Two days ago, on April 1 around 11:20am, a fire broke out in the Walt Disney Studios attraction Rock’n'Roller Coaster. The fire started on top of the roof of the attraction. About 120 guest where evacuated and it took firefighters over 4 hours to extinguish the fire. Because of the incident the next door stunt show was cancelled too. There is no damage to the ride itself.
Some pictures taken during the incident can be found on following link
(Via Le Parisien)
The new parade in the Walt Disney Studios hasn’t started yet when the news comes to us that the Star’n'Cars parade will only last for 1 season. After the 2009 Summer season most of the cars will return to its original location in Walt Disney World. It looks like the cars will be used over there for a new good morning parade. The parade will be similar to the Disney Stars and Motor Cars that premiered on 1 October 2001 as part of the 100 Years of Magic Celebration, but it will be in a shorter form. It is unclear why this decision has been made, or when it was made, but our very reliable source said that once the summer season is oven Disney will start shipping most of the cars back.
Did you noticed we said “most”. Not all cars will be returned as the Hollywood Studios new morning parade will feature a couple of new cars. The cars left behind in Paris however are not enough for a full daytime parade. Our source could not give any information on what cars would stay in Paris but mentioned that those staying in DLRP will be used inside the Studios park for other purposes. This could be to drive characters around the park, something already done with Mickey Mouse on some occasions. It is unclear if the guest in Disneyland Resort Paris will have to go to the Studios without a new parade in 2010. Once we know more you’ll find it here on the news blog.
The balloon ride, PanoraMagique, in the Disney village opened on 9 April 2005. The ballon can carry around up to 30 passengers 100 meters into the sky for a fantastic view of Disneyland Resort Paris. The ride heavily depends on good weather, once the wind is to strong or rain takes over the sky the balloon is grounded. Even so, when the clouds disappear the attraction becomes a popular ride for those adventurers not to feint at heart. With the success story in France a new version is opening in Walt Disney World. Its counterpart under the name “Characters in Flight” will open on April 1st in Downtown Disney.
The new version has a new decorative look. This time different Disney characters are added on the balloon while the Paris version only has Tinkerbell on the balloon. In the Walt Disney World version you will find (more…)
At Disneyland Resort Paris guest are being offered a free hot drink. Once you buy something at the park in some of the eateries guest will get a second ticket with a special offer to get a free hot drink from one of the participating locations inside the park. Tickets for this offer can be exchanged between 3pm and 7pm at Casy’s Corner, Cable Car Bake Shop, Gibson Girl, Victoria’s, Market House Dell, Ice Cream Company, Coffee Grinder, Cafe Hyperion, Fantasia Galeti, Pizza Planet, Bella Notte, Chalet de la Marionnette, Toad Hall, Hakuna Matata, Cowboy Cookout, Fuente Del Oro, Colonel Hatis, En Coulisse, Backlot Express and Cookie Kitchen. Tickets need to be exchanged on the same day as the first purchase.
There is also another free hot drink offer when buying something in the Disneyland Hotel shop. In this case the ticket could be exchanged for a free drink in the bar, among some other hotel locations.
As there isn’t any official information on this offer it isn’t clear at what days it is valid and if it will extend into the summer season. If you visit the resort have a look if this offer is still on and let us know if you find any other locations where the drinks coupons are being given to guests on the forums…
There is a lot of work going on at Disneyland Resort Paris to get the two parks ready for the April holidays and the summer season. The central Plaza stage is ready and so are the Stitch dance platforms, even with the problems mentioned in previous news. But there is enough other things that still needs to get ready. At Start Tours the main entrance is blocked off. Guest need to enter it between the fences and the Constellations shop, making it a narrow place for those trying to enter the attraction, leaving it, or for those shopping.
In Adventureland, just across the Hakuna Matata Restaurant, Café de la Brousse has been scaffolded for a while now. The bland scaffolding around this small takeaway isn’t very nice for the eye, so one hopes this locations restauration will be done soon. In Frontierland the work at the Last Chance Cafe seems to be done. It was surprising to see some (more…)
During the Shareholders meeting back in February one guest complained that there wasn’t enough to eat for the members visiting the Shareholders Club. (really!). The main issue to this is that some guest visiting the club do this to fill themselves up with free croissants, cookies and drinks not leaving anything for other visitors. Once a new batch came out some would take 2 or more of the free pastries offered leaving others riddled with their behaviour. The offers for the members have now changed a little. A free “bite” is now being provided at the entrance desk. Croissants and cookies are placed in one single bag and guest can pick one bag before entering the club, leaving enough for other people and giving the Cast Members at the Shareholders club a better view of what is left or who is abusing the free offerings. Also the selection of free drinks have been changed to either water or juice, leaving out the option for fizzy drinks like Coca Cola. The hot drinks are still there.
The new Stitch experience “Dance Time in Discoveryland”, set to open as from April 4th, is already fighting with some problems. The show will feature Stitch as your “local” DJ and will invite children and those young at hart to join him and dance on his music. Guest will be able to take place on one of the circles you can find around the attraction’s location between Star Tours entrance and the back of Space Mountain: Mission II. The Circles have a four colored pattern so dancing guests can follow the routine shown during the show.
Unfortunately the painted circles are not made to withstand the abuse they are undergoing at the moment. With the location being a passing through area for guest visiting the “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” attraction or going to “Pizza Planet”, the cicles are already suffering sufficient damage. Many of the circles are broken and are getting loose. A problem that will only worsen once the many guest will start using them to dance.
After being hidden for a while behind fences the central plaza stage has been revealed. The new stage has gotten several extending runways all the way up to the gates that close of the entrance of the central plaza stage. While in the past those gates where opened occasionally, they will now stay shut to keep guest away from the new stage. The new stage, including the extensions, will be used for the new Summer time show “Party Time with Mickey and Friends” that will kick off on April 4th. Guest will have the opportunity to gather around the newly created stage to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Baloo, Aladdin, Timon, and other famous Disney characters.
Do you still remember the central plaza without a stage. Have a look at this picture from 2006 to see the castle without the obstructing platform.
After being away for far to long, and we apologize to our dedicated DLP.Info visitors, we have now finally returned with a new news section. Just like in the past we will bring you all the news, tidbits and rumors we hear of or witness when visiting the park. We will also share everything we hear from our other Disney sources in and around the parks. So go spread the word that DLP.Info news section is back and that it will bring you and all Disney fans the news and rumors of our most beloved Disney park in Paris.
Seen anything in the parks, heard anything new. Send us a mail and we will write about it too.
Thank you again to all our long lasting visitors and welcome to all our new readers too. Let the magic begin…
Finally, after way to long and having to miss out on a New Year’s trip I went to Disneyland Resort Paris. The main reason! EuroDisney S.C.A. annual general shareholders meeting (11 February 2009). Any reason is good enough for me, but going to the shareholders meeting brings me to the park one extra time a year. So after a 4 hour drive and a bad nigh sleep, I got up at 7:15am to get ready for the meeting. A quick drive over to the main parking lot (although it was more a “slide” over with all the ice that had formed that night) and I was ready to enjoy a Disney day.
The day started in the Disney village Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show building. There we had to get our Shareholder ticket, 2 tickets for the day, 2 more tickets valid up to August and a towel. It’s always fun to get presents, but the extra tickets that I can use up to August are always great. Having an annual pass (although mine had expired), those tickets make one of my friends always very happy.
Once I got my Shareholders meeting card and tickets, I made my way towards to Walt Disney Studios. In the past the meeting took place in Either the New York or the New Port Bay Club convention center. This time the shareholders where invited to the studios where the general meeting would take place inside the CineMagique building. The event was going to start at 9:30 and as I was early enough inside the Studios there was some extra time to kill.
First of all I could enjoy some of the park empty. A picture here and there for me to share on the blog and then it was up to the Backlot to enjoy a complimentary breakfast. Mickey and Pluto visited the breakfast area to welcome all the shareholders (still a small number of them). I didn’t stay to long as I wanted to enjoy the Tower of Terror before the meeting. Yes, how much fun is that!? Some attractions where open early, especially for (more…)
