Disneyland Paris Update: Halloween 2002,

Disneyland Paris Update: Halloween 2002
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Halloween Nights 2002

This year, guests have the opportunity to enjoy the dark side of the festival at DLP’s Halloween Nights scheduled for October 31 and November 1. This ticketed event at DLP will see the park reopen from 9pm to 2am, offering concerts, fireworks, Disney characters, hair styling workshops, face painting workshops and DLP attractions especially opened for the occasion. Tickets are available at 25 euros (adult or child), while stocks last. Tickets are only available in advance.

A coven of four wicked witches will greet guests as they enter Disneyland Park, offering a not-so-warm welcome. Main Street, U.S.A. will be veiled in smoke, and will be bathed in mysterious green and purple light. The young and old alike who have not come in disguise will be asked to pay a visit to the Hair and Make up Workshops in HalloweenLand and Fantasyland for their own protection. Central Plaza will be home to the Pumpkin Stage, and will play host to a fancy dress competition and a musical concert. At midnight, a spectacular fireworks display will light the night sky above Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor - even more terrifying than usual - will be open throughout the evening, as will the rest of the HalloweenLand attractions. HalloweenLand will also be home to a mausoleum where guests will have the chance to have a souvenir photo taken with a were-wolf.

Fantasyland will be over run with the Disney Villains, with even Dumbo, the Flying Elephant under the control of the big bad wolf. Children will also be able to have their face painted or their hair "un-done" at special make up and hairstyling workshops in Toad Hall, before being invited to join in the fun at a special show at Fantasy Festival Stage

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril: Backwards! in Adventureland will also be open on the night, with the route to the attraction full of the sounds and rhythm that will add a genuinely haunting atmosphere to this old archaeological site. Space Mountain, from the Earth to the Moon and Star Tours will also be open in Discoveryland. A disco party with a DJ will take place at Videopolis until 2am on both evenings.

Halloween Nights is one of the most popular events at DLP and has a huge loyal following. Teenagers especially relish the opportunity to dress up in gothic clothing and participate in the evening events. Unfortunately, I am unable to report on this event this year, as I will be at Walt Disney World for the Happy Haunts Ball and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties.

"Stars on the Set"

The WDSP has no new offerings this Fall as the park enters its first winter season. However, the park will be littered with 56 giant photographs taken from the new "Stars on the Set" book (Stars en liberté - les plus belles photos de tournage), to be published by Filipacchi Editions on September 18, 2002, to be presented at an open-air exhibition from September 26 to December 31. The selection will feature a variety of still-photos taken on the set of many famous films, and form a part of the rich archives of the French Magazine, Paris Match. Each photo will be accompanied by an anecdote relating to the actors, the director or even the production details of the movie featured. The series of revealing photos will be exhibited on waterproof canvas, and find an ideal home in the Walt Disney Studio Park, the new theme park that offers an interactive, behind-the-scenes discovery of the very best in cinema, animation and television.

The first series of images to be discovered by guests will be at the exit to the Front Lot. The interior of Disney Studio 1 evokes a mythical Hollywood as seen through the eyes of a European filmmaker, and immediately plunges WDSP guests into a "back stage" atmosphere.

The exhibition will take place on the route of the Disney Cinema Parade, the all-new parade that travels through the WDSP and celebrates both cinema techniques and Disney's classic animated features. The photographs on display will be grouped by theme in each of Production Areas that the Disney Cinema Parade passes through (Animation Courtyard: kids and fun moments; Production Courtyard: technical and production details and Movie Stars at rest and play; Backlot: Special Effects).

The images pay homage to the leading lights of the cinema world as seen "between-takes" as well as the photographers who captured these rare and candid movie moments. A host of international stars are featured in the exhibition, such as Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Claudia Cardinale, as well as French movie stars including Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Alain Delon, Michèle Morgan, Catherine Deneuve and many more. Walt Disney also features in the exhibition. The photo of Walt with a Pinocchio puppet was taken in 1937, the same year that he started work on the animated adaptation of Carlo Colodi's classic story.

The 56 waterproof pictures measure 1.4m x 1m, and are mounted on 28 separate metal pylons. Accompanying photo captions are written in both French and English, allowing visitors from all over Europe to discover the story behind each photo. English and French versions of the "Stars on the Set" book, complete with 175 images, will be on sale in the Theme Park's boutiques.