Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a new nighttime spectacular in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and a revamped evening parade starting in April. The Disney Dreams show will feature castle projections, water screens, dancing fountains, pyrotechnic displays and laser effects that combine elements from the Magic, Memories, and You show at Florida's Magic Kingdom and World of Color at Disney California Adventure. PHOTOS: Disney Dreams water show at Disneyland Paris The new Disney Dreams nighttime spectacular at the French theme park will employ 30-foot-tall water screens in the moats in front of the castle that will serve as giant canvases for Disney animated scenes set to an original musical score.

The eternal problem with Tomorrowland is that the commonplace reality of today inevitably catches up to and ultimately surpasses the ultramodern imagined future of yesterday. Disneyland's forward-looking land of tomorrow has seen many evolutions since opening day in 1955. Through the years, there have been major expansions in 1959 (Monorail), 1977 (Space Mountain) and 1986 (Star Tours) as well as complete makeovers in 1967 (New Tomorrowland) and 1998 (New New Tomorrowland). The current iteration has a retro-futuristic science fiction fantasy theme that was designed to be a bit more timeless but nonetheless is showing its age. Photos: Top 10 Tomorrowland rides of the past With the release of "Iron Man 3" and plans for "Star Wars" and "Tron" sequels in the works, I thought it would be a good time to do a bit of "blue sky" dreaming about what Walt Disney Imagineering might have in mind for the New New New Tomorrowland.

In perhaps the worst-kept secret in theme park history, the Disneyland Paris resort has finally admitted that the long-rumored Ratatouille trackless dark ride will open in 2014. Photos: Ratatouille dark ride at Disneyland Paris Conspicuously under construction for more than a year and rumored since 2009 or earlier, the new attraction will be based on the Oscar-winning Disney/Pixar film that tells the tale of a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a renowned French chef. With an estimated budget of  $150 million, the new attraction at the Walt Disney Studios theme park in France is expected to feature trackless ride vehicles with 3-D projections and special effects.

As a guy who started his own company before he graduated from high school, Garner Holt is just a big kid who owns a giant toy factory. "I feel like I've never worked a day in my life," said the founder and president of Garner Holt Productions, the world's largest animatronics maker. Located across from a string of high-voltage power lines near San Bernardino International Airport, Garner Holt Productions is tucked into an industrial park that remains hidden from most theme park fans.

Travelers headed from England to Disneyland Paris no longer need to change trains in Paris. The cross-channel Eurostar service, which connects London with several cities on the Continent, has added a new direct rail link that carries passengers from London's Waterloo Station to the theme park 20 miles east of Paris. The new Eurostar connection is a three-hour, nonstop ride via the Chunnel. Round-trip fares begin at $132, with first-class fares also available.

Euro Disney said Wednesday that it hopes for a breakthrough in talks aimed at ending a weeklong strike at its theme park outside Paris, but workers were in no mood to drop their demands for higher pay. The walkout at Disneyland Paris began with parade performers and technicians; restaurant workers later joined in. Euro Disney said the daily parade continued as scheduled and that the vast majority of its 13,000 employees were on the job.

The eternal problem with Tomorrowland is that the commonplace reality of today inevitably catches up to and ultimately surpasses the ultramodern imagined future of yesterday. Disneyland's forward-looking land of tomorrow has seen many evolutions since opening day in 1955. Through the years, there have been major expansions in 1959 (Monorail), 1977 (Space Mountain) and 1986 (Star Tours) as well as complete makeovers in 1967 (New Tomorrowland) and 1998 (New New Tomorrowland). The current iteration has a retro-futuristic science fiction fantasy theme that was designed to be a bit more timeless but nonetheless is showing its age. Photos: Top 10 Tomorrowland rides of the past With the release of "Iron Man 3" and plans for "Star Wars" and "Tron" sequels in the works, I thought it would be a good time to do a bit of "blue sky" dreaming about what Walt Disney Imagineering might have in mind for the New New New Tomorrowland.

The $1.5 billion Paramount Park in Spain hopes to rival Disneyland Paris as a European tourist destination when the movie theme park debuts in spring 2015. > Photos: Paramount Park Murcia theme park in Spain Located on the Mediterranean coast about 270 miles southeast of Madrid, Paramount Park Murcia will feature 30 attractions with an adjacent shopping center, hotels and casino. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2012 on a 100-acre theme park set around a central lake that will combine the themed lands of Disneyland with the movie backlots of Universal Studios . While not an investor, Paramount Pictures will license movie properties to the developer and provide design direction for the theme park.

It already seems like 2013 is shaping up as a great year for ride enthusiasts around the world, as a number of new theme parks are planned for Asia and several major attractions are in the works for Europe. > Photos: Best new international theme park rides for 2013 Consider this a tentative and fluid list of new attractions on tap at international parks (outside the United States). A number of oft-delayed projects have been given new 2013 opening dates that could get postponed again, while several recently announced theme parks may never advance past the planning stages.

Disney plans to introduce the Avengers, X-Men,  Spider-Man and other Marvel characters in a theme-park setting for the first time since acquiring the comic book company in 2009. PHOTOS: Marvel characters coming to Middle East theme park The Marvel Adventure family entertainment center is expected to open in late 2013 in the United Arab Emirates with superhero-themed attractions, restaurants and shops. The eight-acre indoor mini theme park will be part of the $5-billion City of Arabia entertainment, commercial and residential development in Dubailand.

In perhaps the worst-kept secret in theme park history, the Disneyland Paris resort has finally admitted that the long-rumored Ratatouille trackless dark ride will open in 2014. Photos: Ratatouille dark ride at Disneyland Paris Conspicuously under construction for more than a year and rumored since 2009 or earlier, the new attraction will be based on the Oscar-winning Disney/Pixar film that tells the tale of a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a renowned French chef. With an estimated budget of  $150 million, the new attraction at the Walt Disney Studios theme park in France is expected to feature trackless ride vehicles with 3-D projections and special effects.

Disney plans to introduce the Avengers, X-Men,  Spider-Man and other Marvel characters in a theme-park setting for the first time since acquiring the comic book company in 2009. PHOTOS: Marvel characters coming to Middle East theme park The Marvel Adventure family entertainment center is expected to open in late 2013 in the United Arab Emirates with superhero-themed attractions, restaurants and shops. The eight-acre indoor mini theme park will be part of the $5-billion City of Arabia entertainment, commercial and residential development in Dubailand.

Disneyland Paris will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a new nighttime spectacular in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and a revamped evening parade starting in April. The Disney Dreams show will feature castle projections, water screens, dancing fountains, pyrotechnic displays and laser effects that combine elements from the Magic, Memories, and You show at Florida's Magic Kingdom and World of Color at Disney California Adventure. PHOTOS: Disney Dreams water show at Disneyland Paris The new Disney Dreams nighttime spectacular at the French theme park will employ 30-foot-tall water screens in the moats in front of the castle that will serve as giant canvases for Disney animated scenes set to an original musical score.

It already seems like 2013 is shaping up as a great year for ride enthusiasts around the world, as a number of new theme parks are planned for Asia and several major attractions are in the works for Europe. > Photos: Best new international theme park rides for 2013 Consider this a tentative and fluid list of new attractions on tap at international parks (outside the United States). A number of oft-delayed projects have been given new 2013 opening dates that could get postponed again, while several recently announced theme parks may never advance past the planning stages.

Movie stars, television actors, pop singers, fashion models and stand-up comedians love to get scared just like you and me. > Photos: Screaming with the stars at Halloween theme park events Halloween events at theme parks around the world offer celebrities the perfect opportunity to get their haunt on while blending in with big crowds under the cover of darkness. The ghoulish monsters, haunted mazes and holiday decorations draw some of the biggest celebrity names: Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Hilary Duff, Demi Lovato, Lindsay Lohan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga and Paris Hilton.

The $1.5 billion Paramount Park in Spain hopes to rival Disneyland Paris as a European tourist destination when the movie theme park debuts in spring 2015. > Photos: Paramount Park Murcia theme park in Spain Located on the Mediterranean coast about 270 miles southeast of Madrid, Paramount Park Murcia will feature 30 attractions with an adjacent shopping center, hotels and casino. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2012 on a 100-acre theme park set around a central lake that will combine the themed lands of Disneyland with the movie backlots of Universal Studios . While not an investor, Paramount Pictures will license movie properties to the developer and provide design direction for the theme park.

Walt Disney Co., which transformed the near-bankrupt Disneyland Paris into Europe's most visited tourist attraction, adds some Hollywood glitz to its French resort with the opening Saturday of a theme park modeled on its studio tour in Orlando, Fla. The 50-acre park, called Walt Disney Studios, is billed as a tribute to American and European cinema and is next to Disneyland Paris.

FRANCE * Masked robbers crashed a car into a currency exchange office in Disneyland Paris, trading fire with police as they fled with an undisclosed amount of money, authorities said. One officer was hit in the leg, and two others were injured by broken glass. The holdup was at the American Express office in the theme park in Marne-la-Vallee, east of the capital. The attackers briefly took two park employees hostage but released them, officials said.

In regard to the Sept. 4 On the Spot column by Catharine Hamm ["Paris by… What?"] about getting into the city inexpensively: This is not the time to cut corners. If you can afford to go to Paris, you can afford to budget in transportation. It's one thing to use public rail transportation when you are rested, when the weather is nice and your handbag is the heaviest item you have. Travelers may not realize that the train into Paris lets you off underground and with rarely an elevator in sight, you must lug your luggage up one to two flights of stone stairs.

Walt Disney Co., its bottom line dragged down by restructuring costs, reported a modest drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. The Burbank entertainment giant reported net income of $844 million, or 44 cents a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 2, compared with earnings of $845 million, or 45 cents, from the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 1% to $9.7 billion. Excluding one-time items, earnings of 47 cents a share beat analysts' average estimate of 38 cents. The company's flagship Media Networks group, which includes the ABC broadcast network and cable channels ESPN and Disney Channel, posted an 11% rise in operating income for the quarter to $724 million from $655 million a year earlier.