Interview Didier Ghez, Author of Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality,

Interview Didier Ghez, Author of Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality
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LM: Are you a Disney fan?

DG: Yes, as you can see, I am a Disneyfan. I actually collect European Disney items from the 30s, original Disney art and books about Disney (see the Disney Books Network). My main passion, though, is Disney "history". I love to interview Disney artists and to try and know more about their creative process.

LM: What did you try to achieve with this book?

DG: I hope that people who want to discover a lot more about the creative process, the hidden details and the mythology of the park. What I am sure of is that they will discover a lot of artwork and photos they did not already know as about 70% of the concept drawings and photos are never published before. I also know that they will discover a lot of never heard before anecdotes. Did you know for example that the façade of The Main Street Transportation Company has exactly the same silhouette as the Disneyland Castle in California? And did you know that computers used more than 30 years ago to run Pirates of the Caribbean are now in Disneyland Paris ? To quote directly from the book, here is the full story: "At Disneyland in California, the computers that had been controlling the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction had just been replaced with more modern ones. These old computers were going to be sent to the scrap heap. "We’re talking about huge machines measuring ten feet tall that had been used since Walt Disney’s time," Steve explains. "Each one of them controlled one of the animated figures. The Archives had saved the one that controlled the auctioneer character, but the others were to be discarded. Since I needed technical-looking set pieces for the Star Tours queue area, I decided to rescue them. Today they can be found in a corner of the Droid Room."

LM: Are you going to write more books about Disneyland Paris in the future?

DG: If the book is successful enough there will probably be a new edition in 2007 to commemorate the 5th birthday of the Walt Disney Studios. That edition would probably contain new documents for the first park and a whole chapter about the creation of the Walt Disney Studios.

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Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality
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Discuss It

-- Posted July 12, 2002
-- Interview by Lee MacDonald

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