LP Lotion: Tower of Terror and Stitch Live! Opening at Walt Disney Studios Paris
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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.

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