After August was so busy with rumours about ride updates and refurbishments, September has been notoriously quiet. The guessing game of what will be in the 10 + 2 updates rumour has continued, but there has been no new concrete suggestions. The rumour that Star Tours is to receive an update has again returned to the forefront, but with no new aspects to the rumour. I covered Star Tours in last month’s Rumour Mill, so you can take a look at the story here. Nonetheless though, it hasn’t actually been a quiet month though. Disneyland Paris now has a new boss and has been awarded a third Michelin Star, but more importantly we have been hearing lots about what will be in the Halloween and Christmas seasons this year. I won’t discuss these here, because they aren’t rumours, but I will talk now about the one real rumour which we have had this month… And to be honest, I think it’s a really exciting one.
A new show for Chaparral?
Disneyland Paris has a great night-time spectacular in Disney Dreams! and some great parades too. What it has lacked in recent years is a proper stage show. I mean, it’s got the facilities – Chaparral in Frontierland and Videopolis in Discoveryland to name just two of about five. That’s roughly five wonderful theatre stages which are never ever never ever ever never used. In a sentence: WE NEED SOME STAGE SHOWS. (Anyone guessed I’m into Am-Dram theatre yet?) There’s some good news in this department though – the infamous green refurbishment fences have gone up around the Chaparral Theatre in Frontierland. Could this mean that the theatre is getting a refurbishment and a new set for a new show?
I certainly hope it does, and @InsideDLP has teased us by suggesting that our answer will arrive soon. One rumour for what may go on at the Chaparral is a ‘Frozen’ sing-a-long. This show has been doing short runs at the Videopolis theatre in Discoveryland recently, and many in the fan community have suggested that maybe this is a testing period for the concept before moving it to Chaparral. The response from the fan community has been mixed here; though they like the notion of the stages being used, most are looking for a more serious stage show than an easy to run sing-a-long with no story. Of course this isn’t confirmed though, so there’s no need to jump to the conclusion that the Frozen sing-a-long will definitely go to Chaparral.
The Chaparral Theatre’s last show was the highly popular Tarzan encounter, which ran for nearly a decade, but that ended years ago and has seen no real replacement. Some have suggested that perhaps this show could could see a return, but this would seem unlikely from Disney as it would do little to please fans. I certainly don’t believe this is likely because it’s been so long since it last ran, they may as well put in a bit more effort and run something totally new, which I think is far more likely.
The big rumour: The 10 + 2 Updates rumour
If you’ve not heard of this rumour before now, then you’re really missing out! The 10 + 2 Updates rumour is a well backed rumour which claims that in the run up to Disneyland Paris’ 25th birthday in 2017 – the Disneyland Park will receive 10 attraction updates, while the Walt Disney Studios Park will receive an additional 2. By updates, we’re assuming this means a proper refurbishment with major changes. If this is the case then I would anticipate that we’ll see some closures announced soon. If attractions are to be upgraded and reopened for the summer window next year, then they’ll need roughly 6 months (maybe more) to do it. This means that when the January Closure Schedule is released soon – we may have some juicy news! Either way, here’s a current summary of the 10 + 2 Updates rumour as it stands now:
Walt Disney Studios Park:
– 2015: Tower of Terror (Source – @DisneylandBerry) A potential repair job on the exterior of the show building.
– [Unknown date]: Replacement for Animagique, which is reportedly closing this year.
Disneyland Park:
– 2015: Space Mountain (@DisneylandBerry) A major upgrade to a Mission 3 (or equivalent).
– 2016: Big Thunder Mountain (@DisneylandBerry) “full refurbishment with surprises”.
– 2017: Phantom Manor (@InsideDLP) possible retheme.
– 2017: Star Tours upgrade to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
– [Unknown date]: Cafe Hyperion to host Jedi Training Academy.
– [Unknown date]: Update to Adventure Isle area?
– [Unknown date]: Autopia to use hybrid engines.
– [Unknown date]: Parade update.
– [Unknown date]: Chaparral Theatre to receive new show.
– [No conclusive rumour yet]*
– [No conclusive rumour yet]*
*You do hear bucket-loads of rumours which could go here, but I’m only interested in the ones that seem to have some sort of grounding.
So that rounds up the rumours for this month. A little sparse for your liking? Yeah, mine too. Hopefully though, if I’m right, we should see some ride closures indicating updates in the next couple of months – assuming we get some updates in 2015 of course!
Of course, the best bit of rumours is discussing them. So if you want to join in the fun, be sure to follow @MagicalDLP and @SIMCITYWEST (author of this article) on Twitter!
