What was World Chorus?

 An Overview of World Chorus!


World Chorus was a pavilion sponsored by France Telecom during the opening of Disneyland Paris, and was open up until 2010, when it was replaced by Princess Pavillion in 2011. It went through two phases in terms of colours, as it began in a white and pale blue colour scheme, but after a repaint, appeared far more vibrant and beautiful!



A photo of the building being constructed.


The building was accessible after finishing the main ride, in which you would exit and then head into the pavilion. It was housed in a building known colloquially as the octagon or snail by cast members, and each morning they would walk through to ensure all the buildings and their animations were working perfectly.




The building housed many styles of animation.

  • Static silhouettes

  • 2D animated loops

  • Animatronic animation

  • CGI 


The static silhouettes appeared on the walls through buildings and LED lights, alongside fibre-optic shooting stars that would appear to light them up. The 2D animations were projected through Pepper’s ghost into a miniature 3D environment. The animation was a singular doll about the size of a human head, who was a small conductor doll. The CGI was inside phone booths and mimicked the lip movements of talking guests, allowing them to be represented by an it’s a small world doll, a feature added in 2004.


The animations were produced by Walt Disney Animation France and directed by Chris Bailey. Mr Bailey stated in an interview with Mickey Mouse Park that “Modern technology makes communication across the world as simple as calling next door”, and that the project was well-defined by the time he was brought on. Barry Johnson Esq was brought onboard, as was Olivier Panhuys, and the end result was a gorgeous and unique representation of human connection transgressing all borders thanks to the power of human communication and technology. This message is even more pertinent nowadays, and continues to live on as a hope for peace in an age where we are more connected than ever.


The animatronic in question was a small conductor doll with very limited movement, being merely his arms moving up and down to mimic conducting. The podium he was standing on also spun for the majority of the time he was around, and I estimate he was about as tall as an average adult’s head, and has a different face to the rest of the small world dolls, one that is not smiling, oddly enough!



World Chorus closed in 2010, to make way for the Princess Pavilion, and what has become of the buildings, animations and animatronics inside is unknown. I hope that this blog may help me find answers, so if anyone has anything, please leave a comment or DM me on Instagram, any and all information is greatly appreciated!


Au revoir…

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