Shanghaî Haichang Ocean Park Pictorial Update - Part Two

New pictorial update about Shanghaî Haichang Ocean Park, still in soft-opening until mid-November grand opening. Although the exterior theming looks finished and the marine life exhibits and shows are operational - except the Orcas show - none of the rides are yet working, including the Intamin Steel Dolphin coaster, always in trial operations. But there is plenty of new pictures shot by Chinese guests and posted on social medias site where Michael from Themeparx found them. I remind you that the park is located near Shanghaî at 30 minutes from Shanghaî Disneyland and will be SDL main competitor once all rides and shows will be fully operational, i.e anytime soon.

Let's start by a great panoramic shot of the park, and you can see more great pictures in D&M previous article HERE..

New shots of the snow mountain.

The entrance to polar mountain. The train ride is not working yet.

The fountain at the center of Christmas Town, in front of the The Seal - Sea Lions show / exhibit pavilion is now working.  Below, more building from Christmas town and the Kids zone are now finished.

The Mermaids and Shark mosaic sculpture at the entrance of the park.

The awaited Steel Dolphin coaster is still in test mode and not open yet.

Jet-Ski show in the canal and daily show at Christmas town!

The Skyway gondolas going from polar mountain to the volcano are now working, so let's board one of them from polar mountain station to have great aerial shots of the park!

Let's enter the Volcano Whale Shark Hall to meet sharks!

The flume ride is not working yet.

New banners before the start of the Dolphin show.

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The park has now three Belugas...

...And Polar Bears.

Plenty of Penguins await you in the Penguins exhibit...














According to Michael from Themeparx, at the seal exhibit inside the polar mountain, "guests can view the seals from both above and underneath the exhibit and come face to face with the seals at the cylindrical glass part of the tank".











Guests can also have a close encounter with Sea Turtles...

...and even Mermaids!

More pics of the Coral Reef pavilion.

The underwater restaurant.

The Jelly Fish exhibit.

Sunset and night shots of the park!

Make sure to visit Themeparx HERE as there is more pictures available and Michael adds new ones daily!

Pictures: copyright their respective owners.

Rare Pictures of 2000 Press Event in Jordan Wadi Rum for the DVD Special Edition Release of "Lawrence of Arabia"

You may not know it but i'm also a big specialist of David Lean movies - the great British film director of Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Great Expectations, A Passage to India, and so many more masterpieces.

Back in 2000 I was in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, where David Lean had filmed some scenes of Lawrence of Arabia and i was there as i organized a press event with selected french journalists. I had the idea of this press event and proposed it to Columbia Tristar France when they released the french special DVD edition of Lawrence of Arabia in 2000.

I organized everything in Jordan myself and I found back recently my pictures of the tent camp that the Wadi Rum tourism office had put in place at my request RIGHT in front of the famous mountain where was the camp of Auda Abu Tayi in “Lawrence”, huge tent camp which was put in place by Lean closest collaborator, Eddie Fowlie with whom I did in 2000 a documentary that we filmed for a big part ON locations where was filmed "Lawrence", ( but not in Jordan ).

First picture below, the original shot from Lawrence of Arabia.



Below, my pictures of the tent camp for the press event. Click on the first picture below to enlarge it, see the tent camp in small in the middle of the desert, facing the mountain? When the journalists arrived i took care they didn't saw the mountain first. Then i had them in front of me and show them a printed screen capture of the picture above. And then asked them to turn around to discover the mountain. They were all stunned to be right in the frame from the movie! The next days they enjoyed trek around the Wadi Rum in Range Rover and great Arabian food at the camp in the evening! They all loved the trip and Columbia had greta reviews when the DVD was released in France. Columbia received the next year a “corporate” award for "best marketing operation", and they did NOTHING except the check to pay for everything. In fact the ONLY thing they had to do, bring a DVD player, they screwed it and it was a pity as i wanted to also have a screening of Lawrence of Arabia right there in the desert where it was filmed.











Pictures showing the bedouins putting in place days before the big middle tent where guests of the press event had dinner.




THE Wadi Rum mountain from the famous Lawrence of Arabia shot.


The OTHER Wadi Rum mountain that you see in the famous shot of Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi "army" leaving to attaq Akaba.





More pictures of Wadi Rum...




See the Range Rover car down there in the center, how small it is,  it'll give you an idea of the scale of these huge mountain rocks, as well as the others pics below ( click to enlarge the images )…








Guests enjoyed trekking on a rock arch of the Wadi Rum





In fact, i can tell you that no one will ever have again a tent camp put at that place, in the middle of the desert in front of Wadi Rum mountain as the director of the Wadi Rum tourist bureau - who had been very kind - was blamed for that, as he told me at the end, because in fact there is cars running in the desert day or nigh - there is no roads, so they’re really running though the desert - and we had been lucky that our tents camp hadn’t been hit by one of the cars in the night as the drivers may have not seen the camp. Below pictures showing cars tracks in the desert,  and one of the Tourist office chief in 2000.








I also did some pictures with a 25 years old handsome bedouin here is my favorite shot, in two versions color and B&W, i like both versions.








Well, i suppose you can call me now “Alain of Arabia”! ;-)

Pictures: copyright Alain Littaye - NO reproduction on any kind authorize without prior written authorization.

Matt Cyrus Fantastic EuroDisneyland Map Now Available on Etsy Store !

Last month i've introduced Matt Cyrus who did this fantastic Disneyland Paris "fantasy" map which not only include existing attractions but also others who "should" exist according to Matt, and he did a great job, really! Now, the good news is that Matt is pleased to announce that his Disneyland Paris park map poster is now available for purchase on his Etsy store HERE!

This s a high quality digital print (on "Rag White" paper with a 310 g/m² weight), perfect for a frame. It is available in three sizes: LARGE (80x60cms), MEDIUM (65x50cms), and REGULAR (50x40cms).

Click on the previous version of the map below to enlarge it and make sure to check everything on it as each number tells the title of the attractions added by Mark. Here is Matt presentation, from his Facebook page HERE:



"I've never had this much fun drawing! I'm bringing back its original park name, some cancelled attractions, as well as long rumored projects and some personal ideas. It is my own way of thanking the incredible people who designed this place for inspiring me to become an artist. Visiting the preview center “Espace EuroDisney” in 1991 was a life changing experience and I set to become a designer on that day. Then I spent most of my teenage years drawing countless maps and eagerly waiting for those attractions that never got built. If not just for the fun of it, this drawing is also meant to make up for the long wait: if they don't build it, I can draw it!"

Matt also posted on his Tumblr page some pictures of his work-in-progress...



The line only version of the map.


The final version...


...as well as some zooms on each area of Matt's Disneyland Paris fantasy map. From top: Frontierland, Adventureland, Adventure Isle, Fantasyland, Discoveryland...

...and the new "Shadow land" added by Mark. By the way, "Shadowland" was an old rumor for WDW ( a concept for a fifth park ) so that's Mark take on it.



Again, big congrats to Matt for this great "fantasy" map and make sure to follow him on his Facebook page HERE.

Pictures: copyright Matt Cyrus Sachezchi

Incredible Time Machine : High Definition Video of Life in New York filmed in 1911 - Main Street U.S.A Era - And One of Paris in 1896 Too!

INCREDIBLE high definition video of life in New York filmed in 1911 - and one of Paris in 1896 too!

I've said it and i say it again: the only "time machine" which exist ( and will ever exist ) are documentary movies of long bygone eras. If you look at them on the bigger screen possible with your mind "IN" the movie you'll be able to be transported in the era, "feel" it, and receive endless informations about it. And these two movies, one showing life New York in 1911 - Main Street U.S.A "turn of the century" era - and the other of life of Paris back in 1896-1900 are the perfect examples.



Recently, many people on Twitter shared clips of the one of New York in 1911. The definition quality of the document is truly incredible,  so clear, so well preserved, that some even doubt of its authenticity. Especially because no source was indicated by the users who shared it on Twitter. It is in fact a true historical document, and the video was posted in full on the Youtube account of New York MoMA. "This documentary was made by a team of the Swedish company Svenska Biografteatern, who have been sent around the world to take pictures of famous places," says the MOMA.



We witness the life of the city as if we were there, with its passers-by in front of Chinese grocery stores, its carts, its cars, its kids intrigued by the camera, its trams and its sky train. Don’t miss it and definitely watch it FULL SCREEN!





And to don't make any jealous here is another one of Paris filmed in 1890. Very good definition too, even if the New York one is better. Of course the sound effects have been added as sound for cinema was not invented yet!



The Paris World Fair just happened and you'll be amazed of how many horse carriage were running down Paris famous Champs-Elysées Avenue!



Watch also this Paris video in full screen mode!