Transformative Multi-Year Expansion Announced for WDS Paris

[peep]

Full article can be found here

Eight months after the announcement of the themes of three new universes, we know more about the content of the Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen zones announced for 2025.

Star Wars, The Snow Queen and Marvel: the Disney galaxy will expand further in Marne-la-Vallée. By 2025, the three new worlds of Disneyland Paris will open to millions of visitors to amusement parks in Chessy (Seine-et-Marne).
Since February and the announcement of a development plan of two billion euros to Disneyland Paris , the information was delivered dropper on the content of this extension of the second park, The Walt Disney Studios. Three public meetings are scheduled for Tuesday night and 14 and 22 November to inform the people of Val d'Europe.

Vice President Walt Disney Imagineering at Disneyland Paris, David Wilson lifts the veil: "Normally, you enter the world of a franchise by arriving in the dedicated attraction. With these three new themes, the visitor will be immersed in the worlds Marvel, Star Wars or Frozen as soon as he arrives in each zone, he says. It will be like the attraction Ratatouille , with the place of the hero Remy next ... but in bigger. "

His team worked with American production companies Lucasfilm or Marvel Studios to create these new worlds. "We do not want to revive the film to the visitor. We want him to have a new experience, "says David Wilson.

All will be articulated around an artificial lake "which will be the heart of the extension and will be used for shows day and night," added the vice president. In the three worlds, the catering spaces will be "part of the experience. In the Marvel universe, this is where superheroes eat, for example, "he explains.

Last summer, the shows of the first season of the Marvel superheroes attracted 350,000 visitors . Sign that the public is there. In this universe, two attractions are planned. "We can not say everything to keep the surprise, says David Wilson. But, it's already announced, we will reinvent Rock'n'Roller Coaster to create an experience against evil, alongside Ironman. "

The Marvel universe will serve as the "European base, Avengers headquarters. We worked with Ironman. All our visitors will be able to meet the superheroes they love, says David Wilson. They will be there daily. We will create a 3D world in reality, a place where characters live, work. They will recruit and train new heroes among the visitors ... "

For The Snow Queen and Star Wars, "It's a little early to indicate the number of attractions. We are in the design phase, "says David Wilson. On The Frozen, the city of Arendelle must be recreated "with attractions where our visitors will meet their favorite character". And on Star Wars, "we're going to create an immersive place where our visitors will live like in a galaxy," concludes David Wilson.

This is a pharaonic project that is coming. From 2019 until 2025, the three new universes will settle in the second park, The Walt Disney Studios. With 31 ha to develop (12 ha for new attractions, 8 ha for backstage, 11 ha for construction and roads), the expectations in terms of employment are enormous.

But Euro Disney, which employs 16,000 people today, does not communicate about their numbers. Four years ago, the opening of the Ratatouille attraction created 300 jobs for example.

For its part, the president of the Val-d'Europe agglomeration Jean-Paul Balcou (Agir) hopes that this extension will encourage longer stays of tourists on the sector as well as the "construction of new hotels. Local businesses will also participate so it's a good thing in terms of jobs. Finally, we also hope for tax benefits. "

 

[MisterPenguin]

"This is a pharaonic project that is coming."

So... built by slaves?

 

[fradz]

So, as part of the process of implementing this expansion, there are public meetings for residents of neighboring municipalities.

Tonight (just 4hours ago) was the first one, and, as you can expect, pretty much all french fan sites were there. The page Disneyphile (@disneyphilefr on Facebook) got the best shot of the plan that was shown, where we see basically what we already knew, and have a better look at the mysterious showbuilding, rumored to be Soarin (just right of the lake, between the lake and the Stunt show)

 

[Robbiem]

So, as part of the process of implementing this expansion, there are public meetings for residents of neighboring municipalities.

Tonight (just 4hours ago) was the first one, and, as you can expect, pretty much all french fan sites were there. The page Disneyphile (@disneyphilefr on Facebook) got the best shot of the plan that was shown, where we see basically what we already knew, and have a better look at the mysterious showbuilding, rumored to be Soarin (just right of the lake, between the lake and the Stunt show)

Interesting does the property limit line on the map mean that a lot of the Disney expansion is on non Disney land? Is this government land Disney has a right to buy or will they have to negotiate with third parties

 

[Timothy_Q]

So, as part of the process of implementing this expansion, there are public meetings for residents of neighboring municipalities.

Tonight (just 4hours ago) was the first one, and, as you can expect, pretty much all french fan sites were there. The page Disneyphile (@disneyphilefr on Facebook) got the best shot of the plan that was shown, where we see basically what we already knew, and have a better look at the mysterious showbuilding, rumored to be Soarin (just right of the lake, between the lake and the Stunt show)

It's weird how they placed the Battle Escape building.
If they ever plan on building Falcon and the rest of the land, it'll be a weird fit on the lagoon, considering it's placed diagonally

 

[fradz]

Interesting does the property limit line on the map mean that a lot of the Disney expansion is on non Disney land? Is this government land Disney has a right to buy or will they have to negotiate with third parties

I went over this a couple of posts ago, they have a right, see special agreement of the "Convention"
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I'm gonna quote the 2013 Financial Report of DLP, which explains the situation quite well, even though the document has been re-negotiated in the meanwhile, IIRC:

La Convention prévoit le droit pour le Groupe, sous certaines conditions, d’acquérir auprès d’EPA-France (“Etablissement Public d’Aménagement” du secteur IV de la ville nouvelle de Marne-la-Vallée) les terrains nécessaires au développement de Disneyland® Paris sur le site de Marne-la-Vallée. Ces droits fonciers ne sont comptabilisés à l’actif dans les états financiers consolidés du Groupe qu’à l’acquisition du terrain. Le coût des infrastructures nécessaires pour que l’EPA-France et les autorités publiques françaises viabilisent le terrain avant construction est inclus dans le prix d’acquisition du terrain. Le Groupe supporte également le coût d’études de certains développements et des services destinés à optimiser le développement à venir des terrains non aménagés. Ces coûts sont constatés en charges dès qu’ils sont encourus. L’exercice par le Groupe de ce droit d’acquisition de terrains est soumis à certaines échéances qui, si elles ne sont pas respectées ou modifiées, peuvent entraîner l’extinction d’une partie de ces droits fonciers. La prochaine échéance est fixée au 31 décembre 2020. En outre, les droits d’acquisition relatifs aux terrains non aménagés qui ne sont pas inclus dans une phase de développement ou dont le développement n’a pas été approuvé par le Groupe et les autorités françaises compétentes, expireront en mars 2030. Au 30 septembre 2013, toutes les échéances de développement minimal ont été respectées et aucun droit foncier n’a expiré sans avoir été utilisé.

Basically, the "Convention", an official document between Disney and the French govt, allows Disney to buy the land in the "big circle" (+-) at a very affordable price. This "Convention" states that, to use this amazing opportunity, Disney has to respect some development engagements and deadlines; i.e: you get cheap land, but you need to grow the economy/size of the resort. This convention has been re-negotiated multiple times to push back deadlines (for the 3rd gate, for example).
Disney has used these rights before. What they've also done a couple of years ago, is buy that chunk of land below WDSP and re-sell it at a premium for housing development, to make a decent profit out of it.

View attachment 319122

(approximate drawing, all this can be found in official documents)

 

[BrianLo]

It's weird how they placed the Battle Escape building.
If they ever plan on building Falcon and the rest of the land, it'll be a weird fit on the lagoon, considering it's placed diagonally

It actually preserves enough space for the third attraction expansion slot (beyond Millennium Falcon) and the Black Spire Outpost. That's why it looks so odd.

 

[Timothy_Q]

It actually preserves enough space for the third attraction expansion slot (beyond Millennium Falcon) and the Black Spire Outpost. That's why it looks so odd.

It just looks like SWL would be a dead end, instead of connecting back to the lagoon on the other side.

But I imagine (hope) they've thought this through

 

[fradz]

It just looks like SWL would be a dead end, instead of connecting back to the lagoon on the other side.

But I imagine (hope) they've thought this through

I'm ok with all sub lands being dead ends for immersion purposes, EPCOT style, if it doesn't have too much of a negative impact on guest flow. Hopefully they consider both sides

 

[Timothy_Q]

Here's how SWL would look, if they ever decide to build the rest of it.

Pink is where the second entrance path would be, if it follows the other 2 SWLs.

They're left with this area in red, which could be a completely new land

 

[cjkeating]

So, as part of the process of implementing this expansion, there are public meetings for residents of neighboring municipalities.

Tonight (just 4hours ago) was the first one, and, as you can expect, pretty much all french fan sites were there. The page Disneyphile (@disneyphilefr on Facebook) got the best shot of the plan that was shown, where we see basically what we already knew, and have a better look at the mysterious showbuilding, rumored to be Soarin (just right of the lake, between the lake and the Stunt show)

Anyone have a feeling this could just be a restaurant?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Some mappy stuff...

 

[peep]

Thanks @MisterPenguin those images are super helpful!

So it looks like that beige block is way too small for something Soarin' related, maybe like @cjkeating suggested and just a restaurant?

The angle of the Star Wars land is interesting, just shows how massive that one ride is though!

 

[LieutLaww]

Well it does have 2 full sized AT-AT's for a start

 

[britain]

Here's how SWL would look, if they ever decide to build the rest of it.

Pink is where the second entrance path would be, if it follows the other 2 SWLs.

They're left with this area in red, which could be a completely new land

View attachment 324839

The REALLY odd thing is that on opening day this Star Wars Land would just be the forested outskirts of town, where the Resistance Base (Battle Escape) is hidden. The 'village' is nowhere to be seen by the official blueprints. And yet, the village is there in the concept art.

This makes me think they are pretty certain that they will be expanding later on, but the attraction included with the village may or may not be the Millennium Falcon. I'm guessing they are going to see what guest traffic flows are like at the U.S. versions, and make tweaks to stores and pathways as needed. And if a 3rd attraction for Florida becomes a reality, they might develop that as France's 2nd attraction instead of MF.

 

[britain]

Some mappy stuff...

That's actually a pretty small lake. World Showcase Lagoon it is NOT. No need for any Friendship Boats. It's really only about the size of Paradise Bay at DCA.

 

[Timothy_Q]

That's actually a pretty small lake. World Showcase Lagoon it is NOT. No need for any Friendship Boats. It's really only about the size of Paradise Bay at DCA.

Epcot is a much bigger park.

This lagoon is proportional to the size of the park. It fits well

 

[britain]

Epcot is a much bigger park.

This lagoon is proportional to the size of the park. It fits well

Yes, I'm sure it will feel appropriate and nice. But that original concept art is kind of misleading.

The only reason to have a boat in the middle of that lake would be to have some sort of up-charge 'dine on a yatch at WDS' option.

 

[britain]

Additional thought: They might build the village area at the same time as a Star Wars hotel, integrating the two more closely together.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The Lac will be ~260 feet (80 meters) with a circumference of ~1,635 ft (500m).

World Showcase Lagoon is at its shortest, 1,000 feet (305m) across and 1,600 (490) at it's longest with a circumference of a mile, 5,285 feet (1600 m).

If you took the Rivers of Light lake at its widest and rounded it off, that would be the size of the Lac.