Archive for August, 2009
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
With the first children returnin to school and the days getting considerable shorter the end of summer is looming on the horizon. While Labor Day is still nearly two weeks off, the summer season at Disneyland Paris will come to an end coming Sunday. So this week is the last opportunity to enjoy the special summer entertainment schedule inlcuding the new show “Goofy’s Summer Camp”, the Disney Fantillusion nighttime spectacular and certainly the Enchanted Fireworks – not to mention the numerous street entertainment offerings and the prolonged opening hours.
However, the hours of the Disneyland Park have already been cut slightly back. Instead of closing officially at 11.00 pm (as in the prior weeks of the summer season), the park officially closes at 10.00 pm this week. However, guests are not going to loose out on much time in the parks - not only because many rides closed earlier throughout the summer anyway but because the resort came up with a new twist on operating hours! (more…)
Tags: Disney Fantillusion, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Park, Enchanted Fireworks, Entertainment, Fantillusion, fireworks, night, nighttime, Parade, summer
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Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Even so a few additional posters and banners were added in the past weeks the decoration based on the High School Musical franchise in the entrance area, the counter area as well as the raised seating area to the righ of the entrance seemed mostly finished for a while in the Disney Blockbuster Café (with the exception of a few overhead banners that were added lately) while work concentrated on the Pirates of the Caribbean themed room, that opened only last week.
However, a look into the second HSM themed room the past weekend revealed that there might be more coming. This second room can be accessed from the raised seating area only and is actualy the former covered terrace that was enclosed during the first winter of the Walt Disney Studios to increase the restaurant’s capacity for the colder months of the year. While posters showing off the cast of the HSM 3 were added several weeks ago already, now two large glass display cases were placed along the rear wall (just as in the Pirates themed room). So it seems a good guess that some original props from the movies might be added here sometime soon. (more…)
Tags: Backlot, Blockbuster Café, Disney Blockbuster Café, High School Musical, refurbishment, Restaurant, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Studios Park
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Monday, August 24th, 2009
The summer season is coming to a close - Sunday is the official final day – and it seems with it the last visible construction / refurbishment projects in the Disneyland Park. At the latest counting three sites were still covered behind construction fences: parts of the ground around the Orbitron in Discoveryland, the bridge leading from Pirates of the Caribbean to Skull Rock in Adventureland and the Last Chance Cafe in Adventureland. Well, this past weekend only one of these locations was left under construction … (more…)
Tags: Adventureland, construction, Discoveryland, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Park, Frontierland, Last Chance Cafe, refurbishment, rehab, Restaurant
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Monday, August 24th, 2009
The Disney Blockbuster Café officially opened its Pirates of the Caribbean themed area (to the left of the main serving area) the past week. To celebrate this occasion the printed entertainment guide for the two theme parks also got updated with a notice that the “newest, coolest place to eat” has replaced the former Backlot Express Restaurant (since the entertainment 
guide is printed weekly, while the main guide will only be re-printed in early November and will still list the old restaurant till then).
As the exterior of the building remained unchanged with the exception
of the new marquee featuring the new name above the main entrance the only indicator that there might be something related to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies to be found inside are the new large movie posters advertising the franchise behind the first outdoor seating area, which replaced current posters for the latest movies of Walt Disney Pictures. While 
a large window front facing toward Armageddon and the main road looks into the Pirates themed room it is hard to difficult to see any details from outside, as the windows are not only partially blocked by one of the major themeing elements, but also recieved a blue tinting to give the impression eternal moonlight inside…
But once a guest leaves the High School Musical themed entrance and (more…)
Tags: Backlot, Backlot Express, Blockbuster Café, Disney Blockbuster Café, Pirates of the Caribbean, refurbishment, rehab, Restaurant, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Studios Park
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Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
Behind the Disney Art of Animation, between the Tram Tour station and the Toon Studios the Walt Disney Studios are preparing a new themed area with several attractions as the highlight for 2010: Toy Story Playland – as reported here already several times in detail.
But how is work progressing? All visible from outside so far is a huge non-descript construction fence – even the piles of dirt have disappeared again, that were visible over the fence earlier this summer, when ground preparation started. However, a look around the construction fence at one of the gaps at its corners reveals that the ground preparation does not only seem mostly finished, but that already concrete fundaments have been poured into major parts of the area – even for walkways it seem!
Tags: construction, Toy Story Playland, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Studios Park, WDS
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Friday, August 21st, 2009
For a long time Annual Passport holders had learned: all restaurants in the theme parks, including counter service restaurants, granted discounted, food & drink sales carts did not. This did also apply to the ice cream sales location, so say the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlour on the Main Street, U.S.A., did grant AP-discounts on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, while no discount was available on the prepackaged ice cream sold from the carts along the walkways.
But with the opening of the new Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream location on the Hollywood Boulevard in the Walt Disney Studios a new exception was added to the rule. While the location is a small but regular counter service location serving guests through the store front in the facades lining the Hollywood Boulevard in front of the “Art of Disney Animation” there are NO discounts granted at this location. It seems management considers this to be a sales cart like location…
Tags: Annual Passport, Ben & Jerry's, discount, Hollywood Boulevard, ice cream, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Studios Park
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Following the lead of major airports around the globe the Disneyland Park seems to have started to place defibrillators in locations accessible to guests for emergency use. One such defibrillator was placed next to the public phones in the Adventureland Bazaar at the entrance of Adventureland. However, at this point the official park maps do not yet include any information about the location of the defibrillator. Also there is not signage pointing guests to the defibrillator on-side.
While the addition of the defibrillators certainly is an important step to improve emergency care for the worst case signage and inclusion in the guide maps are an absolute necessary to allow guests easy and fast access. Guests should be aware, that while these defibrillators (just as the ones found e.g. in airports) are designed to be used by un-trained personnel it is of absolute importance to immediately inform a cast member in the vincinity in case of an emergency who can call in the trained emergency staff of the resort.
Tags: Adventureland, Bazaar, defibrillator, first aid
Posted in Disneyland Park | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
The restrooms inside the Adventureland Bazaar structure at the entrance of the Adventureland from Central Plaza have been selected by the resort to test a new technical gadget to replace the “old style” paper towels and air dryers. Dyson Airblades have been installed in the restrooms, both for men and women.
According to the official website of the Dyson Airblades (from the inventors of the Dyson vacuum cleaners) are supposed to use up to 80% less energy than the usual “old style” air dryers. Therefore, the new addition should help the resort cut down on costs, assuming that they stand the test of the nearly continuous use in the public restrooms inside the park without too many technical problems and the initial acquisition costs are acceptable. Unfortunately there is also a downside: according to recent reports the Dyson Airblades are much louder than the originally used “old style” air dryers and can even be heared outside the restrooms thus impacting the guest experience not only positively.
Tags: Adventureland, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Park, restroom
Posted in Disneyland Park | 4 Comments »
With the first children returnin to school and the days getting considerable shorter the end of summer is looming on the horizon. While Labor Day is still nearly two weeks off, the summer season at Disneyland Paris will come to an end coming Sunday. So this week is the last opportunity to enjoy the special summer entertainment schedule inlcuding the new show “Goofy’s Summer Camp”, the Disney Fantillusion nighttime spectacular and certainly the Enchanted Fireworks – not to mention the numerous street entertainment offerings and the prolonged opening hours.
