ClickMagique's PicParade is loaded with more then 8000 Disney related pictures and recently had the honors of the 1.000.000th picture being blended in. Only the pictures that are actually opened will be counted, so we can honestly say that this is an impressive result. This result can only by accomplished because of you, the fans and visitors, so a big thank you for sharing your pictures on ClickMagique's PicParade and a big thank you to all visiting and looking at the pictures too.
The picture that was blended in on 1.000.000 was the picture of Tigger walking past “It's a Small World” waiving at the photographer in Disneyland Resort Paris. A very nice picture to celebrate this mile stone. But it isn't enough. We want more!
We want 10.000.000 next and we can only do this with your help. So come to ClickMagique's PicParade and upload your pictures from any of the Disney parks. We want Disneyland Resort pictures, Walt Disney World pictures, Tokyo Disney Resort pictures, Hong Kong Disneyland pictures, Disneyland Resort Paris pictures, Disney Cruise Line pictures, Disney Store pictures and any other Disney related picture you can think of uploaded on ClickMagique's PicParade ready to be shared with the many fans around the globe.
It is easy to upload and easy to share with no limitations (except some file size limits) and it is totally free! So what are you waiting for, get those Disney pictures uploaded and help us on our way to the 10.000.000 mark...

In March the Disneyland Resort Paris unceremonously retired the Disney Cinema Parade at the Walt Disney Studios Park after a bit less than 5 years of performances (the parade premiered only in the summer of 2002 as it was not ready in time for the park's grand opening in March 2002). It's replacement? Right away: nothing. Sure the Highy School Musical On Tour returned on April 12 (so far with up to two performanced daily) and in addition the High School Musical 2 streetacular (an updated version of the High School Musical On Tour) premiered on April 5 (with up to five performances daily). But no sign of any parade. Well, on stage that is ... backstage in the meantime the storage used for the Disney Cinema Parade floats (which are still intact) now also house the floats / cars from the "Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade"!
The parade originally stems from the Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and was retired there in favor of DCA's Block Party Bash, which moved into the studios. Rumors already talked about a potential transfer of the "Disney Stars and Motors Cars Parade" to the WDS for nearly two years. This parade consists of oldtimers (well, nearly all of teh replicas) that got a unique paintshop and some extra themeing elements added to suit their special guests, such as a carpet for Aladdin and Jasmine, with additional characters and dancers in front of and behind each of the cars which form a calvacade rolling down the streets of the park.
With the arrival of the cars backstage at DLRP this rumor is now confirmed. The only question remaining is: when will the new parade premiere at the WDS? So far no official announcement has been made, but hopes are high a premiere might be scheduled as early as this summer season.
Oh and before I forget it: there is certainly a second question: will the WDS use the original soundtrack from WDW featuring a lush instrumental medley of the movies represented in the film in a mix with the classic song "Hooray for Hollywood" or will Paris come up with something new, since it used this soundtrack for the "Good Morning Studios"-happening?? Only time will tell ... (and then this news-page).

Last week, during closing hours and on multiple days, a new firework show was being tested inside the Disneyland Park. Although the park was empty, guest and especially those staying at one of the resort hotels like the Disneyland Hotel, had a good view of the fireworks. We have some reliable sources telling us to expect an enchanted firework to take place during the summer season. No more information at this moment.
Does this mean that Wishes is now being shelved and that we can expect a new firework and show to start this summer?

The recent upswing of the Disneyland Resort Paris and the successful implementation of the turn around not the least thanks to the 15th Anniversary celebrations and the expansion of the Walt Disney Studios Park are generally credited to Karl Holtz. When he took over the reign he had to deal with a second gate that was a half-day experience at best, got some of the worst reviews by fans of any Disney park ever while being burdened by incredible expectations regarding a supposed increase of the guest numbers.
Looking back in early 2008 it is safe to say that by implementing a tight rule and improving the resort in the small (finally an on-going rehabs concept with an eye for details, increased number of characters and other small enhancements of the guest experience that go a long way) as well as in the big (as with the addition of popular new attractions such as Buzz or most recently the Tower of Terror) Karl Holtz has ensured DLRP a new chance to grow and be a valid member of the Disney parks family. But as often in big international groups such success at what was often thought to be a problem child results in Karl Holtz being called away. In his case he has been appointed President, New Vacation Operations, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts by James A. Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (and former president of DLRP under whose watch the WDS originally opened).
The replacement for Karl Holtz is Philippe Gas who will be appointed as President of Euro Disney S.A.S., the management company of Euro Disney S.C.A. and Euro Disney Associes S.C.A., the operator of Disneyland Resort Paris, by September 1, 2008. According to the official press release he will ease into his position by working alongside Karl Holtz till then. This should also ensure that the successful strategy of Karl Holtz will continue to be implemented and evolve.
Philippe Gas, 44, is not new to the resort as he was part of the opening day crew as Finance Controller in 1991. Till 1997 he held various positions at DLRP before being promoted to Director, Corporate Compensation at The Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. From there he went on to work as Regional Vice President, Human Resources, for the The Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific in 2000. In 2004 he finally returned to Disneyland Resort Paris as Senior Vice President, Human Resources before leaving already again in 2005 when he was appointed Senior Vice President, International Human Resources, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2005. Since 2006 he holds his current position as Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts worldwide.

In and around Disneyland Resort Paris the California Grill, located inside the Disneyland hotel, is the gem in Disney dining experience. The food is excellent, the setting is magical and with a bit of luck you can dine with a fantastic view of the park entrance and the castle in the background. The food, wines and the service are of high standard and guest could easily "drown" in a multiple hours dining extravagance including wonderful flavors that are remembered long after returning home.
Every Disney experience changes over the years, if it is the rides, the scenery or the restaurant, not one is save for change. The same will happen for the California Grill. As of the 4th April the menu of the restaurant will be enhanced to a new experience. Together with the menu, changes to the interior will also take place. New smaller tables will be placed inside the restaurant to accommodate more hungry guests.
Let's hope this will not turn into another Manhattan, where we saw the fantastic gourmet restaurant change into an Italian style eatery, dropping the standard we so much appreciated. However, our sources say that the quality and standard of the California Grill will not be touched, but that we can expect an enhancement to the quality guests have been invited to for so many years.

[update: any fears turned out to be unnecessary, as the the new menu even improved on the prior version adding more gourmet touches and a wider choice - of set menues as well as a la carte dining options. In addition the changes to the seating will barely be noticed by guests as even regulars are hard pressed to recognize them. In other words: the California Grill has held on to its crown as gourmet restaurant]

Since June 10, 2007 Paris is connected to Frankfurt via Mannheim, Kaiserslautern and Saarbrücken as well as to Stuttgart via Karlsruhe and Straßburg by a high speed rail connection serviced by TGV and ICE trains. As Frank Hoffmann - the director of Alleo GmbH, the joint-venture of the German Bahn and the French SNCF - now stated the company is far ahead of its estimates. The Disneyland Resort Paris hasn't managed to profit from this new and fast connection so far, mostly since the trains go directly to the city center, to be exact: Gare de 'Est.
But according Frank Hoffmann this is about to change! Starting this July a bus shuttle is planned to operate between Gare de l'Est and the Disneyland Resort Paris. And it should get even better as Frank Hoffmann not only mentioned that currently another stop in the Champagne is considered for the high speed trains but also stated that "at a later point" the high speed trains should stop directly at the train station of the Disneyland Resort Paris (similar as the EuroStar already does)!

TEA ERA has released its annual Attraction Attendance Report for 2007 and the already reported attendance number of 12,000,000 million guests for the Disneyland Park of the Disneyland Resort Paris has secured Disney's European Magic Kingdom style park rank 5 in the global attendance chart. Impressive, even so only one Magic Kingdom style park performed weaker (Hong Kong Disneyland). But clearly the increase of 13.1% is extremly impressive - the 15th Anniversary Celebration clearly worked its magic here. Clearly these numbers justify the prolongation. Afterall there is only one Disney park who garnared a higher increase if seen in percentage ... and its at the Disneyland Resort Paris as well: the Walt Disney Studios Park!
The WDS increased its attendance by 13.6% to 2,500,000 guests. While not the highest percentage increase in Europe (that would go to the Heide Park, Germany which opened a launch coaster), this is a great performance. Partially WDS certainly participated from the increased guest numbers which the 15th Anniversary Celebration brought in, but the impact of the highly popular Crush's Coaster and Toon Studios area shouldn't be underestimated. Unfortunately the park still does not make it to the global top 25. But the opening of the Tower of Terror and soon Stitch Live should give it another boost in 2008. Still there is quite some distance to go to catch up with the park currently on rank 25 in the global charts: Port Aventura in Spain (former part of the Universal park group) with 3,700,000 guests. But considering how the WDS have already envolved through the 6 years since its opening this sure is a goal to shoot for in the coming years... We are in for some exciting years here...
For more on the attendance report and a more detailed analysis check Andy's post on the Mousekingdom Blog , another part of the DLP.info family!

The 16th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort Paris is approaching fast, while the 15th anniversary celebrations continue in an "encore". In all the years fans and guests could enjoy quite a few CD releases by the resort featuring various music mostly from shows, parades, frieworks and similar. Only very rarely has any music from the actual attractions been released.
So fans understandably have long hoped that DLRP would release a CD along the lines of the "Official Album" (aka "OA")of Walt Disney World or the Disneyland Resort Anaheim, both of which allow the listener to releave the visit to the resort by including music not only selected shows, parades and fireworks but also from the major attractions.
Obviously DLRP would have some great material from the attractions to release - some of it jumps right to the mind (e.g. the score from Phantom Manor, a ride-through mix from Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a small world, the score from Space Mountain and Cinemagique) but there is also alot more material that could be included (e.g. the score of Star Tours, the soundtrack of Casey Jr., the soundtrack heared on the riverboats plying the Rivers of the Far West, background music heard on the Frontlot)...
There had been rumors several years ago that Walt Disney Records USA had contacted DLRP whether there was interest in releasing such an OA, but according to the rumors DLRP turned the offer down. Now there might be reason for new hope!
Randy Thornton, executive producer of the most recent issues of the OAs for the US-resorts posted on MagicMusic.net:
I hear rumblings of a new Official Album (or a real Official Album) for Paris. It doesn't look like I will be involved, but I offered my services if I can help in any way. It's possible that Hong Kong may also be in line for an album. But this is nothing more that idle chatter until I see or hear anything more substantial.
So let's keep the fingers crossed that DLRP might soon have it's very own OA!

STITCH LIVE! is still three weeks away from its official opening on April 5 but the past weekend was the first of two AP Dream preview weekends with continuous performances for 5 hours per day. "STITCH LIVE!" is DLRP's first attraction that is utilizing the technology of Imagineering's "Living Character Initiative" as an animated Stitch shows up on a screen and is able to interact live with the audience getting in a real dialogue with the guests. The attraction is presented in English and French (at separate times), each show lasting about 15 minutes. It has been placed inside the Disney Channel Studios (which used to house the tour of the facilities and the CyberZone).
Originally the attraction was developed for HongKong Disneyland, where it is placed in Tomorrowland and guests are entering a space control center from where they get an uplink to Stitch in a spaceship - to be exact Captain Gantu's space ship, which Stitch just borrowed for a little trip through the galaxy. In the following guests are asked to help Stitch with the taks of restoring gravity to the ship as well as navigate his first jump to light speed, before after some more chatting they have to help Stitch avoid being captured by Gantu by shouting out directions. So the big question was: how would Imagineering tweek the storyline for the WDS' version of the attraction?
The answer is: not at all! The only change is that the guests are not supposed to be in the space traffic control center but actually in the studios of Disney Channel France (who is advertising its shows on several screens along the indoor part of the queue). So why are guests then suddenly encountering a live feed from Gantu's spaceship taken over by Stitch? Well, things are a bit fuzzy here, but at least they explain that you are making use of the extremly advanced satellite technology that the Disney Channel has installed in its WDS' studios!
But: how did the first AP Dream audiences react to the actual experience? First reports are that especially the children who were singled out by Stitch during a performance to interact with him loved it. But the overall vote certainly is up to YOU! So tell us over on the boards what YOU think if you've already enjoyed the attraction!!

April 5 2008 - that is the official opening date for the latest addition to the Walt Disney Studios Park at the Disneyland Resort Paris: STITCH LIVE! ... but holders of the Annual Passport Dream are invited to discover the magic of chatting with Stitch even before that during exclusive previews.
During the next two weekends (March 8 and 9 as well as 15 and 16) Annual Passport Dream holders get exclusive access to the former Disney Channel Studios from 1.45 pm to 6.45 to convene with Stitch. As usual with previews the attraction might be closed on short notice ... but then the reason migth just be another prank by Stitch.
Each Annual Passport Dream holder can bring one guest per visit (who is required to buy his / her own passport for the WDS). We recommend to plan in ample waiting time since each performance of the attraction lasts about 15 minutes.