By Sarah Gordon
|
Enlarge Â
Undying magic: Sarah meets Mickey - there are plenty of changes at the French attraction and thankfully, he is not one of them
It starts with an almost imperceptible toe-tap to the beat.
Then as King Louie croons about being the jungle VIP and his desire for manâs red fire an involuntary knee-bop is added in to the mix.
By the time he is skipping through his primate arms I am performing an embarrassing full body jig and declaring âI wanna be like youuuuuâ.
This would all be very well if I was still that seven-year-old version of myself who first fell in love with Mowgli, Baloo and The Jungle Book gang.
Or if I wasnât surrounded by thousands of people, both young and old who have managed to keep their own bodies under control.
I didnât even realise I still knew the words to the song, but there they are, emblazoned on my brain more than two decades later.
I canât remember a shopping list and am terrible with names, but ask me to sing a Disney song and it seems Iâll be able to give you a word-perfect rendition.< br />
My one saving grace during this whole episode is that it is dark. I am stood just in front of Sleeping Beautyâs castle at Disneyland Paris.
A day of rides, sickly treats and encounters with Mickey is behind me, and stretching ahead for this eveningâs entertainment is a mix of Disneyâs best characters and songs to celebrate the theme parkâs 20th anniversary.
All the usual suspects are there, Dick Van Dyke belts out the Mary Poppins classic Chim Chimney in his questionable Cockney accent, Peter Pan is host and compere, chasing his shadow all over the place, and a string of Disney princesses dance across the castleâs façade as Lumière, the candelabra from Beauty and the Beast, invites us all to be his guest.
Calling the Disney Dreams performance a âlight and laser showâ doesnât really do it justice. More than 18 months in the making, this spectacle uses the very best in 3D technology, a new, specially-created animation of s ome of Disneyâs best-loved characters and an exhilarating use of fireworks, projections and water fountains all of which transform the castle into the most exciting cinema screen I have ever seen.
One moment it is the spitting image of the Notre Dame cathedral, with Quasimodo scaling its turrets and hopping between stained-glass windows, then within a flash Aladdinâs Genie is flitting over the building, changing forms and declaring we ainât never had a friend like him.
Transformation: During the Disney Dreams light show the castle was converted into Quasimodo's Notre Dame cathedral
It is not just the children that gaze, transfixed, at the elaborate display. Adults whoop and sing along to the music (Iâm not the only one who remembers all the words a few decades on) and a thunderous applause erupts as the last fireworks are shot up into the air â" a triumphant finale for what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime show. Which of course it isnât. In true Disney style it is repeated every night.
The park is looking more spic and span than usual, it has been busy sprucing itself up over the past few months in preparation for its landmark birthday. Oscar-worthy Disney Dreams may be the piece de resistance but there have also been some other changes.
Shiny new floats glide down Main Street for the daily Disney Magic on Parade performance. More films than ever before are represented, led by the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty and Disneyâs favourite princesses, channelling Wills and Kate as they trot by in their carriages alongside doting princes.
A new song, âMagic Everywhereâ, accompanies the parade and yes, it will end up swirling around in your head just as much as the âItâs A Small Worldâ soundtrack does after youâve been dragged onto the ride for the fifth time in a row.
Triumphant: Disney is celebrating its 20-year anniversary, despite doubts about its success when it first launched
There is a sense of satisfaction in these celebrations. Is Mickeyâs smile just that little bit wider? Is Goofy just a bit more jubilant and over-excited than usual? Perhaps itâs understandable, the theme park certainly wasnât given a warm welcome by all when it first opened.
There was a high-profile campaign against Disney in France and initial visitor numbers were lower than anticipated. Celebrating a milestone birthday, with more than 250 million converts under its belt â" making it the most visited attraction in Europe - is something of an achievement.
But despite a few tweaks here and there, the glory of Disney lies in its dependability. It never fails to transport people from reality to the world of fantasy and â" to my surprise - even as an adult I am somehow pulled into the excitement of it all.
Maybe it is meeting the characters that are as familiar to me as any childhood memory, or perhaps seeing the excitement on the toffee apple-smeared faces of children as they hug Pluto and Minnie with such fervour that there comes a moment when I wonder if their parents will ever be able to prise them away.
Crowd-pleaser: Disneyland Paris is the most visited attraction in Europe
While younger children follow princesses around with autograph books and cameras, or play on the safe rides in Fantasyland in the Disney Park (I hear good things about Peter Panâs Flight from my junior accomplice) or the newer Toy Story Playland in Disney Studios (try the Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin) the big kids - myself included - have the scarier rides to themselves.
Crushâs Coaster â" where you are whizzed around a roller coaster in the dark in an upside down turtle shell â" is a Finding Nemo-inspired hit and one that sadly I only get to try once due to my reluctance to spend more than 50 minutes at a time in the queue.
However, the stomach-churning, heart palpitation-inducing Rock ânâ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (yes, itâs a mouthful) is delightfully crowd-free and a must-try for adrenaline junkies.
By the time Iâve gone from 0 to 93km per hour in less than three seconds for the third time in a row I am surprised I can even drag my traumatised but elated body to the nearest café for a rest and its next feeding.
But there isnât a lot of time to relax, the 20th Anniversary Celebration Train is about to trundle down Main Street with Mickey and friends aboard and Iâve still not had my picture taken with Donald Duck.
Twenty years may have passed since Disneyland Paris opened and since I last watched one of its animations, but that wide-eyed sense of magic is still as fresh as ever â" for both of us.
Travel Facts
Disneyland Paris (08448 008 111, www.disneylandparis.com) is offering a three-day hotel and park package, including return travel with Eurostar, from £856 for a family of two adults and two children aged four to six if booked by April 30 for travel until November. For longer stays, Disneyland Paris offers up to 40 per cent off Disney hotels and park tickets, and children under seven visit for free.
- Stunning black and white pictures of a nation's rural ruins,...
- Too much Botox? Carla Bruni is 'barely recognisable as the...
- Following in Prince Harry's footsteps, Princess Beatrice...
- 'They could easily have killed': The two young men held for...
- 'I used a spy camera to catch a care home thug beating up my...
- We're going to need more candles! Oldest man in the world...
- 100,000 women undergo brutal genital mutilation illegally in...
- Actors in film about fleeing Cuba arrive in U.S. for film...
- When Victoria met Albert: Tender letter reveals how Queen...
- A VERY Big Mac! World's biggest McDonald's with 1,500 seats...
- From idyllic New England towns to rugged West Coast...
- Charity donations rocket to £32,000 for hairdresser, 30, who...
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar