We are back with a new 2-week edition of the DLPReport! Of course our big ticket item this week is the start of Halloween, but we also have some scheduling news and developments at Disney Village. Let’s go!
Mark Your Calendars
That’s it for “A Million Splashes of Colour”! The show, which was originally expected to return in 2025, will not. Budget cuts, lower than expected guest satisfaction, or both, the show never really turned into the hit it was meant to be. A big thanks to the Cast and Crew who gave it their all!
And it’s “see you later” for “Alice and the Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland”. The show has ended its run but unlike its less-lucky cousin next door, the show will return in Spring 2025. Not that guest satisfaction was very high for this fun yet quirky production but capacity for Walt Disney Studios Park is quite low during construction and so the show has succeeded in absorbing a large chunk of Guests into the arena. See you next year, Wonderland.
Let’s turn to the future with the announcement – finally of this new Avengers Campus show. Scarlet Witch will join Dr. Strange each night at Avengers Campus Paris for “Doctor Strange : Mystery of the Mystics”, an epic adventure from November 23, 2024 to March 29, 2025.
Next up, it was announced that this Christmas, a new show will replace La Troupe Royale at the Disneyland Hotel, featuring the appearance of The Keeper of Time and the Winter Light. The guards will teach the magic words needed to release the Winter Light, which will illuminate the Christmas tree. Sounds cute but also sounds like it won’t feature Disney Princesses.
Once again Disneyland Paris will celebrate New Years Eve at Disneyland Park with a special fireworks display. The park will remain open until 1am. No special ticket is needed for this night, just valid admission.
And finally the new nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Park which STILL DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL NAME will premiere on January 10, 2025. It will feature drones and projections on the Main Street buildings.
But what about next Spring and Summer at Disneyland Park ? All in time, my young padawan.
It’s Halloween-loween!
Which just 1 month to enjoy the season – as Disneyland Paris categorically refuses every year to start this super popular season mid September – there’s a lot to cover.
Seasonal Decor
We’ve covered installation of most of the decorations in previous posts but Main Street is always the final one to be installed and is now of course complete.
While everything is kinda same same, it’s particularly beautiful at night!
And with the recently changed Sleeping Beauty Castle lighting package, we get a new spooky lighting.
This year the lights are also changed on Main Street with the use of the Disney Electrical Sky Parade lights.
Disney Spooktrical Sky Parade
New this year, a special ending to the Disney Electrical Sky Parade with all new drone sequences, light and music. Like everything Dronisos touches – it’s a hit !
In particular, the Phantom Manor display is particularly well done. Bravo to the teams that keeps us on the edge of entertainment technology. Can’t wait to see this new tech move away from the preshows and be integrated into a full Nighttime Spectacular when <untitled show – why can’t we have a name> “officially” debuts on January 10.
Mickey’s Halloween Celebration
Largely unchanged again this year and contrary to rumors that it would be changed. Still a fun show, and let’s be real way above anything US Parks get included in daily admission – but we’re still ready for something new, maybe more cheeky spooky fun and less “harvest”.
Disney Friends and Foes
You can call. Her. Mother. Mother Gothel is the new character of the season. She’s appealing in a meet and play “story time” happening that – unfortunately falls flat. The area is small, it’s hard to see, the script is cringy. It’s one of those things that while the effort to “do something different” is appreciated, maybe she would have even better suited simply talking to guests from the Castle Courtyard balcony.
The setup however is lovely – if you manage to see it in the crowd.
This year we also welcome Miguel as a meet and greet character on Frontierland, and most of your Halloween regulars are also making appearances.
Food
The food department again has done the bare minimum. It’s not shocking. It’s not amazing. It just kind of is – A BIG BORING MEH.
A standout is the new stuffed chicken casserole at The Lucky Nugget and Doritos vanilla sundae – yes you read right. It’s not cheap but it’s quite nice and filling.
Possibly the best food news of the season actually comes from the partnerships team: we can finally get free candy in the parks courtesy of M&M’s!
The awesome Skyline Bar team always knocks it out of the park – literally. “Bloodstone Blend”: black vodka, cranberry, blackcurrant, aperol, ginger ale and sweet popcorn (€16). It’s very nice, must like ginger drinks.
Skyline Bar has a whole selection of Halloween drinks in addition to the Bloodstone Blend we tried: Witches Brew (inspired by Agatha), Pumpkin Patch Potion mocktail, spicy pumpkin cold brew coffee and snacks (butternut focaccia and a Miss Minute cake!)
Merchandise
Without much fanfare we finally get these cute popcorn buckets !
On top of the usual Halloween figurines, mugs and other trash, the Resort has been churning out quite a few fun jumpers this season.
And then there’s Melanie light-up veil.
So Halloween 2024 at Disneyland Paris. Cool drones, cute popcorn buckets, MOTHER, and a lot of same. A staple season that’s always fun.
Disney Village
Well I finally can stop writing tweets in Italian. “Casa Giulia”, the Italian restaurant concept by Bertrand Hospitality has finally been revealed. It will be replacing Planet Hollywood at Disney Village. From Disney: “Casa Giulia will be a family-style table service restaurant offering classic Italian dishes, revisited with a gourmet twist to suit all tastes, and provide a warm atmosphere for families and friends.”
Talking about Planet Hollywood – that’s all that’s left of the dome. Soon it will be completely gone.
Work is also moving along nicely for the construction of the new McDonald’s.
And little by little, one half of the main Disney Village thruway is getting paved. What a difference !
After years of absence, Tinker Bell has finally returned to the top of World of Disney. It had been damaged by a storm.
Construction and Refurbishments
Your usual Disney Adventure World photo dump! Everything is moving along at this stage with more facades, more mountains and more infrastructure.
The big news this week however is the installation of the North Mountain peak! it will host Elsa’s Ice Palace and simply huge.
Progress has also been made on the Adventure Way mosaic and paving of the main avenue leading to the lake.
Back inside good ol Walt Disney Studios Park, the structure for the new entrance / exit corridor of soon to be “World Premiere” is starting to look like the concept art. The Wish poster is also gone. Goodbye my friend!
Right next to it, new railing have been installed, helping to finish up this area that was looking a bit bare. Landscaping next !
Not a ton going on at Disneyland Park but finally the structure for the new covered terrace at Casey’s Corner is coming together after months of infrastructure works.
In the “taking forever” category we also have Flying Carpets which is scheduled to reopen by Nov 6.
And we shared our Refurbishment Update for November 2024:
- Main Street Station: Nov 4-8 (Xmas unpacking in Town Square)
- Flying Carpets reopening Nov 6
- Space Mountain: Nov 4-5
- Snow White: Nov 4-15
- Princess Pavilion: Nov 18-22
- Phantom Manor: Nov 18-29
This and That..
On Tuesday we were saddened to hear about the passing of Robert Fitzpatrick, Euro Disney President from the planning stages in 1987 to the first years of operation in 1993. He oversaw the creation of the $4B European Resort: Euro Disneyland, 7 Disney Hotels, and Festival Disney.
