Disneyland Paris, Disney's second theme park outside the United States (Tokyo Disneyland was the first), opened on April 12, 1992 as the Euro Disney Resort. It's located outside of Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France.
Sleeping Beauty Castle (French: Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) is the iconic centerpiece of Disneyland Paris. This beautiful castle represents the 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty, but even though this Princess has Castle in the original Disneyland Park, the design of this one is unique to the Disney Parks. When designing the castle, Imagineering felt that the European audience needed something different since real castles are somewhat common in the area. Many approaches were looked at but the team went with Imagineer Tom Morris‘ approach to exaggerate elements from French landmarks such as the island and greenery along the sides of Normandy’s Mont Saint-Michel. The square-shaped trees are direct references to those found near King Stefan’s Castle in the 1959 film. Another unique aspect to this castle is the interior which features La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant, an open gallery with beautiful stained glass panels, exhibits, and a terrace. In the castle’s dungeon, you’ll find La Tanière du Dragon, Maleficent’s liar where a real-life (animatronic) dragon lives. Be sure to take a look at the other iconic Disney Parks castles: Sleeping Beauty Castle (Disneyland Park) Castle of Magical Dreams Cinderella Castle (Magic Kingdom) Cinderella Castle (Tokyo […]
Disneyland Paris
In 1987, the original version of Star Tours opened in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. The motion simulator ride based on the Star Wars franchise featured Captain Rex, a droid that attempted to fly guests to the planet Endor. In 2011, Disney debuted an updated version of this ride: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. The new ride uses advanced 3D technology, randomly chosen alternate scenes, and frequent updates with new characters and locations as new Star Wars films come out. The new version also exists at other Disney Parks around the world: Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland. Queue Details Captain Rex can still be found in the new version – the droid is near the entrance to the queue’s cargo bay, ready to be shipped far, far away as DEFECTIVE stickers are now stuck to him. The droid found during the boarding pre-show is Aly San San. She is inspired by Attack of the Clones‘ waitress droid, WA-7. In the US versions of the ride, this character is voiced by actress Allison Janney which has a “glitch” to provide safety information in Spanish. In this version of the ride, the droid is voiced by a French actress with her “glitch” being part of […]
Disneyland Paris