Transformative Multi-Year Expansion Announced for WDS Paris

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Must admit that I was one of the people who found it hard to believe they were considering a Lion King land, mainly because it seemed like a bad idea for a land. Having now seen the models and the artwork, I still don't think it's a great choice. People complain Galaxy's Edge is barren, but this land looks like it will be mainly grass, rocks, twigs, and some trees here and there. That's faithful to the environment of the film, however I don't think it's a great choice for a theme park land. I don't like single-IP lands, but at least Frozen, Avatar, and Radiator Springs lend themselves to creating dramatic and visually-appealing settings within a theme park environment.
Boats in a rocky desert don’t sound brilliant. Interesting to see how they pull it off.
there’s been rumors that they are looking to require Port Aventura in Spain. However that is a theme park of its own already and isn’t really of the quality of Universal or Disney imo. So I am not sure what they would do there. That said if Universal manages to dethrone Disney in Europe by building a park in Spain it would be a bit ironic given that Disneyland Paris was originally recommended to be built in Spain.
Comcast and Aventura talks are currently stalled apparently.
 

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
I think pride rock could make a really stunning backdrop for a theme park land and with the boats that will travel through the land it will have some kinetic energy that galaxy’s edge, Pandora and world of frozen lack. The lion king land could also be a great place for streetmosphere. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Disney is building exactly to be able to judge the land in a fair way.
I'm sure it will look great when covered with snow during the winter months. :D
 

Toni25

Well-Known Member
So we're thinking Avatar and what else for the two expansion pads? Far off, I know.
I'm not even certain Avatar is on the table.
It's more wishful thinking from fans.
(Did Ally mention Avatar on twitter at some point? They're the only source I'd be inclined to take into consideration). But it would make sense to build that land.

IF we were to get Avatar at some point...I really hope they'd build that cars land next...or/and then tear down the Moteurs Action building => expand Avengers & MM's Runaway Railway.

I would prioritise these and leave the remaining expansion plot for later. Who knows what blockbuster franchise might pop up next. Zootopia? Incredibles?
 
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marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
I'm not even certain Avatar is on the table.
It's more wishful thinking from fans.
(Did Ally mention Avatar on twitter at some point? They're the only source I'd be inclined to take into consideration). But it would make sense to build that land.

IF we were to get Avatar at some point...I really hope they'd build that cars land next...or/and then tear down the Moterus Action building => expand Avengers & MM's Runaway Railway.

I would prioritise these and leave the remaining expansion plot for later. Who knows what blockbuster franchise might pop up next. Zootopia? Incredibles?
Railway would be fair game for Fantasyland surely.
 

Gusey

Well-Known Member
I'm not even certain Avatar is on the table.
It's more wishful thinking from fans.
(Did Ally mention Avatar on twitter at some point? They're the only source I'd be inclined to take into consideration). But it would make sense to build that land.
Ally mentioned it in 2023, @Henry Mystic mentioned it in 2024 and alongside his D23 Rumor roundup which had a lot correct. Bob Iger also teased playing around with adding Pandora to an Asian Park and a European park when he said at the earnings call in April "We have one Avatar-based land, Pandora, in Florida. We’re going to put a second one in California. That doesn't mean we can't put one somewhere in Asia or somewhere in Europe for instance" (Source)
 

Toni25

Well-Known Member
Railway would be fair game for Fantasyland surely.
Would it be? I guess it's not a bad addition than nothing at all, but it feels like a better fit for the studios in my mind.
There's way too many better options for Fantasyland: Pooh, Beauty&Beast, Little Mermaid, Villains.
I think the showbuilding would be too small to fit behind Main Station right? I wouldn't mind if it would fit there.
(I feel like I already asked this before 😂 - can't remember what the answer was).
Using up the space next to IASW wouldn't be the best idea considering other possibilities I mentioned.
 

Loose Pebble

Active Member
Would it be? I guess it's not a bad addition than nothing at all, but it feels like a better fit for the studios in my mind.
There's way too many better options for Fantasyland: Pooh, Beauty&Beast, Little Mermaid, Villains.
I think the showbuilding would be too small to fit behind Main Station right? I wouldn't mind if it would fit there.
(I feel like I already asked this before 😂 - can't remember what the answer was).
Using up the space next to IASW wouldn't be the best idea considering other possibilities I mentioned.
I think it makes more sense for Studios because of the aesthetic where you feel like you're going through an animated drawn 2d movie, but it makes less sense for Disney Adventure World (I don't even like typing that awful name out...)
 

Toni25

Well-Known Member
I think it makes more sense for Studios because of the aesthetic where you feel like you're going through an animated drawn 2d movie, but it makes less sense for Disney Adventure World (I don't even like typing that awful name out...)
I also believe it would be a better fit for aesthetic reasons. Imagine the Art Nouveau Theatre Façade 😍
+ a great & necessary addition for an E-Ticket in the "Gardens".

MMRR2.jpg
MMRR.jpg
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
I think it makes more sense for Studios because of the aesthetic where you feel like you're going through an animated drawn 2d movie, but it makes less sense for Disney Adventure World (I don't even like typing that awful name out...)
Technically, everything makes about equal sense for Disney Adventure World as the park won't have an overarching theme anymore. People have been thinking Avatar because it is a big movie and would have seemed to fit a studio park that skewed more toward recent and live action movies, but looking at the way they have taken the park you could make the case that something like Fantasy Springs would fit equally well.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
Perhaps it's just me, but the one-two punch of the new expansion not opening until 2026 and Lion King Land being the project coming afterwards has kind of deflated my interest all of these developments for the moment. After all these years of watching this construction crawl along, we have more than another year to go of watching it crawl toward completion. The payoff also doesn't seem that great considering an even larger Frozen land has been open at Hong Kong Disneyland since 2023 and the centrepiece of the land is a ride that has been open since 2016 at Epcot. It's hard to see how they really hype this when it does finally open.

Between all that and the plans to fill in Rivers of America to stick Cars into the middle of Frontierland and Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom, this D23 more generally left me feeling a bit disinterested in the direction of the parks. I'm kind of curious to know if it's just me, but I just came across some construction pics from "Disney Adventure World" on Twitter/X and was struck by how disinterested I was in even clicking on them.
 

J4546

Well-Known Member
i get ya, an agree hk has a better frozenland and the ride is almost a decade old retheme of a 35 year old ride, etc.


BUT....in europe this is all new and Im sure a large percentage of people in Europe that visit dlp have never been to USA parks and vice versa. So while its not a big deal for people in USA, its all new expansion for europe, plus the massive lake with nighttime shows and parades, multiple new food/shopping options and what seems like a beautiful aesthetic on the main pathway leading to the lake with the small rapunzel ride and outdoor theater...looks very nice. This is def a massive step in the right direction.

Sidenote all the new pavement being replaced and going in the new main pathway looks great.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
i get ya, an agree hk has a better frozenland and the ride is almost a decade old retheme of a 35 year old ride, etc.


BUT....in europe this is all new and Im sure a large percentage of people in Europe that visit dlp have never been to USA parks and vice versa. So while its not a big deal for people in USA, its all new expansion for europe, plus the massive lake with nighttime shows and parades, multiple new food/shopping options and what seems like a beautiful aesthetic on the main pathway leading to the lake with the small rapunzel ride and outdoor theater...looks very nice. This is def a massive step in the right direction.

Sidenote all the new pavement being replaced and going in the new main pathway looks great.
Yes, I can see that most people in nearby countries won't have been to either Epcot or Hong Kong Disneyland so FEA may be reasonably marketable in Europe. In general, though, it still seems like this is a long crawl toward one new ride that's not even particularly amazing. Maybe when the Lion King ride opens in another 5(?) or so years it will be more interesting, but that also seems like a long crawl to something it's hard to get too enthusiastic about.

As for the gardens and the lake, I must admit that I'm also not exactly bowled over by anything I've seen so far. I'm sure it will be nice, but I have nice gardens where I live, as do most major cities. I'm not seeing anything that suggests these will be particularly extraordinary and the whole abandoning of an overarching theme for 'nice' gardens and architecture just seems so uninspiring. The "Disney Adventure World" name is the cherry on top of this project: it is so vague and generic that it evokes a shrug more than anything else.
 

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
Perhaps it's just me, but the one-two punch of the new expansion not opening until 2026 and Lion King Land being the project coming afterwards has kind of deflated my interest all of these developments for the moment. After all these years of watching this construction crawl along, we have more than another year to go of watching it crawl toward completion. The payoff also doesn't seem that great considering an even larger Frozen land has been open at Hong Kong Disneyland since 2023 and the centrepiece of the land is a ride that has been open since 2016 at Epcot. It's hard to see how they really hype this when it does finally open.

Between all that and the plans to fill in Rivers of America to stick Cars into the middle of Frontierland and Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom, this D23 more generally left me feeling a bit disinterested in the direction of the parks. I'm kind of curious to know if it's just me, but I just came across some construction pics from "Disney Adventure World" on Twitter/X and was struck by how disinterested I was in even clicking on them.

I remain relatively disinterested in Paris, but positive on the US. DCA in particular. Paris remains the short end of the stick.

If anything, the US parks construction will be more interesting to watch from a controversial lens. Erecting a clone of a clone in a field isn't currently doing it for me either.
 

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