Shortly after a successful event celebrating the tenth anniversary of The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror in Walt Disney Studios Park for Annual Passholders, Disneyland Paris announced its second AP-night for July 7, 2018, the Soirée Marvel. Magic Plus and Infinity Passholders were invited to join an evening in Walt Disney Studios Park, themed to Marvel. Walt Disney Studios Park is now in the middle of their Marvel Summer of Super Heroes season. Tickets were €39 (around $46), and AP-holders could bring two friends with a ticket for the same price.
On social media, fans are negative about the event. In this review, I will try to give you my opinion of this Soirée Marvel at Disneyland Paris.
Entrance
I entered the park at the start of the soirée, around 8:30 PM, with two friends. My main goal was to taste the atmosphere and to find out what special stuff the evening would offer. The friends I visited with do not visit as much as I do, so for them it was a good chance to experience the best attractions of the park with short lines.
We were greeted by Cast Members that handed out programs and free pins. The programs looked awesome but were in French so for international visitors like us a little tough to understand. The pin was big and was a nice surprise. This accessory would normally cost around €10 ($12).
Attractions
We started with doing some of the attractions. The lines were not long so we could easily ride all the attractions we wanted multiple times including all the headliners like Crush’s Coaster, Ratatouille: The Adventure and The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror.
There were some rumors that the Tower of Terror would receive a special overlay, so I expected a lot when the pre-show in the library was skipped. The ride itself also offered a different experience, but not exactly a better one. It was in complete darkness. This means waiting when the story is told, not knowing when the elevator will move. I enjoyed the unique experience: as a frequent visitor it is fun to experience a ride in the dark. For my two friends, the overall experience did not live up to their expectations. A ride with no storytelling is not Disney. A pro: the color scheme of Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! was projected in the Parisian Tower when it got dark.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith was also in the dark and Aerosmith was nowhere to be found. The attraction had Marvel music on its speaker, comparable to what Disneyland Paris did with the first AP-night and the music from The Twilight Zone, but without the lightning. By featuring Marvel music, they got away with it. Other attractions operated as always.
Marvel Conference
Three times there was a special conference in the Studio Theater, called Marvel: Des comics à la Saison des Super Héros (Marvel: From the comics to the Season of Super Heroes). This conference lasted for about thirty minutes.
Jonathan Rabeute (Disneyland Paris Ambassador 2013-2014) interviewed Brian Crosby, Creative Director at Marvel Themed Entertainment, about his career and how Marvel characters are brought to the Disney Parks. This was a really interesting conversation especially because I believe Crosby can become one of the big names in the Imagineering-field.
In the last part, Aurelien Berda appeared. This Associate Show Director at Disneyland Paris told guests (in French) what makes the offerings at the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes so special. At least, I believe he did, because my French is a little rusty. When leaving the theater, guests received a free Avengers button.
Characters
In the park, there were a few character encounters. Guests could meet Captain America, Black Widow and Thor with Loki. Because there were only three spots, lines were long, and it took hours to come to a character. Because of this, we chose to skip the Marvel heroes. In Toon Studio, there were characters from Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Aladdin. Those were nice but had nothing to do with the theme of the Soirée Marvel.
Other offerings
Next to this stuff, there was a costume contest and a DJ Party on Place des Stars. There was one performance of the Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Dance-Off, one of the three entertainment offerings from the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes. I wondered why the stunt show Marvel: Super Heroes United and the stage show Stark Expo presents: Energy for Tomorrow were not featured at least once.
Conclusion
The party lasted until 12:30 AM. The attractions closed, and people left the park. All in all, it was a little disappointing evening. There was not much new stuff, the entertainment offerings were limited and the lines for characters were too long. I enjoyed my evening, but most of all because there were few people in the park and the attractions were walk-ons.
The next Soirée will also be at the Studios on September 7 and is only accessible for Infinity AP-holders. This will be the closing party of the 25th anniversary. It is said that there will be special entertainment offerings, so let’s hope Disneyland Paris is taking the feedback from fans seriously and that the third event will be spectacular again. Tickets for this party are now available for AP-holders, who can again bring two friends.