LP Lotion: Tower of Terror and Stitch Live! Opening at Walt Disney Studios Paris
Page 1 of 2
This past weekend the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Resort Paris
emerged from the first phase of its expansion. Over six years on from the
opening in 2002 the park has added four new attractions and completed a
significant placemaking project. Last summer the Animation Courtyard was
converted to Toon Studio with a new color scheme (warm blues rather than cold
beiges) and an infusion of characters from Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinker Bell on
the Sorcerer Hat of The Magic of Disney Animation (a great recycling of the
characters from the Happiest Celebration on Earth makeover of Cinderella Castle
at Magic Kingdom) and the Sorcerer Mickey entrance marquee to the new Pixar-themed
experiences of Cars Race Rally and Crush's Coaster.
Now the park has unveiled changes to a second district of the park - Production
Courtyard. As guests emerge from the park's covered Main Street equivalent -
Studio 1 - they are now confronted with Hollywood of the '50s. Three-dimensional
facades (inspired by and from actual Hollywood icons and motifs) create a forced
perspective corridor to the Studio Tram Tour. In addition the park finally has a
recognizable weinie - a must for any Disney theme park - in the shape of the
Hollywood Tower Hotel. The version may be identical to that already found at
Disney's California Adventure Park (they were developed in tandem initially but
budget constraints meant that the Parisian park would have to wait several
years) but the additional placemaking has enhanced the area dramatically and
created an entire neighborhood surrounding the E-Ticket.
The second new attraction is a repurposing of Stitch Encounter from Hong Kong
Disneyland. Stitch Live! is housed in the Disney Channel building that was
formerly occupied by the production facilities for the net. As Senior Show
Writer Christine Tweedly explained to me this past weekend - "Guests just didn't
understand that it was a real working studio as we spend so much time creating
fantasy in our theme parks. So they just didn't get the story and it didn't have
the kick we expected. As the show wasn't taped during the weekend the majority
of our guests didn't have the opportunity to see how a TV show is recorded."
Stitch manages to interrupt the satellite transmission of the Disney Channel
from his space cruiser. The computer-generated real-time animation technology
itself is the next-generation Living Characters Program that also created Turtle
Talk with Crush, Lucky the Dinosaur and Muppet Mobile Lab. The show is currently
performed alternately in English and French and based on guest response could be
expanded to additional languages such as German, Dutch or Spanish. The
attraction was formally inaugurated by Disneyland Resort Paris Chief Executive
Officer Karl Holz with assistance from the resort's Ambassadors and an
unexpected guest as the video shows.
In the evening invited guests and working media were given the opportunity to
attend the nighttime unveiling of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The entire
show building was encased in projections as a sinister hand ripped away the
wrapping to reveal The Hollywood Tower Hotel at the height of Hollywood's Golden
Age in 1939. The story of the attraction unfolded through projection and
lighting as Hollywood's elite arrived for the Tip Top Club's Grand Opening party
to the sounds of Swing and Jazz. The infamous lightning strike reveals the new
vision of the hotel as fireworks exploded from the roofs. It was a remarkable
use of state-of-the-art projection technology to convey the attraction's
storyline.
Placemaking has become the term du jour at Walt Disney Imagineering of late as
they get the opportunity to re-visit the initial conceits and designs of both
Disney's California Adventure Park and the Walt Disney Studios Park. There is
little doubt that the work performed on both Toon Studio and the Production
Courtyard has not only increased the attraction count but also created a more
Disney-esque environment that is finally more befitting of a second gate that is
sited next to the most stunning and spectacular Magic Kingdom on earth. As
Vice-President, Creative Development Peter McGrath told me on Saturday with more
than a wild glint in his eye - "this is just the start for this park."
Videos
Two publicity videos are available. Eachc an be viewed by clicking below.
Click here for a larger version of this picture (1024 X 681, 740,509 bytes)
Click here for a larger version of this picture (1024 X 681, 658,389 bytes)
Click here for a larger version of this picture (499 X 750, 95,125 bytes)
Click here for a larger version of this picture (1024 X 681, 779,778 bytes)
Advertisement
MouseEarVacations.com
Where Magic Begins!
Concierge Style Service
at No Extra Charge!
Visit our website for more info!
Disneyland Attraction Posters at
The LaughingPlace Store
The LaughingPlace Store now carries a Disneyland Attraction Posters from Sanders CC Gallery
Laughing Place Podcast
This week on the LPP - Disney's 2008 Thea awards, Disney's Imax and 3D announcements, Bolt walkarounds and the crew's favorite Animal Kingdom attractions plus reader mail, Brent's Corner, the Captain's Challenge, Stump the Crew and 50 words or less on the new Bond.