Next month, on 10 June, we’ll get to hear the official news on what expect in Disneyland Paris for the upcoming 25th Anniversary – for this month, though, we’ll just have to stick with the rumours. We also have seen the Disneyland Paris website officially publish a list of refreshes which runs until September 2017, and it’s fair to say that it fits well with the rumours we’ve reported here! So let’s dive into May’s rumours…
Jedi Training Academy
Earlier this month we finally had official confirmation that the Jedi Training Academy show would be coming to Videopolis Theatre, but that was all we learnt. Thankfully @ED92Live was around to fill us in with a few more details. They sound pretty accurate, but as they’re not officially confirmed by Disneyland Paris, they’re still rumours at this stage.
ED92 suggest that the Jedi Academy show will run six times daily for groups of 16/18 children at a time – registration will be necessary prior to this at City Hall. The rock-work set from the Lion King in Videopolis will remain in place with a few alterations, including a large Imperial door, to make the setting the planet of Tatooine. Each show will have both English and French commentary, as well as other languages if appropriate. Also appearing in the show will be a remotely controlled R2-D2 droid. Otherwise the show will remain largely as it is in its American counterparts, with the children learning lightsaber routines to fight off the Sith – that’s all I’ll say though to avoid spoilers!
Space Mountain: Mission 2 (Or maybe Space Mountain: Mission 2 ?!)
So there’s been a U-turn in the rumour mill, and now all of the major sources seem to believe that the ‘Mission 2’ subtitle will be staying. Well, that was until the 26th of this month. Now we’re back to square one because this was tweeted:
The Mission 2 sign is currently missing from the Space Mountain main entrance pic.twitter.com/cfnNtElJxa
— InsideDLParis (@InsideDLParis) May 26, 2015
And thus it could be that the subtitle will be dropped after all. Or maybe the sign is just be being cleaned. As it stands, the Mission 2 sign is still in place at the rear of the attraction though… So nobody knows!
During the refresh (which will continue until 24 July) the exterior of the mountain has been repainted, though with no real changes. However it does sound like the inside has been getting some cool new features. @FlashDLP states that new projection technology will be utilised on the asteroids to make them look more realistic. Furthermore they responded to a question on whether the Mission 2 supernova would be changed by simply stating that there will be some ‘big changes’ which will ‘surprise some guests and fans’. Intriguing…
Also of note is that the official Experience Enhancement Plan states that Space Mountain will reopen in August. Previously we had it confirmed that the first day of Space Mountain being open again would be 25 July, so we’ll have to wait and see if the opening date has shifted at all.
Nautilus (décor, not the attraction!)
There’s no word on whether Le Mystery du Nautilus (attraction) has had any changes made to it while is has been closed, but we’ve seen images pop up of the Nautilus (decorative submarine outside the attraction) with a new bronze paint style. It looks gorgeous. Here’s a photo courtesy of @CafeFantasia:
https://twitter.com/CafeFantasia/status/598915215481249793
Animagique
This month Disneyland Paris made its refresh plan very official by changing the closures section of its website to chart when (vaguely) the refreshes are taking place. The list, when it was initially published, included Animagique. But Animagique was removed from the list on 28 May. Before then the website had stated that the show would be closed 2 February 2016 to July 2016, and that seemed off because it would suggest that the show would be reopening. Of course, we’re not anticipating that Animagique will return because we’ve heard rumours that Animagique is to be replaced, and I would imagine that’s still what’s going to happen.
Peter Pan’s Flight
Another attraction listed on the official closure plan is one that we’ve not really covered anything about: Peter Pan’s Flight. There’s always been discussion about it getting a refurbishment, but there’s be no substantial rumours to speak of. Nonetheless vague guess work from the community would suggest that the ride system will be made a little smoother and the queueing system will be expanded and interactive elements will be added to it, as has been done with its American counterpart in Florida.
La Cabane des Robinson and Adventure Isle
The dates given for the refresh of La Cabane des Robinson and Adventure Isle have changed a little from what was initially rumoured. The official list now states that La Cabane des Robinson will be closed between January 2016 and September 2016. Rumours suggest that the refresh here will be largely to do with accessibility improvements.
Hotels
Currently Newport Bay Club is in refurbishment until Autumn 2015 – the rooms are being refurbished, the restaurants have been refurbished, and the whole exterior of building is getting a slightly yellow-er colour scheme. A while ago we reported that Hotel New York would be the next hotel to be refurbish, and indeed that it would close fully during its refurbishment. We’re not sure whether any hotels will actually be closing during their refurbishments, but @DisneylandBerry has claimed that Hotel New York will be the next to get a refurbishment, followed by Hotel Cheyenne. No details on any planned changes yet, so we’ll keep you posted.
25th Anniversary “Refresh” Calender
Disneyland Paris has officially stated that it wants to be fresh and rejuvenated for its 25th Anniversary, calling it the experience enhancement plan. Disneyland Paris’ official website now lists some of the “refreshes” (click here) but it only charts until September 2016, so we’ve pieced together a more comprehensive guide to the refurbishments. The dates listed below are estimated opening dates for the refurbished attraction, click on the links to visit articles which will contain more details on the dates and refurbishments themselves.
Disneyland Park:
– July 25 2015: Space Mountain (A ‘behind the scenes’ update with show feature refreshes)
– July 25 2015: Les Mystères du Nautilus (refresh of the Nautilus lagoon)
– [NEW – for Frozen season only!] July to September 2015: Frozen Sing-A-Long at the Chapperal Theatre + Arendelle Market Place in Frontierland
– [NEW] July 2015: Jedi Training Academy hosted in Videopolis
– Winter 2015: It’s a Small World
– July 2016: Peter Pan’s Flight
– September 2016: Accessibility improvements to Adventure Isle area and La Cabane des Robinson
– Winter 2016: Big Thunder Mountain
– 2017: Star Tours (upgrade to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue)
– 2017: Phantom Manor
– 2017: Pirates of the Caribbean
Walt Disney Studios Park:
– July 2016: Animagique replaced in Studio 3
– 2017: Studio Tram Tour
That rounds-up May’s rumours. As mentioned, Disneyland Paris will soon be hosting a “What’s New, What’s Next?” so check back here after 10 June to get all the latest news. What rumours would you like to see confirmed? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or join in the discussion on Twitter @MagicalDLP.
