After a year of work, the Train de la mine - one of Disneyland Paris's top attractions - will reopen its doors to the public this Saturday. The site, on a large scale, required to completely empty the lake surrounding the site, ie 48,000 m3 of water. "A major part of the rehabilitation process involved the tracks, rails and vehicles" of the famous roller coaster, explains Bjorn Heerwagen, production designer and production manager of the Ile de France leisure park. It was also a matter of "giving shine" to this typical setting of the Far West, whose walls were resculpted and repainted, and "to restore the effects of light and sound," adds Beth Clapperton, director artistic. All the while taking advantage of technological advances to renew the special effects.
Cactus more real than life, coyotes, bats ... everything has been cared for down to the last detail. True technical prowess, a false explosion with the dynamite on the passage of the train has even been developed. During the last eight days, tests have been carried out to ensure the reliability of the equipment. And because ... in April 2011, a rock of the scenery had fallen on the passengers of the train of the mine, making 5 wounded. It is to this day one of the rare accidents recorded since the opening of Disneyland Paris on April 12, 1992, with the fall of a child, in 2013, of a boat of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Dynamizing attendance
The renovation of the Mine Train is part of a wider program to rehabilitate the park, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. The opportunity to "shine with all its sparkles", in the words of Daniel Delcourt, deputy general manager operations at Disneyland Paris. This anniversary will also be marked by new shows and parades, all with the aim of boosting attendance. The attacks and the persistent terrorist threat in France put an end to it during the financial year 2015-2016: 13.4 million visitors crossed the park's gates, compared to 14.8 million in the previous year.
Already, Peter Pan's flight (refurbished from February to July 2016) and Robinson's cabin (February to September) have been revamped, and It's a small world, from 2015. The renovation of Space Mountain was hired last year, including a complete restoration of its roof, its sign, and work on the Russian mountain and the system of control of the special effects. The attraction will close in January for a second phase of work and will reopen in May. The vehicles will be changed and the atmosphere transformed, according to the theme of the saga "Star Wars" (of which the Walt Disney Company had bought the franchise for $ 4 billion in 2013). Another attraction, Star Tours - simulation of a flight in ship - will reopen in March in a new version. Finally, Pirates of the Caribbean will close in January to close the session of works before its reopening to the public in July, with new scenes.
