As reported earlier spring 2011 should see the opening of a new restaurant at the Disney Village: the first location of the Earl of Sandwich chain in Europe. The new restaurant will not take over any previously occupied spot. Instead a new two level building with indoor and outdoor seating will be constructed next to the Rainforest Cafe (roughly in the area that was occupied partially by the carousel till late 2009). Preparational work of the area started several weeks ago and the first progress is visible – so time for an update …

The construction zone for the Earl of Sandwich has been closed off with beige constructions fences, setting it apart from the usual construction areas at Disneyland Paris that use green fences. In the meantime the posters for the new restaurant on the fences were outfitted with dedicated lights to illuminate them at night. But what goes on behind the fence?

If seen from the main road of the Disney Village progress seems limited … the railing toward the side-arm of Lake Disney is gone and some cuts in the floor. However walking back to McDonald’s and then on to the other side of the lake’s side-arm reveals more progress. First off all guests will notice that the walkway leading along the Lake Disney toward Disney’s Newport Bay Club has been closed off. The reason: construction traffic from the construction area across the bridge and said walkway onto the former Disney Village Parking lot. So guests staying at Disney’s Newport Bay Club now have to walk past Disney’s Sequoia Lodge on their way to the Disney Village and the parks adding a couple of minutes to their walk. IT will be interesting to see how guests for events at the “Disney Arena” on the former parking lot will be guided to the conference tent, as the regular access from the Disney Village is now dedicated to the construction traffic of the Earl of Sandwich restaurant.

But back to the actual construction zone. From the spot in front of McDonald’s and the Disney Village Dome it becomes visible that parts of the rockwork themeing of the Rainforest Cafe on the shores of the lake have been taken down. Also a barrier is under preparation in the side-arm of the lake. Based on the plans that were leaked earlier this year the area behind this barrier might be (at least partially) filled in sooner or later for the expanded footing of the restaurant building, reducing the size of the lake’s side-arm.

What about the green construction fences that surrounded the entrance to the Rainforest Cafe roughly a month ago? The one between the restaurant’s entrance and the Earl of Sandwich construction area are still in place while those between the restaurant’s entrance stretching in front of the entry to the former Hurricane’s night club are gone. What happened behind the gone construction fences? Apparently only some work to the floor and the canals beneath it (and the same seems to be going on behind the fences currently still in place). The facade of the now closed Hurricane’s Night Club remained unchanged. With the exception of the neon-sign on the facade (that was taken down) all lettering and advertisement for the club remained in place just as the decoratins around the bottom of the staircase leading up to the club. A closer look at the building reveals no indication that any work would be going on inside. So for the time being the location sits dormant – despite earlier rumors an Italian restaurant may move in.

This entry was posted by Dirk on Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 8:03 am and is filed under Disney Village, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.