Transformative Multi-Year Expansion Announced for WDS Paris

[marni1971]

I'm greedy. I want two!

Or 3. Or 4.

At least Paris doesn’t have to wait for D23.

 

[Gusey]

 

[nickys]

Those are way better than I imagined. A kiosk suggests more of a cart stand than a shop with an interior!

 

[marni1971]

Those are way better than I imagined. A kiosk suggests more of a cart stand than a shop with an interior!

I’ve been asking myself do we need even more shops though.

 

[Gusey]

I’ve been asking myself do we need even more shops though.

And we're getting the one where the ToT fastpass section was. I think those three are to make up for the lack of shops on Adventure Way itself

 

[marni1971]

And we're getting the one where the ToT fastpass section was. I think those three are to make up for the lack of shops on Adventure Way itself

Did we need any on Adventure Way though? Unless it’s specific merchandise to a specific location it’s just more clutter.

 

[Kev1982]

Then at D23 2028 you can announce the final new land post LK.

I sincerely hope there s more than one coming after LK…

 

[nickys]

I sincerely hope there s more than one coming after LK…

The next announcement really should be something for the Castle Parc.

 

[Nickm2022]

The next announcement really should be something for the Castle Parc.

agree! IMO the need
1. just at least one new ride for DLP, wether it be a starwars ride, redoing space mt, or a retheme of a current ride, they need sm new ride wise. I also personally feel moana or coco ride would work well.
2. just announce avatar for DAW, we all know its coming, DAW even with all the great updates, is still the weakest park and needs more. personally still want them to redo or at least repaint the back of the park to the art nevavu of the back
3. fix the still broken parts of DAW, looking at u worlds of Pixar and cars
4. clarity on the future of disney village and new hotels

 

[HauntedPirate]

I’ve been asking myself do we need even more shops though.

Absolutely not. But we all know what “leadership” wants…

 

[Gusey]

Did we need any on Adventure Way though? Unless it’s specific merchandise to a specific location it’s just more clutter.

100% not. Feels this is more of a compromise that we can have not shops on Adventure Way themselves if we get this little kiosks to still sell merch and make money. WDS actually has very few proper stores right? Web Suppliers, Mickey's of Hollywood in World Premiere, the one by Ratatouille and the ToT gift shop

 

[marni1971]

100% not. Feels this is more of a compromise that we can have not shops on Adventure Way themselves if we get this little kiosks to still sell merch and make money. WDS actually has very few proper stores right?

Yep. But it’s a small park. We often joke it’s got the least amount of bathrooms of any Disney park; a legacy from 2002.

Adventure Way is getting pop up catering clutter so I don’t think they’ve adverse to sticking things on it. But when the parks anchor store is 50 yards away I don’t see the need for these. It’s not like they’ll be able to take some off the pressure off Mickeys.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I’ve been asking myself do we need even more shops though.

Paul Pressler says yes

 

[The Empress Lilly]

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.

Yes, and also, most other park works concern incrementally improving (...opinions may vary...) existing great parks. Not redoing a dysfunctional one. The timeline for the former can be much more relaxed than the latter.

WDSP will now have spend one third of its existence behind fences, overhauling itself.


The most comparable case is DCA 2.0, which took from announcement in October 2007 to opening in June 2012. Less than five years. Not entirely the same thing, but probably the closest reasonable comparison.

 

[FerretAfros]

I’ve been asking myself do we need even more shops though.

The park has always had modest ambitions, and attendance has reflected that. To increase the parks attendance, first they much increase its capacity, not just the attraction roster but the park itself. Much of the current expansion is focused on master planning-level improvements beyond the attractions, making it a place that more people are willing and able to spend time than the current park.

While many of the updates focus on simply providing pleasant places for people to exist in between attractions (which the park has sorely lacked since the beginning), they're also increasing the capacity of unglamorous necessities like food, restrooms, walkways, and yes, shopping.

Even after its renovation, Studio One will remain the bottleneck in the park's theoretical capacity, as all guests must pass through the narrow portal on their way in and out of the park. The shops of the Front Lot were clearly intended to be the park's main shopping destination, but with their location isolated from the majority of the park and out of the peripherals guests walking by, they've never quite functioned in that manner. Even if they weren't so easily forgotten, they don't seem large enough to support, say, doubling the park's annual attendance.

While I wish the new structures were better integrated into their surroundings and not just plopped in their respective courtyards, the design and finishes are tastefully restrained in a way that we don't often see from modern WDI. They're appropriate sizes, both for their internal use and to blend with their surroundings, and they don't draw too much attention to themselves. And while the stucco and tile match the aesthetic of the original park, the finish seems to be a higher quality than the cheap 2002 elements. I wish the clocks (especially the Woody one) were replaced with something more practical, like a marquee, awning, or gooseneck light, but it's a fairly minor quibble that could hypothetically be easily changed later. They're the antithesis to DL's Madame Leota shop: they're scaled appropriately for their surroundings and didn't go overboard on unnecessary fussy ornamentation.

Does the park need these exact kiosks? No. But if the goal is to significantly increase attendance, the park does need additional shopping capacity throughout, and these kiosks seem far less objectionable than many of WDI's recent efforts.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

My problem with those clocks is that without the markings or numbers in a circle they don't quite read as clocks

Just character decals with their arms in occasionally weird positions

 

[mrflo]

A special report about Disney Adventure World on channel RTL TVI shares that the next immersive land based on The Lion King could open as soon as 2028.

Unfortunately, that report has already been contradicted by insiders on the French forum. While construction could realistically wrap up by late 2028, a public opening before 2029 is extremely unlikely.

As much as I’d like a 2028 debut to be true, the facts point elsewhere: the recent delivery pace at DLP, the sheer scale of the LK show building, and the resort’s well-known strategy of spreading capital expenditure over as many fiscal years as possible all make 2029 the far more credible target.

What’s most frustrating is what this date means for the next expansion phase. Both DLP parks are still lacking new blockbuster attractions, and with Avatar continuing to perform exceptionally well in France and neighbouring markets, waiting another six or seven years to bring the franchise to Europe would be hard to justify. Same goes for Star Wars.

If Bob Iger wanted to send a strong signal, he’d fast-track the next phase and announce Avatar for DLP during an upcoming earnings call - right when highlighting the franchise’s box-office strength in Europe. That would be bold, strategic, and long overdue.