Editor's Note: Special offer on the DLP book during all September: Order a copy of the acclaimed Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book this month of September and save $45 including Free Shipping! Don't miss this special offer, youll find all infos to order an ENGLISH edition HERE and for the FRENCH edition it's HERE!

WDW New Fantasyland: Enchanted Tales with Belle - Full Show

You saw last Friday the Imagineering video that introduced the amazing Lumière and Wardrobe Audio-Animatronics but now, thanks to TouringPlans who uploaded these new videos on Youtube you'll be able to see the full show of the new "Enchanted Tales with Belle" attraction at WDW New Fantasyland.

The first video below show the entrance in Maurice's cottage and the first room. In the second video you'll see the great "magic mirror" effect and the direct entrance to the castle with Wardrobe AA. And the third video is showing the full show with Lumière and Belle in the last room. Watching the full show confirms that the Audio-Animatronics are incredibly perfect, and also that there is probably two rooms with Wardrobe, just like pre-show rooms before guests enter the main one with Lumière. It's interesting as this might help to have a too long wait as, while some guests will enjoy the show with Lumière and Belle, others will be already in the first room with Wardrobe, etc.. The whole show is definitely a show for very young children but it's good that WDI creates attractions for them and i'm sure they will enjoy it a lot. As for us, we will for sure be amazed with the theming, special effects and the brilliant Audio-Animatronics.










Picture: copyright Disney

Videos: copyright TouringPlans

Order your Copy of the Great Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book this month and save $45 including Free Shipping !

Note: Click HERE for the French version of this article - Version française de cet article ICI.

Here is something that should interest those of you who don't own yet the great and acclaimed "Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality" book. During all September month i am doing a free shipping on the book, and the book price is always at 100 euros instead of 120 euros. In two words, it mean that during all this month of September each person who will order the book will have the opportunity to save 35 euros ( 45 U.S$ ) and to order the book for 100 euros instead than 135€ at its normal price including shipping. Don't miss this great special offer as we begin of running low on the english version of the book. Also note that this offer is of course okay whether you order an english or french version of the book (both versions are available).

For those of you who have never seen a copy of the book you'll find below a video presentation of the full book which will show you each of the 320 pages of the book. And, most of all don't miss the comments of those who have already received the book at the end of the book presentation HERE!

For those of you who don't know what is the Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality collector's edition here is more details: the collector's edition is printed on a luxury glossy paper, it has a gold printing on the cover and dust jacket, is limited at 2000 copies in english ( and 2000 in french ), each copy has a number, AND each copy include four beautiful "lithographs" of WDI artwork for the Walt Disney Studios. Each of these lithographs can be put under frame. Also, the contents of the book is exactly the same than the first collector's copies printed ten years ago. And only the collector's edition is available, the regular edition is sold out.



Here is how to do to order the book:

So, how to pre-order a copy of this collector's edition? First, send us an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com ( with as subject: "dlp book order" ) to let us know that you want to order a copy, how many copies you want, in which language ( english or french edition? ) , and your shipping address.

How to proceed for your payment: We prefer a Paypal payment. Paypal is a very safe way to pay without giving your credit card number. For a payment with Paypal the total amount must be sent through Paypal at the email adress: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

OR, even more easy, you can now order the book directly from this page and proceed to the payment with Paypal by clicking on the "Buy it Now" Paypal button below! Order two or more copies an enjoy an additional discount!
Also, don't forget to let me know your shipping address and to confirm your order and payment AND to say if you want the book in english or french edition by sending us an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ: Whatever the book quantity you will choose you'll see that in the next page that will open the quantity written in the "quantity box" is "1". I tried everything possible to change this and to have the right quantity appearing but it still doesn't work. SO, when you will do your Paypal payment please don't forget to write in the text box the book quantity that you have ordered, AND also tell it to me by email. No worries, though, as i will also be able to identify instantly how many copies have been ordered when i will see the amount paid. Thanks!

Choose quantity and enjoy an additional discount !

One DLP Book Collector Copy with Free shipping €100.00 EUR Two DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €185.00 EUR Three DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €275.00 EUR

If you don't have a Paypal account: either you know someone who have one and through which you can send the payment, or you can pay by check if you live in france or with a bank wire transfer ( no foreign checks, sorry ). If you want to do a wire transfer please let us know in your email and we will send you the bank infos.

Below you'll find a description of the book as well as visuals of the inside pages ( click on the mosaic pictures to see them in larger scale ). The printer did an incredible job, and the printing and binding is just perfect! I did a video to show you the final product, exactly the same one than you will receive if you order the book, and you can watch the video below!




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. Finally, because we didn't had any more a collector edition copy the video is showing the regular edition of the book, not the collector's edition that you will receive if you place your order, but the inside pages are exactly the same.




Description of the book:



The book is a gorgeous "coffee table book" with 320 pages and 750 pictures - of which 500 are park and attractions photos and 250 are Walt Disney Imagineering renderings!

The size is 9 x 12 inches, all pages are in color and it's hardbound with a glossy dust jacket. The text (by Disney historian Didier Ghez), was written after more than 75 interviews he conducted with all the Imagineers who created the park. He goes into just about everything you wanted to know about this unique place that many describe as the best "Magic Kingdom" ever created by WDI.

It took five years to create the book, but it was worth all the time we spent on it, and the book looks just as good as we had hoped for at the beginning - in fact Imagineer Bruce Gordon told us that it was "probably the best book ever done on a Disney theme park". Coming from Bruce who did with David Mumford the great "Disneyland, The Nickel Tour" book, it was more than a compliment.

The first chapter about Main Street has 52 pages and introduces the reader to the "legend" of Main Street, USA. You'll learn all about the Disneyland Paris Railroad, the unique "Discovery" and "Liberty" Arcades; find out about the architecture, the restaurants (like "Walt's," a tribute to Walt Disney, but also inspired by Club 33 in Anaheim) and the shops; with dozens of photos, renderings, models, and reproduced for the first time here, all the "cities of the future" posters located in "Discovery Arcade."



The second chapter on Frontierland discusses the park's western side with extensive sections about its major attractions, "Big Thunder Mountain" and "Phantom Manor." In fact the book has the longest sections ever put together in a book on all the major attractions. The Pirates of Caribbean section in the Adventureland chapter is 26 pages, Phantom Manor has 16 pages devoted to it, as does Space Mountain, it's a small world, etc. The photo material was so great that we kept adding more pages to the book, which was supposed to have only 240 pages when we started... we ended up with 320 upon completion!



The Frontierland chapter also covers the Mark Twain, the River Rogue Keelboats, Fort Comstock, all the restaurants, the shops and Cottonwood Creek Ranch.and featuring stunning photos of Disneyland Paris from the air by Yann Arthus Bertrand, author of The Earth from Above that make spectacular "double-pages," and allow the reader to discover the park from a whole different angle.



The Adventureland chapter is even more interesting, as many elements of the land exist only in Paris - such as the Bazaar and Aladdin to Africa and the ex-"Explorer's Club." Plus there's a long section about "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril," "Adventure Isle" and "The Swiss Robinson Treehouse" and, of course, "Pirates of Caribbean" the land's major attraction and featuring its amazing Audio-Animatronics! All in all there are 56 full pages about Adventureland, and as in the previous chapters, there are dozens of photos, lots of concept art, and many shots of Imagineers at work. There's even a great bonus here, with the Marc Davis artwork for "Pirates" also included.



56 full pages are also dedicated to Fantasyland. There's an extensive look at Sleeping Beauty Castle, sections on all the dark rides (Snow White, Peter Pan and Pinocchio), as well as a look at "Alice's Curious Labyrinth," the "Mad Hatter's Tea Cups," "Storybookland," and "Casey Jr." There are even 14 pages about "it's a small world" with stunning photos of nearly all the scenes in it. Here the reader can discover a new attraction that exists only at Disneyland Paris, with a great view from above of Alice's Labyrinth.

Discoveryland also gets 52 pages of special treatment, with sections on the Visionarium, the Nautilus, Star Tours, Space Mountain, and everything you wanted to know about the other attractions in this land – Autopia and Orbitron. In fact the Nautilus chapter takes you on a visit with photos of every room of this detailed walk-through and two double page photo spreads, one which makes you feel you're inside Captain Nemo's grand salon, and the other showing you a unique view of Discoveyland featuring the Nautilus and Space Mountain in a kind of "CinemaScope" view.



When the book was released in early 2002, the Walt Disney Studios didn't exist, so you won't see them in the book. But there's still one last chapter about the hotels of the park, and Disney Village too, with the great Buffalo Bill Wild West show that entertains hundreds each evening.

And because every day in a Magic Kingdom should end with a parade and fireworks, we have the Main Street Electrical Parade that close the book, with also an Herb Ryman gorgeous painting in the very last pages!



Order the book directly from this page and proceed to the payment with Paypal by clicking on the "Buy it Now" Paypal button below! Order two or more copies an enjoy an additional discount!
Also, don't forget to let me know your shipping address and to confirm your order and payment AND to say if you want the book in english or french edition by sending us an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ: Whatever the book quantity you will choose you'll see that in the next page that will open the quantity written in the "quantity box" is "1". I tried everything possible to change this and to have the right quantity appearing but it still doesn't work. SO, when you will do your Paypal payment please don't forget to write in the text box the book quantity that you have ordered, AND also tell it to me by email. No worries, though, as i will also be able to identify instantly how many copies have been ordered when i will see the amount paid. Thanks!

Choose quantity and enjoy an additional discount !

One DLP Book Collector Copy with Free shipping €100.00 EUR Two DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €185.00 EUR Three DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €275.00 EUR

Pictures: copyright Disney

Video: copyright Alain Littaye 2012

The Lone Ranger Filming " Almost a Wrap "

It's Jerry Bruckheimer himself who announces it on his blog: The Lone Ranger filming is "almost a wrap", which means that they've almost finished the shooting and that the movie will enter soon in post-production.

However there is another great news as some of The Lone Ranger scenes were filmed recently at the legendary Monument Valley, in Utah. Monument Valley became famous thanks to John Ford who found in love with its gorgeous scenery and filmed there many of his most famous western movies. It's difficult to think about another place more emblematic of westerns than Monument Valley. At the instant you see Monument Valley in a movie it makes you think to cowboys and indians chasing one each other. I love Monument Valley and thinking that scenes of the Lone Ranger were filmed there is one more good reason for me to see the movie when it will be released next year!



Anyone else here loving Monument Valley?

Pictures: copyright Jerry Bruckheimer

What If Pixar Made The Expendables 2?

Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables 2 was released 10 days ago and is doing pretty well at the box office, but the guys a IGN asked the question " What if Pixar made The Expendables 2 " and did a fake trailer using Pixar Toy Story scenes with sound and voices coming from The Expendables 2! Have a look!




Picture and video: copyright Pixar, editing by IGN

New Imagineering Video Reveal Amazing Lumière and Wardrobe Audio-Animatronics at New Fantasyland Beast Castle

You may have seen this new Imagineering video on the Disney Parks blog yesterday, but if you didn't you must not miss it! The video begin where the previous one with the magic mirror that you've seen last week ended, and WDI Imagineers really outdone themselves with the two Audio-Animatronics of Lumière and Wardrobe which are literally amazing! . The AA of Wardrobe is already great but the one of Lumière is simply incredible.

Why? look at how his arms are moving, his face talking, etc... The difficulty here, because of Lumière thin body and arms was that Imagineers didn't had a lot of space available for the animatronic elements. The one of Ursula in the Little Mermaid ride was not easy but at least they had some room in Ursula's big body, which is not the case here. Big congrats to anyone at WDI who created these wonders, a real technical tour de force!




Picture and video: copyright Disney

What a DLP Buyout by the WDC Could Mean for DLP Future

The news of a possible buyout of Disneyland Paris by the Walt Disney Company revealed last week by TIME had instantly a tremendous effect both on Disney theme park fans and at Paris stock exchange where the EDL stock went up 12% in one day. Why the WDC will do this buyout and what DLP fans can expect out of it, that's what we're going to talk about today, and all this with new great aerial pictures of DLP shot recently by Junior, DLP fan and plane pilot. Note that these pictures showing DLP from above are here only to illustrate this article and have no relation with the DLP future projects that i will talk about below, although some of the pics bring precious informations on the land available for future rides.

First, you must note that although this news of a DLP buyout hadn't been confirmed by the WDC ( no surprise ) it was revealed by TIME magazine which is a media almost as reliable as the New York Times can be. What i mean is that TIME don't usually disclose this kind of important infos without having check and double check before with their sources, and for this reason we can take this info for something more than a simple rumor, even unconfirmed officially. That said, they're certainly not happy by now at the WDC as the rise of the stock price is precisely what they probably wanted to avoid. It's understandable, after all, if you have the intention to buy large quantities of stocks you prefer to buy them at low price, and now chances are that the WDC will wait a bit before doing this buyout or they even might deny all the buyout operation in the hope that the stock price will go down.

We'll see... but what's interesting is also WHY they want to do this buyout. Well, you see, right now the WDC only have 40% of EDL shares. In addition to this the park is also paying royalties to the WDC. For many years the park didn't had enough money to pay the royalties and also had to borrow money to the WDC to face DLP financial difficulties. After 20 years of up and down and a financial situation always critical even if the results were recently positive, someone at the WDC probably finally realized that the way the DLP financial structure was set-up in the 1990's was not working anymore. And also that it didn't had any sense to get royalties from DLP on one hand if you have to give back to DLP more money on the other hand. It's probably at that point that someone came in and said "Hey, why don't we do a buyout so we will own the park just like we do in the U.S and we'll be able to resolve for once and for all DLP problem by doing what we did at DCA?". Okay, they probably didn't say it exactly like this but i'm ready to bet that the tremendous success of the new California Adventure helped the WDC executives to finally understood that "if you build it, they will come" - the famous quote coming from Kevin Costner 1989 movie "Field of Dreams".

That's right: if you build it, and if you build it RIGHT, they will come, and there is NO other way to resolve DLP - and specially WDS - problems than a massive "Marshall Plan" with new rides and lands as soon as possible. I think they've understood this at the WDC and i think they've decided that if they have to do it, to spent a lot of money, then "let's become the owner".



Now, let's have a look to what the WDC might decide to build at DLP and the WDS in the future IF they do this buyout, and why. All what is below is pure speculation - although based on reluable sources and infos - as they might have different plans that we don't know - and they certainly have some - but, "as there is always a logic in life" some of the choices below are probably right.

For Disneyland Paris Magic Kingdom:

Star Tours 2 - Star Wars Land: This one should be added quite quickly. Why? Because DLP is the last park who have not done the Star Tours 2 upgrade and because the back of DLP Discoveryland needs it now that Honey.. and Captain EO are gone. A Star Wars land, even a small one will surely be a winner at a reasonable cost. And there is no way that the WDC will leave Star Tours in its first version for ten more years.

Pirates of Caribbean with Jack Sparrow Audio-Animatronics: Jack Sparrow AAs also should arrive quickly. Why? If the WDC wants to add quickly some little things new at DLP Magic Kingdom without spending too much while they spend the biggest part of the money on the WDS this kind of little upgrades in DLP classic rides can be the best way to do it. Also, if they have to add the Jack Sparrow AAs they must do it soon, while the POTC movies are still in the collective subconscious, specially if there is no new POTC movies released in the future.

Phantom Manor Upgrade: Why? Exactly for the same reasons listed above for the POTC upgrade. It will not cost a lot, and it can bring something new at one of DLP most beloved attraction. Though, in both cases these additions will be difficult to use for DLP marketing dept as it won't be new rides, and this might be the main reason why it might be cancelled - as a matter of fact it is the reason why these upgrades haven't been done yet ( apart the no-money-available reason ).



Little Mermaid: Will Fantasyland long awaited dark ride finally come to DLP? May be, may be not. The good point is that two versions of the ride will have previously been built and the R&D costs probably pay off. Another good point for Little Mermaid: it's a ride for everyone but also and specially for young girls, which don't happen that often. I will put a 50-50 chances on this one.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Thanks God, WDI Imagineers kept the land at DLP Adventureland to build it and DLP fans are awaiting the ride since 15 years. I've said it and i say it again, bringing IJA at DLP Adventureland would be the best choice that DLP can make, and probably the only attraction for DLP MK which will have the same tremendous success that Space Mountain had when it opened in 1995. Yes, but DLP most urgent problem to resolve is not DLP Magic Kingdom but the Walt Disney Studios and this is where most of the money - and new rides - will go. So, let's put a 50-50 on this one too.



For the Walt Disney Studios:

Ratatouille Kitchen Calamity: Whatever this buyout or not happen this is the only ride guaranteed at 100% for the WDS. As we know it will open in 2014 and as you can see on the aerial picture below the works have began and the ride building structure appeared recently. You'll note also how near from the back of Frontierland the Ratatouille ride will be. Of course, a Ratatouille restaurant is include in this new mini land.

Toy Story Mania: Almost officially announced recently by DLP CEO Philippe Gas in an interview when he said that a new interactive ride based on Toy Story is in the plans for the future. I'm not personally a big fan of TSM but as they will not build it for me but for the hundred of thousand of kids who love it wherever it is built, we might not escape to have Toy Story Mania at the WDS. As you can see also on the picture below they have the land available in front of Toy Story Playland. Chances are high on this one.



Avatar Attraction: Yes, all the insider news that i have are saying that an Avatar ride is envisioned for the WDS! This one is a big news that you didn't hear before and there is a lot of good reasons why it will be build. First, three Avatar sequels are coming in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Avatar was the most successful movie of all time and considering that James Cameron will of course direct the three new movies you don't need to be a genius to know that the sequels will be successful. An Avatar attraction will be the best thing that can happen for the marketing dept and, hopefully, for DLP fans. The other reason is something you don't know, as Bob Iger apparently asked the Imagineering to develop Avatar rides ( for other parks than Animal Kingdom ) "and sooner will be better than later". Why? Because Iger paid a lot of money the Avatar license and he wants a return on its investment as soon as possible. Sure, they could keep an Avatar land for DLP third theme park but this one will not open before 2023 and obviously the best would be to build an Avatar attraction at the WDS while the movie is still in the collective subconscious and not forgotten. Let's add that Avatar is before everything a movie, so an Avatar ride would fit well in a park ( supposedly ) dedicated to movies. For all these reasons, and except if the WDC is changing its plans and decide to keep it for the third park, i think we can bet a lot on this one.

Avengers ride - Marvel land: One year ago DLP CEO Philippe Gas announced clearly in another interview that Marvel super-heroes will come to DLPR ...in the third park. Since this statement a rumor keep saying that a Marvel land is in the plans for the WDS, and indeed they could build a Marvel land in the back of the WDS where they have plenty of land available as you can see on the second picture above. Will they do it? Probably. The next Avengers movie won't be released before 2015 which leave plenty of time to WDI to develop a great E-Ticket ride and also a Marvel land could be extremely successful for the WDS. Again, we must not forget that the biggest problem to be resolved at DLP are the WDS. They must fix this park for once and for all and there is no other way to do it than to put as much money as they did for DCA. Still, they could keep the idea of a Marvel land for the third park but, again, it won't open before 2023 in eleven years from now, almost an eternity in terms of hype. So, if the WDC wants to surf on the Marvel hype the best is to do it now. "Now", here, means in the next five years so don't expect a Marvel ride at the WDS before 2016 if not a bit later. But you can place your bets on this one too. Not to mention that a strong Avatar E-Ticket AND a big Avengers E-Ticket or a Marvel land, in addition to the upcoming Ratatouille and TSM rides might be exactly what the WDS needs to be at last a real full day theme park, the one we are wishing since the start.



Soarin' Over the World: We talked about it recently in a D&M article and the room to build Soarin' at the WDS is still available, between Cinémagique and Stitch Live. Will they build it? I'll put a 50-50 on this one. Not that i don't want it, i love Soarin' and i think they should build it, but they might use the room for something else...like an Avatar ride, for instance. Note that all this area and up to the Rock and Roller coaster should also have a big placemaking, and here too, sooner will be better than later.

Walt Disney Studios Hotel: Another project that DLP have in its plans - and since quite a while - is to build a big hotel which will face the back of the WDS. And i'm not talking here about the other hotel project which would be located in front of the Newport Bay hote, on the other side of the big avenue. This WDS Hotel project is a different one and you probably never heard about it before. The project was a bit forgotten but if Disney invest a lot of money in this buyout they might be tempted to build new hotels like this one to bring more cash in in another way than only rising the price of the parks entrance tickets - because you can be sure that the parks entrance prices will rise quickly if the WDC becomes the owner and invest a lot of money to fix DLP problems. Hey, that's the price we have to pay to get great new rides, right?

Finally, I don't mention here others projects like the Villages Nature which are already on the way for a 2016 opening and Disney Village shops changes that will happen anyway! Let's wish to DLP a great big beautiful tomorrow!

Aerial pictures: copyright Junior of DCP Forum, whom i thanks a lot!