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Disneyland Paris - Reinvent the Magic

No mention of Annettes makes me sad :(

The actual shops in the Village are good (the Art shop has received way too much of my money on recent trips), but I guess it depends on whether or not the decor is within people's tastes...

The Village does take me back to my childhood a lot, so I don't particularly mind it, even if it has become an absolute mish-mash of styles in recent years... The only real investment it needs is a proper clean up, rather than removing/adding anything...

The parks need the attention more though...
 
Now I will agree with you about Buffalo Bill's. There's nothing quite like being able to eat a cow while watching cows. :p
Earl does indeed sell some nice toasties, even if the interior feels like a generic high street fast food joint.
And King Ludwig's gets my vote simply because they sell decent German beer by the stein (even EP only serves it in patheticly small glasses.) On last year's trip I ended up leaving the park early, just to sit on my own with a stein and silence the voices telling me to kill...

But the whole vibe of Ney Village in general is just wrong. To quote my trip report from last year,
A quick freshen up before we entered the waking nightmare that is Disney Village. To paraphrase the late great Hunter S. Thompson,
[Disney Village] is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday nights if the Nazis had won the war. This was the Sixth Reich.
The place is the diametric opposite of the EP resort. While Europa's evening entertainment oozes class and luxury gently from it's every pore, Disney Village ejaculates it's vulgarity into your face from every direction. The harsh neon signs were lessened only because most of them were broken. Loud, obnoxious pop music assaulted our ears with no escape, drowned out only by the thuggish howls of crowds drunkenly yelling at large LED screens showing football. I cannot think of a less welcoming place for the so called “family resort” to make a first impression with.

The food offerings consisted of approximately nineteen assorted burger bars, and (thankfully) one lone place that served a passable toasted sandwich.
 
I think relative to price, Annette's is the worst restaurant I've ever been on. Reprehensible. The whole place needs demolishing except for the big shop and starting from scratch. If Drayton Manor had that place on their property, they'd be ashamed.
 
Its update time kiddies!

Its A Small World's refurb has started at full speed.
Pond is drained, trees have been removed and the queue line has been dug up. Since this ride is closed till the end of the year and we are only in the first week of closure they must have alot of work planned inside.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/626078437439049728
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/626427324607668224

Main Street & Plaza have gained a number of lower curb sides, this may not mean much to most of use but for anyone with Wheelchairs or Pushchairs this will be a godsend!
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/626718444633858048

Hotel Cheyenne is apparently having a refurbishment of all rooms by the end of 2016 being done one building at a time. Afew test rooms have been done, this may or may not end up being the final design. For the time being at least it seems to have gained a Toy Story theme.
Worth noting for anyone who doesn't know this is a "budget" Disney hotel, off peak I've seen this hotel priced as low as £10 cheaper than a 2 day ticket....including the tickets! But in peak season this can also be reasonably pricey so they need to hit that balance.
How the rooms look now:
p1010948.jpg


How the test room looks:
img_3077.jpg

img_3078.jpg

More photos at https://salonmickey.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/disneys-hotel-cheyenne-new-room-design-leaked/
 
No mention of Annettes makes me sad :(

Ahh yes I forgot Annettes... this sadly would be on my negative list, the idea is good but sways too far over to tacky and the food isn't reliable enough in portion size or quality for them to charge as much as they do.
 
Cheyenne looks genuinely outstanding.

I've stayed their previously and it's an interesting hotel, very low rise and expansive. The rooms look like a major upgrade (considering I think it's classed as a 2/3 star hotel prior).
 
Guess whos back....back again... Updates!

First Disney's dreaded DLP Financial Reports, the report has been release for the 'Fiscal Year 2015 Third Quarter' and....
compared to other reports its GOOD NEWS!
Revenues were up 6% to €360 million and nine-month year-to-date revenues increased 9% to €951 million due to higher guest spending and volumes in both theme parks and hotels!
http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/CORP/EN/Neutral/Images/uk-2015-08-04-Q3-FY15-Press-release.pdf

I've tried to avoid rumours in this thread but this one seems too good to pass by and has been "confirmed" by afew sources, its details on the Tram Tour changes/new scene including that the station will be moving back to accommodate Toy Story Mania into Playland. Anyway I've included what "Disney & More" had to say about it below.
In the plans for DLP WDS for 2017 - 2018 new scenes in the Tram Tour - the Tram Tour station will be moved, too, adding room for Toy Story Mania! By the way you'll note on the picture above that DLP has indeed planned something for the Tram Tour with works starting around June 2016.
About the new scenes, and knowing that the project is in very good progress and although ED92 do not have all the details on each scene yet, they can reveal what will happen to already existing scenes:
- Dinotopia scene : The decor will be transformed and will pay tribute to adventures of a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ... Yes, say farewell to Dinotopia and welcome to Lucasfilm as DLP Imagineers will propose a scene in the heart of Star Wars! Just to play, ED92 think that Naboo might fit well with the stone facades of the existing decor although requiring additions to make it a full experience. Personally i hope they will rebuild everything and won't be cheap on this one.
- The Catastrophe Canyon is currently the central highlight of the Tram Tour. But what to do with a Canyon in a Rockies decor? Luckily, the studios already offer the solution, and yes, the Pixar Cars would be entitled to their own stage.
If i understand well what ED92 is saying it should mean that Cars characters will be placed in Catastrophe Canyon, instead of the ones currently in place. They can do this quite easily i agree and it might introduce a fun element in a show which, although always spectacular, needs desperately a "soul".
- The last change should happen in the Reign of Fire scene. No surprise here, as you'll understand easily why it will be replaced by a Marvel scene with the decor being reviewed ( no more London, probably ) and revised to accommodate not anymore invisible dragons, but the famous Avengers Super-Heroes! It makes sense, after all the Reign of Fire decor is the one of a damaged city, the kind of set that we've seen either in Avengers 1 or 2 so by changing the London elements and replacing them by New York ones or so they can create an Avengers scene easily. What we still don't know is what kind of special effects they will use and, here too, lets hope they will have a comfortable budget for this scene and won't be cheap.

Agrabah Cafe is a hidden gem of themeing within Parc Disney which most visitors have never seen but its had a refurb, looks amazing and is being better advertised so hopefully more people with know this Buffet themed to the market streets of Agrabah even exists.
Check out the pictures: https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/627419509033435136

Adventure Land is having alot of work done to the rope bridges and higher areas notably at the moment the main suspension bridge is covered in scaffolding, this work needs doing but the park really cannot be great to visit at the moment.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/627423831368597504

Fantasy Land refurbs continue at full pace with every little detail being repainted, just completed is this lovely little fountain
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/627428520441081856

Toilets have been much better in recent years than they have in the past but can still be looking abit grim due to their ago so toilets within Town Square and Agrabah Bazaar are currently in the process of being fully refitted, I'll post more information on this when we know exactly how extensive this work is.

Place de Remy outside of Ratatouille has gained a new addition in the form of a portrait artist, its personal interpretation as to whether you see this as an up-sell attempt or street entertainment but theres no denying it fits the Parisian Square theme very well.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/627445844099338240
 
That Agrabah Cafe looks amazing, I had no idea it even existed.

As for the portrait artist being upsell or fitting entertainment, I'd say both, as it does fit very well.
 
Minor Update Time!

Both sets of Toilets that were closed for refurbishment have now reopened, as is usual at DLP they are not heavily themed but they are styled with colours and tiling to fit the areas and they do look much improved from the old ones.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/629653833686384641
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/629903705215762432

Disney Village has gained a little extra entertainment for the summer in the form of a parade... kind of. Buffalo Bill along with the majority of performers from the dinner show now parade through the area on certain days before the evening show accompanied by a slightly too formal sounding announcer. Extra things happening in the village is great to see but I can not help but feel so much more could of been made of this.


What appear to be temporary pipes have appeared around the Rivers of the Far West (Big Thunder's lake), possibly to do with the rumoured draining of the lake that is supposed to happen next year or maybe even so they can get a head start on getting those geysers working again?
Pipes: https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/630072349182832640
Geyser photo from when they worked: http://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/127306Geysers1.jpg

Paint the Park
I commented on the state of the castle in my first update post and with good reason, parts of it looked like this:
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/630077874998018048
Good news everybody!
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/630077480817291268

Also new paint again on Main Street USA and in Frontierland
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/630709600917024768
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/630737273361985536

Out at the hotels Newport Bay has gained even more scaffolding to repaint and refresh the outside, this massive hotel (One of the biggest in Europe) is looking pretty much covered in the stuff these days.
https://twitter.com/DisneylandBerry/status/630378036869918720

Got wood? The Dragon has...the bridge leading towards its lair has been fully refreshed and is looking as it should.
http://ed92.forumactif.org/t533p510-sujet-general-les-petites-rehabilitations-au-jour-le-jour#29037
 
It took me a while to realise what the last one was, but when I did I had to downgrade my opinion of the rest of them as it seems the photos are making things look more impressive than they are in real life
 
It took me a while to realise what the last one was, but when I did I had to downgrade my opinion of the rest of them as it seems the photos are making things look more impressive than they are in real life
Haha the others are genuinely pretty restaurants!

Buzz is slightly odd in the the way that for Blue Lagoon its quite difficult to find a picture that shows how pretty it is due to the low lighting, for Buzz it seems this is the opposite and no picture existing on the internet can truly portray how awful it is. (And yes, that IS a challenge)
 
Disneyland Paris - the forgotten park at the 2015 D23 Expo. Not seen anything at all relating to Paris which is a slight shame. I know nothing was probably expected but it is sad when you see the epic investments elsewhere.

:)
 
Disneyland Paris - the forgotten park at the 2015 D23 Expo. Not seen anything at all relating to Paris which is a slight shame. I know nothing was probably expected but it is sad when you see the epic investments elsewhere.

:)

I think right now, it's better for Disney to invest in getting what the resort already has up to an acceptable standard, than invest in new attractions and let the current ones continue to depreciate.
 
Haven't we had enough news with regards to DLP though? Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours 2 and the redesign of the Studios (retheme of the Rock n Rollercoaster etc, new Hollywood Boulevard etc )
 
I'm not complaing not least because I didn't expect any DLP news and there is a lot going on at the moment. Just pointing out that there was barely a mention of its existance at the Parks & Resorts presentation.

I'd imagine we'll hear more news on what Disney have planned for Studios park at D23 2017 or before. Marvel lands will probably be the big annoucement then, maybe for Studios as well as DCA.

:)
 
Paint the Park is continuing in force with new paint being spotted:
  • Castle roof
  • Fantasyland Walls
  • Princess Pavilion
  • Back of Hotel New York
  • Adventureland's little Cafes
Again with the painting Animagique appears to be changing colour every night for anyone who struggles to remember this is what its looked like for a while now:
http://www.freizeitpark-welt.de/freizeitparks/wds_paris/fotos/2007/animagique01.jpg
well now new colours are appearing and they are much brighter! Blue still apears to be staying as the building colour but slightly more pastel with reds and oranges appearing to take aways some of the blues and purples in areas like fences and pillars. Could this be a precursor to a pixar show replacement? Possibly.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/636845096810479616
Personally I think this is a great change as it suits the show and Toon Studios area of the park and looks much less dated than the 90s colour palette its had for so long.

It's a small world's refurb is still going strong with scaffolding over most of the structure. Rumours suggest that Disney Characters and a "remastered" sound track are likely as well as all the painting and doll replacements. Unfortunately its been suggested that the soundtrack may involve losing the French sections which is a shame mostly as they make a nice break where I cant understand the infuriating lyrics but also with Disney taking more control of the park it could be a dangerous move for them to be seen removing the French touches.

Always great to see atmosphere entertainment appearing around the park and there's been even more recently including a wind trio in Frontierland.
https://twitter.com/InsideDLParis/status/636195777317109760

Most of the pavements around Lake Disney which join the hotels to together are currently being torn apart to replace the existing cheap concrete with proper paving stones, this is happening around the resort and the main park at the moment and makes such a massive difference to the general feel of the areas and makes everything more authentic. Heres to hoping this trend makes it across to Studios which upto now seems to of mostly been missed.

Another new covered Smoking Area is under construction this time in studios, there's been alot of attention recently to make the smoking areas much more appealing to use so once this work is complete could we maybe see a greater crackdown on smoking around the park which at the moment is mostly ignored by cast members?

Work has begun down the Parade Route apparently to install a new sound system, not sure what extra this is going to add at the moment as I've always found the sound to be pretty good already. Do the sound systems in use at other Disney parks have any features or advantages I don't know about that we could be seeing added?
 
Random live entertainment is the only thing DLP lacks compared to the likes of WDW. Good to see it making a comeback!
 
Going on Saturday. How far into the development is it (will space mountain be done)?

Also, some general DLP questions,
What rides is it worth avoiding?
What rides should I use SRQ?
Where should I eat (can't go to the village)?
 
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