Near the exit to Star Tours in Disneyland Paris is the Star Traders shop, housed within a sort of Rebel base station crowned with an antenna for communicating with fellow Alliance groups across the galaxy. While the Star Wars references are just as relevant today as they were when they were added in 1992, there are other elements in this corner of Discoveryland which definitely provide a blast to the past.
Step inside Star Traders, for example, and you'll discover a sculpted tableau at the center of the store comprised of futuristic mannequins and... the Mighty Ducks? Yep. This '90s staple of Disney films and sports enterprises is alive and well here, in the form of Donald and his nephews playing a "space age" game of ice hockey.
Next door, there's a flashback to the 1980s with the Michael Jackson 3-D extravaganza, "Captain EO." Over the past couple of years, "Captain EO" has made a nostalgic return to the four Disney Parks around the world the show once called home (it was never presented in Hong Kong Disneyland). Here, though, sharp-eyed visitors can still spy remnants of the theater's previous tenant, "Honey I Shrunk the Audience."
The flying lightbulb was a symbol of the Imagination Institute, the setting for that 3-D film. Outside "Captain EO," you can still find this topiary of the flying lightbulb, as well as the device pictured below. When the disc near the base is spun, an illusion of animation is created... animation of a bouncing, flying lightbulb.
Check back tomorrow for our final post from Discoveryland on Mysteries of the Nautilus. (Note: Discoveryland also includes an attraction called Orbitron, a flying rocket spinner-type ride. During my visit, not only was Orbitron closed for refurbishment, but the entire attraction had been removed preventing any picture taking.)
TAND
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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