Hello everyone. I was at DLP this week-end, especially at the Walt Disney Studios and i'm sorry to say that i don't have good news. In fact, i came back home in pretty bad mood, and i'm going to explain you why.
When the WDS opened seven years ago, guests had the choice between three restaurants. The first one is located in the Studio 1 and basically is a fast-food, the second one is "Au Rendez-vous des Stars" with an art-deco style and is a self-service. And the third one was the Backlot Express Restaurant, also a self-service but the best themed of all three.
In fact as you will see below the Backlot Express theme was a "movie props warehouse" and imagineers found hundreds of props - small or large - and spent obviously a lot of time to put them all over the restaurant, and everything was done very intelligently. In two words, the theming was great and it works perfectly with the park's theme, which is supposed to be, let's not forget it, movie studios. It was by far the best themed restaurant at the WDS.
Recently for unknown reasons DLP's management decided to change not only the decor or the theme of the Backlot Express but also its name. Gone is the Backlot Express, the new name is the "Blockbuster Cafe". The entrance is themed on High School Musical - what a blockbuster! - and the room on the left is themed on Pirates of Caribbean movies.
And it's a disaster. Really. I don't like to be harsh and i'm sure they spent some time doing this new deco, but honestly, frankly, they've screwed everything. It was better before and it's very bad now, there is no soul, no genius, nothing.
Let me show you first how it looked before. On the top, a picture of the old facade.
And below some shots of the previous decor with hundreds of props everywhere.
You really had the feeling to be in a movie studios props warehouse and that was great.
And now here is the new decor of the Blockbuster Cafe. First, the exterior. They've simply changed the name on the front and put Pirates of Caribbean posters on the left of the entrance.
Pictures of the main room where all props have disappeared. Instead, plenty of HSM banners all around.
The room on the left have a Pirates of Caribbean theme. Pictures on the wall are huge - and flat - pictures of pirates ship (from the movies). The light is voluntarily darker even a bit "blue" thanks to blue film they put on the windows, and chandeliers hang from the ceiling all around.
In a corner, some POTC props - supposedly coming from the movies, but i wouldn't bet on that.
Because i tried to shoot the pictures on the best angles, perhaps you'll think that this POTC room don't look that bad, but frankly when you're inside it, it's cheap. It's not the worst, but it could have been so much better. You can feel that no big budget was available for all these new decors. And it's a pity because the previous Backlot Express decor had inspiration. The worst is that this new Blockbuster Cafe may be successful! Regular guests are less difficult than we can be and considering that HSM and POTC are very popular, the Blockbuster Cafe may become popular too! Let's hope i will have better news from the WDS next time!
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Pictures: copyright Alain Littaye or copyright Disney
