Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for discussion of the Walt Disney Studios Pictorial Preview that start atl: <a href="News-ID505490.asp" target="_blank">http://LaughingPlace.com/News-ID505490.asp</a>.
Originally Posted By ash_eng At Last! It's good to hear someone on the net with something good to say about the studios! Wonderful pictures and good reviews. Great report, can't wait to see it for myself. Ash+
Originally Posted By DisneyDarren77 Thanks Doobie, for the new report on the new park in Paris. Am I the only one who thinks that the new park won't be as bad as everybody else fearing. I think it will be good park to visit, once they add TOT and more attractions in upcomming years.
Originally Posted By erider Wow, this is a great article! I love the way he describes all the details! Did someone read the article on Mouseplanet? I hated the negative tone of that! I have been to the WDS too, and I really liked it! Sure the park is small, but there are some very good attractions.
Originally Posted By damon63 Alhough I'm not real hot on this park I'd love to see it. I'm curious to see what's in store in the next article.
Originally Posted By leemac The key to this park is that the management have ALWAYS acknowledged that their budget was small in comparison to the recent parks built and that they need the revenue immediately in order to continue to develop the attraction roster. For a park that cost less than $400m, it really is fantastic and has some really unique attractions. Both Cinemagique and Armaggedon could easily be transferred to Florida. It feels like a studio without needing the pretentiousness of Universal. The buildings look like soundstages and they really have tried hard to emphasises the European aspect of movie-making and animation. There was very little I could criticise DLRP for about the second gate. It was far better than I was expecting and i'm sure given time, that it will develop into a worthy sister to Disneyland! I'm glad people like the article and that they will follow the series to its conclusion!
Originally Posted By ash_eng Lee Do you reckon the park will make enough money by it's self to turn into a truly great park? Or will money have to be routed from DL and the Hotels etc. to make it in to the park it clearly has the potential to be? Ash+
Originally Posted By leemac Hi Ash The predicted revenue streams that I've seen suggest that the park will be able to stand on its own two feet from Day One. However, the whole point was to create a Resort and attract people who stay longer, so the hotels will contribute. This is one reason why they decided not to build another DLRP hotel as they want occupancy to fly to around 92% plus. The advanced reservations (particularly from England and Germany) suggest that people are already tacking on an extra day to compensate for the new park. This coupled with the increased cost of the new 3 day park hopper pass should ensure that the park develops quickly. There are rumours about an E-ticket for DL but those are currently unsubstantiated and unfounded. The only problem is trying to tailor the merchandise and food to guests. On Saturday, both main restaurants were packed with guests queuing 45 minutes or more for food at the counter service Rendez-vous de Stars. The menus are more expansive than at DL though and guests were encouraged to see more diverse menus. Merchandise has always been a difficult arena for DLP. They are sticking with simple themes and using only a few logos across the entire range. I'm sure that given time, the range will diversify and include attraction-based product (ToT will ensure that for sure) and more gifts that feature characters other than Mickey (the new Mermaid Lagoon area will ensure Ariel & Crew are plastered on everything. At TDS, Mermaid Lagoon merch is the biggest selling of all the lands). DLRP is definitely in a win-win position. Guests will turn up in the first year and allow the resort to develop new rides and shows. The park's capacity is tiny in comparison to its sibling and so should be extremely packed in the summer months. This park is a "keeper"....
Originally Posted By wtg2000 I'm looking forward to visiting in a few weeks. It's interesting the various opinions. The guy on MP praised the entrance but then called the area inside the gate as, "a barren open space surrounded by what could be described as outlet mall buildings." LP seems vastly more positive. Is anyone surprised by the two disparate views?
Originally Posted By DisneyFreak23 The Park doesn't have anything in it. and we here complain about having 22 attractions in DCA. What would the french do when they get to know that there isn't as much to do like PDL.
Originally Posted By bwanabob Lee--Thanks for the report....I'm looking forward to reading the other installments...I think the park looks great. It will be some time before I can return to DLP, so I'm thankful to have LP here to provide me with a peak at the new park.
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct <Is anyone surprised by the two disparate views?> LOL! no, I am not surprised. I favor this website because it is generally more upbeat and less "National Inquirer"-esque How can you take a website seriously when they had a whole article on mis-aligned manhole covers ... : )
Originally Posted By Britain Okay, I really love the way this park looks. And I just can't figure out why DCA didn't turn out this good! While I love seeing new rides being added to DCA, my biggest problem with it has just been that, in my opinion, it lacks atmosphere. Other than a few nooks in Grizzly Peak area, there aren't any areas in DCA that I'd like to sit and just savor the surroundings. But, even if WDS has fewer rides... heck even if it were only a collection of shops and restaurants... it still has charm, and warmth. It seems like a friendly place, while DCA comes off just too "in your face". Now, of course, I'll need to visit the place myself to have an actual informed opinion. But why is this "cheap" park so inviting while the other "cheap" park so awkward?
Originally Posted By jmuboy I am looking forward to seeing this new Studios Park. I agree that it is small and done on a low budget, but the DL Paris resort just does not have the money to build a huge park. I look forward to several new attraction being announced and ground breaking taking place in the very near future. Disney intends for this second park to be break even and all the extra cash going to grow the park over the next few years. All this while DL Paris and the hotel bring in more money to pay off DL Paris' debt. The DL Paris resort is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with its debt and a lot of this will be thanks to the new Studios park.
Originally Posted By Santa Monica Yes it certainly looks great and as Britain said, inviting. Very warm indeed. I disagree with MP's article. And I wouldn't really call it an article. It's like 4 pictures with little jabs. Not at all a good read. I want to see this park now also. And that indoor Main Street is such a great idea. Too bad DCA couldn't do something like that (or didn't).
Originally Posted By Louisgab HI , i've been 2 times to the park and the part of '' front lot '' is very great . In the Studio 1 it's not so bad but small . When you Exit of the studio 1 you're on a small hub . At you're left you have a small place for eat and relaxe , called ''La Terrasse '' and when you up your head you can see a great logo ''HTH'' Hollywood Tower Hotel. The wall and trees are already set and you have a small sticker on the trees , and you can read '' WDI , DCA Project at the place were the tower of terror will be . <a href="http://www.multimania.com/pierceb/wds/arbre02.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.multimania.com/pier ceb/wds/arbre02.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>And that indoor Main Street is such a great idea<< Gee, where have i seen that before..?? I'll hold my judgement on WDSP until i experience it, but the pictures do look very nice i have to say.
Originally Posted By leemac <<>>And that indoor Main Street is such a great idea<< Gee, where have i seen that before..??>> At least at WDSP, they went the whole hog and totally enclosed it. I wish they had stuck to the original concept for World Bazaar and totally enclosed it instead of just sticking over a roof. It still gets damn cold in there in the winter!! I've always been disappointed with World Bazaar as it is so short and lacks the atmposphere of the Main Street U.S.A. concept. Anyone will an ounce of knowledge about DLRP has to realise the struggles the park had to build this park. I was disappointed to hear the area called "an outlet mall". I felt like I was in Burbank. It really has a campus studio feel . I had hoped that the "corporate line" of MP would not be followed this time, but I guess I'm not surprised by the tone.
Originally Posted By Loopyjohn What's all the fuss about outlet malls?! Anyone who's seen a real studio will tell you they do look kind of boring - rows of bland soundstage buildings - simple buildings with simple roofs much in the style of...well...the WDS! If anything, WDS adds warmth where you would not usually find it. Compare WDS with Universal Florida - Universal Florida houses many of its attractions in a similar collection of bland grey buildings. The only difference there is that they mixed some more realistic back lot set style areas in with the soundstage buildings (Beverly Hills, New York, Amity) to liven it up a bit, and of course that lake for a day/night time show. MGM Florida is the only studios park that has tried to do something a bit different, recreating a 'Hollywood as it may have looked in its prime' type main street with Mann's Chinese Theatre (now beautifully obscured by an oversized hat) forming the centre piece before you progress to the soundstage area. Given the budget (which they clearly did not have) then perhaps they may have gone for the MGM look or mixed a few backot sets in, Universal style. But it sounds like they did a grand job for the tiny budget they had.
Originally Posted By ScroogeMcDuck Yay! I love you guys! Thanks for the positive feedback of the WDS y'all!!!
