Get ready for a wickedly fun time! Disneyland Paris just launched its Halloween Festival with a brand new look this year. From Main Street, U.S.A. to the Castle Stage, fresh decorations tell an entirely new, villainous story. We’re diving behind the scenes with set designer Olivier Dusautoir to uncover all the secrets…
Flickering candles, gleaming pumpkins, eerie lights, and enchanting music – there’s no doubt, the Disney Halloween Festival is in full swing at Disneyland Park! But this year feels different. Forget the pumpkin men and pink witches, the sunflowers and harvest themes; a whole new narrative unfolds. As soon as you step into the park, the stunning Tiffany-style stained glass windows at Main Street Station set the mood: Disney Villains have seized control!
Return to Disney Classics
When Olivier Dusautoir, the set designer, started brainstorming this new Halloween Festival with creative directors Serge Kypriotti and Matthieu Robin right after last year’s season, they had one goal: evolve the festival. They paid close attention to visitor feedback, especially the massive love for Disney Villains. So, the team decided to go back to basics for this fresh edition.
Olivier explains, “We quickly landed on the idea of returning to the core: Disney Villains. We delved back into the Classics, picking out every moment where the Villains take charge! Visually, most of these scenes share a powerful, dark yet dynamic signature. That became the foundation of my approach.”
Armed with these observations, Olivier developed a unique graphic language. He clarifies, “Before even drawing, I need to know how I’m going to draw. It’s my way of getting into the season’s spirit, just like an actor embodies a character by putting on their costume.” He grabbed his tools and started sketching, mostly on a tablet but also on paper, focusing on black and white drawings, no colorization or 3D. “Drawing inspiration from the Classics, I developed a more aggressive, darker style, using shadows and hatching. I immersed myself in the Villains’ mindset, creating tortured, swirling shapes that twist and menacingly overshadow the characters.” From there, he revisited iconic Halloween elements: night, forests, brambles, objects coming alive, trees turning into monsters.
Olivier also drew from the Classics for the festival’s new color palette. “All these Villain scenes share a common color scheme,” he notes. “We see greens, purples, turquoise blues, grays, and black. So, I decided to adopt this palette and bring it into the Halloween universe and traditions. Purple meets orange, sometimes even blending into a very evocative orangey-purple!”
A Striking Spot!
The Castle Stage decor perfectly embodies this artistic direction. These haunted ruins, cleverly placed near Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Wishing Well, don’t point to one specific animated film. Instead, they create a universal environment where Villains of all kinds feel right at home. Olivier explains, “By using the visual codes of the animated films and focusing on what all Villains have in common, we can transition from the Evil Queen to Maleficent using the same artifacts and colors, maintaining a coherent aesthetic. The dark stones of the Castle Stage decor, with violet, even neon accents, create an otherworldly feel, as if it’s always night. You can spot claw marks – probably from a dragon… You might even see Diablo, Maleficent’s raven, perched on one of the crests. The climbing ivy, reminiscent of Snow White’s nightmare’s shifting vegetation, brings a vibrant touch. The decor itself is a character. Guests will love finding Maleficent or the Evil Queen there, but they’ll enjoy photographing the setting just as much on its own.”
36 Candles… and More!
Among the other iconic new decorations, you’ll find about forty uniquely designed pumpkins and over 130 candles, with sixty of them lighting up the roof of Main Street Station alone. Olivier notes, “This is a Halloween classic we hadn’t fully explored before, and now it truly shines.” Created with Lighting Designer Adrien Mourey, these candles cast an enchanting glow over Main Street as evening falls.
Some of these candles clearly show our iconic characters! The residents of Main Street came up with a fun idea: a candle-carving contest featuring Goofy, Donald, and others. It adds a playful touch to this delightfully spooky celebration!
A Terribly Victorian Halloween
Main Street’s residents also love “buntings” – those banners and draperies typical of Victorian tradition. You’ll spot them behind Main Street Station and on the lampposts. The lampposts also feature Mickey heads crafted from acanthus leaves. Olivier explains, “Acanthus leaves, originally prominent in ancient architecture, fit perfectly into the Victorian style. Ours are highly stylized, painted with blue, green, and turquoise reflections.”
But most notably, you’ll see elegant, cut-paper-style Villain silhouettes on those same lampposts, much like the silhouette artists near Main Street Motors. Ten Disney Villains are highlighted as medallions within the town’s decor. Frankly, the dandyish charm of a Dr. Facilier or Queen of Hearts fits the setting perfectly!
Teamwork
Bringing all these decorations to life was an adventure, combining the expertise of Disneyland Paris’s own artisans with external companies. About a quarter of the decor came from Disneyland Paris workshops, like the show decoration or drapery workshops. Parisian-based ateliers created the rest.
A true centerpiece of these new decorations, the impressive medallion on Main Street, U.S.A. Station, for instance, was crafted by Paradis Expansion workshops in Crécy-la-Chapelle. They’re long-time collaborators with the resort, responsible for other iconic decors like those in Ratatouille: The Adventure and Cars ROAD TRIP.
Olivier explains, “Beyond design, my role involves coordinating the production of the decorations. We collaborated with three external workshops. Since each has its unique expertise and artists, maintaining a strong connection is crucial to ensure everything aligns, especially when working with lighting. When an object is backlit, its shade changes. So, we must paint each decorative element both unlit and lit, guaranteeing color consistency across all the decors.”
And once all the elements were created, it was time for installation – always at night! It took about 15 days of setup to get everything ready for September 26th, the festival’s launch date!
Thrills of Joy
After indulging his sense of wonder for the Christmas season, especially with Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade, Olivier Dusautoir is thrilled to return to Halloween. He recalls, “When I joined the Disneyland Paris Scenography design office in the early 2000s, I assisted all the set designers of that era. Little did I know that a few years later, I would be responsible for the festival’s scenographic development! I’m genuinely delighted to have been tasked with this season and given the opportunity to create something new. It’s a truly exciting challenge!”
And it’s not over yet! This year is just the beginning of a larger festival evolution. Olivier teases, “I can’t reveal everything right now, but the story we’ve imagined is like a series of interconnected tales, featuring both our VIPs and the Disney Villains. We’ve found a very interesting direction that will allow us to develop the Disney Halloween Festival in a completely new way over the seasons. Every detail you see today was designed to be part of an even bigger story that will grow and expand year after year. A truly different Halloween is taking shape!”
The Unlucky Nugget Saloon more enchanting than ever
Over in Frontierland, The Lucky Nugget Saloon once again transforms into The Unlucky Nugget Saloon, drawing inspiration from the eerie world of Phantom Manor. This spot invites you to revisit the ghostly remnants of Melanie Ravenswood’s wedding reception – a celebration that, famously, never happened.
Last year’s experience was such a hit that Imagineers decided to expand it for this new Halloween season, bringing the chilling atmosphere to the restaurant’s first floor and its surroundings. You’ll find a gallery of portraits in the mezzanine, with some particularly familiar faces that will delight Phantom Manor fans.
Thomas Levert, Show Designer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris, says, “With these new décors, we want to keep enriching our story for guests who already loved The Unlucky Nugget Saloon last year. We’ve also added new light and sound effects, plus an abandoned guestbook filled with wishes from mysterious – possibly recognizable – figures to the never-to-be bride!”
Just a stone’s throw from The Unlucky Nugget Saloon, the Last Chance Cafe joins Melanie Ravenswood’s wedding celebration. It’s adorned with faded decorations and banners proclaiming “Celebrating the Ravenswoods” – a somber reminder that the wedding never actually took place. The popcorn stand and the central plaza of Thunder Mesa also feature new decorations, including a flower-covered wedding arch, hinting at the townspeople’s initial excitement for the most influential family’s nuptials.
