Videopolis (Disneyland Paris)
Encyclopedia
Videopolis is an auditorium in the Disneyland Park
at Disneyland Paris, near Marne-la-Vallée
. It was an opening day attraction, and is located within the Discoveryland section of the park, an alternate take on the Tomorrowland
concept, which takes into consideration the science fiction
pioneered by the likes of Jules Verne
, H.G. Wells or Leonardo Da Vinci
.
hanging outside the building is from the 1974 film, The Island at the Top of the World. Videopolis also houses the Café Hyperion, the largest fast-food restaurant in the park. This building features inspiration from Discovery Bay, a former Disneyland concept by Imagineer Tony Baxter (a land themed to Victorian visions of the future), which also inspired Discoveryland.
Imagineers provided this former airship station with a whole backstory. The Hyperion once took explorers to 49 destinations, until that day when its captain mysteriously disappeared, leaving her ready for her last journey that never was. She is henceforth waiting for her master to return. The station was soon turned into a place where guests could rest and have meals.
used at Disneyland in California, in that a theatre acts as a venue for a night-time disco in addition to its function as an auditorium for performance.
The original concept, however, changed due to public interests. The night-time discos were meant to appeal to teenagers and young adults as a mean of topping off their day. Yet, they were more interested in visiting other attractions up until the last minute. The regular discos therefore came to a halt, and Videopolis is only used as such a venue for special events such as New Year's Eve
and Halloween
.
In between the live shows, music videos were to be played. Yet after complaints from families incidentally dining in the Café Hyperion, these were replaced with classic cartoons.
The original daytime show from 1992 was equally themed to the auditorium's original contemporary, pop-culture theme and to Discoveryland's visionary theme. Called Rock Shock, it featured a gang of teenagers journeying in the footsteps of Jules Verne to the beat of rock music. It was a relative success.
Yet, demand for more shows based on traditional Disney properties led to its replacement with a stage version of Beauty and the Beast
. After that came several shows based on Disney classics or characters, most prominently stage versions of Mulan or The Lion King
. The theater is currently showcasing a various choice of Disney cartoons, from the early animated ones (for example Steamboat Willie
) to Pixar shorts.
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
at Disneyland Paris, near Marne-la-Vallée
Marne-la-Vallée
Marne-la-Vallée is a new town located near Paris, France.Disneyland Paris, Val d'Europe,Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée,and École des Ponts ParisTech are located in Marne-la-Vallée.-Status:...
. It was an opening day attraction, and is located within the Discoveryland section of the park, an alternate take on the Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland
- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
concept, which takes into consideration the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
pioneered by the likes of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, H.G. Wells or Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
.
Theme
The building is themed to dreams of the future from the turn of the twentieth century, especially air exploration. The airshipAirship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
hanging outside the building is from the 1974 film, The Island at the Top of the World. Videopolis also houses the Café Hyperion, the largest fast-food restaurant in the park. This building features inspiration from Discovery Bay, a former Disneyland concept by Imagineer Tony Baxter (a land themed to Victorian visions of the future), which also inspired Discoveryland.
Imagineers provided this former airship station with a whole backstory. The Hyperion once took explorers to 49 destinations, until that day when its captain mysteriously disappeared, leaving her ready for her last journey that never was. She is henceforth waiting for her master to return. The station was soon turned into a place where guests could rest and have meals.
History
The original premise for Videopolis was based somewhat on an earlier conceptVideopolis (Disneyland)
Videopolis was the name of a outdoor amphitheater that operated from 1985 to 1995 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Located in Fantasyland, it functioned as a venue for various shows and, in the evenings, as an all-ages dance club. As of 2009, the location was renamed to Fantasyland...
used at Disneyland in California, in that a theatre acts as a venue for a night-time disco in addition to its function as an auditorium for performance.
The original concept, however, changed due to public interests. The night-time discos were meant to appeal to teenagers and young adults as a mean of topping off their day. Yet, they were more interested in visiting other attractions up until the last minute. The regular discos therefore came to a halt, and Videopolis is only used as such a venue for special events such as New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
and Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
.
In between the live shows, music videos were to be played. Yet after complaints from families incidentally dining in the Café Hyperion, these were replaced with classic cartoons.
The original daytime show from 1992 was equally themed to the auditorium's original contemporary, pop-culture theme and to Discoveryland's visionary theme. Called Rock Shock, it featured a gang of teenagers journeying in the footsteps of Jules Verne to the beat of rock music. It was a relative success.
Yet, demand for more shows based on traditional Disney properties led to its replacement with a stage version of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage! is a Broadway-style musical at the 1,500-seat Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. It is based on the popular animated film Beauty and the Beast , including many of the original songs and characters...
. After that came several shows based on Disney classics or characters, most prominently stage versions of Mulan or The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
. The theater is currently showcasing a various choice of Disney cartoons, from the early animated ones (for example Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Willie
Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by The Walt Disney Studio and released by Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse, and as his girlfriend Minnie, but the characters...
) to Pixar shorts.
List of Videopolis shows
- Rock Shock (1992-1993) - Returned in 1995 for Space MountainSpace Mountain: Mission 2Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the...
opening. - Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast Live on StageBeauty and the Beast: Live on Stage! is a Broadway-style musical at the 1,500-seat Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. It is based on the popular animated film Beauty and the Beast , including many of the original songs and characters...
(1993-1996) - Disney Classics - The Music and the Magic (1998)
- Disney Magic Forever (1998)
- Mulan - The Legend (1998-2002)
- Minnie's Birthday Surprise (2002-2003)
- Mickey's Showtime (2003-2004)
- The Legend of the Lion King (2004-2009)
- Cinema Mickey (2009-2010)
- CineDisney (2010-present)
Trivia
- The idea of using the airship from The Island at the Top of the World in a Disney attraction was considered for Disneyland's planned Discovery Bay, but was scrapped after that film's failure at the box office.
- There are two binocular-shaped blocked windows on the side of the building, which originally were to have acted as passageways to Discovery Mountain (which has been replaced with Space MountainSpace Mountain: Mission 2Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the...
). In the original concept, guests would have been able to go on numerous rides within this domed attraction, themed to many Jules Verne's visions. - Behind these two windows is a Studio Radio, regularly used when reporters want to broadcast live from the park.
- Two rooms are located beneath this Studio, accessible via ground floor. They originally acted as a Space Exhibition in 1995, as Space MountainSpace Mountain: Mission 2Space Mountain: Mission 2 is a steel roller coaster-type attraction in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris themed around a journey into space. The attraction opened on June 1, 1995, three years after the opening of the park, as a revival of interest to draw more guests to the...
was inaugurated. Later, in 2004, they were turned respectively into Arcade Alpha and Arcade Bêta.