There has long been a stereotype touting the people of France rejecting anything overtly American. On April 12, 1992, the people of France gladly put that stereotype aside as they welcomed the opening of the second Disneyland theme park outside of the United States. About 20 miles east of Paris in Chessy, Disneyland Paris is the most visited theme park in all of Europe. As the park reaches its 30th anniversary, visitors are being welcomed by some changes and special events.

Disney is known for pulling out all the stops to celebrate landmark anniversaries, but these events always come with some controversy as many people simply don’t like change. The biggest uproar that Disneyland Paris faced was the introduction of a new costume for the park’s Mini Mouse character. Costume changes aren’t new for Disney characters, they go through many seasonal wardrobe changes. But for some reason, people were extremely upset over the blue polka-dot pantsuit designed by Stella McCartney that Mini would be sporting for the anniversary celebration. However, Parisians quickly came to terms with Mini’s new outfit. After all, Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world, so it makes sense that Mini would be wearing a fabulous, contemporary, couture outfit.

And while there was the strange dispute over Mini’s attire, one thing that everyone seemed excited about was the announcement of a new nighttime show for the anniversary extravaganza. Paris is also known as the City of Lights, so it is only fitting that the Disney Imagineers chose to roll out a new drone light show called Disney D-Light. In a statement about the event, Disney said, “After 30 years of dreams, the magic will ignite like never before.” Throughout the COVID19 pandemic, drone shows have become hugely popular. They are excellent ways to entertain large audiences while maintaining social distancing, all at a lower cost than fireworks.

The Disney Paris drone show is not the first time one of the parks has dabbled in drone entertainment. Always on the forefront of cutting edge technology and innovation, Disney has offered several limited, seasonal drone shows. The D-Light drone show, however, will be the first time a Disney park uses the technology as a part of their daily, reoccurring entertainment. In a blog post announcing some of the details, Thomas Smith, Editorial Content Director for Disney parks, explained, “And at nightfall, before the start of “Disney Illuminations”, a new spectacular pre-show “Disney D-Light” will light up the sky. Combining video projections, illuminated water jets, lighting effects, mist, famous Disney songs, and drone choreographies, will transform the Castle as never before. Created for the 30th anniversary by a symphony orchestra at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, the new theme song “Un monde qui s’illumine” [A world that lights up] will play as 200 synchronized drones take over the sky, forming a sparkling figure “30” right above Sleeping Beauty Castle.”

“To reach this historic milestone, this new era will be marked by transformation, limitless creativity, and new technology,” Mr. Smith went on to say. “The continued success at the resort is owed in part to the commitment of innovating new ideas, exploring new paths and continuously reinventing oneself.” The Disney Paris 30th anniversary celebrations kickstarted on March 6, 2020, and will run through the year. And while there has been no comment as to whether other Disney parks will be getting daily drone shows, it could be a future feature.

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