And we’re back with another week of Disneyland Paris news. Plenty to discuss with most notably the opening of World Premiere. Let’s dig in!
World Premiere of World Premiere
After a bit of a delay, World Premiere is now open to Guests! Let’s take a look at this re-imagined venue.
World Premiere
Gone is the “working studio” theme, when you step into World Premiere you’re in Hollywood. Or more likely the Hollywood Hills and Sunset Boulevard. You’re on your way to a big World Premiere and are invited to stop by a Garden Party in Hollywood Gardens or so a bit of shopping along the way. As a result the space has been rethemed to be closer to reality.. Disney reality on the same way Place de Rémy is Pixar Paris reality. It’s also permanently nighttime so there’s a lot of blue light. Is it groundbreaking – no, does it work – yes. It’s an upgrade, a glow up, and for the level of intervention that was expected and most importantly the budget, it’s some good work. The quality is there, the story is what it is and the Disneyland Paris events team have a better venue to throw VIP events after hours.
On the park side we’ve got the big Disney Theater marquee and a lot of the budget went into this. It shows, it’s beautiful and really pulls you into the park on the other side. The Front Lot sit features the Burbank Studios building and it’s a lot more muted but still has a few Easter eggs, with shadows of animators desks (they’re not working, they’re at the World Premiere – get it?) and some fun depth effects. Overall – it works.
Over by the restrooms, the theme is “street” with some posters on the walls and right above, a radio studio “KWDI” 140.1 FM – imagineering fans will recognize all the references. A super cool nod!
We’re also getting new themed bins.
The venue also introduces a new snack location which replaces the Hep Cat Corner. It’s changed side of the road, replacing the gas station. The story is of former newsstand which has been turned into a cafe and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Sadly it wasn’t open this week so we will try it out when it is.
Hollywood Gardens
En Coulisse was pretty low on the list of restaurants at Disneyland Paris so the expectation was high for Hollywood Gardens.
The venue is heavily pushing touch screen order (not mobile order) with dozens of kiosks and a screen system to annonce the orders.
There are also a few regular tills for discounts (they’re not yet accepted in the kiosks) and various other reasons.
The space depicts a garden party in The Hollywood Hills with large trees, benches and several styles and combinations of seatings. It’s a huge improvement from the canteen appearance of En Coulisse. It’s a fun place to hang out and have a bite to eat, after a while you almost (emphasis on almost) forget it’s not outdoor or nighttime.
Right ok. The food. Humm. Our team tried everything and as much as I was ready to write a dire review, they actually enjoyed most of the items. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still a basic AF Disneyland Paris burger restaurant, you won’t be blown away. But we found it better then Hyperion (yes the bar is low but still, we’ll take any progress) with recipes that are imaginative for the most part and ingredients that were pretty decent, especially the sauces and seasonings.
We tried all the burgers:
- Superstar Chicken Burger (€20 menu), it’s fine,
- Premiere Fish Burger (€19 menu), the curry sauce is well done,
- Spotlight Burger (€19 menu with drink and fries), it’s nice and a bit spicy,
- Holly’red Boulevard Vegan Burger (€19 menu) doesn’t look great but tastes great.
There’s also these star chicken biggest – they’re nothing special apart from the shape. The chicken bites at Disneyland Park are better.
In the dessert category – you’re getting Disneyland Paris quick service level here. They’re from defrosted, pretty fatty / sugary / dry so it’s nothing to write home about but at least they’re cute and a theming effort has been done.
So, Hollywood Gardens Restaurant – nice ambiance, decent food. It’s an improvement from “En Coulisse” or Hyperion. There was an opportunity to create something special here but they chose to – or had to – stick to a burger restaurant, likely to balance out the offering in the park.
The Shop with No Ceiling
Listen, I don’t like it at Disney Village but it’s Disney Village. With the revamp of Legends of Hollywood into Mickey’s of Glendale, the story goes from studio (and its high ceiling with projectors and other movie making magic equipment) to real life – a fancy department store style venue. So a ceiling woooooooould have been nice. I’m not mad I’m just disappointed, no wait I am mad about it.
It’s not to say the shop doesn’t feature some nice finishes. The furniture is nice, the wood carvings are lovely, there’s a fancy gold Mickey statue. It’s just sad the illusion is ruined as soon as you look slightly up. The flows and register locations have been optimistes and it’s otherwise a lovely shop to browse.
World Premiere Plaza
Once you’ve passed the Disney Theater doors, a new vestibule splits guests left and right. It represents not only the lobby of the theater but also is a block for the light coming from the outside.
The floor here is the star- it’s fantastic.
Once you’re outside – boom you’ll see – well not the view above because you’d have to turn around but once you do you’ll see the new location of the Partners Statue and the “franchise mural”.
It’s a beautiful mural. It’s a beautiful statue. The mix of the two, and the location? I just don’t know. There was so many other (better ?) options, like one of the planters by Animation Celebration where Guests could see it when they enter. Or the planter on Adventure Way right before you arrive at the lake. But anyways – it’s here and that’s what it is. The execution is still nice and it’s good to have the Partners Statue back on display.
Congratulations to the Walt Disney Imagineering Paris on this milestone opening!
A few days after opening, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro came to take a look (in addition to many other reasons for him to be at the Resort I’m sure). It was great to see him again and gift him one of our famous DLPReport pins.
“Alice and the Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland”
Well here we are again. Love it or hate it – it’s back for a new season until August 31.
The good news is the the show has been reworked slightly. The sound is better, there’s less silly dialog or awkward crowd interactions, more live singing .. overall it’s an improvement. Is it still super weird yes but that’s what we’ve come to expect from this out of the box production.
The return also means the Theater of the Stars area has reopened.
But HOW RUDE if the bleachers were a good spot to snap some pics of Disney Adventure World last year, they’ve now built a huge berm with trees on top – which of course for immersion and lines of sight is a great thing.
The access road behind Tower of Terror has also reopened but it’s now bookended by backstage gates as it’s gonna be mostly backstage but may be used as overflow for the theater or Disney Adventure World once the Laguna opens. So it’s retaining some light theming and safety. Not a bad idea.
Sometimes merchandise just pops off and produces a whole collection for a show so that’s what we got here. If you’re a fan you’ve got plenty of choice.
Welcome back Wonderland Cast and Crew!
Lounge Lightspeed
When finance and partnerships get together to put the best thing to come to Discoveryland in years – the BDX Droids behind a paywall we’ve got Lounge Lightspeed by Coca Cola! From May 31 until Mid September, this 50 seats pop up bar on top of Starport will be serving cocktails (not sure if there will be alcohol) and also the only place to spot the BDX Droids. No more details was shared (like a possible reservation system) but we’ll keep and eye out.
Shortly after the announcement, temporary stairs have been built to provide additional access to the platform.
Construction and Refurbishments
The big news on construction this week at Disneyland Park is that the Casey’s Corner terrace is finally done. It’s not yet open to Guests but should be in the next weeks. Design wise it will take some time to get used to- and there are more finishing touches to be applied – but overall it’s not shocking and blends okay on Main Street. It’ll provide some much needed additional covered seating for this inexplicably popular food joint.
Over in Discoveryland walls are down at the back of Space Mountain, revealing part of the new maintenance bay and access gate.
A quick one at Disney Adventure World, construction of the domed canopies continue. These should be nice with all the lights aligning with the arches.
And at Disney Village the Ben & Jerry’s Kiosk has returned near Annette’s, and good progress is being made at the next venue to be re-imagined: the Sports Bar.
But the greatest fastest progress is still the new Disney Village McDonalds!
This and That..
After months of obvious cash grab, Disneyland Pass discounts are finally accepted on most items and collections at Mission Equipment (Avengers Campus) and Royal Collection Boutique (Disneyland Hotel).
