Disneyland Paris says Farewell to Captain EO
by Max Fan, DLPWelcome
Hello Everyone!
On April 12, Disneyland Paris shuttered (for the last time?) the Captain EO 3D short feature.
It was the second EO to reopen worldwide, on June 12, 2010, almost a year after the death of superstar Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009. (It reopened on February 23, 2010 at Disneyland in California.)
Captain EO featured some of the greatest talents of the era, including George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and actress Anjelica Huston. James Horner wrote the theme music, while Michael Jackson himself wrote two tracks: “Another Part Of Me” and “We Are Here to Change the World”. Rick Baker (of Thriller fame) did the make-up, and Jeff Hornaday (Flashdance) created the choreography.
Relive the reopening and closure of Captain EO at Disneyland Paris:
Although the attraction was updated with effects used by “Honey I Shrunk The Audience”, the film suffered many technical problems, including the visible aging of the print. Visitors found the theater difficult to find, and when they did find it, they were less than thrilled with the film. This created a cycle of seasonal closures, until its final closure this month.
To be honest, it was probably time that the attraction was closed. In its final days, the projection was less than robust and the light effects didn’t sync with the film. The theater was rarely more than 2/3 full, and one time I even surprised a sleeping person in his chair.
Park operators were probably reluctant to close Captain EO in light of the fact that the park has offered no new attractions for nine years, but the sad state of the film made it necessary.
In the end, we have to wonder about the future of the park in terms of new attractions. (I’m not talking about Star Tours, whose update has been desperately awaited since 2011 and will be launched in 2017.)
Speaking of Star Tours, the droids in the second room of the queue do not work. I have not yet taken photos of this sad situation. But to help us forgive, here’s a video from the VIP Room of a simulator.
Here’s the new facade of the Silver Spur Steakhouse recently revealed to visitors. The new bright colors will warm up the atmosphere even in the dull winter months. This is a superb job of facade renovation.
Before:
Now:
Thank you for reading. We’ll have more from Disneyland Paris for you very soon!
Max
DLPWelcome