2018 has been a mammoth year for Disneyland Paris. We’ve had a €2 billion expansion of the Walt Disney Studios Park announced, the inaugural Marvel Summer of Super Heroes season and the unexpected success of the Festival of Pirates and Princesses. Let’s take a look back at the year in the 2018 DLP Town Square year in review.
January 2018
The Force returned in the second edition of Star Wars: Season of the Force. This year saw the addition of new characters including Rey, it also saw the addition of an all-new celebration of the vehicles of Star Wars in a large exhibition that took place throughout the Walt Disney Studios Park.
February 2018
Snow filled the resort for much of February 2018, but as the resort transformed into a Winter Wonderland, a bigger transformation was being announced. The €2 billion Walt Disney Studios expansion project was announced by Bob Iger and, French President, Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace. The expansion will see Paris’ second gate double in size with attractions based on Star Wars, Frozen and Marvel.
March 2018
The first ever Annual Pass party took place in the Walt Disney Studios Park; the event, exclusive to the Infinity Annual Pass, was entered around the 10th anniversary of The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror.
Disneyland Paris also celebrated International Women’s Day with special events scattered throughout the park.
Festival of Pirates and Princesses
The Festival of Pirates and Princesses exploded with colour during the Spring of 2018. With its iconic dance routines, the festival very quickly became a fan favourite - so much so that guests are once again invited to choose their sides from January to March 2019.
April 2018
The Festival of Pirates and Princesses was taking the Disneyland Paris world by storm. But also enjoyed during this month was an all-new pre-show to Disney Illuminations inspired by the Disney Nature film: Blue, this pre-show was performed before Illuminations each night throughout the month.
May 2018
The new InsidEars platform was launched to Disneyland Paris influencers during a special event entitled ‘InsidEars Ready! 2018’. Throughout the night a number of announcements were made including the arrival of Mickey’s Philharmagic and the vital refurbishment of Ratatouille: l’aventure totalement toquée de Rémy (later cancelled).
Disney FanDaze
The party of the year was the Disney FanDaze Inaugural Party. Everything was curated especially for the fans including Imagineering panels, shows with long-lost friends, and exclusive meet and greet with extremely rare characters.
June 2018
June was perhaps the most exciting month of 2018 for in-park events. Disneyland Paris launched the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes to the press, and to guests.
The Disney FanDaze inaugural party also took place in June and was live-streamed across the world.
Marvel Summer of Super Heroes
Swinging into Disneyland Paris in the Summer of 2018 was the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes. This 3 month event allowed guests to salute Captain America, dance with Star Lord and eat some extra special snacks.
July 2018
Another busy summer month for Disneyland Paris as the resort hosts Electroland, the Ant-Man and the Wasp premiere, the second Annual Pass party entered around the Marvel Universe (or, that was the intention…).
The ever-popular food festival, the Rendez-Vous Gourmand made its return to the resort in a new expanded form with foods and drinks from across Europe.
August 2018
The long Summer season continued, August saw for the second annual Disney PhotoPass day. PhotoPass Day is a day that now features more PhotoPass photographers across the park, many of whom are accompanied by special rare characters.
September 2018
The 25th anniversary came to an end with a spectacular Annual Pass party held in the Walt Disney Studios Park. The resort also hosted special guided tours that highlighted the resort’s heritage in the Journées de Patrimoine.
Later in the month the Disneyland Paris Magic Run Weekend returned with 3 special races themed around the Disney Villains. To round out the month, the very first Disney Loves Jazz party took place in the Walt Disney Studios Park, the night featured a spectacular concert with big name Jazz stars.
Halloween
Halloween 2018 took things up a notch with it's Country-Rock anthem 'Great Big Year'. The focus on the season was a super-sized stage show that celebrated Mickey's 90th birthday, the season and Phantom Manor.
October 2018
October 1st 2018 was a big day in Disneyland Paris: Halloween started, but so did the Mickey 90 festivities and Mickey’s Philharmagic.
Philharmagic replaced the former Star Wars: Path of the Jedi (and previously, Captain EO) in the Discoveryland Theatre and has been a moderate hit with guests.
The giant cupcakes came to life with the Cupcake Sisters, one for each land for Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday.
The World's Biggest Mouse Party
Mickey and Minnie turned 90 during November 2018, and that needs a party! Disneyland Paris's Mouse Party did misfire in a few places, but the 'Surprise Mickey' stage show was one of the most delightful pieces of entertainment we've seen in years.
November 2018
The Mickey 90 festivities ramped up in November with exclusive merchandise making an appearance. The day itself (November 18th) was marked by a number of special items on the shelves, but no festivities in the park (or button badge).
Christmas 2018 was launched to much fanfare, this year the season is boosted with more magic in shows like Mickey’s Christmas Big Band and Goofy’s Incredible Christmas.
Christmas
Christmas is always a special time of year in the resort - no other park manages to do it quite as well as Disneyland Paris - and this year was no exception! With special touches for Mickey's 90th all around, this was the biggest, and merriest, Christmas celebration ever!
December 2018
The new Disneyland Paris TV spot was launched on Christmas Day on TV sets across Europe – and the world’s hearts melted as we fell in love with a duckling meeting his hero in Disneyland Paris.
The Mickey 90 Annual Pass event also took place with special shows and character meet and greet opportunities.
2018 was a for Disneyland Paris
2018 was the year of the hard ticket event at Disneyland Paris. But that’s not to say that those who didn’t book tickets to these festivities were not entertained, there was a boosted entertainment presence across the resort – something we’ve been needing for years. The 25th Anniversary has now been and gone, in its place are new original shows and experiences and the park is very much all the better for them.
For attraction fans, our prayers have indeed been answered with a large investment which will fix the Walt Disney Studios Park, whilst we may need to have a lot of patience yet, it is coming and it is promising to be spectacular!
Ready for
Geoff
When we enter a Disney park, we leave reality at the gate, we turn the turnstile and enter another world. A world where everything has a reason behind it, a world where yesterday is just as good (if not better) than today, and the promise of the future is bright. We immerse ourselves in this world for days at a time, but eventually we must leave and return home to that reality.
Now, I run DLP Town Square to share my passion with the world.
If 2016 was the year best summed up by the word ‘change’, then 2017 is very much a year in which Disneyland Paris has come of age. The resort has grown over the course of the last 12 months in ways that will have seemed far-fetched just 12 months ago. It has been a year in which major events have taken place both within the park and at company level. As we leave 2017, it is time to reflect on another amazing year for Disneyland Paris but a time to head into 2018 with a sparkle in our eyes as we look forward to what is to come.
Let’s reflect on 2017 now month-by-month and see how Disneyland Paris has grown into something new.
January
As the 2016/17 Christmas season came to an end, all eyes turned to the Walt Disney Studios park which would, for the very first time, host an entire seasonal celebration by itself. Season of the Force aimed to break the deadlock of what has traditionally been a silent season for the resort. The season featured a brand new projection show on The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror which took place nightly; Star Wars: A Galactic Celebration was an instant hit and blended project mapping, pyrotechnics and a stage show. This was joined by Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far, Away and the First Order March.
February
Whilst Season of the Force would continue up until the 26th March 2017, February was a month in which Disneyland Paris celebrated a landmark moment in its history. The 1987 convention was signed 30 years ago and to celebrate, Disneyland Paris was joined by the then-president of France François Hollande in order to launch their 25 ans de contribution économique et sociale report. The report detailed how Disneyland Paris has affected both the local, French and European economy over the 25 years of its existence. The event kick started the 25th anniversary celebrations in a way that added some gravity to the celebrations – whilst we, as fans, may celebrate the existence of the resort, Disneyland Paris has had real social and economic change in an area that sorely needed it.
March
The 26th March 2017 was the official opening of the 25th anniversary, but the celebrations really started the preceding day with a press event like no other. With it, Disneyland Paris launched a new parade (Disney Stars on Parade); a new nighttime spectacular (Disney Illuminations); new shows (Mickey Presents: Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris, The Starlit Princess Waltz); a new attraction (Star Tours: L’Aventure continue); and a sparkling blue overlay that would transform Main Street USA for the coming celebrations.
Meanwhile in Disney Village, a new branch of Five Guys opened next door to Vapiano. With the opening, Disney Village really does feel like it is expanding into a destination in its own right.
April
On April 12th 2017 Disneyland Paris officially turned 25 years old and to celebrate a special day of events was organised. The Grand Celebration took place between 8am and 10pm in Disneyland Park and saw a special show, parades, meet and greets and celebratory atmosphere. The Grand Celebration drew large crowds, many queueing to enter the park from 5am in order to guarantee a good spot in the park for the Grand Celebration show; the show was an hour long spectacular that was streamed worldwide and saw many rare and exciting Disney characters, a large number of whom were making their Disneyland Paris debut.
The Grand Celebration was a day that Disneyland Paris fans will never forget.
May
With the 25th anniversary now in full-swing, it would be forgiven to think that the resort would become more quiet, however the opposite is true. In May, Disneyland Paris hosted the European premiere for Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead men tell no tales was the US and International title). Whilst the film was screened in the Gaumont cinema in Disney Village, Disneyland Park (and Central Plaza) hosted the red carpet event including a small show, interviews for guests and the live stream and local and international media.
Smaller events took place park-wide and we got our first glimpse of the Jack Sparrow animatronic in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean renovation as official photos were released with Johnny Depp and the animatronic.
June
On June 19th 2017 Euro Disney SCA was withdrawn from the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange following a buy-out of shares by The Walt Disney Company, this was then followed by a mandatory buy-out of all remaining Euro Disney shares for €2 each. This meant that Euro Disney SCA became a fully owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. This is perhaps the most momentous day of the year as it represents a significant shift in how Disneyland Paris is owned and operated, the results of which are starting to be seen but it will take a significant amount of time further to see the full effects of this process.
A temporary Dutch Garden was created at Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel; this beautiful, yet temporary, feature outside the front of the hotel. The garden included 115 varieties of flowers.
July
Perhaps the busiest month of the Disneyland Paris year. At the start of the month the Forest of Enchantment returned for a summer engagement at the chaparral Theatre in Frontierland. The show was slightly updated for the new season including a backing screen and some small content changes.
On 4th July 2017, Disneyland Paris launched their Tuesday is Guest Star Day mini-parade. Each Tuesday a different rare character will be highlighted with a small mini-parade before Disney Stars on Parade. The name is inspired by the ‘Tuesday is guest star day’ feature on the old Mickey Mouse Club television show.
On 8th July 2017 the very first Electroland music festival took place at the Walt Disney Studios Park with acts including NERVO, Steve Aoki and Richard Orlinkski.
During the Disney Parks and Resorts panel at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Disney announced that Disney’s Hotel New York will be given a Marvel renovation to become Disney’s Hotel New York: The Art of Marvel. We do not yet know much about this renovation other than it will include characters such as “Iron Man, The Avengers, Spider Man and more”. Disney’s Hotel New York will close for the renovation in October 2018 and works are expected to last one year.
Finally, at the end of July, Disneyland Paris opened the renovated Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. This renovation features Captain Jack, new effects, a new auctioneer scene, a Hector Barbossa animatronic and other surprises. This was a well done renovation that is both exciting and puts some new energy into a Disneyland Paris classic.
August
In 2017 a quiet month was a rare occurrence, but August was a month in which very little happened.All the summer entertainment and long opening hours continued for the entire month. But, on the last day of the month there was a hint that September was not going to be so quiet.
September
On September 1st, Disney FanDaze was announced. This was followed later in the month by a special bloggers event that was aiming to whip up excitement in the fan community.
Whilst FanDaze was seeking to create excitement for Summer 2018, there was still plenty going on in the month. Towards the start of the month the Rendez-Vous Gourmand took place in La Place de Rémy. This small-scale festival showcased the regional food and drink of France at taster portions at good prices and was a real success.
RunDisney returned in 2017 for its second edition. This year the event grew to include a 10km race in addition to the 5km and half marathon of last year.
October
October saw both the first day of the new-look Halloween celebrations and the first edition of Extra Magic Time. Halloween was given a 25th anniversary make over with shows including Goofy’s Skeletoon Party and Mickey’s Halloween Tricycle Gang. Frontierland was redesigned with a Day of the Dead theme. The season was packed with fun and ended with a spectacular Halloween party on October 31st.
Extra Magic Time replaced the Extra Magic Hours, the primary difference was that the extra time was now only one hour instead of two but spread across two parks. Whilst this change was met with both surprise and a level of scepticism, the changes have allowed for increased choice for guests, which can only be a good thing.
Then, at the end of the month in London, Disneyland Paris announced the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes that will take place in the summer of 2018 as the finale of the 25th anniversary celebrations. The setting of the announcement in London was symbolic in that it took place at MCM Comic Con which symbolised a branch being held out to new guests who would not usually visit Disneyland Paris.
November
Every November Disneyland Paris launches a new edition of Disney’s Enchanted Christmas, and this year was no exception; however what is perhaps the exception is the magnitude of this year’s celebrations. This year was quite possibly the biggest Christmas season that Disneyland Paris have ever produced featuring a new projection show; multiple new stage shows; new music and meet and greets. The festive spirit was very much alive at Disneyland Paris in 2017.
Perhaps the highlight of the season is Mickey’s Christmas Big Band which really does represent a renewed focus at Disneyland Paris for live music, signing and dancing.
December
For the Christmas period in 2017 (and continuing into early 2018), Disneyland Paris performed Mickey and the Magician in French sign language for the very first time. This new way of presenting the show was presented as a co-operation between the Entertainment, Mission Handicap, Accessibility and Operations teams. A great initiative to end the year!
A year of transition, excitement and promise!
2017 has been a year that has seen Disneyland Paris transition into a fresh destination, one that offers excitement around each corner and one that has a lot of promise for the future. 2017 feels like a turning point for Disneyland Paris, and the future looks bright.
2016 was a year of immense change at Disneyland Paris. Indeed, Change is the world that will define 2016 for any Disneyland Paris fan. We saw the closure of Big Thunder Mountain in late 2015, the closure of Star Tours in March of this year. Who can forget the abrupt ending to the run of Animagique which was replaced in July by the mesmerizing Mickey and the Magician? We also saw a management change as Tom Wolber returned to the Disney Cruise Line and Catherine Powell got the top job at Disneyland Paris.
Let’s take a look back at the Disneyland Paris year month by month.
January
January started looking bleak for Disneyland Paris. Two of the star attractions in the resort would be closed for the vast majority of the year. But things soon started to look up as Disneyland Paris released their list of things to look forward to. The headline attraction was the launch of a brand new show Mickey and the Magician which would be launching in the summer. We also got more details about another new seasonal show Forest of Enchantment.
Mickey and the Magician Concept Art
In the way of closures, Adventure Isle closed for a major refurbishment which would last until September and the Disneyland Railroad began a short closure. The railroad would, of course, reopen in March with Main Street station following in July and Discoveryland Station reopening in March 2017. On the 31st January 2016, Animagique ended its 12 year run at the Walt Disney Studios Park and left the theatre open to refurbishment and a new show.
In more exciting news, the B&B Hotel next to Disneyland Paris finally received its inauguration. The new partner hotel includes a shuttle bus to Disneyland Paris and a Disneyland Paris boutique.
February
February will go down as the month that Forest of Enchantmentdebuted in Frontierland. The show mixes live vocals and fantastic visuals to create a treat for the senses. The big feature of the show was that live vocals had once again returned to the resort after years of piped in music. Forest also included athletic dance numbers and a stellar cast. The show is seasonal in Disneyland Paris, but is due to return in 2017 during the 25th Anniversary celebrations.
On the 17th February, the annual Disneyland Paris comedy show took place, the AGM. The AGM features pointless questions in the main from shareholders, but some useful Disneyland Paris information comes out of this important event. The first being this video overview of Project Sparkle, the project for getting Disneyland Paris ready for its 25th anniversary:
And this video filled with key facts and figures from Disneyland Paris and is essential viewing for anybody who wants to understand Disneyland Paris better:
March
March, the month that spring fever made its return to Disneyland Paris. Swing into Spring made its triumphant return to the resort and mixed in the firm fan favourites of Welcome to Spring and Goofy’s Garden Party. The Minnie’s Little Spring Train returned and this year Cheshire Cat was included on weekends.
Disneyland Paris also celebrated St Davids and St Patricks day in the way that they usually do: a short firework spectacular, a pre-parade, special shows and a Mickey and Minnie meet and greet in traditional outfits.
The new Vapiano restaurant was formally announced by Euro Disney and Vapiano. Vapiano was quoted as being looking for 5 or 6 restaurants per year in attractive sites whilst Euro Disney were seeking a diversified dining option for Disney Village.
The biggest event in March, however, was the closure of Star Tours. The attraction closed to a big fanfare as Disneyland Paris hosted a large fan event to allow fans to say goodbye in their own way. Star Tours 2: The Adventures Continue is scheduled to open in March 2017 and forms part of the 25th Anniversary celebrations.
April
April is always a special month for Disneyland Paris; the resort celebrated its 24th birthday and for its birthday Euro Disney got us an exciting gift. Tom Wolber was announced as leaving Disneyland Paris and Catherine Powell would be taking over in the summer.
We also got more information about Mickey and the Magician which was due to launch on July 2nd as well as the first rumours of the puppet show in the Lucky Nugget Saloon.
May
A rather quiet month for Disneyland Paris news. The Disney – Pixar short film festival was announced to open in the Discoveryland Theatre from the summer onwards. The new puppet show also debuted in the Lucky Nugget Saloon. The show features 3 unique shows. Two featuring the Toy Story characters and one with Mickey and friends.
June
From the 4th June, Frozen Summer Fun returned to Disneyland park. Guests could once again enjoy Frozen themed snacks and meals, the sing along show, Elsa’s return to Disney Dreams! and the royal welcome parade.
Disneyland Paris announced that Moana would be hosting a meet and greet in Disneyland Paris during the Christmas season. Pineapple Whips finally debuted in the park after a wait of months to immense fan fanfare and hype and the Disney-Pixar Short film festival opened in Discoveryland.
Away from Disneyland Paris, The Walt Disney Company opened their Shanghai Disney Resort in China with a big celebration event. The new member of the Disney Parks family is headed up by formed Disneyland Paris chief, Philippe Gas.
With a unique blend of Disney magic and the beauty of China’s cultural spirit, the design of Shanghai Disney Resort is “authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese.” That guiding principle is incorporated throughout the resort – and it’s visible here with a scene from Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, an excursion that travels the waters of Fantasyland and through the Enchanted Storybook Castle. The golden dragon is found in the attraction’s “Mulan” scene. The special nature of Shanghai Disney Resort celebrates Disney stories, and also salutes Chinese culture and design, with Wandering Moon Teahouse in Shanghai Disneyland, the Shikumen architectural features in Disneytown and original Chinese fonts for themed signage. (Kent Phillips, photographer)
July
July was probably Disneyland Paris’s biggest month of the year. It all started with a big celebration for the launch of the Mickey and the Magician show, which opened on July 2nd to great praise from the fan community. The show blends live singing, with impressive magic tricks and illusions to create a real feast for fans of live Disney entertainment. It still stands up as being one of the best stage shows that Disneyland Paris has ever created. The show takes a brief break in early 2017, but returns in time for the big launch of the 25th Anniversary celebrations.
Catherine Powell took over as Présidente of Euro Disney SCA ushering a new era of hope and optimism in the fan community. Indeed, Catherine has already presided over changes at the company and the resort is coming out of these changes in a stronger way with a better reputation among fans.
August
If you thought Disneyland Paris took the summer months off from announcing news, then you would be mistaken. A new dining experience at the Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne was launched allowing guests to enjoy a barbecue with Goofy and Chip & Dale, this would run throughout the summer.
Season of the Force was officially announced by Disneyland Paris to run in early 2017 plugging the gap between the Christmas season and the start of the 25th anniversary festivities. Finally, the Halloween season was officially announced. Whilst nothing had changed from the previous year, it still marks the beginning of the end of summer and a move into the winter months.
September
If July was the biggest month for Disneyland Paris, then September was the most exciting. Only one really big event happened this month, but it was perhaps the most exciting of the year and saw Disney fans from across the world descend on Paris to enjoy a run. RunDisney, the Disneyland Paris half marathon was a whole weekend of fun and excitement which culminated in a half marathon (or 5k).
The event was a huge success and has been expanded to include a 10km race in 2017 in addition to all the 2016 festivities.
Disneyland Paris also announced the names of their 2 ambassadors who would take over for the 2017-18 rotation. Laura Janice Gedigk (Housekeeping – Disney’s Newport Bay Club) and Michaël Giordano (PC Ops) begin their term on the 1st January 2017.
October
The long run into the winter months begins, as always in Disneyland Paris, with the return of the Halloween season. This month-long celebration is celebrated by fans of characters and villains alike as they get to enjoy days of singing in the fall and spooky, spooky nights with their favourite villains and the arrival of Cheshire Cat as a meet and greet.
However, the big news of the month was the official announcement of Disneyland Paris’s 25th anniversary celebrations which are due to begin on 26th March 2016. Announced were a new parade, a new nighttime spectacular, new shows, Star Tours 2 and Hyperspace Mountain. The time to sparkle tagline was introduced and it is widely agreed that the 25th will perhaps be the best for a very long time for Disneyland Paris.
November
November was a quiet month for Disneyland Paris. The Christmas season begun with very little in the way of fanfare, but retains all its quality entertainment spreading across the full day and the magical atmosphere takes over Main Street USA and the entire Disneyland park.
On top of this, another press release was released for Season of the Force whose arrival is hotly anticipated.
December
Whilst a quiet month in the way of news, Big Thunder Mountain finally reopened in Disneyland Park after a one year absence. The ride opened with a small opening ceremony and the first batch of guests to ride were gifted an exclusive, limited edition, newspaper from Thunder Mesa. A delightful keepsake for a momentous occasion.
Disneyland Paris, along all Disney parks, commemorated the anniversary of the death of Walt Disney with a board for guests to write their memories and messages of thanks to Walt for all he has given them and to celebrate his legacy. A new line of cupcakes and macaroons were launched in Boardwalk Candy Palace designed by the Atelier des Gâteaux in Paris.
Finally, Disneyland Paris launched their first TV spot for the 25th anniversary:
“I’m delighted to reveal the first TV campaign of the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris! A great sneak peek.” — Catherine Powell pic.twitter.com/GqaFqWxZdG
2016 may have looked disappointing from the outset, but it has turned out to be one of the most exciting years ever to be a Disneyland Paris fan. The refurbishments look gorgeous and the park is looking almost as if it were 1992.
2017 will be an equally exciting year, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing it with you all – allow me to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy and healthy 2017!
It’s over, 2013 has left us and we are now in a brand new year. But wow, what a year it was. It was the year that Disneyland Paris told us that they were building a ride, they even named it. It was a year where exceptional events just happened, and as one event ended, an even more magical one began. There wasn’t even time to ponder what would happen next. So, let’s take a look back at those past 12 months.
The year began in a reasonably quiet way, February saw the introduction of the Aristocats to the Disneyland Paris character line up with a spectacular unveiling on February 14th in a special cavalcade that ran twice in the day (Rain cancelled one of the scheduled three showings). This was followed by a weekend of character couples in Disneyland Park – but that was not all. That weekend also saw the inaugural LNB (Ligue national du basket) Leaders Cup take place in the Disney Events Arena in Disney Village, the contest which involved a number of the top French basketball teams competing in a series of knock out matches involved a few Disney touches, each match was covered live on French Sport channel Sport+ which was also shown in the Sports Bar, and saw a special celebration seeing Disney Village open until 2am in the morning. This event was hugely popular and 2014 sees a new round of matches taking place.
The end of March 2013 saw the launch of the 20th Anniversary extended celebrations, this involved a fashion show, Light’Ear launch and two new scenes added to Disney Dreams! (The Lion King and Brave replacing The Jungle Book and Mary Poppins). The ears looked beautiful when every member of the audience was wearing them, but the public would need to wait until June in order to try them out for themselves.
Then came along April which was another quiet month. May saw the Disney Dreamers Everywhere event, a series of private meet and greets were held for a special group of guests in all the Disney parks across the world – a special event indeed. Despite the main attractions being invite only, regular day guests could meet the rare characters during the day at their special photo location. Characters in Disneyland Paris included Clara Cluck, Darkwing Duck and more.
Not too much happened in June other than the Toad Hall restaurant re-opening after a period of refurbishment, the restaurant was immense
ly improved. The end of the month saw the closure of Hollywood pictures in order to make way for the LEGO store.
July saw Parcorama publish a blog about the deteriorating state of Disneyland Paris and launched a petition to Bob Iger to improve the state of things at our beloved Parisian resort. The petition reached the required number of signatures and was sent to the Walt Disney Company in Burbank amongst a high level of media attention across Europe. We also began to learn more about the Halloween festival and Christmas.
In August we learnt that the special Disney Dreams of Christmas would be a show in its own right, and would take elements from the new Disney Animation Studios film Frozen. We learnt that we’d be getting a new Christmas tree, and a new lighting ceremony that wouldn’t involve characters.
September was perhaps the biggest month of the year for Disneyland Paris in 2013. The 20th Anniversary reached its conclusion, and Disneyland Paris held a What’s New, What’s Next event in which hotel refurbishments and new merchandising was introduced to a assembled mix of the Disneyland Paris fan websites and blogs. Ratatouille: L’Avenure Totalement Toquée de Rémy was unveiled as the Ratatouille attraction name, as well as a piece of artwork unveiled.
In October, the Halloween season was launched in Disneyland Paris which involved a new cavalcade, some new decorations and new character opportunities, this was widely regarded as a huge success for the resort. The new Disneyland Paris website was launched, which offered a cleaner design, new features and a mobile version of the site.
November was the launch of the most extensive Christmas celebrations to date, decorations from the previous year were extended and new decorations added. A beautiful new Christmas tree was unveiled with a fantastic lighting ceremony which could be viewed as a 360 degree spectacle. The big finish was a new version of Disney Dreams! named Disney Dreams of Christmas featuring Olaf, Frozen, Toy Story and many classic tales.
And that’s it for Disneyland Paris 2013, it was a wonderful year, more news than action but this coming year will see many new features heading to our resort – and I for one can’t wait.
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