Disneyland Paris is breaking records this week, utilizing more drones than any other show in Disney Parks history for their Bastille Day extravaganza last night.
Record-Breaking Bastille Day
A nighttime spectacular celebrating France and classic Disney films occurred at the Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty Castle), incorporating 1,500 drones and fireworks combined together.
Guests in attendance witnessed Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast,” the Festival of Fools from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” references to “Ratatouille,” and countless other musical and visual spectacles featuring iconic characters derived from French stories. The Tour Eiffel, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre, and other Paris sights were also included.
At the conclusion, a massive French flag in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears appeared.
Full video from DLP Report is available below:
The official Disney Parks Instagram page also just unveiled footage of their own from last night, offering a more up-close glimpse of these images in the sky.
This isn’t the first time Disneyland Paris has utilized drones in a nighttime show — for the resort’s 30th anniversary, Disney D-Light (a pre-show for Disney Illuminations) also incorporated this technology. Here’s a look back at its premiere:
La Fête Nationale
La Fête Nationale, known in English-speaking countries as Bastille Day, commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. A turning point among the various chapters of the French Revolution, insurgents sought to seize control of what was at the time an armory, fortress, and political prison for the Kingdom of France.
Earlier that year, the Three Estates of the Ancien Régime, or three classes monarchical France divided society between, effectively began resisting the king’s authority after he summoned representatives to discuss the country’s economic turmoil. After the Third Estate (known as the commoners) realized they had been snubbed by Louis, who permitted them extra delegates without extra power by making all Estates equal in voting power, they eventually formed the first Assemblée nationale, or National Assembly.
This new group identified itself as a body of the people rather than the Estates. Representing over 98% of the French population, the Third Estate representatives invited the First (clergy) and Second (nobility) Estates to join this new Assembly, though they made it clear they’d continue to seek reform and attempt to govern legislation with or without them — vastly outnumbering the two groups. Louis XVI famously locked the Assembly out of the hall they’d been using for meetings, forcing them to congregate in a nearby tennis court. There, they vowed not to separate until a Constitution had been established.
Pressured by the possibility of a coup, and vast public support for the Assembly, the king began to deploy troops all around Versailles and Paris, also requesting the belligerent group be relocated to a new location nestled between his armies in an aim to retain control over the situation. This military presence greatly angered Parisians, who began gathering in the streets by the thousands, also approving the formation of a militia. Civilians and elite mutineers from the French Guards began organizing.
A crowd gathered around the Bastille the morning of July 14, demanding access to the arms and gunpowder stored inside. After initially peaceful negotiations dragged on for an extended period, the situation began to devolve into chaos, and mass violence ensued. Royal Army troops encamped nearby did not intervene, while the governor of the fortress, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, was killed. Revolutionaries were victorious in taking the fortress, and the prisoners were freed — escalating the already radical challenges to authority.
Granted, there were only seven inmates at the time, and the fortress itself was actually scheduled for demolition. Nevertheless, the revolutionaries viewed it as a symbol of tyranny that needed to be rectified. Coincidentally, also on July 14, the National Assembly created a committee to create a Constitution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in August, followed by a first Constitution in 1791.
By the next day, King Louis XVI had backed down from his assertiveness in controlling Paris, some loyal to the crown were fleeing the country, communities across France were clamoring for popular sovereignty, and the Marquis de Lafayette took command of the National Guard, seeking (unsuccessfully) to maintain a balance between the rival political factions. From this point forward, the first Paris Commune would be the primary governing body in the area. The king would return to Paris July 17, though it was already clear that his power had faded. He didn’t last much longer.
The Fourteenth of July (Le 14 juillet) is considered a major beginning in the complete transformation of French politics and society, from monarchy to the fundamental beginnings of democracy, liberty, and the French Republic.
The journey of France since has not necessarily been linear or calm, with tumultuous reigns of terror, Napoleonic imperialism, Bourbon restorations, world wars, various subsequent iterations of the Republic, and resistance to Nazi occupation, just to name a few complications.
If anything, Bastille Day reminds everyone of the French Revolution’s monumental achievements for the world, paired with the struggle people endure to apply those lofty ideals to their fullest potential, remove lingering forms of oppression, and improve upon unavoidable human flaws and shortcomings in the process. Liberté, égalité, fraternité — liberty, equality, fraternity.
Each year, an elaborate military parade is held along the Champs-Élysées, a major avenue in Paris that runs from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. It is one of the oldest and largest military parades in Europe, traditionally attended by the President and other guests.
President Emmanuel Macron shared some of the festivities on his Instagram account, including the red, white, and blue flyover above.
India was the international guest of honor at this year’s parade, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance.
What do you think of this elaborate show at Disneyland Paris? Did you celebrate La Fête Nationale? Let us know in the comments.
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I was there, it was absolutely stunning !