Disneyland Resort Paris: The Next Generation

[TheSorcerersApprentice]

Chapter 10: New Frontiers in Frontierland

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The story of Frontierland is one of the most well-thought-out ones in Disney Parks around the world, stretching back into every restaurant, shop, and attraction featured in the land. Over the years, however, we’ve seen that especially during Halloween the area has integrated more and more IP presence, which realistically speaking offers opportunities for the park to expand upon the stories it has. Therefore, I would love to propose a potential expansion for Frontierland featuring Disney Pixar’s successful movie, Coco. This is one of the movies that has been used to represent the Halloween season and though it doesn’t directly offer a connection to the land’s theme, I think there are still possible links to be made that could offer a logical explanation for its representation in the area. It all starts with Fuente del Oro Restaurant. The story goes that the success of the Thunder Mesa mine attracted miners from all over the world. Among them were those who came to seek their fortune from Mexico. Fuente del Oro and several nearby buildings, including toilet blocks and the Pueblo Trading Post, pay tribute to them through its adobe architecture, a type of brick typical of Latin American villages, and the many Aztec touches in its decorations.

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In relation to that backstory, the area that currently hosts the former Rogue Keel Riverboats, Pueblo Trading Post and the closed Frontierland Playground will be re-imagined into a façade that resembles a small Pueblo, home to several Mexican migrants that found their home in the Wild West in search of a promising future with the nearby mining company. The façade itself will be done in a similar style seen in Fuente del Oro Restaurant, but will be used to simulate the sense of a small village with multiple buildings being around the area. The attraction’s (Coco ~ Rio de Los Muertos) queue begins by passing through this Hispanic/Mexican Pueblo, as the community is preparing for a Dia de Los Muertos celebration; the pueblo is decorated with marigold flowers, papel picado, and various candles light up the path. Advertisements promoting the festival of the dead are visible to Guests as they queue for the ride as they weave past homes that have ofrendas inside if you peek into some of them. These ofrendas are decorated with gifts for deceased loved ones of the various families living in the Pueblo. We are then led to a small Hispanic church. Inside, we will find the loading dock for the attraction. As with the rest of the town, the church is decorated with colorful tapestries, candles, marigolds, pictures, and holy crosses. A small stream of water flows through the church and leads to a stone gate into the dark ride scenes of the attraction. Magnetically powered boats serve as the ride vehicles for the attraction, functioning similarly to Shanghai Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but on a smaller scale. It is used to turn the boats towards the action of the scenes.

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Around the aforementioned stone gate, on both sides of the water, a decorated altar forms a leveled elevation. Above the stone gate, a cat sits and curiously watches Guests drift by in their boats. The boats themselves will be similar to the Xochimilco boats, without the covers. Once the boats drift out of the Church, we enter a cemetery scene. Here, we pass by various graves and tombs decorated in orange Marigold petals and ornate ofrendas are lit up in candlelight. Several animatronic figures can be seen of people praying to their family members around the cemetery. Slowly we pass through and notice that the cat from the church before is luring us toward the gate of the cemetery which is decorated with marigolds. From here, the river magically passes through the gate and we are transformed into the Mexican Land of the Dead. Through screen and projection effects we see how the cat from before passes through the gate and transforms into Pepita, an Alebrije that appears as a cross between a jaguar, an eagle, and several other animals. We drift past the Marigold Bridges that serve as the transition between the Land of the Living and the Dead. Through projection screens, it will appear as if the Dead souls are walking toward the gates to the City of the Dead. On the bridge to the right, we see Hector in skeletal form who sings a slow rendition of Remember Me while playing the guitar. He invites us to a concert on Dia de Los Muertos, as it’s the first time that Imelda is performing again and Miguel has returned to perform with her. Behind him stands an animatronic figure of Pepita. This scene is set up somewhat similar to the scene featuring Olaf and Sven in Frozen Ever After.

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Next, we round a corner at the end of the bridge and reach the Border Control/Checkpoint leading into the City of the Dead. Here, we’ll encounter an Arrival agent that scans the boat before opening the portal into the city. It is here that a special technology is used to take an on-ride photo, transforming Guests into a skeletal version of themselves. From here, we pass through the City of the Dead itself, a realm with buildings upon buildings of previous homes, stretching into the sky as if it is expanding to accommodate new souls that enter. The structures almost form in a coral growing up and out representing layers of history. The city itself is filled with celebrating party-goers that perform The World Es Mi Familia, in a similar way to the celebrating city scene in the Gran Fiesta Tour at Epcot. A flying tram passes over to create more depth in the scene and leads us to the Marigold Grand Central Station. It is the realm’s main transport system and features more of the aforementioned overhead trams. It is here that we see Miguel and Hector reconnecting as they perform Un Poco Loco for travelers in the Land of the Dead. Once Miguel notices the boat pass by, he says ‘Hey amigos! It’s great that you’re here for the show. We are almost ready to begin, let’s go see what Frida is preparing for us!’.

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As we exit the Grand Central Station we are led into the Arts District. Here, deceased artists can be found doing what they loved when they were alive. This scene features many references to Mexican artists and musicians, like Diego Rivera, Leonora Carrington, and Jose Clemente Orozco. Paintings, ceramics, and statues can be seen created by these creatives, simulating a sort of arts neighbourhood with street art around us. It leads us into Frida Kahlo’s atelier, where we meet the skeletal version of the famous artist herself. She is working on décor pieces that will be seen later on in the finale of the attraction. We exit the atelier and pass through a more narrow alley that is completely decorated for the celebrations. It is here that we see Miguel’s family on the side urging us to hurry as the show is just about to begin. This scene is used as a transition to the finale which features a beautifully decorated stage, reminiscent of the one in the Plaza de la Cruz scene during the Battle of the Bands.

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We can see Miguel, Hector, and Imelda in animatronic form performing Proud Corazon, in the Land of the Dead city-scape. Fireworks light up the sky in celebration in the shape of skulls and marigold flowers and we can hear faint cheering in the back. We then pass through the final tunnel where we see Pepita for one last time as she gracefully looks at us and guides us back through a portal into the Land of the Living. We find ourselves back in the Pueblo and disembark. Made of thatch and wood, the building of Pueblo Trading Post will be somewhat recreated for the Mercado del Pueblo. Inside, the decoration focuses on Latin America, its architecture, and its cacti. Instead of being a pin trading post, however, the shop now focuses on Coco merchandise. Though I’ve doubted myself on bringing IP into Frontierland, I think it could bring a new perspective of stories into the area, without interrupting the realism of the land by only starting to use the IP-related theming within the building. Especially with how the land is decorated during the Halloween season, it showed me the opportunities of expanding upon that Mexican theme that is subtly present already and somewhat re-invents some interest in this small area of the park, which is currently mostly deserted. In terms of the time period of the land vs. the events of the movie and the attraction, I believe that thematically speaking the Land of the Dead is somewhat a place without time and therefore, everything before crossing over into that land will be themed more to the surroundings in Frontierland, thus not disrupting the overall experience and timeline of the themed area.

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Not far off, we can find the Cowboy Cookout Barbecue at Cottonwood Creek Ranch. Here, a small flat ride will be added to add to the backstory of the land as well. Community life became much more important again after the tragedies that had struck the city of Thunder Mesa. This resulted in a lot of parties and festivities of people meeting each other at Cottonwood Creek Ranch and besides the hoedowns and live barbecue cookouts, there was one local favourite festivity, known as the Western Wagon Jamboree. Thunder Mesans would board their Conestoga wagons and swing around each other to the country music in celebration of the town’s founding anniversary. Guests approach a barn on the Cottonwood Creek Ranch, where posters announce the famous Western Wagon Jamboree in Thunder Mesa. The vehicles are Conestoga Wagons held by Cowboy horses which pull the wagons attached to them that move around with the music. This ‘’whip’’ ride is a family-friendly experience with thrill and fun with every swing to the music. The host, mayor of Thunder Mesa, and Master of Ceremonies of the Jamboree opens the festivity and as soon as one of the musical numbers starts, the excitement begins! The musical numbers are inspired by Western/Country Folk music and line-dance numbers performed by a rickety old Barn concert band speeding up toward the end of the attraction’s time span. These numbers are also inspired by numbers from older Disney westerns like Davy Crockett and The Apple Dumpling Gang.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Although some of the scenes are definitely inspired by Tokyo's ride, I felt like the attraction was simply too big to recreate in Paris, nor do I feel like it completely fits Paris' style. I guess OLC has the uniqueness contract for its rides too, so copying it would be less of a realistic option. I would say, however, that in a lot of ways the ride in Tokyo was inspired by the original unbuilt concept in Paris, with its pre-show in stained glass, the Beast and Belle figures on the balcony and the main focus on its soundtrack.
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway will not be coming to WDSP

Awww...I also want to see an Roger Rabbit simulator attraction fits to WDSP so badly. MMRR will be perfect for WDSP.

 

[TheSorcerersApprentice]

Chapter 11: Steam, Rumbles and Quakes

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Behind the Frontierland Railroad Depot, one of the park’s expansion pads lies open for opportunities to add new experiences to its line-up. Past the Frontierland Depot, Guests will follow a trail out into a rough wilderness area, filled with pine trees, scenic buttes as well as Bryce Canyon-like spires. Guests would be lured to the queue line of a new e-ticket attraction. Bordering the queue are several steaming hot springs, many bubbling mud pots, and some small sputtering geysers. Moving deeper into the woods and past these geothermal features, Guests are automatically put to the thought, ‘’No wonder they call this area ‘Geyser Mountain’. Strange machinery is exposed in the area, revealing the presence of an eccentric inventor who has settled here in these geothermal regions to perform digging tests. Finally, they come to a clearing in the forest. There – in front of you – is a tumbledown cabin with a barn attached. The building features a water mill wheel, steam pumps, and motors to give some dynamic to the building made of wood and steel. And behind this … the craggy peak of Geyser Mountain, which would rumble ominously every now and then. And what’s that you hear in the distance? Could that be… people screaming?

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In front of the cabin a yard full of weird machinery, all property of Jason Chandler, a young inventor who lived in the Wild Frontier and has devised a drilling machine with the capability of boring into the very heart of mountains. Once we enter his home, Guests are introduced to Chandler and Ravenwood’s story to conquer the Frontier by drilling to the core of some of the most precious locations like Big Thunder Mountain, where the veins of gold ran so deep, it was rumoured they could produce a mother lode that would bring a man enough wealth to last a hundred lifetimes and more. Prior to tunneling through the mountainside over at Big Thunder – Ravenwood and Chandler tried out their digging contraptions by digging dozens of test holes in the side of Geyser Mountain. While testing his mining rig – Chandler discovered many strange and wondrous things under the ground. Guests wind through the inventor’s study, filled with colourful crystals and enormous geodes that he’s recovered while tunneling under Geyser Mountain. There are also black-and-white photographs of some truly impressive stalagmite and stalactite formations that he must have encountered while exploring the underworld.

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Yet, the most intriguing piece of decoration in the inventor’s study is a hand-drawn map of the interior of Geyser Mountain, which is pinned up to one wall and clearly shows the networks of tunnels that crisscross through the mountainside. There – at the very centre of the map – is a drawing and description of this extremely fierce, totally unpredictable but extremely powerful geyser, known as ‘Ole Unfaithful’, which intermittently erupts from deep down inside the mountain. Also, on this hand-drawn map is a note that Chandler has written to himself, reminding him about a certain bridge that he’s installed at the very heart of Geyser Mountain. The note reads: ‘Reminder to self: Temporary bridge has been taking an awful pounding from geyser eruptions. Must remember to make repairs.’ The only problem is… the note is dated back in the early 1920s. Guests exit the study and find themselves in a barn where we find the amazing steam-powered mining machine that Chandler has used for digging all those tunnels over at Big Thunder Mountain and are then ushered into elevators leading to the inventor’s underground base station which is one-half mile below. In the base station is a communication center that occasionally gives warnings of increased geothermal activity, but the scientist who mans it is currently still missing.

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Guests are then directed to the loading station where a lethal-looking machine (somewhat reminiscent of Gaetan Moliere’s machine in the movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire) will take Guests for a trip over, around, and under Geyser Mountain. The ride system will be similar to Tokyo DisneySea’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, but… with a twist! For the ride’s climax, the vehicle drives into one of three elevator lifts(hidden away and themed as a regular tunnel). Guests roar out of the barn and rumble through several very colourful caverns, rolling by giant glowing crystals and fantastic underground waterfalls (somewhat reminiscent of the Rainbow Caverns in Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland). We then wind out of the mountain and climb further and further up the side of Geyser Mountain, where we encounter odd balancing rocks that may just lose their balance as our machine passes by and a few Saguaro cacti that look strangely human. As the machine reaches the very top of the mountain, Guests are treated to an impressive view from up there. They are then planning to make their descent back to Chandler’s cabin, though a landslide causes a cave-in of the way ahead, forcing the car off its planned route and down a side route. The only way back down Geyser Mountain now is to go across that rickety old bridge that was shown on the hand-drawn map in Chandler’s study.

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Our mining machine slowly starts to cross the rickety old bridge. The ancient span of timbers creaks ominously as this heavy piece of equipment chugs across the darkened chasm. The only light in this entire area is the sunlight that comes pouring in from above. The top of Geyser Mountain appears to have been blown off in some previous eruption, like a sort of cone in some sort of dormant volcano. As our vehicle reaches the centre of the bridge, the span suddenly starts to sag in the middle. Loud rumbles can be heard in the depths. As the amazing mining machine tilts to one side, we all think we’re all about to fall to our deaths. Once the bridge collapses, we’ll be impaled on all those lethal-looking stalagmites below. It all seems hopeless, but then… a different rumbling sound! Ole Unfaithful is about to erupt! And – with that – seemingly heaved up off the collapsing bridge and into the air by the power of the geyser, our mining rig is thrown straight up into the sky, projected in the air by the erupting geyser in a cloud of steam.

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We literally seem to bounce up and down on top of this powerful stream of super-heated water. For just a moment, our vehicle pops out of the top of Geyser Mountain itself. We get a brief panoramic glimpse of Frontierland below us. Luckily, the force of that geyser has heaved us out of the chasm, away from that collapsing bridge. This sends the cart speeding towards the barn as stalagmites can be seen to give the impression of being deep underground. The rumbling continues and the Guests’ vehicle is pushed further, past a band of coyotes, who shockingly look up and start howling once they realize that Guests could possibly still their hunger today. The track switches and sends Guests into a lava-filled chamber deep in the mountain’s core. A slight eruption quickly sends Guests safely to the rim of Geyser Mountain, then quickly rumble back down to the barn (similar to the climax drop in Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea). It is here that we eventually disembark our mining machine and are led back through underground tunnels, leading toward a gift shop, Stalagmite Supplies. Inside, Guests will find Frontierland and Geyser Mountain-related merchandise as well as décor themed to the many treasures that we’ve witnessed in the underground tunnels of the area.

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[TheSorcerersApprentice]

Chapter 12: Splash Down into this Cursed Sawmill...

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In 2019, Disneyland Paris’ Phantom Manor opened back up after a long period of refurbishing, and with it came new characters and a clearer depiction of its backstory, expanding upon the lore of Frontierland’s Thunder Mesa. Within that expanded backstory came the inclusion of Melanie Ravenwood’s suitors, who all found their unfortunate fate at the hands of the cruel phantom (who was revealed to be Melanie’s father, Henry Ravenwood). One of these suitors was Sawyer Bottom, a resident of Thunder Mesa and the owner of the Thunder Mesa Sawmill. His death was orchestrated by strapping him to a log on a conveyer belt in the town lumber mill. As a result, Sawyer was sliced in half by the lumber mill’s industrial buzz-saw. Sawyer would be laid to rest along with Melanie’s other suitors in a crypt near the part of Thunder Mesa that collapsed in 1860 after a hideous earthquake caused tragedy in the region. What a lot of people don’t know is that the Sawmill was originally going to have a much larger presence in the land, featured in the resort’s first and only flume ride. Due to a lack of budget and ambition, the ride was eventually cut. However, the idea of Thunder Mesa’s sawmill was resurrected in 2019 with the refurbishment of the Chaparral Theater. Now called the Frontierland Theater, the exteriors of this show hosting room fit the land’s sets as a wooden building. The décor is clearly reminiscent of a sawmill with its chandeliers made of lanterns and a sawblade. In 2020, a text which reads T.M. Burr Lumber Co. was added to the façade and cements the idea of this place being the factory of a company that exploits wood. If the flume ride would have existed, its thematization could have looked like what was done with this theater. Anyway, the presence of a sawmill in Thunder Mesa reinforces the coherence and richness of its storyline.

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One sort of experience that the resort misses greatly is a water ride. Now, I know that there’s been discussion of how Paris’ harsh winter conditions, make it simply unrealistic for Disney to look into the options of having a flume ride, especially if it was unable to remain open year through. However, comparing Paris to for example Tokyo which does have a Splash Mountain in its’ offerings, and seeing how other European parks like Phantasialand, Europapark, Efteling, etc. manage to have flume rides without too many problems, I’d like to suggest several options based on either having heated water during the winter months or having a winter/summer courses(with either more indoor scenes). For this post, I’d like to just give a general overview of what I’m imagining though. Replacing the Chaparral Theater will be the Thunder Mesa Ripsaw Falls, Disneyland Paris’ first flume ride.

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After the tragedies that struck Thunder Mesa, the wealthy baron T.M Burr is led to discover the abandoned sawmill that once belonged to Sawyer Bottom and sees a chance to become terribly rich by re-opening it. What he doesn’t know at first is that when Bottom opened the sawmill he was warned by the local Shoshone Tribe that trees in the area are sacred and that cutting them down will mean that he will suffer terrible consequences for the remainder of his life; this is probably the reason why poor Sawyer Bottom eventually found his unfortunate fate at the hands of Ravenwood in his own sawmill. In an attempt to circumvent the spirits’ threat, Burr presses the destitute locals into working in his newly opened sawmill, where many of the workers suffer catastrophic accidents or are chased out of the cave by supernatural cohorts.

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Guests to the new attraction in Frontierland take on the role of one of Burr’s new employee recruits; the path to the attraction begins with Guests crossing an iron bridge over a creek to the lumber company itself. Just before the bridge Guests will find a totem pole depicting the mysterious spirits of the trees, sending out a subtle warning of what danger may lie ahead if we dare to make the same mistakes former employees took before us. The attraction consists of a uniquely designed lumber company, somewhat inspired by the original design for Universal’s Dudley-Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls and the Old Faithful Inn in West Yellowstone, Montana. The central feature of the building is a tall gabled log structure, dominated by a deep, steeply-pitching shingled roof; there are several smaller structures (as well as machinery, water mills, etc.) stretching out of the central tower and of course the ride’s log flume winds around the structure, with a massive drop erected from the highest point of the building, somewhat reminiscent in design to Splash Mountain’s set-up.

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A gate, consisting of two lampposts holding old Western lanterns connected to a rod on which the waiting time can be read, indicates the start of the meandering. This route winds through a pine tree forest towards the last bend in the ride track, before returning to the main building. Along the way, the route passes through tree shelters: robust wooden sheds, containing tools for logging. Inside, various posters, letters, newspaper articles, and drawings reveal the backstory of the sawmill and its legends. Also, along the way, mysterious effects are activated from time to time including moving lamps, ominous chanting, and a moving wagon on rails with a pile of logs, that nearly seems to crash into the queue line. Another detail is the posters that are hung out in the area asking for recruits to work in the sawmill. In the first room that acts as a waiting lobby for the ride’s pre-show, we see a wooden bust of the new owner of the sawmill, T.M. Burr. On the other side of the room, a plaque hangs on the wall dedicated to Sawyer Bottom, the original owner of the lumber company. We hear an announcement by Burr welcoming us to the sawmill and hurries us further into the Dressing Room. The doors swing open so we can walk through into the room.

We enter an octagonal room that has a wooden floor and a hanging system for the employees' clothes. In the center of the room is a recess behind fences, where a bench with clothes hooks is located. On the bench is a morning paper, where references to the ride’s backstory can be found. On the wall, above the door we just entered through, are two old screens and above the doors to the next room, the projectors hang in huge cabinets. A slide show is given here, and we hear T.M. Burr explain that we have been hired as new sawmill workers. The narration will be provided in French. The right screen shows the baron and the sawmill in old photos. The left screen is a translation into English. ‘Welcome, recruits! It is my honor as baron T.M. Burr to welcome you to my beautiful sawmill, the T.M. Burr Lumber Company. Today you will have the privilege to work in lumber processing, giving you access to wealth. I will train you all to be the best workers. You are requested to receive your work clothes. You will be responsible for my… a large profit.’ The Tree Spirits appear and interrupt the monologue, destroying the equipment. They warn us not to go any further. ‘Workers, go no further but return home. We, Spirits of the Trees, guard the forest. You have been warned…’ The lanterns turn off and the hanging clothes start moving as mysterious blue lights appear and green branches spread around the room. We then hear Burr again, ‘Workers, surely you are not frightened off by some creation of superstition and magic tricks that call themselves Spirits of the Trees?! Do not be discouraged by them! Hurry up now, continue on to the salary room and prepare yourself for your shift. Riches await!’

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When the doors open, a small administrative office behind glass can be seen on the right. There is a desk with a typewriter and a cupboard with all kinds of helpful office objects. In front of us is a staircase, which takes us to the Salary Room, a wood-paneled room in which they find closed counters in front of them with the indication ‘payment administration’ above it, behind which the sound of typewriters can be heard, and one floor higher there is a balcony where T.M Burr himself addresses us and directs us towards the loading dock. The loading dock features processing machinery and a conveyer belt on which Guests are ushered into their log. When everyone is seated, the attraction operator pulls a large lever, after which gates open and the logs start moving forward one by one into the machinery room… Here we find an area filled with engines processing trees around us by animatronic figures of workers in the sawmill; the logging business is working at full pace. Next, we enter a dark area with a large steam engine on the right that guides the conveyer built from the loading station. Water is leaking from the ceiling and a lantern is lit out of nowhere. The Tree Spirits emerge and sabotage the installations. ‘You were warned… disobedience. We, Spirits of the Trees guard the forest… and sabotage your work. Hear this call with caution or you will regret it!’

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The building’s backside is built into a grey rock wall. The log suddenly accelerates and passes up a lift hill, where we are lifted into a cavern overgrown with forest greenery. Inside we slowly drift past gear belonging to the logging company; saws, crates, axes, etc. The cave’s rocky walls slowly start to overgrow in green vines as we pass by, a similar effect to the pre-show. The log drops down under a Native American idol into a small outdoor segment past waterfalls, before entering another tunnel, where we hear mysterious chanting. An ominous green light grows and before us a Spirit of the Trees manifests before our eyes, sending us backward with a blast of smoke. What Guests haven’t noticed is that the log locks itself on a separate piece of track that connects the log to another piece of the log flume moving backward. The log passes behind the previous waterfalls and moves into a completely overgrown cavern, getting darker and darker, yet a rhythmic drum song slowly becomes louder and louder. At one point we find ourselves in a glowing dark cavernous hall, where The Spirits are performing an ancient ritual. We circle around them and then find ourselves falling backward out of the cavern and back into the sawmill as if we’ve just been thrown out. The log is then locked onto another piece of track that switches to the side and then launches us forward onto another lift hill, dressed as a Pulpine Mill. It will seem as if the vehicle is passing over logs that are loaded into the mill. At the top, we find ourselves at the highest point of the sawmill, where there are many references to how Sawyer Bottom lost his life in the terrible Phantom-related backstory. We hear the spirits of the trees again, ‘Workers, you have ignored our warnings and braved our terrors. We, Spirits of the Trees, can’t let you destroy the forest… Disappear now, or bad fortune will fall upon you!’ The logs near a rotating ripsaw during the ride’s climax in this room, sending each side of the double-logged vehicle down its own drop.

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The vehicle somewhat re-attaches at the bottom and then passes under a watermill, that suddenly stops pouring water at the last moment, so that we can pass under. From here, we are slowly led back to the loading dock, where the next workers will be ready to brave the same journey as you just did. A staircase leads up to a walkway along which one leaves the hall via the rear and right side of the loading dock room, behind large gears. Many interesting sawmill memorabilia can be seen here, such as a set of lockers and bulletin boards referencing the ride’s backstory and its account of accidents. The staircase takes us to a long corridor with even more attributes on the walls, after which we come out and via a small walkway enter a building for the ride’s action photos, which is located in a small wooden shack. Picture frames with old photos of workers in the sawmill hang on the walls. The action photos will be displayed in similar picture frames. From here, we are led to the exit of the attraction and find ourselves back in front of the mysterious sawmill.

 

[oogie boogie man]

Great pics, I really wanna go to this version of DLP.

 

[Goofy Ninja]

I like the lumber mill look like you might see at Knotts Berry Farm. It's perfect for a water splash ride ambience. Plus the animatronics are some of the best nonDisney ones around.

 

[TheSorcerersApprentice]

Chapter 13: A Mysterious Meteorite That Would Change The World Forever...

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Disneyland Paris is a timeless place where the dream and hopes of visionaries from all eras become reality. Discoveryland is not a land of the future or even a single idea of the future. It is the land of many futures, brought together like a universal exhibition. Through its architecture and history, each attraction reflects a particular vision inspired by great European minds like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Leonardo Da Vinci. The design of Orbitron, for example, is directly inspired by Da Vinci’s drawings of the solar system. The land has a deliberately retro-futuristic style, a mixture of art deco elements, industrial design, and science-fiction. Though originally the land was a clear representation of these themes, visions, and stories and seemed to have fixed the eternal Tomorrowland-paradox that other Magic Kingdom-parks have been struggling with, the current offerings of the land are somehow still a weird mix of themes thrown together. Star Wars, Toy Story, and even…Mickey’s Philharmagic have managed to somewhat distort the land’s theme and therefore it’s time to go back to its original ideas, thus switching out some attractions for a more cohesive theme. To do so, one of the first attractions that Guests encounter, Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast, will be replaced by a new shooting attraction. Even though the Buzz ride is a popular addition to the park, the attraction’s theming serves as a distraction from what Discoveryland aims to convey in its offerings.

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Instead of finding the current iteration of the show building made to look like Star Command, featuring a bright colour palette and a Buzz Lightyear marquee, Guests will find that the large circular building topped with a dome and light antennas, has changed back to its bronze, gold and generally darker colour palette. Driven by curiosity, visitors walk under the porch bounded by massive pillars and decorated with a large illuminated fresco, inspired by H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, which will be the basis of this new shooter attraction. The outdoor queue will feature framed newspaper headlines revealing the attraction’s backstory: ‘Meteor has landed in Surrey!’, ‘Is there Life on Mars?’, etc. Additionally, Guests will discover that various posters are hung around on which they can see that we are asked to be recruits in the battle against the Martians; a battle for the fate of humankind. These posters will be somewhat inspired by early 20th Century war propaganda posters.

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Once inside, Guests will find out that they have entered a highly classified and technologically advanced training centre for recruits, willing to fight for Earth. From time to time, the speakers provide backstory to the ride and Guests will hear news bulletins read out to reveal that The War of the Worlds has started, now that the Martians have opened fire on humankind. Vague, abstract descriptions of their appearance and technology are given throughout these radio recordings. Throughout the indoor queue, Guests will see various drawings, studies, sketches, and maps describing where the Martians have attacked, and revealing more about their technology, and appearance. The Guests then enter the briefing room to see an animatronic figure of a sort of Commander-type character, which gives a speech about the plan to fight back at the Martians with a type of tank vehicle, that allows Guests to blast at the Martians and their tripod-contraptions with the use of a bacteria that Martians are not resistant against before a red alarm goes off signaling for the line to move along toward the loading dock. The Guests then proceed down a long Corridor seeing the soldiers testing the tanks and blasters. It is here, that we find practical information about the targets and score mechanism. The Guests then board one of the tanks that sit on a continuous line of ride vehicles.

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Once seated and armed in their vehicle, they will notice that the blasters can be taken out of a holder and feature a new technology that was seen in Buzz Lightyear’s Planet Rescue at Shanghai Disneyland, which features visible laser rays being shot from the blasters. The vehicles leave the loading dock and look out onto simulated windows projecting views of a dystopian cityscape, destroyed by the Martians and their tripods. Alarm sirens go off, and the vehicles turn to the left, exiting the training base. From here, the blasters are activated and Guests will be able to shoot at targets placed on Tripods, Martian figures, and energy sources (sort of glass tubes glowing with a cackling green spark) that are scattered around the scenery. These targets will be placed on a combination of physical figures and set pieces, as well as on screens similar to what is seen in Shanghai’s Buzz ride, as well as Hong Kong’s Ant-Man and the Wasp Nano Battle. The first scene immerses us right into a cityscape, as seen on the screens before. The scene features several tripods shooting lasers at buildings and other set-pieces, creating a chaotic inferno using an effect inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean’s fire scene. Of course, this effect is modernized by a type of projection mapping, bringing this effect into the next generation. At the end of this destroyed cityscape lies the entrance to the Tripod Mothership, sucking in the vehicles. As described in @D Hulk‘s SYWTBAI proposal, the interior will be organic Giger-like and features chambers that spin in both directions like a funhouse tunnel.

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Inside, the Guests pass down a hallway shooting the aforementioned energy tubes until we reach the control room of the ship. Here we find several ‘living’ Martians – oily disgorging figures who are big, greyish, oily brown-skinned blobs with two dark-coloured eyes, lipless V-shaped mouths that drip saliva and are surrounded by gorgon groups of tentacles; simply vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous. A bear-sized Martian sits behind a control panel, presumably one of the more powerful Martians. Guests are about to transition into the next room which is completely dark while Martians are being electrocuted by trying to exit the ship. The Guests then enter another part of the more city, which is more destroyed at this point. A violent and powerful thunderstorm has erupted in the background. We see other soldiers of the training base before, trying to battle against the tripods. Guests can shoot at other tripods that are causing devastation, but also see that several tripods have crashed down; are humans making a win on their extra-terrestrial enemies? Before, leaving this scene, one of the tripods is gloating toward the Guests and appears to be about to blast its heat ray at us.

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Guests then enter a tunnel with mysterious black smoke or mist emanating around the vehicles. Hidden within the mist are several targets. The next room features the crash site of the mysterious meteor or artificial cylinder which was how the Martians reached Earth. Around it, we can see several soldiers blasting at Martians that emerge from it, trying to take down the source of the invasion. The final room has the soldiers blasting away a floating ship that seems to be leaving Earth. In the distance we see a depiction of Mars in space; are they retreating? A tripod ominously tries to stay standing while launching its metallic tentacles at the vehicles. The soldiers thank the Guests for their bravery. Lastly, we pass by the Commander figure that was seen in the queue again. He tells them to put the Blasters where they belong and to check the ranking to check their scores. The Guests then exit the ride and pass through a gift shop, known as the Store of the Worlds, a grim yet elegant reminder of the War of the Worlds that Guests have just taken part in. Guests will find memorabilia and souvenirs related to the attraction, as well as some general Discoveryland souvenirs.

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[HomeImagineer]

Chapter 13: A Mysterious Meteorite That Would Change The World Forever...
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Disneyland Paris is a timeless place where the dream and hopes of visionaries from all eras become reality. Discoveryland is not a land of the future or even a single idea of the future. It is the land of many futures, brought together like a universal exhibition. Through its architecture and history, each attraction reflects a particular vision inspired by great European minds like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Leonardo Da Vinci. The design of Orbitron, for example, is directly inspired by Da Vinci’s drawings of the solar system. The land has a deliberately retro-futuristic style, a mixture of art deco elements, industrial design, and science-fiction. Though originally the land was a clear representation of these themes, visions, and stories and seemed to have fixed the eternal Tomorrowland-paradox that other Magic Kingdom-parks have been struggling with, the current offerings of the land are somehow still a weird mix of themes thrown together. Star Wars, Toy Story, and even…Mickey’s Philharmagic have managed to somewhat distort the land’s theme and therefore it’s time to go back to its original ideas, thus switching out some attractions for a more cohesive theme. To do so, one of the first attractions that Guests encounter, Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast, will be replaced by a new shooting attraction. Even though the Buzz ride is a popular addition to the park, the attraction’s theming serves as a distraction from what Discoveryland aims to convey in its offerings.

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Instead of finding the current iteration of the show building made to look like Star Command, featuring a bright colour palette and a Buzz Lightyear marquee, Guests will find that the large circular building topped with a dome and light antennas, has changed back to its bronze, gold and generally darker colour palette. Driven by curiosity, visitors walk under the porch bounded by massive pillars and decorated with a large illuminated fresco, inspired by H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, which will be the basis of this new shooter attraction. The outdoor queue will feature framed newspaper headlines revealing the attraction’s backstory: ‘Meteor has landed in Surrey!’, ‘Is there Life on Mars?’, etc. Additionally, Guests will discover that various posters are hung around on which they can see that we are asked to be recruits in the battle against the Martians; a battle for the fate of humankind. These posters will be somewhat inspired by early 20th Century war propaganda posters.

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Once inside, Guests will find out that they have entered a highly classified and technologically advanced training centre for recruits, willing to fight for Earth. From time to time, the speakers provide backstory to the ride and Guests will hear news bulletins read out to reveal that The War of the Worlds has started, now that the Martians have opened fire on humankind. Vague, abstract descriptions of their appearance and technology are given throughout these radio recordings. Throughout the indoor queue, Guests will see various drawings, studies, sketches, and maps describing where the Martians have attacked, and revealing more about their technology, and appearance. The Guests then enter the briefing room to see an animatronic figure of a sort of Commander-type character, which gives a speech about the plan to fight back at the Martians with a type of tank vehicle, that allows Guests to blast at the Martians and their tripod-contraptions with the use of a bacteria that Martians are not resistant against before a red alarm goes off signaling for the line to move along toward the loading dock. The Guests then proceed down a long Corridor seeing the soldiers testing the tanks and blasters. It is here, that we find practical information about the targets and score mechanism. The Guests then board one of the tanks that sit on a continuous line of ride vehicles.

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Once seated and armed in their vehicle, they will notice that the blasters can be taken out of a holder and feature a new technology that was seen in Buzz Lightyear’s Planet Rescue at Shanghai Disneyland, which features visible laser rays being shot from the blasters. The vehicles leave the loading dock and look out onto simulated windows projecting views of a dystopian cityscape, destroyed by the Martians and their tripods. Alarm sirens go off, and the vehicles turn to the left, exiting the training base. From here, the blasters are activated and Guests will be able to shoot at targets placed on Tripods, Martian figures, and energy sources (sort of glass tubes glowing with a cackling green spark) that are scattered around the scenery. These targets will be placed on a combination of physical figures and set pieces, as well as on screens similar to what is seen in Shanghai’s Buzz ride, as well as Hong Kong’s Ant-Man and the Wasp Nano Battle. The first scene immerses us right into a cityscape, as seen on the screens before. The scene features several tripods shooting lasers at buildings and other set-pieces, creating a chaotic inferno using an effect inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean’s fire scene. Of course, this effect is modernized by a type of projection mapping, bringing this effect into the next generation. At the end of this destroyed cityscape lies the entrance to the Tripod Mothership, sucking in the vehicles. As described in @D Hulk‘s SYWTBAI proposal, the interior will be organic Giger-like and features chambers that spin in both directions like a funhouse tunnel.

View attachment 675790​

Inside, the Guests pass down a hallway shooting the aforementioned energy tubes until we reach the control room of the ship. Here we find several ‘living’ Martians – oily disgorging figures who are big, greyish, oily brown-skinned blobs with two dark-coloured eyes, lipless V-shaped mouths that drip saliva and are surrounded by gorgon groups of tentacles; simply vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous. A bear-sized Martian sits behind a control panel, presumably one of the more powerful Martians. Guests are about to transition into the next room which is completely dark while Martians are being electrocuted by trying to exit the ship. The Guests then enter another part of the more city, which is more destroyed at this point. A violent and powerful thunderstorm has erupted in the background. We see other soldiers of the training base before, trying to battle against the tripods. Guests can shoot at other tripods that are causing devastation, but also see that several tripods have crashed down; are humans making a win on their extra-terrestrial enemies? Before, leaving this scene, one of the tripods is gloating toward the Guests and appears to be about to blast its heat ray at us.

View attachment 675791​

Guests then enter a tunnel with mysterious black smoke or mist emanating around the vehicles. Hidden within the mist are several targets. The next room features the crash site of the mysterious meteor or artificial cylinder which was how the Martians reached Earth. Around it, we can see several soldiers blasting at Martians that emerge from it, trying to take down the source of the invasion. The final room has the soldiers blasting away a floating ship that seems to be leaving Earth. In the distance we see a depiction of Mars in space; are they retreating? A tripod ominously tries to stay standing while launching its metallic tentacles at the vehicles. The soldiers thank the Guests for their bravery. Lastly, we pass by the Commander figure that was seen in the queue again. He tells them to put the Blasters where they belong and to check the ranking to check their scores. The Guests then exit the ride and pass through a gift shop, known as the Store of the Worlds, a grim yet elegant reminder of the War of the Worlds that Guests have just taken part in. Guests will find memorabilia and souvenirs related to the attraction, as well as some general Discoveryland souvenirs.

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i'm glad you put in some Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds music for that one. Since i love Jeff Wayne's work of that Story. & since we don't had Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds tours not coming to Canada i still had two versions of that Musical, the Original 1978 version & the 2012 version.

 

[Frankenstein79]

Oooooooo, I like the architecture in the alien bar. Alien blood beverages would be cool to drink and take photos of. Instagrammers can have their doting boyfriends... or girlfriends take photos of them.