D23 & Disneyland Paris - news/updates

[Guest]

As it is the D23 expo this weekend I thought it might be a nice idea for us to have a thread specifically covering any Disneyland Paris news/updates that we can share and discuss.

Hopefully this isn't stepping on any toes, I know there are posts in the updates section of the DIBB but the DLP stuff can often get lost in the excitment of the many WDW updates that also come out of D23.

So D23 is the official fan club of Disney, and every 2 years they hold an expo which includes lots of announcements about future projects and expansions, the parks and resorts presentation is scheduled for Sunday, but some nuggets of info have been confirmed ahead of time.

I thought to set the scene on what is already known about the future expansion of Disneyland Paris it might be worth re-capping what as been announced so far.

Walt Disney Studios Park Expansion

In February 2018 there was a huge (and quite surprising) announcement that Disney were going to invest €2billion in Disneyland Paris, and specifically on many new attractions for the Walt Disney Studios Park.

The below concept art was released giving lots of hints as to what was in the planning.

The plans include the addition of a giant lake as the centre piece of the park which will be a focus for shows and entertainment. Two new park areas are to be built around the lake - lands themed to both Frozen and Star Wars, which will both contain rides, shops and restaurants.

The third new area is the re-theme of the existing Backlot section of the park into Marvel. This will include a new Spiderman themed ride to replace Armageddon and a total re-theme of Rock n Rollercoaster into an Iron Man coaster. In addition to that there will be a new meet and greet location between what is now Rock n Rollercoaster and the stunt show and the re-themed Restaurant des Stars/Blockbuster Cafe into a new eating location.

To visualise the new land, previous concept art was released, here is a rough before and after shot from the same locations.

And a visial of the inside of the new Iron Man attraction.

In terms of progress - Armageddon was closed in April 2019 and the building has now been totally demolished with the new Spiderman building underway. Rock n Rollercoaster is scheduled to close for good on 2nd September 2019 for its transformation. No opening dates have been given, but it is anticipated for 2020/2021.

D23 Announcements

So yesterday it was announced at D23 that the new name for the marvel area will be "Avengers Campus" - similar areas being built at Disneyland California and Hong Kong will have the same name and further details will be revealed over the weekend as to the story behind how these three areas are linked thematically.

Furthermore a NEW piece of concept art for Avengers Campus in Paris was revealed. This time from the location that is currently the exit of Rock n Rollercoaster.

A little before and after - a slight improvement I think!

Traditionally D23 announcements tend to be very focused on the US parks, so it is unknown at this time how much new information might be given on Paris - however as news has already come out I am hopeful there will be more to learn over the next couple of days.

DLP is now fully owned by the Walt Disney Company (the only non-US park to be totally owned by Disney) so this might mean a bit more info this time around! Perhaps more concept art of the new areas, the long awaited Disney Village transformation or the rumoured new attraction for the Disneyland Park (which hasn't had a new ride since 2006!).

It is certainly exciting times for Disneyland Paris.

What does everyone think to the announcements so far?

[Peter H]

Great news. I wonder what the argument about Spider-Man will mean for the Campus. His attraction is due to feature highly.

[akhurstf1]

I definitely feel that there will be more information about Disneyland Paris at D23. I think we might get a bit more detail on Frozen, Marvel and Star Wars area at the Studios.

I don’t think the issue with Spiderman and Sony may have much impact as long as they use the MCU Spider-Man version (Tom Holland).

Hoping Sony and Disney/Marvel can come up with a solution for future Spiderman films in the MCU.

[Guest]

From what I have read the disagreement with Sony only affects the films, it won’t have an impact on the theme parks.

[blusteryday]

Having just come back from DLP the Avengers Campus, with the addition of Star Wars and Frozen expansion is much much needed.

The park is barely a half day park right now, and it's not helped by the fact there are construction walls pretty much as you walk in. That said we had a great time there and the CM interactions were some of the best we've ever had (including WDW)

Looking forward to hearing more, hopefully from D23.

[akhurstf1]

Originally Posted by blusteryday

Having just come back from DLP the Avengers Campus, with the addition of Star Wars and Frozen expansion is much much needed.

The park is barely a half day park right now, and it's not helped by the fact there are construction walls pretty much as you walk in. That said we had a great time there and the CM interactions were some of the best we've ever had (including WDW)

Looking forward to hearing more, hopefully from D23.

See more...

We literally spent 3 hours in Studios and managed to achieve everything we wanted to as there is defintiely not much in this park. Thoroughly enjoyed Mickey and the Magician show.

We didn't have many CM interactions and felt like we were missing WDW. Maybe its just luck of the draw. We had a great time even though we were only there for 2 days.

Very much looking forward to hearing what DLP and Studios will be receiving for the future.

[barryp1]

Originally Posted by akhurstf1

We literally spent 3 hours in Studios and managed to achieve everything we wanted to as there is defintiely not much in this park. Thoroughly enjoyed Mickey and the Magician show.

We didn't have many CM interactions and felt like we were missing WDW. Maybe its just luck of the draw. We had a great time even though we were only there for 2 days.

Very much looking forward to hearing what DLP and Studios will be receiving for the future.

See more...

You didn't do all the thrill rides then?

[akhurstf1]

Originally Posted by barryp1

You didn't do all the thrill rides then?

See more...

We're not big on thrill rides but wanted to try Crush's coaster. As the queue was always over 90 mins and we were short on time, we decided to focus on Mickey and the Magician (Mastercard seating), Ratatouille and Slinky.

We wanted to spend the majority of our time in the Disneyland Park because we wanted to the the Lion King stuff and ride our favourite BTM.

Also this was our first time to DLP but will definitely be going back in the future

[blusteryday]

Originally Posted by akhurstf1

We're not big on thrill rides but wanted to try Crush's coaster. As the queue was always over 90 mins and we were short on time, we decided to focus on Mickey and the Magician (Mastercard seating), Ratatouille and Slinky.

We wanted to spend the majority of our time in the Disneyland Park because we wanted to the the Lion King stuff and ride our favourite BTM.

Also this was our first time to DLP but will definitely be going back in the future

See more...

Single rider for Crush, every time. On and off in 15 minutes

[Guest]

The parks and resorts panel at D23 starts at 5.30pm today UK time. Let’s hope there is some DLP news!