It's the Little Things

While I'm away, I thought it would be nice to have a look at some of the more 'interesting' sites of the Disneyland Resort, Paris.

First up is the small safety sign found in the Big Thunder Mountain ride. Disney is always looking out for our safety in their theme parks, and - of course - have to do so in a way that all nationalities and languages will understand. The easiest way is through stick figures.

This is my favourite - we all know that it means 'Please keep your hands, legs, arms and feet inside the vehicle at all times', but it can also be translated as 'Please do not dance wildly during this ride'.

Leaving Skull Rock!

We finally escape Skull Rock, after 3 terrifying days trapped in the tunnels! And the first thing we see when we leave? Pirates of the Caribbean!

Surely Pirates can't be that bad after everything we've experienced...can they?!

Holidays!

Just to let you all know that we here at DF'82 will be having a bit of a break over the next week or so. It's the first of my 2 holidays this month (the second being Walt Disney World - yay!), and so I'm only going to have a couple of 'scheduled' posts over this time.

Posting should resume as normal on September 8th. Thank you for understanding and see you then!

In the meantime, please check out the number of blogs I have listed over there >>. They are all worthy of your time and will definitely appreciate some reading and comments too. Don't forget to tell them that Royalty sent you!

Deeper in the Skull

When looking through and exploring some of the dark tunnels of Skull Rock, you come across this frightening formation in the rocks.

Is someone watching us?

Memorabilia Monday - Not the Kind of Plates for Dinner!

Coming back to Memorabilia Monday, I thought I would share with you some more of my car plates from various Disney theme park trips! I thought it would be better to share these with you, rather than get started on my pin collection...

Vaguely keeping in with the Skull Rock theme, I share with you these two Pirates of the Caribbean plates from past holidays at Disney parks. PotC is one of my favourite rides - and I guess you could say I have a kind of obsession with it - but I collect anything and everything I can on the ride and the films. One day I will need to show you my most treasured possession...

Anyway, as you can see from the plates, they have changed slightly in design. Unfortunately I can't remember which I bought first - I think it was the lower one, which at the time stipulated 'Magic Kingdom' rather than 'Walt Disney World'. Either way, I think these are a nice souvenir of past trips to the Kingdom!

Exploring Skull Rock

Following on from my earlier post, looking at the Ship and the Skull Rock area, I thought it would be a good idea to show you round some of the nooks and crannies of this fun area.

Although I say fun, it can get quite scary on a dark, rainy, miserable Parisian day...

Especially when you come across a derelict and abandoned boat, lying by the side of the walkways. You can just see the Indiana Jones attraction in the distance... I just hope that whoever, or whatever, left this boat abandoned isn't 'lying' around somewhere.

A Lovely Boat, I mean Ship!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know how much I love the ambiance and the scenery of the Parisian Disneyland. And one of my favourite areas is near the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction over in Adventureland.

Here you can find Captain Hook's Ship, anchored next to Skull Rock and Adventure Isle. Skull Rock is an amazing area, with lots of hidden caves, nooks and crannies to explore - and it can actually be quite scary! Well, it is Adventureland, after all. In future posts we'll have a look around Skull Rock...if you're brave enough.

Captain Hook's ship, however, seems to be pretty quiet. There doesn't seem to be the scary Captain Hook or his sidekick Smee on it - well, not for the moment anyway. The ship is anchored in what is called Cannonball Cove and is 82 feet long! There is a quick-service restaurant on board the ship, but it's only open during peak times. I've never managed to see it open on my trips.

The ship is a great place to let children blow off some steam - with lots of places to explore and plenty of rigging to climb over. Just make sure they don't set off any cannonballs!

Bumping Into Celebrities

You never know who you might meet as you stroll along Main Street USA - you've gotta keep your eyes open for all kinds of celebrities...

Take this instance, for example, back in 2004. Mum and I bumped into Mickey Mouse as we were walking along Main Street in Parc Disneyland - luckily I had my camera!

Mysteries of the Deep

I thought that it would be a good idea to continue on from yesterday's post, and look at another attraction that has keeps in with the futuristic theming of Discoveryland. This attraction was also developed from 'put aside' blueprints for Discovery Bay.

Les Mystères du Nautilus is a unique walk-through attraction near Space Mountain: Mission 2 in Discoveryland. Les Mystères takes its inspiration from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - a concept that has already been successful in other Disney theme parks around the world. It opened in 1994, just before Space Mountain, although construction began at the same time for both attractions.

You descend a stair case, and enter Captain Nemo's vessel, which has been opened up for everyone to explore and enjoy.

You can find many subtle nods to the film and to the myths of the Seas. And while you're exploring the Nautilus, you'll find a large porthole. Take the time to have a look through this - you never know what may cross your path. There are rumours that there is a giant squid nearby... Surely it wouldn't attack the vessel - would it?

A Grand Café

As you've possibly seen from previous posts, Discoveryland in the Disneyland Parc takes great inspiration from the writings to Jules Verne, and other leading masterminds of the science-fiction world.

One of my favourite buildings in the Land is that of the Videopolis - which presents the amazing Lion King show - and the Café Hypérion. To enter the Cafe you have to go through this fantastical entrance, underneath a gigantic airship and into a massive green hanger. The cafe is unique in the sense that you can sit at tables and eat whilst watching the Lion King show (if you're lucky). Or, if the show is not on, you can sit and watch many Disney cartoons that are played on large screens.

If you are a knowledgeable Disney fan, you may realise that the idea for the Hyperion airship is not brand new. The blueprints for this 'attraction' date back to an old project for the Walt Disney Company called Discovery Bay, which would have been placed near Frontierland in one or both of the American theme parks. As noted in the fantastic book "The Disneylands That Never Were" by Shaun Finnie:

The old Discovery Bay designs would also have been represented by a revision of the planned Hyperion Airship Flight. ... This would have looked so much better and more atmospheric against the predominately grey skies of Paris rather than the clear blue of Florida or California. [p176]

A full-scaled model of the Hyperion airship would be seen floating out of its hangar, which would double up as the attraction's entrance and queuing area. [p80]

Of course, the Airship in Discoveryland is stationary and not part of any ride or attraction, like which Tony Baxter had previously imagined. But it is still great to see the plans develop into something concrete at some point in the Disney theme parks future. And it's one of the most magnificent entrances to a quick service restaurant in the whole park!

Orbiting in Discoveryland

The centre piece of Discoveryland, over at Disneyland Parc, Paris, is the Orbitron, or Orbitron - Machines Volantes (to give it its full title). An attraction similar to those Astro Orbitors in other Disney Tomorrowlands, you can board a Machine Volantes and take a circular flight around the tall tower and planets.

As you can see in the picture, the design of the attraction is similar to the rest of Discoveryland, having taken its inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci and Jules Verne.

Memory Monday

Taking a small break from memorabilia Monday, I thought I would share with you a memory - making today Memory Monday.

I've been scanning a lot of old photos recently onto the computer - creating digital copies of everything I can. It's been an experience, reliving holidays and adventures I'd almost forgotten about.

As I've said before, I don't usually share personal items on this blog, but I wanted to share this picture.

Taken in 1992, during our summer holiday, it was our 2nd trip to Orlando. And I remember how quiet the parks were back then, compared to today (going in the middle of July!). And I just love this picture - how peaceful it looks and how 'cool' I'm trying to act. And one of my favourite things? Spaceship Earth as I remember it from my youth. I can't wait to see it back to all it's 'naked' glory when I get out there later this year.

Time To Celebrate

If you've been lucky enough to visit Disneyland Paris since April 1st, 2007 you may have noticed something scattered throughout the park.

These signs show us that the park is celebrating it's 15th Anniversary! Disneyland Parc, Paris, opened way back in April 1992, originating as EuroDisney. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know all about this. The name change, and the various parks and parts of the Paris Resort.

But I thought I would point out some of these displays from throughout the park, celebrating the 15 years of the Paris park. Due to the success of this, the celebration was extended from 1st March 2008 to 2009. So there's still plenty of time to pop along and see what's happening on Disneyland Paris's 15th Anniversary!

And as you can see, it's definitely hard to miss how many years the park is celebrating...

Enjoying the Little Things

One of my favourite things in any Disney park is the windows along Main Street USA. I love walking along the Emporium's windows and seeing what they have to offer. They usually tell beautiful stories, or - more often than not - highlight Disney merchandise to buy. Usually in such a way that makes you want to buy it all!

And Disneyland Paris is no exception. Whilst it isn't Christmas yet - don't panic! - I wanted to share with you this beautiful window display, which highlights "les douceurs de noël" (translated, I believe, as 'Christmas Treats').

I'd also like to thank all of you who visit this blog - I really appreciate your stopping by! And also a big thank you to those of you who comment - that means a lot too.

Read All About It!

Even at Disneyland Paris you can't get away from Ryan's blog! How he managed to get prime advertising on Main Street USA I'll never know...

That's a Wrap!

Disney Cinema Parade - Filmstrip

We're getting to the end of the parade - and our movie too! And you can see the the film strip is ready to make its way to the cinema for the big preview. Here we have the cast of Toy Story looking after the film, just making sure it gets to where it needs to go! And it's great to see that Rex plays such a big role too - I'm sure everyone will be scared to get on the wrong side of this terrifying dinosaur...right? Okay, so he's not terrifying, but I have no doubt he'll help get the film where it needs to go.

And, of course, we have Buzz and Woody alongside, helping things along!

Disney Cinema Parade - Cinema

We've made it - and our film has made it too! Mickey Mouse, and some of his invited guests, finish our parade off in the cinema, getting ready to see the final edit of our Motion Picture. I just hope that Donald managed to get everything in the right places - and, like Ryan said, managed to get his cast to understand him!

No doubt Mickey and his friends are looking forward to seeing the film - and we've just seen a Disney Cinema Parade Classic. Thanks for joining me for this piece of Motion Picture history - I wonder where our ticket will take us next time...

The Most Important Man In The Film?

Disney Cinema Parade - Director

We've got almost everything we need to make a motion picture - apart from the director. And who better to boss everyone around than Mr Donald Duck?

Here we can see him sitting atop his director's chair, megaphone in hand, ready to shout 'Action!' or 'Cut!' whenever he sees fit. Of course, we all know how infamous Donald's temper is, so it's best to do exactly as he says. This is one of my favourite floats - and I think Donald is an excellent choice for Director! Hopefully he does a better job than in Mickey's Philarmagic at organising and keeping things under control!