Transformative Multi-Year Expansion Announced for WDS Paris

[Gusey]

It’s a good thing. The park will be better for it.

But by god Frozen AND Rise AND LK should all have been finished from opening day.

I do sometimes wonder if Star Wars hadn't been cancelled and replaced by LK, would construction on SW have started earlier than LK's or would it also have waiting until most of Frozen/Adventure Bay construction had been completed, similar to how Frozen's construction didn't begin until 2022 when Avengers was beginning to open? Obviously without the extensive closures DLP had in 2020, 2021 the whole project would have been finished earlier, but I'm not even sure if the original 2025 end date for SW would have been met with Frozen taking 4 years instead of the planned 2 years (Avengers 21, Frozen 23, Star Wars 25)

 

[marni1971]

I do sometimes wonder if Star Wars hadn't been cancelled and replaced by LK, would construction on SW have started earlier than LK's or would it also have waiting until most of Frozen/Adventure Bay construction had been completed, similar to how Frozen's construction didn't begin until 2022 when Avengers was beginning to open? Obviously without the extensive closures DLP had in 2020, 2021 the whole project would have been finished earlier, but I'm not even sure if the original 2025 end date for SW would have been met with Frozen taking 4 years instead of the planned 2 years (Avengers 21, Frozen 23, Star Wars 25)

Well, GE Lite was officially cancelled around July 2022. You can bet it was pulled internally earlier that year. Had it not, and work started then, that was 3.5 years ago. 4 years until lake opening. That also means 3 years of stagnation until a replacement was ready. You can tell Burbank calls the shots now across the resort with the slowing of capex projects. But, I’ve said it before, had they not been in full ownership I fear the resort wouldn’t have made it through the pandemic.

 

[BrianLo]

Green flag. Reminder that Way of Water also significantly outperformed the first movie in France and is the biggest movie of all time in that market adjusted for currency conversion (though not inflation).

 

[Disney Analyst]

I mean, at least the infrastructure is done. Now they just need build lands and plug them into their plots.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The fake decorative railings on the upper facade of ToT have been replaced with fancier looking ones



Considering how plain the exterior is compared to other versions, I appreciate the glow up

It's probably part of the broader renovations that include the queue and new gift shop

 

[marni1971]

The fake decorative railings on the upper facade of ToT have been replaced with fancier looking ones



Considering how plain the exterior is compared to other versions, I appreciate the glow up

It's probably part of the broader renovations that include the queue and new gift shop

Threw me for a minute wondering what’s the difference. Then I realised both photos are the same!

The original:

 

[Supersnow84]

you’d think though since each of these lands are so small they could have a slightly shorter time span

Like why is pride lands set to take another 3 years when it’s basically a ride and a toilet block

Paris just seems to move in slow motion

 

[FoodRockz]

Paris just seems to move in slow motion

They're simply trying to imitate their dining culture.

 

[marni1971]

Paris just seems to move in slow motion

And Orlando doesn’t ?

 

[Supersnow84]

I mean when Orlando announces an expansion they tend to move quickly enough. Like in the time Paris builds pride lands Orlando will build half of everything that was announced at d23 last year

They are just slow at responding to changing needs and were slow to pivot to universal

 

[nickys]

I mean when Orlando announces an expansion they tend to move quickly enough. Like in the time Paris builds pride lands Orlando will build half of everything that was announced at d23 last year

They are just slow at responding to changing needs and were slow to pivot to universal

What does Universal have to do with Paris?

Remind me how long Tron took again?
Or from closing LMA and the Backlot Tour to Galaxy’s Edge and TSL opening?
Or how long the AK Central Americas is going to take?
Or Piston Peak at MK?

And Villan’s Land is nowhere to be seen but was announced more than 2 years ago now. Let’s see when that opens.

 

[marni1971]

I mean when Orlando announces an expansion they tend to move quickly enough.

Do they heck.

Pandora - announced September 2011. Opened May 2017.
Galaxies Edge - announced August 2015. Opened August 2019.
Tron - announced August 2017. Opened April 2023.
Ratatouille - announced July 2018 2017. Opened October 2021.

 

[Disneyfanatic30]

Do they heck.

Pandora - announced September 2011. Opened May 2017.
Galaxies Edge - announced August 2015. Opened August 2019.
Tron - announced August 2017. Opened April 2023.
Ratatouille - announced July 2018. Opened October 2021.

Ratatouille was actually announced in July 2017

 

[marni1971]

Ratatouille was actually announced in July 2017

So it was!

 

[denyuntilcaught]

I mean when Orlando announces an expansion they tend to move quickly enough.

As marni noted, no they don't. Yes, this Paris expansion seems to be taking exceptionally long due to factors x,y, and z, but the company as a whole is notorious for extraordinarily long development timelines from announcement to opening.

Mainly because they announce things too soon, or pivot somewhere post-announcement as was the case in Paris.

That's why the Avengers Campus expansion at DLR is actually a breath of fresh air - that expansion is going up in a hurry.

 

[BrianLo]

Do they heck.

Pandora - announced September 2011. Opened May 2017.
Galaxies Edge - announced August 2015. Opened August 2019.
Tron - announced August 2017. Opened April 2023.
Ratatouille - announced July 2018 2017. Opened October 2021.

I do not agree with the exact point the poster is making. Lion King has been on an appropriate timeframe and the build time doesn’t magically shrink because the land is small(er). It defaults to the longest build: the ride.

That said, WDSP was announced in Feb 2018, even being generous and forgetting Rise (Lion King), the 8 year timeline on the lake and Frozen was extraordinarily glacial. Much longer than anything you’ve highlighted and they were quite forthcoming on Pandora being announced with no work having commenced. Only to be outdone by Hong Kong’s November 2016 announcement of the Avengers E ticket for 2023 (which even then felt a hilarious lifetime away).

I would say Paris globally has been much too slow to get things done, even if Lion King isn’t the problem.

 

[BrianLo]

That's why the Avengers Campus expansion at DLR is actually a breath of fresh air - that expansion is going up in a hurry.

No. This one was announced in 2019, originally. After being bandied about for a couple years before then. Then cancelled, then re-announced, then still 2.5 years before they even started construction.

It’s just at the stage that people naturally attribute vertical steel to “moving fast”. We’ll be there soon enough with many of the Florida projects and Lion King.

The only real project I’m remotely impressed with on their expediency is Tropical Americas. It didn’t even exist in a blue sky format circa 2022.

 

[marni1971]

I do

Only to be outdone by Hong Kong’s November 2016 announcement of the Avengers E ticket for 2023 (which even then felt a hilarious lifetime away).

Well, that was a later phase, then Covid-ed, then cancelled, then redesigned.

Paris is now matching the rest of the company. Which is way too slow.

 

[Gusey]

Even Fantasy Springs was announced in 2018 and opened in 2024, taking 6 years. Obviously the last few projects were impact by 2020/1 closures and we're only now seeing attractions not impacted by them starting to open (anything after the Tiana announcement). I might be wrong, but I don't think globally there has been a ground-up (rather than retheme) project that has opened this decade that wasn't announced before 2020??

 

[Bernswss]

The major issue with Disney projects is how long they take from announcement to start of construction. This was THE problem with World of Frozen/ DAW expansion in WDSP. The announcement came in 2018 but it wasn't until 2022 that works actually began in the expansion, that's a ridiculous amount of time. From start of construction to opening, it'll be around 4 years (which is still a lot but far away from the 8 years since announcement to opening). The Lion King on the other hand is moving quite fast compared to all that, announcement was made in Summer 2024 and construction began around a year later.