Another quiet month was interrupted half way through when ED92 let loose a new rumour about Studio Tram Tour which captured everyone’s attention. The fan community certainly greeted the rumour with relish, but many have questioned the reliability of the rumour and there was even a little argument heating up… Aside from Studio Tram Tour we also heard a little about the future of Animagique and what we’ll see in Cottonwood Creek Ranch for this summer’s Frozen Fun.
Studio Tram Tour
Rumours have been afloat for months, maybe even years, suggesting that Studio Tram Tour would be getting some much needed love in the form of new scenes or even a new route. Last month we reported on @InsideDLParis suggesting that we could see some scenes being replaced with newer franchises, but this month French group ED92 has given some more concrete suggestions of what that might be. In short, the Dinotopia set would be replaced with a Star Wars set, the Reign of Fire set would be adapted to fit Marvel’s Avengers and Catastrophe Canyon would get a Cars overlay. Given the age of Dinotopia and Reign of Fire, it isn’t surprising that Disney may want to replace those with newer, more popular franchises – and all the fan community would appear to be behind this idea. On the other hand, a Cars overlay for the classic Catastrophe Canyon scene has not been met with the same enthusiasm….!
This is all fairly predictable, and quite likely to happen too. But ED92 didn’t stop there. They also suggested that the route, in particular the station, would be moved backwards to make room for a Toy Story Mania attraction to be built around 2017. The arrival of this attraction to the Walt Disney Studios Park has been long-rumoured, and most would anticipate that it would become part of Toy Story Playland, if it did arrive. ED92 claims that work has started to move backstage offices in a hidden area behind the station of Studio Tram Tour in order to clear room for these changes. ED92 produced photos which claimed showed that this activity was going on, but @DisneylandBerry rubbished the claims on Twitter. And, perhaps unfortunately, the rational thinker has to put their money with the latter – Disneyland Paris seems pretty busy up until 2017 with an ambitious refresh schedule (which you’ll find highlights of below), so it seems questionable that they would be preparing for Toy Story Mania quite yet. Nonetheless, this isn’t the most outlandish thing we’ve heard… Stay tuned.
Animagique
We first heard rumours that Animagique would be closing at the end of 2014; it didn’t happen. Nonetheless @InsideDLParis has returned the rumour to light by suggesting that we’ll see a replacement show in Studio 3 in summer 2016. Previous word on this rumour has suggested a Pixar show might take Animagique’s place, with the whole of Toon Studio getting a Pixar make-over, being that it’s largely full of Pixar already…
Cottonwood Creek Ranch (or the Arendelle Market Place!)
Hopping back to the Disneyland Park we also heard a little more about what to expect in Cottonwood Creek Ranch during the Frozen Summer Fun festival, which runs from 1 July to 13 September 2015. @DisneylandBerry said on Twitter that the area would take the name ‘Arendelle Market Place’ and would sell tasty treats including: Olaf cupcakes, donuts, pancakes, marshmallow lollipops, vanilla sundaes and toffee apples. Alongside this we will also see souvenir slushglass with granita, as well as hot and cold drinks.
25th Anniversary Refurbishment Calender
Disneyland Paris has officially stated that it wants to be fresh and rejuvenated for its 25th Anniversary. Primarily this means refurbishment work on the Disneyland Park to ensure that all is operating as planned and has that Disney level of quality. The dates listed below are estimated opening times for the refurbished attraction, click on the links to visit articles which will contain more details on the dates and refurbishments themselves.
Disneyland Park:
– [Confirmed] July 25 2015: Space Mountain (A ‘behind the scenes’ update with show feature refreshes)
– [Confirmed] July 25 2015: Les Mystères du Nautilus (refresh of the Nautilus lagoon)
– [Confirmed] July to September 2015: Frozen Sing-A-Long at the Chapperal Theatre + Arendelle Market Place in Frontierland
– 2015: Jedi Training Academy hosted in Videopolis
–Winter 2015: It’s a Small World
–Spring 2016: Accessibility improvements to Adventure Isle area
– Winter 2016: Big Thunder Mountain
– [Confirmed] 2017: Star Tours (upgrade to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue)
– 2017: Phantom Manor
– 2017: Pirates of the Caribbean
Walt Disney Studios Park:
– 2016: Animagique replaced in Studio 3
– 2016: Studio Tram Tour
That rounds-up April’s rumours. Excited for changes to Walt Disney Studios Park? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or join in the discussion on Twitter @MagicalDLP.
