Help us protect Town Square Photography

[Jeff.ED92]

Next January, Disneyland® Paris is going to definitively close the Town Square Photography shop, so leading to a radical transformation of this Mecca of the parisian Resort.
 
 Thus, according to our information, all the historical elements in this shop of Main Street USA , elements that make it one of the richest space in the park thematically speaking, will unfortunately disappear.
 
 This shop wants to be the property of a merchant, pioneer in its field and fond of new technologies that challenge little by little the early XXth century. This is why, for example, one can find a wall phone where you can listen to conversations of many the people of Main Street USA, or see the electrical cables proudly exhibited on the ceiling, a sign of prosperity and modernity . Another major element but not least , this shop houses one of the largest collection of old photos devices throughout Europe.
 
 In an effort to provide greater credibility to this real life scene, Eddie Sotto (the Project Manager Imagineer of Main Street USA) was then subjected to a particularly striking role play, using the office as if he was the owner, by enclosing himself for an entire night. Accounting, drawings, personal collectibles, winks many and varied were then used and placed before being glued so still contemplating the spectacle of a living shop where visitors can expect to meet one minute to another the host of the location.
 
 It is impossible for us to resign ourselves to a reported loss that would undermine the symbol that is undoubtedly the most significant of all Main Street USA. Today the question is indeed the preservation of a common and shared heritage by many lovers of the park.
 
 Everyone then readily understood, our work is not based in any case on a categorical rejection of any evolution or modernization of infrastructure in this beautiful shop. We simply believe that all intelligence integration within a new store of the various items listed above should be an option that is required in a natural way, allowing as much to adapt to new markets that meet the integrity of the site.
 
 To make our voices heard , ED92 offers to participate in collective action in two stages:
 
 - Until December 28 , you gather the widest possible number of people by leveraging the enormous potential of social networks.
 
 - Secondly , during the period December 28, 2013 to January 5, 2014 we will offer you a letter that each of you may file directly to City Hall or send by mail (electronic or traditional) to create mass effect that will, we hope, make the management of Disneyland® Paris react about the value that we bring to the evolution of our park.
 
 So if you want to be a part of our action just follow this link :
https://www.facebook.com/events/477898598994903/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Thanks

[bad-pink-tink]

ok, I don't really understand your post


So Town Square Photography is closing, and you don't want it to close, ok, fair enough that I understand.


1. When is it closing


2. Why is it closing


3. What is replacing it


4. Who are you, are you cast members who work there, what is your connection to Town Square Photography.

[Jeff.ED92]

sorry my english is not the best :p

1. it's closing early january

2. it's closing because of the end of the deal with Kodak

3. A completely new shop "Flora's Boutique" which will be a Parisian themed shop, all the original theme of the shop is going to be destroyed.

4. No I'm not anymore a CM (but was in 2003/2004), I represent ED92, a new group of french fans who want to keep the real Magic of Disney alive at Disneyland Paris. We are close to many people inside the resort, and thus we have learned almost everything about this project.

I know that I don't have any real legitimate here, cause I'm more on the french forums like Disney Central Plaza, but we think that everybody has to be aware of that, that's why I decided to register on Magic Forum

[bad-pink-tink]

Thats ok, thanks for the further info. Unfortunately as the deal with Kodak has finished, unless you get another sponsor, then it will close. I understand totally your passion for trying to keep it open, but the reality is Disney is a business and without the deal with Kodak, this type of shop is no longer viable.

[Jeff.ED92]

We understand and accept that. But we think that the main thematic elements can be kept in the refurb.

Just look at Disneyland Ca., the new Starbucks kept all of the iconic thematic elements of the old Market House Deli.

Or here in Paris, when they wanted to detroy the Barber shop during the Emporium refurb in 2002, it's the voices of the fans that obliged Disney to keep it.

We are not against evolution, Disneyland is not a museum. But we think that evolution has not to go with destruction of all that was here before. As exemple they could keep the "Sotto's Office" and not destroy it just to have another shop window to show more "made in china" stuff (and that's precisely what they are going to do)

[never2old]

I was really upset to hear about the closing of Town Square Photography; the theming in there is probably the best in Main Street, and I'm sure  that like many of us I always go to see the office and imagine Eddie Sotto in there...

When I go to DLP with people who don't know the park and how much love has gone into building it, I always show them Eddie's office. Then they start to understand why I'm so much in love with it all....

Much of the original purpose of the shop is gone, of course... Can you still buy a camera in there? I remember buying films (before we all had digital cameras or iPhones...), and looking at the cameras you could buy!

Still, I don't see why the whole shop has to go!! And particularly Eddie's office. We're losing a great piece of Disneyland history there... Of all the shops in Main Street, why this one?? They could change Bixby Babies, for example, and move the baby clothes and things to the Emporium. Leave the dentist office untouched, and change the theming of the shop inside. For example!

[mickeyspal]

The "Town Square Photography" was the first shop I ever visited in DLP way back in 1993. I didn't have a decent camera so I  borrowed my brothers SLR camera and managed to damage it before I had taken the first photo. As soon as we entered the park and noticed the shop we marched straight over to it, I didn't know much about the camera except that it was a German make; the assistant was very helpful, as soon as he saw the camera he knew straight away the make and model and was able to fix the camera to enable me to take great shots of our first trip to Euro Disney. My brother doesn't know to this day that the camera was damaged, well not unless he ever reads this! After that day we always visited the shop to pick up odds and ends but also to soak up the atmosphere. I'm all for change when it's necessary, but I also would like them to keep some of the theming from the original shops when redesigning for new enterprises.

[The Helmsman]

I too am against the closure of Town Square Photography. I don't understand why they have to completely strip down the whole place and what Kodak has to do with the store. Can't the store continue as it is without having a sponsor? I really don't get it as I don't get why they want to change this shop. What would be their benefit. Besides, they keep selling the same generic merchandise in every shop there is.
Anyway, I fully support the cause, but I don't have a facebook account (nor I'm willing to create one), so is there another way to express my dissatisfaction? Maybe receive the letter of complaint by a PM through here?

[DGRavenswood]

I'm quite sympathetic to the cause and will miss Town Square Photography a lot; it was definitely imagineering at its best…


BUT… looking at older photos of the shop, it becomes obvious that it's only a shadow of its former self and that, along with many props and a big part of the original design work, the wonderful synergy between the shop's story and what was sold there has pretty much disappeared. In today's cell phone camera world it's unlikely they can create a new working business model for a photography shop.


It would be the easiest and cheapest solution for DLP to keep things as they are and sell their "Paris" merchandise there without changing a thing. Instead it appears they want to bring back an immersive experience that once again ties the shop's design to the products sold. I find it very hard to blame them for that, unless of course the end result will be an atrocious eyesore.


I think the best middle ground would be to ask DLP to preserve the most important piece of theming, the famous office, and install it elsewhere on Main Street in a new context.


All that said, I'm happy to see there are quite a few people who care about these things…

[DLRP Roundup!]

To be honest, if it'd sell camera items like SD cards, it'd probably fair a tad better.

[DGRavenswood]

To be honest, if it'd sell camera items like SD cards, it'd probably fair a tad better.

They sold digital cameras and accessories (incl. memory cards) for years. If that had been successful I doubt they'd redo the entire shop today.

[DLRP Roundup!]

To be honest, if it'd sell camera items like SD cards, it'd probably fair a tad better.

They sold digital cameras and accessories (incl. memory cards) for years. If that had been successful I doubt they'd redo the entire shop today.

Currently park wide, they don't sell anything, it seems a rather missed opportunity. Especially considering the relative size footprint it'd take up in there.

[DGRavenswood]

If people had bought those things while they were available, they'd still be on offer. So it's not really a missed opportunity as much as an idea that has run its course.


How many people really buy SD cards at their vacation destination these days? Probably not enough to warrant an entire shop dedicated to photography.

[DLRP Roundup!]

You don't think a shop named Town Square Photohgraphy, in the last three years should have had a small stand, even counter top unit, selling camera storage, in possibly one of the most photographed locations in Europe?

It's not like the Mickey plushes aren't available in every other shop location park wide, we wouldn't lose anything else.

Also people do buy them at destinations, I certainly do, across the pond they certainly sell them in park, and a memory card isn't a novelty that wears off, people do consume them.

[Sulley's Arms]

I'm very interested in this thread and the differing views we all have about this store.  I can totally understand why there is a fairly wide split in opinion here, because most DLP visitors don't know that any part of the park has a 'history' or 'back story'.  The photography shop is, for most people, that building you have to walk around to get your first view of the Castle & Main Street USA; it's just a facade to many.

It was only on a guided tour of the park that we really looked at the massive amount of detail locked in that store, and fully began to understand how much genuine history it contains.

In many ways it actually is a museum, but presented in such an unassuming way that this fact is lost on the majority of visitors (through no fault of their own).

I believe that the essence of this unit should certainly be retained, possibly relocated if necessary, but I also don't like the idea of standing in the way of progress, and it could be converted into a great new store that we all love for a totally different reason to the photography shop!

Tricky one...