Disneyland Paris Update: DLP Introduce Customized Magic Wands Now Available at Merlin Shop Inside Sleeping Beauty Castle !

I have a new Disneyland Paris update for you, thanks to great pictures from Robert, D&M faithful reader and Arribas Crystal Arts!

When Universal Studios opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter there was a merchandise item which was pure genius: the magic wands of Harry Potter and his wizards friends. Sure, all the kids fans of Harry Potter would want to get one, and it's exactly what happened, Universal sells tons of them. It don't happen that often to have a merchandise item being a pure bingo and chances are that Harry Potter magic wands probably made jealous the folks of WDW merchandise dept. Well, i'm happy to say that Disneyland Paris, in collaboration with Arribas - a company specialized in Crystal items - introduced last week its own magic wands, now sold at Merlin's shop inside Sleeping Beauty Castle!

But DLP guests won't find here magic wands made out of wood or resin but of glass, each one is made by a glass blower in front of your own eyes, then filled with magic crystals of your choice!

There is even a storyline for these magic wands! Merlin is asking for your help and is now ready to tell the world the truth. In searching Merlin's own shop was found a parchment revealing Merlin's entire plan: to form a magician's academy to thwart the attack of the Villains thanks to magic wands.

Here is the "recipe" to make a good and powerful magic wand as described by Arribas Crystal Arts: In order to make a good magic wand, the first phase is to choose well the crystals that compose it ! In addition to the shiny colors that will attract your eyes, one must carefully select the crystals, because huge powers will be locked in! Green will make you a lucky one, white will bring you wisdom, red will give you the strength you need to accomplish great things.

Once the crystals have been carefully selected, make sure that is put the right amount of crystals in the wand. Too many crystals and your wand will create an overpower that will turn against its owner and not enough crystals will cause a dysfunction of the magic placed inside. The ideal quantity is 20 grams of crystals for a wand, with the colors of your choice.





Now that you have the precise amount of crystals of your choice, you must activate the magic that is locked inside. As there is a specific object, of great rarity and created by Merlin in person! He did not think he had to use it again and found it at the bottom of his purse.

Thanks to this artifact, the passage of the crystals in the mechanism activates the different powers that they contain while ensuring a perfect mixture. But there is an ultimate step for your wand to be well balanced! Here is the final step of the recipe, the little touch that will permit you to master the powers contained in your wand. For this, the crystals freshly swollen with magic must pass in our alembic, in order to contain and transport the magic to the wand without it can escape. Then one of our craftsmen, expert in the art of the magic of glass and fire will seal the wand with delicacy and precision ... And you are in possession of your magic wand.. Merlin The enchanter counts on you to take the utmost care and not let the villains get their hands on it!

The personalized wand is a craft creation of Arribas master glassmakers who use all the knowledge that Merlin has transmitted to them to recreate a wand that will contain all the magic of the crystals. As its name indicates, this object will reflect your personality and can be modulated at your convenience. You will be able to choose between different styles of chopsticks, choosing among different patterns of sleeves with the glass ball coming to close the handle.



When you are certain of your choice, you must still place magic at the heart of the wand, this is the most important step. Here again you have the choice. You have the great responsibility to select the crystals you want. Once sealed, you are in possession of a magic wand 100% artisanal, 100% personalized! Find the perfect combination for you to have the wand that looks like you. The price of a personalized baguette is 39,00 € and you still have the possibility to make it even more to your image by writing the message of your choice ( for 4,90€ ).

Arribas glass blowing artists have worked for several weeks in total secrecy on the realization of the different magic wands. Each master glassmaker expresses his art differently and it is in this that no wand is identical. They handle the glass carefully until the perfect wand is obtained. The one that, once magical, will make you live unforgettable moments! These specialists in fire and glass have an essential role because they are also the ones who have the important responsibility to close the wand once all the magic crystals are housed there and the powers can finally reveal themselves.

As glass is fragile, each wand is put inside a special box to make sure it won't be damaged or broken during guests visit of the park.

Also note that there will be other Collector magic wands that will be available later for special events of the year! It is possible that the Wands of the Evil ones arrive for Halloween!

Folks, i'm also sorry to say that Neverland Editions, my company publishing the great Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality" book ( De L'Esquisse à la Création en français ), will stop early September and this Summer special offer for the DLP book - valid until September 5th - is a last chance for you to get this gorgeous 320 pages book at the best price ever! You'll hardly find a better gift for a Disneyland Paris fan so don't miss it as it is the last copies of the book which will not be reprinted!

ENGLISH EDITION : The Special Offer for the English updated edition is at 60€ / $70 ( instead of 85€ ) and shipping worldwide is 22€ ( $26 ).  Shipping takes 3-4 days for France, 10-15 days to European countries, 2 to 3 weeks for countries outside Europe. Sorry for what may seem a high shipping cost but the package with the book is heavy ( 2,5 Kgs ) and the French post office also increased its prices. We also ship the books in the best box you've ever seen for a book to make sure they arrive in good condition, and this has a cost.

Usually the Special Offer includes a great additional surprise gift, but this new special offer will include TWO great surprise gifts ( and believe me, you'll be VERY happy to get them! )!

Special note to buyers with a shipping address in Italy or Belgium : For shipments to Belgium or Italy, the shipping cost is 29 €.

You can pay with Paypal by sending the full amount - including shipping - by Paypal to: neverlandeditions@gmail.com or you can use the Paypal buttons below. ( make sure to choose the right button for the rich edition ). Thanks to confirm me by email or in your Paypal payment which edition you want ( english or french ). Also note that the Paypal button includes an additional discount for those who want to order 2 or 3 copies instead of one.

If you do NOT have a Paypal account you can pay by credit card, or bank transfer, just send me an email about it at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com and i will let you know how to do.

To place your order please send an email to: neverlandeditions@gmail.com Please let me know in your email if you want the english or french edition!

Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality Book ENGLISH Edition

ONE Copy Disneyland Paris Book ENGLISH Edition €60.00 EUR TWO Copies Disneyland Paris Book ENGLISH Edition €110.00 EUR THREE Copies Disneyland Paris Book ENGLISH Edition €170.00 EUR

VERSION FRANCAISE:  Je suis navré d'annoncer que Neverland Editions cessera son activité début Septembre et cette offre spéciale d'été valable jusqu'au 5 Septembre est sans doute votre dernière chance de pouvoir acquérir le fantastique Disneyland Paris de l'Esquisse à la Création au meilleur prix.
Il ne reste que dix exemplaires de cette édition collector française et chaque exemplaire est maintenant au prix de 130€ + 22 € de frais d'envois ( 29€ pour la Belgique et l'Italie ).
Mais j'ai retrouvé récemment une dizaine d'exemplaires qui étaient destinés au service de presse lors de la sortie du livre, et qui sont strictement identiques mais sans "numérotation" de l'exemplaire à l'intérieur. Ces dix exemplaires sont vendus 95€ pièce, + 22€ de frais d'envois ( 29€ pour la Belgique et l'Italie ).
Soyons clair; dés que cette édition collector sera épuisés les prix d'autres vendeurs sur eBay ou Amazon vont flamber et atteindre des prix stratosphériques très rapidement, donc c'est vraiment la dernière chance de pouvoir se procurer le livre à un prix encore raisonnable...

Le règlement peut-être fait via Paypal, carte bancaire ou virement bancaire. Pour toute commande m'envoyer un email à neverlandeditions@gmail.com en précisant si vous voulez l'édition française ou anglaise. L'offre inclus également deux formidables cadeaux surprises!

Disneyland Paris De Lesquisse a la Creation Ed FRANCAISE COLL

Disneyland Paris De Lesquisse a la Creation Ed COLL NUMEROTEE €130.00 EUR Disneyland Paris De Lesquisse a la Creation EdCOLL NON Numerote €95.00 EUR

Those of you who have never seen the book will find below a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book AND you can see more pictures on the book website HERE










Although you've probably heard about this beautiful book, many of you may have never seen a copy of it. So we've done a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book! The book includes 750 pictures of the park, including 250 gorgeous renderings of Walt Disney Imagineering and stunning pictures of the park seen from above. The book is so big that it took us seven and a half minutes to show you the full book, and that's without stopping turning each pages! So, if you want to have a closer look at a page don't hesitate to stop the video!






Article Pictures: copyright Robert Stalled, Arribas

Is Hong Kong Disneyland Thinking to Tear Down Sleeping Beauty Castle and Build a New One? Answer: Probably Yes, and Here is Why

The big news of the day - though it's still only a rumor - was unveiled by WDW News Today: Hong Kong Disneyland is thinking to tear down their Sleeping Beauty Castle and build a new one!  As WDW news Today says "i've heard some crazy rumors in my lifetime, but never in a million years could I fathom that a Disney theme park would remove its castle. Surprisingly, it seems that Hong Kong Disneyland park will be…"

As, yes, Hong Kong Disneyland is unhappy with the size of its copy of Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle and they find the castle itself rather unimpressive, specially now that that the huge Shanghaî Disneyland castle exist. According to WDWNT "the project is part of a rumored second expansion phase of the park that would include new attractions as well."
More in WDWNT full article HERE.

Now, do you want my feeling about this rumor? Of course you do, so here it is: watch this one closely as my feeling is that it could very well happen, as crazy as it sounds. They won't have a castle as big as in Shanghaî, thanks God, but i'm pretty sure that everyone of HKDL execs - including Bob Iger and the folks of Hong Kong administration - agree that the size of the castle is a problem. Now that they have a huge castle in Shanghai, the one at HKDL looks ridiculously small and i think they understood it’s a big problem to make the park a success, whatever attractions they add at HKDL. After, as usual, it's all about money and if they're willing to spend it or not, but if they announce it officially someday i won't be surprised as there will be some logic in that, including a financial logic. 

Yes, the whole thing sounds unthinkable but remember that the reason why HKDL Imagineers used the blueprint of the original Disneyland castle - as well as those of DL Main Street U.S.A - was because Eisner was not willing to give more budget to the park. Although HKDL Imagineer side a greta job it was of course a mistake as each Disney Magic Kingdom should have it's own design for the castle, as it also gives its own identity to the park. Now, how big a new HKDL castle could be? The layout of the park as it is could probably accept a castle as big as the one at DLP - with a different design - but certainly not as big as the ones at WDW or TDL. The new castle would have to be more vertical as there is less land available now that Fantasyland is built.

And if you ask how they will do if they destroy HKDL Castle to avoid an empty space at the center of the park while they build the new one, as it sure it won't look nice to have the works visible, i think i've found what they'll do: they'll probably have a giant printed canvas, just like they do on Main Street buildings when they repaint them or on DLP Main Street Station recently ( see picture below ) with the concept-art of the new castle printed on it, that's the best way to do it, i think.




Let's end with an Editing: It didn't took me long to check this rumor and, guess what, the rumor is TRUE! It doesn't mean that they are GOING to do it, but it means that they are seriously THINKING about doing it. WDWNT say that Disney should make an announcement soon, but "soon" could mean next month or in six, or one year, so we may have to wait a bit to have an official confirmation.

Pictures: copyright DLPWelcome, Disney and more 

Disneyland Paris Celebrates Its 21st Anniversary !

21 Years ago Disneyland Paris was opening its gates in France and the park is celebrating today its 21st Anniversary.  No pictures yet of what will happen today but i did last week in the park two cool videos for you and i suggest that we begin by the first one which show the newly refurbished Pirates of Caribbean.

No Jack Sparrow Audio-Animatronics has been added yet in the ride, but everyone is saying that they did a great work on the lighting and almost all effects and AAs are working, even the famous and DLP POTC version only pirates duelists although they still are not as perfect as they were 21 years ago. Also note that the filming begins with the first fall and the pirate ship as the video of the scenes before was definitely too dark. Hope you'll enjoy the ride anyway!




Let's move to Sleeping Beauty Castle or, more precisely, under the castle!...



...As the other video is a closer look to one of DLP greatest Audio-Animatronic, the dragon of "La Tanière du Dragon" located under Sleeping Beauty Castle, also another DLP exclusive, not to be missed when you visit the park. Here, too, they did some changes on the lighting some months ago and you can see better the part of the dragon body in the back.




Well I also shot normal pics and i have a selection of high-res pictures that should look great as wallpapers for your desktop but Photobucket don't work today so instead i've embedded the video of DLP Grand Opening which happened exactly 21 years ago! Don't forget too to follow me on the D&M Facebook page HERE.





And if you can't be in the park today, let the park come to you with the great Disneyland Paris book, the whole park in 320 pages with 750 photos! From now till April 15 i put on sale signed copies of the book in its collector edition and that both english and french editions are available. This is the very first time that collector's edition copies would be signed so they will be "double collector"!
Don't miss this great offer, signed copies are even with a 20€ discount on the normal price! You can have more infos about this gorgeous 320 pages book HERE and you can use the one-click Paypal button below if you wish.

Choose quantity and enjoy additional discount !

1 Signed copy Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality + shipping €115.00 EUR 2 Signed copy Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality + shipping €205.00 EUR 3 Signed copy Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality + shipping €285.00 EUR

Pictures and video: copyright Disney and more

Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty Castle

Max Fan, D&M contributor and Dlrp Welcome webmaster came back last week-end with great pictures of DLP Sleeping Beauty Castle and it gave me the idea to do a special tribute to what is for many the most beautiful Magic Kingdom castle of all Disney Parks - and certainly the most "fairy tale" castle. We'll have a look today at the outside only, the inside of the castle will come in another article.

It's WDI Imagineer Tom Morris who was in charge of DLP Fantasyland - and of course Sleeping Beauty castle - when they built the park, and everyone agree that Tom did a fantastic job on it whether it's outside or inside the castle. On the picture below, Tom Morris stands with the castle model, a picture we shot at WDI in 1995.

As usual WDI Imagineers did preliminary artworks and models, like the ones below and of course a great attraction poster, the one at the top of the article...

The aerial picture below was shot at the end of the 1990's by the great photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand at the request of the park.

But how is the castle looking today, almost 21 years after Disneyland Paris opened its gates? Pretty good i must say. The castle has been repainted several times since opening day and even its color was changed a bit, but for the most as you will see with Max pictures below, all shot at sunset,  it looks always magical.

But last week-end was also the celebration of St David's  Day at Disneyland Paris, as the park now also celebrate this great welsh event. A short but special fireworks happened, and Max had the good idea to shoot for us the video of it! But first, some pics of the castle at night with its great lighting.

Here is Max video of St David fireworks.




All my thanks to Max for his castle pictures and he'll be back soon with a new update. Please also note that the above pictures were shot before the new snow fall that is currently happening in all the north of France! Yes, we're March 12 and DLP is - again, and at least for the third time this winter! - under a major snow fall! And if you are in Paris and wish to go today at DLP with the RER train you can't even do it as, because of the snow, all trains were cancelled! Unbelievably harsh winter this year - not to mention freezing temperatures - and we just wonder when all this snow nightmare is gonna end!

That said, i have  a good news for those of you who are interested by the great "Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality" book - from which some of the pics of this article came from - as to celebrate the Walt Disney Studios 11th Anniversary - which is on March 16 - i'm doing a special offer on the book at 85€ instead of 120€ thanks to which you can save up to $45 on the book normal price. You can have a look at the presentation article on the book web site HERE. And you can order the book with the $45 / 35€ special discount by using the one click Paypal button below! Note: Price on the Paypal button include the 15 euros shipping.

Important Note: We're running low of the ENGLISH collector's edition copies of the book and we know that soon the english collector's edition will be sold out. If you don't own the book yet and wish to order a copy please do it now while it is available!

Watch also below the video showing the whole book!

Choose quantity and enjoy additional discount!

One Disneyland Paris Collector Copy ( Including Shipping ) €100.00 EUR Two Disneyland Paris Collector Copies ( Including Shipping ) €185.00 EUR Three Disneyland Paris Collector Copies ( Including Shipping ) €270.00 EUR

Pictures: copyright Disney or Agence Altitude, or Dlrp Welcome

Don't Miss the New "Disney Castles" Exhibit at Disneyland Disney Gallery !

There is a new exhibit at the Disney Gallery at Disneyland, Anaheim! The new exhibit is all about Disney Castles and you will see dozens of WDI artwork related to the different Disney castles they've built around the world. And i mean all kind of castles, not only the Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella castles but also others like the Beauty and the Beast castle recently built at WDW new Fantasyland or the Little Mermaid castle at Tokyo Disney Sea, etc..

In addition to all these great artworks you'll be able to see the model of Disneyland Paris castle! And it's not that easy to see it. Those of you who have never been to DLP will be able to "turn around" the castle, look at every detail of it...and understand why it's the most beautiful fairy tale castle WDI Imagineers have ever built.

On the Imagineering video below WDI Imagineer Kim Irvine, concept and show design director will tell you more about this new exhibit which should last six months.




Picture and video: copyright Disney