Two weeks ago, on 29th March, Disney’s newest theme park Disney Adventure World officially opened its doors in Paris.
Adventure World sits on the site of Walt Disney Studios Park, which opened as the second gate to Disneyland Paris in 2002. But it’s not just a rebranding. It’s a complete reimagining of 90% of the existing land, and the addition of over 60 new acres. This sees the size of what was once the smallest park in the Disney portfolio double, and makes it the biggest expansion of an existing park in the history of Disney.
The heart of the first stage of the expansion is a new Frozen themed land, World of Frozen, and a 7.5-acre lake dubbed Adventure Bay that sits at its centre. There are two brand-new rides, 15 brand-new dining locations and two brand-new shows on the water, including the first ever nightly spectacular for the park, Disney Cascade of Lights.
The opening of Adventure World comes hot off the heels of another major Disney Park expansion, the 35-acre Fantasy Springs land which opened at DisneySea in Japan in 2024. Here, Peter Pan, Tangled and Frozen take centre stage across four new rides and a stunning on-site hotel.
That makes the Paris location the third Frozen land to open internationally, with the first opening at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2023. And fun fact: the Hong Kong park now sits as the smallest park in the Disney portfolio, following the launch of Adventure World.
The Hong Kong version of the World of Frozen has very much stood as the reference point for the new Paris land, with the Ice Castle sitting against the North Mountain skyline and Arendelle Village. The land’s main attraction, Frozen Ever After, is also mostly identical, bar for some improved effects and animatronics. The ride is a “shoot the chute” dark ride, that moves backwards and forwards over water while it retells parts of the story (and music) from the films.
A version also appears at EPCOT in Orlando, making this the fourth Frozen Ever After boat ride internationally. But unlike any other Frozen ride or land around the world, the Paris location features a brand new show on the water that sits against the land, A Celebration in Arendelle.
The land also sees the debut of a much talked about, interactive, life size animatronic Olaf who walks around the park. You’ll get a glimpse of him at the top of the article. And just have a look at how beautiful that land looks at night. They’ve gone above and beyond with those lighting effects, especially sitting against Adventure Bay.
Speaking of Adventure Bay, two new rides will be featured alongside the massive lake, with the first now open, and the second to arrive next year.
Open now is Raiponce Tangled Spin, the second dedicated Tangled ride to open internationally. This is essentially the park’s spinning teacup ride, while you sit in boats under the movie’s iconic floating lanterns.
The second ride will be called Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings, which it will be the first ever attraction based on the Pixar film Up to open at a Disney park. Get a sneak peak at the building plans for this flying chair carousel family attraction HERE on the official Disneyland Paris website, with it due to open in 2027.
And then of course there’s the new nighttime spectacular on the lake, to rival EPCOT and California Adventure, Disney Cascade of Lights. This almost 20-minute nightly show features advanced water, drone and firework effects, all set to a new song called “We Can Be Heroes” (not to be confused with the Chris Lilley show of the same name). Amongst the films set to feature are Moana, Mulan, Hercules, Zootopia, Up as well as stories and characters from the Marvel and Star Wars Universes.
Though there are no new hotels for the expansion, as there was in Japan, the five-star Disneyland Hotel and four-star Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel both have undergone recent renovations, and the Disney Sequoia Lodge will be next. We also won’t delve into this, or the 15 new dining options in this article, but you can see them, the new character meet ups and more in this expansive blog post from Disney.
As for what’s still to come other than the Up ride, vertical construction has just begun on the 37-metre high log flume attraction (think Splash Mountain) that will sit at the heart of La Terre Des Lions, or The Lion King; Pride Lands. The first ever Lion King land and ride to open at a Disney park.
This land will sit to the left of the World of Frozen, and you can see some models of what to expect HERE. New dining, shopping and character opportunities will also sit amongst the land, and while no opening date has been announced, a 2027-2028 window is expected for its official launch.
All of this makes for an impressive expansion and launch of Disney Adventure World, which follows years of new additions to the park. The Marvel Avengers Campus opened in 2022, with the same Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure they have at California Adventure, and Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, a steel roller coaster that sits in place of the Aerosmith roller coaster. And The World of Pixar saw Cars: Road Trip open in 2021. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of worlds to enjoy in Paris.
For tickets and more details on Disney Adventure World, head to their official website.
All photos and artist impressions provided by Disney.
