From The Day We Arrive On The Planet

Disneyland Parc, Paris, has many exciting attractions and some fantastic entertainment, enough to keep you busy for days! Do you all still have your ticket? Those of you who have managed to lose it can pick up another one from Guest Relations at the front of the park - just tell them you're with DF'82! Because, you're going to need your ticket to come along to one of the Park's most popular and mesmorising shows - "The Legend of the Lion King".

Situated in the Videopolis Theatre in Discoveryland (next to the large Hyperion Ship), this show preimiered in June 1994. It replaced the "Mickey's Showtime" musical show. It tells the story of the Walt Disney Pictures 'The Lion King', with Simba, Timon and Pumba helping you learn about la Legende de la Roi Lion. The show uses some fantastic special effects, and has a truly energetic cast, retelling the story using dance, action and music from, and inspired by, the film. The costumes were mainly designed by Sue Lecash, who had studied African dress specifically for this, and created 118 animal headdresses for this show alone!

When this show first opened, it was necessary to get reservation tickets to make sure you could get into the show. This required a lot of queuing, first to get the tickets and then to get into the show itself! Of course, the show has been running for several years now, and tickets are no longer required. The Legend is performed in English and French, and your times guide will let you know which show is which - although, the musical numbers remain in English for both.

As you may remember from a previous post, the Cafe Hyperion is a counter service restaurant attached to the Videopolis Theatre. So, although you need to arrive about 25-15 minutes prior to performance for a seat in the theater, you can purchase your food at any time and coincide it with a show, sitting in the dining area of the theatre.

I have heard that this show may be closing in 2009 - so, shall we watch a viewing of it whilst it's still around to entertain us? And entertain us, it will!

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!