Epcot's Impressions de France closes for upgrades later this week

Sep 30, 2019 in "Impressions de France"

Posted: Monday September 30, 2019 9:24am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Impressions de France at Epcot's France Pavilion will close for upgrades on October 2 2019.

The new “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along” will be joining the Impressions de France film in the Palais du Cinéma in January 2020. As part of the preparations for the new show, the existing projection system will also be receiving upgrades.

The gallery in the pre-show area will also be receiving a new exhibit during the closure.

The brand new “Beauty and the Beast” sing-along is being created by Don Hahn, producer of the animated and live-action “Beauty and the Beast” films.

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gerararJul 30, 2020

They should’ve used the same technology as the LED buildboards that scatter Sunset Boulevard, including the Fantasmic! entrance buildboard because they are very much more readable and legible during the day imo.

Andrew CJul 30, 2020

5 second test. Actually a test wasn’t even necessary. They should have known by common sense.

Horizons1Jul 30, 2020

How does something like that even get approved? Did no one stop and think we should field test this first?

Horizons '83Jul 30, 2020

FTFY ;)

wdwmagicJul 30, 2020

I think it is totally dead. It was previously visible (this pic from the opening week), although very difficult. You can just about see it in this pic. Now, there is absolutely nothing.

UNCgolfJul 30, 2020

This is actually hilarious.

marni1971Jul 30, 2020

Believe it or not it is working. You can’t read it in sunlight. Not only is it a thematic disaster compared to the elegance of the rest of the entrance but it’s illegible unless it’s dark. Not a good design.

DznyGrlSDJul 30, 2020

I finally saw this last weekend...wow it's...something? Ok, it's terrible and whoever thought this up should be fired.

wdwmagicJul 29, 2020

Not that it is a great loss, because you couldn't view it in the sunlight, but it doesn't look like the new digital sign survived very long in the great outdoors. It has been dead since EPCOT's reopening.

Epcot82GuyMar 02, 2020

As always, please send that to Disney, especially via Social Media.

aladdin2007Mar 02, 2020

great review...the operating hours for it however are downright criminal. sadly Ill never get to see it again as Im never there at night. With that being the only option its ridiculous on Disney's part that they have basically given it the boot.

Prototype82Mar 02, 2020

Despite being sleep deprived after RotR, I had a chance to finally watch remastered Impressions de France a week ago when all of my friends went to go crash at my buddy's timeshare. Thanks to good 'ol Joffrey, I had enough energy to make it to the last show of the night. Decent crowd, but anyways...Stunning remaster. It was so clear that it looked like it was filmed yesterday. I second the color issues mentioned before but I didn't notice until I watched the clips I filmed when I got back home. Don't miss it and please show your support. The remaster is certainly pristine and this film really ought to stay until we get a new one. It's just beautiful.

trainplane3Feb 13, 2020

I made sure to watch it last night before I head out and it wasn't as full as my Saturday showing but it still had about a half full theater. Still a nice turnout. It might be all shows in the theater but management was watching the loads for IdF on both nights I saw it. If you like IdF then come out and show your support. Edit: Though you can't tell from the pictures, it is a noticeable improvement. I think there are some slight color grading (I think that's the term?) issues that are either new or have existed with the original film.

TrainsOfDisneyFeb 10, 2020

Or watching the broadway concerts. I really wanted to see the updated IDF but the whole trip was planned around seeing the broadway concerts ASAP. I don’t think the cars show at studios is much better, but at least it has an AA, multiple screens, and some in theatre lighting.