Going Goofy at thirty
Damon Smith joins the party for new fun at Disneyland Paris
Meet and greets are back at Disneyland Paris, just in time for its 30th anniversary celebrations. And scenes don’t get more touching than this.
Parents and onlookers held back the tears as one delighted six-year-old blind girl hugged Pluto, connecting by touch, her fingers skittering over his black whiskers.
These special moments are possible again, after two years of social distancing protocols. And it feels like the magic of old has returned to Disneyland Park and adjacent Walt Disney Studios Park.
The former boasts a newly renovated Sleeping Beauty Castle, in 14 shades of pink paint, with fine gold snails slithering up its two majestic spires.
It is the first major refurbishment of the 140ft centrepiece since the resort opened in 1992. And the whole park looks like it’s 30 going on 13.
Several times a day, dancers lead 30 characters on rainbow-panelled floats down Main Street to the three stages in Central Plaza by the castle for the Dream... And Shine Brighter! show.
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and chums dance to the fiendishly catchy anniversary earworm, Un Monde Qui S’illumine – A World That Lights Up.
Miguel from Coco makes his Disneyland Paris debut flanked by Joy from Inside Out, and Judy and Nick from Zootopia, performing a feelgood mash-up of 20 Disney songs.
A couple of deafening explosions, on the castle ramparts, punctuate the 16-minute jamboree, conjuring shimmering clouds of bubbles.
Encircling the plaza, 30 kinetic sculptures of Disney and Pixar characters take root as a Gardens Of Wonder installation.
There’s a generously pot-bellied Baymax from Big Hero 6, while a maniacally grinning Stitch clings on to his ukulele from a vantage point halfway up a palm tree.
And when the sun sets, the Disney magic shines even brighter. Even the plants glow in the dark, thanks to a coating of natural serum that shimmers in the moonlight.
The Disney Illuminations night-time show, which melds video projections on the castle facade with fireworks, illuminated water jets, laser, mist and lighting effects, returns with a bang too.
For the 30th anniversary, the crowd-pleasing spectacle is prefaced by a seven minute Disney D-light drone show.
There’s a soaring soundtrack too, recorded with a 66-piece symphony orchestra at Abbey Road studios.
Four pilots manoeuvre 200 drones to form a sparkling number 30 in the sky, which then regroups as a spinning globe with the anniversary year as golden scrawl visible at its core.
Long days of exploration and wonder require pit stops.
And table-service restaurants and other outlets collectively serve up more than 60 tasty dishes, desserts and exclusive cocktails, including moreish, melt-in-the-mouth macarons embossed with the number 30 and a Mickey-shaped chocolate mousse dessert.
Stomachs will be full but your pockets might be empty, with more than 350 exclusive items of 30th anniversary merchandise flooding the resort for the celebrations.
A soap dispenser that deposits grapefruit-scented foam in the shape of Mickey’s head (£12.50) and a Sorceror’s Apprentice hat in luminous fabric embedded with lights (£29) – how could you resist?
The 30th anniversary lights a fuse on a £1.7billion expansion of Walt Disney Studios Park, which begins this summer with the opening of Avengers Campus. It’s an immersive playground torn from the pages of Marvel Comics, including a Spiderman sit-down attraction where visitors sling webs at malfunctioning Spider-bots with furious flicks of the wrist. And there’s the world’s first Iron Man-themed thrill ride on the site of Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which closed in 2019.
Over the coming years we can expect a recreation of the Frozen kingdom of Arendelle, with a Frozen Ever After musical boat ride, and an interactive outpost from a galaxy far, far away at a new Star Wars attraction.
Disneyland Paris won’t be slowing down now it’s hit 30.
Anniversary lights a fuse on a £1.7billion expansion of the park
BOOK IT
Walt Disney Travel Company offer a three-day stay at Disney’s Sequoia Lodge at Disneyland Paris from £1,376 for two adults and two children, including return travel on Eurostar from London St Pancras and theme park tickets. Departs on May 3. disneyholidays.co.uk
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