Park to gather the letters of all the children! There’s also a small stable with a reindeer which will be an allusion to Father Christmas’ team.

In what way is the market this year more “cinematic”?

This market is more in sync with the story of Walt Disney Studios Park in the sense that we’re no longer situated behind the scenes but truly “within” a scene, as if the guests were in a film. We wanted to plunge the guests into a dream rather than showing them the back side of the scenery. That’s the spirit we used to create this lane.

So Christmas is celebrated in both parks…

Every year we think about Walt Disney Studios Park while working on Christmas. We wonder a lot. The fact is that there has always been a nice Christmas atmosphere at Walt Disney Studios Park. It still can be increased but I think that it truly can be found with this Christmas Lane, not to mention Merry Christmas Walt Disney Studios in the morning, with the Disney characters arriving to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

It’s true that, eventually, our will is to have Christmas celebrated as much in Walt Disney Studios Park as in Disneyland Park, but we prefer to take it slowly, step by step. And, this year, the other innovation is the “Christmas” version of Disney’s Stars ‘n’ Cars.

How did you give this cavalcade a new Christmas spirit?

We changed the start and the arrival of the cars — Mickey goes to wish all the children a Merry Christmas, and there’s a new medley, with a very “Hollywood Christmas” feel, very much “Broadway”, too. I think it’s a good surprise for our guests. The essence of this cavalcade, very much appreciated by visitors, remains the same, but the Christmas atmosphere is definitely here!