Saturday, March 15, 2008

The WestCOT project - Artwork and a special presentation by Tony Baxter



Today, we will have a look at one of WDI most ambitious - and unfortunately not realised - project: WestCOT, planned to be Disneyland Anaheim second park. The plans of WestCOT were officially unveiled in May 1991, and in 1994 - before the project was cancelled - Tony Baxter did a description of the project at a NFFC convention and here are some excerpts. Please note that Tony did his presentation using some slides to show the project to the audience. I didn't have the slides for this article, but only the artwork below, which, i hope will illustrate Tony's description:

"When we started WesCOT we said to ourselves "Could we find a way where [guests] are not just looking at he France Pavilion or the Japanese Pavilion but actually saying "That's where I want to stay" and having that be your headquarters for your whole visit to Disneyland. That's half of WesCOT. The other half is the Future World pavilions, where we're actually creating a role where the guests will be able to step on stage into a role in tomorrow and it's going to be a lot more participatory, a lot more theatrical. So you won't have those big pavilions that we have in Florida but once you step inside our theater and walk from the audience side onto the stages of Land, Living and Science, we'll ask a little bit more of you. It's sort of like what we did in Toon Town with fun but in WestCOT we're going to do it with some powerful thinking."



"Across from the lake is Future World and like I mentioned it's like going on stage. We only have one icon so instead of all the different pavillions competing architecturaly, we only have one space. You'll walk under the cascading waterfall into the lobby and there'll be gangways leading to the stages. Inside those stages we have 3 wonder areas, in combination with the Four Wonders of the World, will give us The Seven Wonders of WestCOT. That will be a catch phrase at WestCOT.
Nature is quite large because it not only contains some new things that we don't have in Florida but it has the growing areas as you have seen them in Walt Disney World and the Seas Pavilion as part of Nature. This building alone will is the same size as Walt Disney World's Seas Pavilion. I used to say to everyone: "Think of a Price Club and taking out all of the stuff and making it about 20' higher than that." (laughter) It's on 2 levels. . . . The [Nature] area will have everything from a fozen environment, which will actually be cold and refrigerated so you can actually play with the ice and snow to an arrid desert and a humid jungle area. This is all new. This is going to be an area that you can actually go into as well as going the under the water in the Seas pavilion, pretty much as you know it at EPCOT. . . .The growing areas in the Seas and the Land will be open as a more major attraction. In Florida you have to reserve a trip to go through there and here we'll make it more of a standard event.
Living combines Wonders of Living from EPCOT [Cranium Comand, The Making of Me] and Journey into Imagination, also from Walt Disney World [which will feature unused concepts from the Figment/Dreamfinder ride differentiate it from EPCOT] . Science is a whole new area. We've got a big show called Cosmic Journeys [a combination of film, simulation and 3-D similar in theme to Adventures Thru Inner Space and the reverse: a powers of 10 view of the universe] and a tremendous amount of interactive things that involve kids and learning about future roles they might have in the world we live in. One of the things we tried to analyze is what is it that turns kids off and causes them riot today as opposed to being excited about getting a job. One of the things we realized is that people today are doing jobs that many people don't understand. If you are living in L.A. looking at people coming into those glass towers and sitting in front of computers all day, it doesn't makes the sense of hundred years ago when people watched their family plant food in a garden or making furniture and all these trades that made growing up not such a mystery. So one of the real key thing that we want to do in here is create hands-on activities where kids would understand everything from something that would be fun to do like animation to something that would be technically boggling like designing computer parts for automobiles. We hope that when you come away from those experiences you will have less fear and apprehension about becoming a part of that world."



"We put America here at the beginning of the experience because it's linked to Disneyland with the train station and Main Street being Walt's symbolic gesture to the heart of America. The entrance to America would be similar to the Centenniel Fair in Philadelphia a hundred and so years ago. The grand promenade and interior space woud be the gateway to the Americas with South America and Mexico on this side and Canada over to the left and America itself with the American Adventure show in the middle."

"...We wanted to symbolize this melting pot area; our country is made up of all the differences and diversities of all the other cultures around the world. On one side is Canada. We're going to have a Native American show that will probably be done similar to the Spirit Lodge that was done up in Vancouver ( Note: the show is now relocated at Knott's Berry Farm ). It was done by Bob Rogers Productions, which has worked very closely with Disney on a lot of projects. On the other side is Mexico and South America. We're going to do an indoor Blue Bayou-like space where there will be a feista going on all the time. There will be several rides for children, a dark ride and what would normally be outdoor thrill rides but they'll be indoors to keep this feeling of a night time fiesta going on day in and day out. There will be restaurant facilities in there too and then at night we'll be doing a fiesta in this area...
In Florida it's just a restaurant with a placid lake so we're going to dramatically bring that to life. In the other area is the Aztec and Incan cultures in South America and Mexico and we'll have a very mystic show about the spirits and legends of South America and Mexico. There will also be native dancing on the outside in front of that space."



Tony then talked about the "World Cruise" boat ride: "The promo film for WestCOT talked about World Cruise. It's the longest ride we've ever done: it's 45 minutes long, it has 5 stops and in between that there's like 9 minute stretches of ride. So that's about as long the Jungle Cruise curently is. You'll be touring all the outdoor sites of the Four Corners of the World as well as going into show boxes where we'll tell the stories about the different areas youre coming to or leaving. For instance, if you were leaving Asia and going into Europe, you would go into a space and--very much like Spaceship Earth--you would see the forming of ancient Greece and Rome and the burning of Rome and then the resurgence and the rennaissance. After Michaelangelo paints the Sisteine Chappel as he does in Spaceship Earth, we would emerge out of that building and be in Rennaissance Italy and you're invited to step out in that experience: amid all the entertainment, shops and restaurants. One of the things that we found out when we analyzed EPCOT is that many elements are out of context. For instance, the Sisteine Chappel is in Spaceship Earth, the Mona Lisa is being painted in the World of Motion but the Italian and German pavilions are way out on the other side of park. So we've tried to index all of that so on the World Cruise you'll get all of those story points that encompass the dawn of the earth's history up through modern times and then at 5 key points you'll be invited to step out if you wish or continue on with the story. They all had to be designed as 9 minute shows because we have no guarantee where you're going to get on. So each story is complete and sets up the next stage."



"Going on now to Europe, because of the size restriction here, we weren't able to have each individual country the way they do in Florida. That would take up the whole parking lot alone without any Future World but by pooling countries together like Germany, Italy, England and France, you'll feel more like you're in a land than you do in Florida, where you barely get in and that's the end of the pavilion. You keep being reminded that you're along that lake. Here you'll be able to really get lost back in the bi-ways and when you look up it won't be a fake set in the window it will be somebody living up in that space [hotel guests]. So I think it's going to be a much more environmentally complete space.
We have an attraction, Tivoli Gardens, in the front here. We've tried to integrate children's rides throughout the park because another problem we have at EPCOT is it's mostly films and travel information and shopping, which children don't find that attractive. So w've got something at each stop which we hope will be appealing to all age groups. There's a CircleVision show in France that we did for Euro-Disney, "From Time to Time," It's with audio-animatronics...Hidden under the acropolis here is the show space where guests will see the dawn of Europe and the blossoming of the rennaissance."
"...In the courtyards going from Germany onto Italy and the canals are the areas where the World Cruise will travel...The larger buildings in the back can be acheived because we have 5 and 6 stories to work with in the hotels, that they don't have to work with in Florida. Another reason for that is that in the 30-something years that Disneyland's been open the outside surround has gotten a lot more developed and grown up and we can't hide that anymore with new trees. So having 6 story buildings in the back is going to give us the block that we need. And then on top of the hotels we'll put set pieces like St. Basil's from Russia.
We were very hot on doing a Russian pavillion and we were very close to doing it in Florida and then the whole economy changed over there. We have a completed show that was read to go and maybe it will come to life here in WesCOT."



"Going on to Asia, this building combines the Indian palace in the back, which is a hotel stretching over into China and Japan. In the foreground is SE Asia and there's a carousel of mythic Asian animals primarily for the children as well ethnic foods along the lake. There's a Japanese show in the main pavilion over here and Ride the Dragon, which is a Chinese festive dragon that travels up and down over the Dragon's Teeth Mountains. When it gets up to the higher altitudes, so you won't see the Emerald Hotel, we have silks that come down over the side of the coaster and enclose the guests in a festive dragon. . . . The silks will be in the up position when you load and then when it gets going really fast we'll bring them down and it will be like in a worm hole from a Star Trek movie. That'll keep you from seeing things that you shouldn't see too. . . . It will be a striking piece to see both from Disneyland Drive on the outside as well as providing a rather effective backdrop inside the park. . . . A lot of these ideas were lifted from the original EPCOT concept so we'll bring back The Temple of Heaven for China."



"There was a concept for Africa and the Middle East that we're kind of sorry we didn't get to do. Micheal Eisner is always trying to stretch everybody to do things that are very difficult. One of the shows we had in here was The Three Great Religions of the World. He said "I want you to do a show that everyone will enjoy and will find perfectly in concert with their particular religion." (laughter) So we had settled on depicting the 7 days of creation and avoiding all of the problems between the Muslim and the Jewish and Christian versions of that. And we were getting very excited because we were starting to deal with 7 of the great artists of the world and trying to have them depict each of the single days that they had been given. Maybe that will happen later. The Three Religions would be a little olive garden piece and you would step into the pre-show and go into the main area."



When the imagineers realised that the 300' golden ball would look terrible from Main Street and dominate the skyline far too much, they searched a new icon for the park, and the new concept introduced a giant golden spire.



You can read the full transcript of Tony Baxter presentation on this page: http://members.tripod.com/~savehorizons/westcot1.htm

All my thanks to my friend Guillaume of the excellent WEBCOT web site for the renderings that illustrate this article.

All artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.

One more thing...

I will post tonight a new art-work article about......well, you will have the surprise!

In the meantime, you can have a look below at the new trailers of upcoming blockbusters.

And, talking about the future, have a look at the - very funny - poster of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, coming in July 2009.



The two first Ice Age movies were really fun, and this one looks promising.

One more thing ( as Steve would say ): Don't forget to answer to the 2008 Disney and more contest ( link on the right column ), there is free copies of the Disneyland Paris, from sketch to reality book to win, and it's fun to play!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Lights ! Camera ! Action !

No, this article is not about the WDS or the DHS stunt show! It's about real action movies, coming at a theatre near you in the next weeks/months. So, let's have some fun today with these new trailers of awaited action/superhero movies!

Here is the first one, with the new Incredible Hulk movie, starring one of the best american actor, Edward Norton - so it should be better than the previous Hulk movie - and in this one, the Hulk is fighting "The Abomination"!




Let's stay in the Marvel superhero section with Iron Man, and another excellent actor, Robert Downey Jr!



If you like action movies, and if you think - just like i do - that Angelina Jolie is the most beautiful woman of the world, then "Wanted" is for you!

Wanted Exclusive Trailer


But if you're more in love with automobile racing, then "Speed Racer" should make your day.



Finally, if you're in the mood for a superhero movie that makes fun of the real one, this last one is the right one!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Will Disney release new video games for the Apple IPhone ?



On March 6, Apple released what every programmer was waiting for: the IPhone SDK.
With this tool, new IPhone applications will appear in June and be release through ITunes, some of them free, others not.

But one thing is sure: the IPhone, before the end of the year will be not only a mobile phone, not only a great IPod, not only a perfect video player, but also it will be very close to a Sony PSP, and yes, with a lot of games available.
Sega and Electronic Arts have already developed IPhone games as you will see below, and yesterday, Namco announced an IPhone version of the Pacman and Galaga games, Popcap Games announced they will enhance and release new IPhone versions of their famous games Bejeweled and Zuma, and Gameloft also announced officially that they will release 15 new games for the IPhone!



So, is Disney going to develop new games specially for the IPhone? In spite nothing has been officially announced yet, i can tell you that the answer will be: YES!

Not only because Steve Jobs is Disney's biggest stock holder and member of the board, but mostly because Disney really want to make more and more money through his on-line products.

Take, for instance, this February 20 article from the very good appleinsider web site, where we can learn that "Disney produces first movie-license iPod game":
"Slipping through the cracks of the week's releases is the first iPod game to draw on a movie license: Disney Online Studios' Pirates of the Caribbean: Aegir's Fire.

Compatible with both newer iPod classic and iPod nano devices as well as the older fifth-generation iPod with video, the new game is based on a new story set in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy's universe.

Players chiefly engage in ship-to-ship combat over the course of 30 missions and are encouraged to use the iPod's click wheel as though it were a boat's steering wheel.

Gamers can also upgrade their ship and bring on well-known characters from the movies as crew members, Apple says.

The game is priced at the same $5 as for all iPod titles and is only the second game based on an outside movie or TV license, the other being an adaptation of ABC's ongoing Lost TV show.
"

And also this yesterday's article of the Silicon Alley insider web site "Disney: $123 Million From iTunes Since 2006" where they reveal that "Disney CEO Bob Iger tells the audience at the Digital Hollywood Media Summit that he's sold 4 million movies and "40 to 50" million videos through iTunes since he launched the service in 2006."

Not to mention this other MyWay.com news "Iger: Disney to Reap $1 Billion Online" where we can learn that "The Walt Disney Co. expects to collect $1 billion in revenue from online content this fiscal year, a significant rise from estimates for fiscal 2007, CEO Robert Iger said Monday."

So,considering that Apple will definitely sell this year 10 millions IPhone, and many more in the years to come, you can be DEAD sure that Bob Iger is not going to let escape the phenomenal amount of dollars Disney can reasonably expect from the sale of specially-made-for Iphone video games.

Now, i know, each of us who tried before to play a video game on a mobile phone was stunned to see how bad it looked. But, you see, the IPhone is NOT a "normal" mobile phone, it's a computer, the smallest computer available on the planet.
Everyone who own already this beautiful device knows it. And its possibilities are more than amazing. Not to mention, too, that in June, Steve Jobs will proudly announce the new 2.0 software version and a 3G IPhone. And, just like last year, it's going to be a new revolution in the mobile world.



When Steve made his SDK announcement one week ago, two demos of IPhone video games were shown to the audience. Each game is played using only the multi touch function and IPhone accelerometer. For each, the companies - Sega and Electronic Arts - had two weeks only to create them! That's not a lot of time indeed to develop new video game for a new kind of device, but have a look at the result. The first video below is the "Super Monkey Ball" developed by SEGA for the IPhone.





This other one, from Electronic Arts, is called "Spore", where a fish must eat smaller than him and avoid to be eaten by bigger than him!



And what about this"Wing Commander" which do a great use of the IPhone accelerometer.



I agree that Sony PSP games are still superior, but if you keep in mind that these three games were developed in only two weeks, just to be ready for Steve Jobs keynote presentation, you will guess what we can expect for the end of the year, whether they will come from these different companies.....or from Disney.

Final WALL-E trailer at last released !



One month ago what was supposed to be a WALL-E "international" trailer appeared on you tube, unofficially. Of course, two days later, Pixar asked youtube to remove it for "copyright infringement", etc....the usual stuff.

Those of you who had the luck to come on Disney and more during the two days it was available on youtube had the pleasure to discover "EVE", the other robot main character. As i had the good idea to do screen captures, even with the trailer not available any more, it was possible to meet EVE, and those of you who missed the previous article can have a look at it HERE




Now, today, Pixar finally released what seems to be the "final" trailer for this highly awaited animated feature - you can watch it above.

And, surprise!, it's not the same than the one released "unofficially" one month ago! Some shots are there, but the last half is brand new.

Of course, WALL-E still meets EVE...



They have fun together...



And also enjoy a beautiful sunset on an unhabited planet Earth...




Then, both of them leave Earth for a voyage in outer space, and the beautiful shots of WALL-E and the milky way are still there.




But the shot with the others "EVE" disappeared in the new trailer...



As well as this great shot of a Buy&Large Transit station...



BUT new - and very interesting - shots appears, beginning by this city-of-the-future-in-outer-space...



As well as this very fast shot of the captain of the space colony ship "AXIOM", voiced by actor Jeff Garlin...



On his adventure, WALL-E meet new robots...




And obviously try to find a way to escape before it's too late...



This new trailer is less "sentimental" than the one unofficially released one month ago, but have more action. And, for sure, we are all waiting more than ever June 27, the date of its release in the U.S!

Trailer and screen capture images: copyright Disney-Pixar

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The New DCA Pixar Play Parade and a Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily tribute



In this article, i will give a special tribute to Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily, and to the brand new DCA Pixar Play Parade.



What? You don't know Kevin and Jody? I don't believe it! Kevin and Jody are two fantastic sculptors and one thing is sure: you DO know all the fantastic collectibles they've created two years ago for Disneyland 50th anniversary, all these fantastic Disneyland replicas.

Like this great sculpture of the Pirates of Caribbean auctioneer



Or the beautiful Monorail replica



And also this great Rocket to the moon lamp



Not to mention the fantastic Mark Twain replica, actually on sale on Disney Outlet web site.



And, by the way, you can have a look at all the fantastic collectibles they've created on their special Flickr page HERE



Now, what is the link between the new DCA Pixar Play Parade which had its first soft opening two days ago and Kevin and Jody? Well, you see, Jody Daily is actually the Art Director for the the new Pixar Play Parade opening officially at DCA on March 14. All the floats, puppets, AA figures and some of the costumes are his design - But not the music, coming from the same people who wrote High School Musical.

Kevin sent me some of Jody's great artwork for this new parade and here they are!




You can see plenty of great pictures of the parade soft opening on miceage HERE

But you can also watch the video of the whole parade right here below, thanks to "TwilightZoneAnaheim" who did a great job and posted them on youtube!







Now, let's come back to Kevin Kidney. Not only Kevin is always creating new wonders for Disney, but he now have is own blog, the Kevin Kidney blog at miehana.blogspot.com , and it's a great one!

You can discover on Kevin's blog rare artwork, like this one in relation with the Kaiser "Aluminum Hall of Fame" a "lost" Disneyland's extinct exhibits...



Or these also rare pictures of the floats of the "Hercule Victory Parade" that began its short run at Disneyland in June 1997. Kevin collaborated with artist Vladimir Petrov in sculpting and constructing the float models.



You see, these kind of very rare documents that you don't find anywhere else, even on Disney and more!

So, as they fully deserves it, have a look to Kevin and Jody wonderful work, whether it's on Kevin blog, on their Flickr page or at DCA new parade!

Jody Daily artwork: copyright Disney

All other photos; copyright Disney

Youtube videos: many thanks to TwilightZoneAnaheim

Monday, March 10, 2008

DISNEY AND MORE 2008 CONTEST ! FIVE GREAT PRIZES TO WIN ! - GRAND CONCOURS DISNEY AND MORE ! CINQ GRAND PRIX A GAGNER !

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH LANGUAGE
NOTE: CET ARTICLE EST RÉDIGÉ EN FRANCAIS ET EN ANGLAIS

English version: Hello, all. To celebrate the first anniversary of Disney and more and the official opening of the Tower of terror, i am doing a contest, and there is five great prizes to win!

The first prize is: a signed copy of the rare collector’s edition of the Disneyland Paris “from sketch to reality” book.

Prize no 2 and 3: a signed copy of the regular edition of the Disneyland Paris “from sketch to reality” book.

Prize no 4 and 5: a copy of the beautiful collector’s press book of the WDS Tower of terror - see the article about it in the Tower of terror section.

French version: Bonjour à tous. Pour célébrer le premier anniversaire de Disney and more et l’ouverture de la Tour de la terreur aux WDS, j’organise un concours, et il y a cinq grand prix à gagner!
Le premier prix est: un exemplaire dédicacé de l’édition collector du livre Disneyland Paris de l’esquisse à la création.
Prix no 2 et 3 : un exemplaire dédicacé de l’édition normale du livre Disneyland Paris de l’esquisse à la création.
Prix no 4 et 5: un exemplaire du magnifique dossier de presse collector de la Tour de la terreur - voir article à ce sujet dans la section Tower of terror.

English version: All you have to do is to find the good answer for the twelve questions below, related for most of them to Disneyland Paris. The answers are not always easy to find, because if they were, it won’t be fun!
If there is multiple winners, an “innocent” hand will choose five of them.

Who can play; Everybody but not WDI imagineers ( it won’t be fair! ), and only one time.

How to play: Once you’ve found what you think are the good answers, send them to me by email with your name at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
NOTE: For each answer, don’t tell me only the “number” of the answer, but also the name who goes with it. Example: in the question 1 , if you think the right answer is the number 4, then you have to write: Question 1 : no 4 - Tony Baxter .

Deadline : All answers must be sent before April 12, 2008 - the 16th anniversary of DLP.

This is just a game, no financial compensation can be ask.

Okay, everybody understood? Now, have a look at the questions below, good luck for each of you, and have fun!

French version: Tout ce que vous avez à faire est de trouver les bonnes réponses aux douze questions ci-dessous, en relation pour la plupart avec Disneyland Paris. Les réponses ne sont pas toujours simple à trouver, parce que si elles l’étaient, ce ne serait pas amusant!
En cas de multiples vainqueurs, une main innocente choisira au sort cinq d’entre eux.

Qui peut jouer: Tout le monde, sauf les imagineers de Disney ( ce ne serait pas du jeu! ) et une seule fois.

Comment jouer: Une fois que vous pensez avoir trouvé les douze bonnes réponses, vous me les envoyez par email à: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr
NOTE: Pour chaque réponse, ne m’indiquez pas uniquement le “numéro” de la réponse, mais aussi le nom qui va avec. Exemple: si pour la question no 1 vous pensez que la bonne réponse est la numéro 4, vous devez indiquer : Question no 1: no 4- Tony Baxter.

Fin du concours: Toutes les réponses doivent ètre envoyées au plus tard le 12 avril 2008, jour du 16ème anniversaire de DLP.

Ceci est juste un jeu, aucune compensation financière ne peut ètre réclamée.

Tout est bien clair? Alors, allez plus bas pour trouver les questions, bonne chance à tous, et amusez vous bien!

QUESTIONS ENGLISH VERSION :

NOTE: In all the questions below, there is each time only ONE good answer. The questions are, for most of them, about Disneyland Paris.

Question 1: In Main Street station, before the arrival of the train, we can hear a announcement ( “ your attention, please...etc ”) . What is the name of the imagineer who did the voice?

1) Eddie Sotto
2) Tom Morris
3) Michael Valentino
4) Tony Baxter

Question 2: A project of an elevated tramway was considered for Main Street U.S.A, but never built. The concept was finally built in another Disney theme park. Which one?

1) Disney Mgm studios
2) Tokyo Disney Sea
3) Disney california Adventure
4) Hong Kong disneyland

Question 3: In Phantom Manor legend, the daughter of the owner of the manor didn’t get married as his future husband was killed by her father. What is the right name of the bride?

1) Julie Tawney Ravenswood
2) Martha Vineyard Ravenswood
3) Mary Murphy Ravenswood
4) Elisabeth Lortay Ravenswood

Question 4: In Big Thunder Mountain legend, the mountain, before being transformed in a gold mine, was a “sacred” mountain for an Indian tribe. What is the name of the indian tribe?

1) Les Navajos
2) Les Crows
3) Les Cherokees
4) Les Shoshonis

Question 5: The name “Lucky Nugget” of Frontierland saloon is related to a saloon which appear in a Disney movie produced in the 1960’s. What is the name of the movie?

1) The Adventures of Davy Crockett
2) The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
3) The Adventures of Pecos Bill
4) The Adventures of Zorro

Question 6: The character of Molly Brown did exist for real, and she sailed on a famous liner. Which one?

1) The Normandie
2) The Titanic
3) The Queen Mary
4) The France

Question 7: Just like Frontierland’s shooting gallery, another shooting gallery concept was considered, with a different theming. Was it a:

1) Star Tours shooting gallery
2) Splash Mountain shooting gallery
3) Pirates of Caribbean shooting gallery
4) Toy Story shooting gallery

Question 8: The Imagineer John Horny did a painting of the Explorer’s Club restaurant ( now Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost ) on which were painted famous explorers. Among the names below, which explorer was NOT on the painting?

1) Jacques-Yves Cousteau
2) Indiana Jones
3) Crocodile Dundee
4) Allan Quatermain

Question 9: A Tarzan themed attraction was considered for Adventureland, but never built. What kind of attraction was it?

1) A Tarzan “tree house”
2) A Tarzan “coaster”
3) A Tarzan “play ground”
4) A Tarzan “shooting gallery”

Question 10: Among the projects considered but never done for Discoveryland , one attraction was a come-back of a Disneyland Anaheim extinct attraction. Which one?

1) Adventure through inner space
2) Rocket to the moon
3) Flying Saucers
4) Alien Encounter

Question 11: In the preliminary concepts for Discoveryland, a roller coaster ride inspired from Tony Baxter’s Discovery Bay project was considered but never realised. What would have been the name of this coaster?

1) Spark Light Coaster
2) Spark Gap Coaster
3) Spark Bay Coaster
4) Spark Ride coaster

Question 12: Among the hotels concepts considered but never realised for Disneyland Paris, which one in the four below was never considered?

1) A rocket shape hotel
2) A liner shape hotel
3) An aircraft carrier hotel
4) A totally transparent hotel

QUESTIONS VERSION FRANCAISE :

NOTE: Pour chaque question ci-dessous, il y a UNE seule bonne réponse à trouver. Les questions sont liées à Disneyland Paris.

Question 1: Quel est le nom de l’imagineer dont on entend la voix dans le message diffusé dans la gare de Main Street avant que le train n’arrive?

1) Eddie Sotto
2) Tom Morris
3) Michael Valentino
4) Tony Baxter

Question 2: Un projet de tramway surélevé avait été envisagé pour Main Street U.S.A, mais non retenu. Le concept fut finalement repris et construit dans un autre parc Disney. Lequel?

1) Disney Mgm studios
2) Tokyo Disney Sea
3) Disney california Adventure
4) Hong Kong disneyland

Question 3: Dans la légende de Phantom Manor, la fille du propriétaire du manoir ne put jamais se marier car l’homme qu’elle devait épouser fut tué par son père.
Quel est le nom exact de la mariée ?

1) Julie Tawney Ravenswood
2) Martha Vineyard Ravenswood
3) Mary Murphy Ravenswood
4) Elisabeth Lortay Ravenswood

Question 4: Dans la légende de Big Thunder Mountain, la montagne , avant qu’elle devienne une mine d’or était considérée comme sacrée par une tribu indienne. Quel est le nom de la tribu indienne?

1) Les Navajos
2) Les Crows
3) Les Comanches
4) Les Shoshonis

Question 5: Le nom “Lucky Nugget” du saloon de Frontierland vient du nom d’un saloon qui figurait dans un film produit par Disney dans les années 60. Quel est le nom du film?

1) The Adventures of Davy Crockett
2) The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
3) The Adventures of Pecos Bill
4) The Adventures of Zorro

Question 6: Le personnage de Molly Brown a réellement existé et navigua sur un paquebot célèbre. Lequel?

1) Le Normandie
2) Le Titanic
3) Le Queen Mary
4) Le France

Question 7: Sur le principe de la shooting gallery de Frontierland, un autre concept de “shooting gallery” avec une thématisation différente fut envisagé pour le parc. S’agissait-il d’une :

1) Star Tours shooting gallery
2) Splash Mountain shooting gallery
3) Pirates of Caribbean shooting gallery
4) Toy Story shooting gallery

Question 8: L’imagineer John Horny réalisa une peinture pour le restaurant Explorer’s Club ( maintenant Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost ) sur laquelle figurait des explorateurs célèbres (réels ou de fiction). Parmi les noms ci-dessous quel est l’explorateur qui ne figurait PAS sur la peinture?

1) Jacques-Yves Cousteau
2) Indiana Jones
3) Crocodile Dundee
4) Allan Quatermain

Question 9: Pour Adventureland, une attraction sur le theme de Tarzan fut envisagé. Était-ce:

1) Un Tarzan “tree house”
2) Un Tarzan “coaster”
3) Un Tarzan “play ground”
4) Un Tarzan “shooting gallery”

Question 10: Parmi les projets envisagés mais non retenus pour Discoveryland figurait une attraction disparue de Disneyland, Californie, laquelle ?

1) Adventure through inner space
2) Rocket to the moon
3) Flying Saucers
4) Alien Encounter

Question 11: Dans les études préliminaires pour Discoveryland un roller coaster ride inspiré du concept Discovery Bay de Tony Baxter fut envisagé, mais finalement jamais réalisé. Quel était le nom prévu pour ce coaster?

1) Spark Light Coaster
2) Spark Gap Coaster
3) Spark Bay Coaster
4) Spark Ride coaster

Question 12: Parmi les projets d’hotels envisagés mais non retenus pour Disneyland Paris quel est celui dans les quatre ci-dessous qui ne fut jamais envisagé et ne fit l’objet d’aucun concept-art ou de maquette ?

1) Un hotel en forme de fusée
2) Un hotel en forme de paquebot
3) Un hotel en forme de porte-avion
4) Un hotel totalement transparent

Let's begin the week by two REALLY good magic acts !

Why not beginning the week by two REALLY good magic acts?
It's been a while since i've post a magic act topic, and the two you are going to see - if you take the time to watch them - are really amazing. The kind of magic act where you can't see the trick.

And, as i am a perfect democrat, there is one for my "male" readers, and one for my "female" readers!

The first one is so unbelievable that it will haunt you until you succeed to find the trick - IF you succeed to find it. I tried to find it - and i know quite a lot about magic, so generally i find the trick - but this one is so well done that i don't have a 100% positive explanation. If anyone find the trick, he is welcome to let us know in the comments.




The other one is another kind of magic that will delight any woman who ever wish they could change clothes in a fraction of seconds. It's going so fast that it's also impossible to see the trick. Brilliant, really.

Enjoy both of them!