Plastique Fantastique? Toy Story Playland
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For over eight years Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris has been the ugliest duckling of the recent additions to the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts portfolio. For all of the criticism levelled by the fan community at both Disney�s California Adventure Park and Hong Kong Disneyland there are still a number of true Disney touches to those parks. Many struggle to muster even one positive aspect to the second gate in Paris.
In the park�s defence EuroDisney S.C.A. (the publicly trade corporation that owns and operates Disneyland Resort Paris under license from the Walt Disney Company) had little choice but to either build the second gate or risk losing the rights to do so. EuroDisney continues to be saddled with the immense debt that was pumped into the company to finance the resort prior to opening in �92. The interest payments alone are a significant burden on the operating performance of the resort. The initial capital investment costs for the studios were approximately $533 million which makes the park the cheapest ever to be opened under the Disney banner - to put it into context that is approximately 70% of the investment into Disney�s California Adventure and would not have even covered the Mysterious Island land at Tokyo DisneySea. The park was built for a tight budget - by Disney standards.
However the budget cannot excuse some of the decision-making that has transpired at the park from its inception. There is an educated school of thought that the concept of a studios theme park should be retired forever. The anonymous �big box� soundstage conceit is not conducive to a thematic experience (particularly in the environment between the soundstages) and when the park itself barely even operates as a �working studio� then it seems disingenuous to attempt to create an artificial version of a Hollywood studio. Walt Disney Studios Park couldn�t even execute the one working element on their lot as Disney Channel France refused to film their only live studio show at the park at the weekend when the majority of guests were present (although it didn�t stop the pointless tour of the facility from continuing). Imagineer Chrissie Allen�s Disney Studio 1 soundstage is arguably the only element that succeeds at the park. Studio 1 serves as a covered entrance to the park�s lots and is filled with oversized props and theming from the Golden Age of Hollywood that one would expect from a Disney theme park. However once you exit the show building you encounter a flat site with minimal theming. The original Walt Disney Studios Park was a colorless, soulless and dour place to visit. There was virtually no place-making and the wide concrete walkways made it an oppressive and uncomfortable place to visit in the winter when the rains and winds descend on Paris. The park was poorly menu-planned with a heavy focus on testosterone-fuelled male-skewed experiences like Rock �n� Roller Coaster, Moteurs... Action! stunt show and Armageddon. The only new gem that the park added to the Disney portfolio is Jerry Rees� immaculate CineMagique which is even deserving of a permanent home at one of the US parks.
As the park opened and began to labor under an indifferent audience that would prefer to be at the lavishly themed park next door management needed to find a way to achieve two goals - improve the overall experience and add to the pitiful attraction count. The park has subsequently added DCA�s version of Tower of Terror, the living character program show Stitch Live! (that was developed for Hong Kong Disneyland) and added some much-needed color and plussing to the Production Courtyard. The Peter Pan characters from Cinderella Castle�s transformation for the Happiest Celebration on Earth were added to the sorcerer hat on the Art of Disney Animation, a version of New York Street was added (giving the illusion of a working backlot) and former imagineer Valerie Edwards sculpted a beautiful Sorcerer Mickey for the new entrance marquee as the area was rebadged Toon Studio. The biggest addition was two new attractions in the form of Crush�s Coaster and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye. The former is a Maurer Sohne-built Wilde Maus ride that features some screen elements from The Seas with Nemo & Friends and a dark coaster portion in the East Australian Current. The latter is an iron ride similar to Francis� Ladybug Boogie at DCA.
On September 4 2010 the park added a new mini-land behind Toon Studio called Toy Story Playland. The area features three off-the-shelf attractions namely Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin and RC Racer. There appears to be some confusion over the backstory as to whether you have merely been shrunk to the size of toys or that you are a toy yourself. A giant Buzz greets guests as they enter the land. Either way you are in Andy�s backyard (although why Andy would leave his treasured toys out in the yard isn�t explained). Throughout the undulating landscape you can find other toys and game components such as giant Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, a ball and jacks, children�s blocks, a balsa wood plane and dominos, lit at night by oversized holiday lights. There is a fundamental flaw with using these branded toys - most of them were not popular in Europe (and some weren�t even available) and therefore the emotional response that Walt Disney Imagineering was hoping to trigger through nostalgic childhood elements can�t be elicited.
There is little doubt that Toy Story Playland has been well executed. The environmental theming is fun and evocative of the movie. However it seems to have missed the whimsy of its direct comparator A Bug�s Land at DCA. The area lacks warmth and an organic feeling which are the limiting factors of using plastic toys as the bedrock for a land. In addition the conceit just doesn�t work in a studios theme park context - at least Toon Studio attempted to fit in with its storyline being the place where animated characters work (as opposed to ToonTown where they live). You get the feeling that the studios concept is effectively dead but no-one wants to admit it. However all of that pales into insignificance when you consider the attraction mix. The imagineers opted for three low-capacity off-the-shelf attractions for a park with no high-capacity attractions (that is capable of absorbing north of 2,000 guests per hour) - the queues for each of these minute-long experiences have been around 90 minutes each during peak hours. In addition all three of the rides are entirely exposed to the elements. At the very least Slinky could have been enclosed or a canopy added overhead. Ultimately EuroDisney should be applauded for attempting to bring Walt Disney Studios Park up to a full day Disney theme park experience but you have to question whether Toy Story Playland was the best option on the table. Only time will tell if guests continue to embrace this mini-land.
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-- Text by Lee MacDonald
-- Posted September 17, 2010