Sunday, 20th July 2008
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News & Rumours

15th Anniversary Celebration

Building and illuminating three new attractions

The final two articles in Le Parisien’s series of five, covering the people working on the 15th Anniversary backstage, first look at the co-ordination of the huge construction project, and then at illuminating the finished attractions. They don’t divulge quite as many details as earlier articles, but I’ve fully translated them for you all the same.

Spilling the scenery, station and shells of Crush

It seems there’s no end to glimpses into the backstage of Disneyland Resort Paris right now. Latest to join the trend with nice publicity for the 15th Anniversary and its new attractions is the long-running German ProSeiben programme Disney Filmparade, which this week takes a look at the Imagineering of Crush’s Coaster. Prepare for an inside glimpse at dark ride scenes, a Sydney harbour and a very special turtle shell…

Katy Harris: Once Upon a Dream director

Le Parisien’s insight into the people behind the upcoming 15th Anniversary Celebration continues with a “recontre avec” Katy Harris, the British director and choreographer of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade, the new Disneyland Park parade. The article has once again been fully translated into English.

Castle characters go Gold for the 15th

The second article in Le Parisien’s backstage look at preparations for the 15th Anniversary once again reveals more new details about the upcoming celebration. This time focusing on the castle decorations, it introduces Daniel Delcourt, head of the project, and features one stand-out detail - that the statues won’t be full-colour, but rather: gold.

Steve Sidwell to orchestrate the Dream

With the grand anniversary now less than 100 days away, it’s good to know Disneyland Resort Paris seem to have a lot of people on their side. For example, French daily newspaper Le Parisien is this week presenting a series of five articles looking at the people behind the anniversary magic. The first already reveals new secrets, such as the man orchestrating the music of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade: Steve Sidwell.

Opening dates and extra greenery

The new Toon Studio attractions at Walt Disney Studios Park continue to develop and gain colour and detail. This week, the first bushy conifer tree for Cars Race Rally was planted next to its iconic wind-sculpted rock, whilst the queue of Crush’s Coaster has now well and truly drowned in palm trees. Oh, and in other news - the opening and soft opening dates have been confirmed!

Getting in gear for the Race Rally

With the DVD of Disney-Pixar’s Cars officially released today in the UK and the attraction, Cars Race Rally, due to open next year at Disneyland Resort Paris, it seems a perfect opportunity for some early race car advertising, right? Well, tow me away, but they’ve actually done just that - kachow!

Selling the Celebration: The Official Brochure

The celebration begins here! As we near the final month of 2006, the anniversary year is only a few more dreams away and the official 2007 brochure has finally arrived. So, are they selling the celebration with all the Disney magic we’ve been expecting?

New Resort Map adds more to the parks

The new 2007 Resort Map has been unveiled to the holiday-booking public, spread across a double page in the new 15th Anniversary Official Brochure. And, after no additions in 2006, the 2007 version has suddenly seen both parks fill up with illustrations of their most popular attractions… including Crush’s Coaster and Cars Race Rally!

The Francilien and the first fifteen

So you want to get your hands on the very first 15th Anniversary item available to buy from Disneyland Resort Paris? That’ll be 89€ please, for the “new” Passeport Annuel Francilien. Luckily, unlike the old PA Proximity which this pass replaces, the new Francilien is available to everyone, regardless of where you live. Has desperation set in?

Selling the Celebration: #4

Whilst official 15th Anniversary news has been fairly quiet for a few weeks, the 2007 travel brochures are still popping up and each trying in their own way to sell the most vital year in the resort’s recent history. For our fourth brochure, we’re taking a look at Thomas Cook Signature, which attempts to sell Disneyland Resort Paris holidays in a slightly more modern and upmarket style…

Selling the Celebration: #3

It’s time to look at another 2007 brochure for Disneyland Resort Paris, to see how the travel companies are using the resort’s graphics, text and unprecedented new product lineup to sell the 15th Anniversary Celebration. A 15th isn’t usually a grand event, so these people need to make sure they work extra hard to convince the public it’s worth celebrating. This week, Leger Holidays takes the spotlight.

Mapping out The Twilight Zone

Building an attraction on the scale of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror takes a lot of planning - from imagining and designing to building and opening. It’s a precision-planned exercise to create a place of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. And, although the Tower has already been constructed in California, there are still many mysteries lurking.

Are we still dreaming?

The 15th Anniversary becomes more unmissable by the day. After countless years of waiting for an all-new parade, something as stunning as Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade appears on the horizon! Of course, it doesn’t actually premiere until April 2007, but we’ve probably seen enough previews now to know this will be something quite remarkable, proved once again by two incredible new visuals released today…

You’re invited to dream…

“…Like never before!”
It’s one of the key slogans for the 15th Anniversary, and it’s already in use! Not in brochures, not in our 15th Anniversary guides… but in video! A press conference for the 15th Anniversary in Paris last Thursday saw the release of a French trailer for the celebration, showcasing all the events in 1-minute with vibrant blue slides and elegant greyscale shots of guests dreaming about the magic…

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