D23, the big show for Disney fans, took place this weekend. And every time, something new is unveiled. Let’s take a look at the Disney Experience announcements, and in particular those concerning Disneyland Paris.
Hopes quickly dashed!
First of all, a little background. The year is 2018. Bob Iger, with great fanfare, announced an unprecedented plan for the Walt Disney Studios: two billion! Three new lands are planned: Avengers Campus, Frozen and Star Wars. The Millennium Falcon and Rise of The Resistance, in Paris!
Those are the facts. But how do these announcements translate into reality? Well, once the Pixie Dust effect has worn off, it’s a cold shower! Icing cold even!
Let’s take a look at Avengers Campus. Backlot, the old land has been completely reinvented to make room for Tony Stark and his cronies. But a closer look reveals just one new attraction (an excellent one, by the way): Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure. There’s also the Hero Training Center, where you can meet the Marvel characters if you like, and a shop. Some of the effects in Pym Kitchen have been replaced by screens and video, which is cheaper.
The rest of the land is just a new theming for the old, culminating in the Rock N’ Roller Coaster makeover. New facade, new story, the studio’s first Audio-animatronic, but it’s just a cover-up. The ride is getting old! Even more uncomfortable than before, according to the guests. As for the theme, the overly dark ride will force Disneyland Paris to rethink its plans just a few weeks after reopening.
This first land gives the impression of smoke and mirrors. The cost-cutting is starting to show. So it’s hardly surprising that just a few months after opening, the Avengers Campus effect is already fading.
May the force be with Walt Disney Studios!
All is not lost! The Jedi are here to save the two-billion-dollar plan! And no! Six years on, Disneyland Paris’ version of Star Wars Galaxy Edge seems to be heading for a galaxy far, far away. Disneyland Paris is no longer talking about this project.
Never mind, Elsa and Anna are going to save this two-billion-dollar plan!
It’s too early to tell, as the land won’t open until 2026, 8 years after it was announced!
8 years… unless Disneyland Paris goes all Tower of Terror on us! Remember, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was officially inaugurated in April 2008, but had been open since December 2007! Could it be that by the end of 2025, World of Frozen will open around October? After all, Disneyland Paris’ financial year starts in October, which means that by October 2025, we’ll already be in the 2026 financial year!
With the arrival of World of Frozen, we can fear the worst. The success of the Hong Kong version has been mixed. A final cause for concern is that while World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland has two attractions, the Paris version will have just one… And that’s not Tangled Spin, the future attraction based on the world of Rapunzel, which is nothing more than a remake of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups attraction from the first park.
Nor should we count on the new World of Pixar, which is only new in name because that’s the only thing that’s changed. Oh no, that’s right, Catastrophe Canyon has become Cars Road Trip, a real car-tastrophe!
But where are these two billion euros hiding? No matter how hard we look, we just can’t find them… It’s a question we’re entitled to ask ourselves! Spider-Man is certainly investigating, because once again, his Stuntronic has disappeared!
It has to be said that the two-billion-dollar plan is looking more and more like a low-cost plan. But all is not lost!
Hope is reborn!
But there is renewed hope with the return of Bob Iger as head of the Walt Disney Company!
In September 2023, Disney plans to step up investment in all its parks and the Disney Cruise Line with a 60 billion dollar plan over 10 years. Last May, in an interview with MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summitt, Bob Iger stated that many attractions would be built over the next two or three years at Disneyland Paris.
All the wildest hopes, all the dreams are permitted! Wild hopes of finally seeing an extension to Marne-la-Vallée’s historic park, which hasn’t had one since 1995! 30 years! and soon 20 years for a new attraction, Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast, which opened in 2006! With the D23 approaching, these hopes have never been higher!
And in practice?
So what can we take away from the D23 announcements for Disneyland Paris? For the umpteenth time, Disney Experience is highlighting – and even selling – World of Frozen as a new feature decided two days ago. We learn that a new show, also long planned for the future lake of Disney Adventure World (and visible on the 2018 concept-art), will see the light of day in 2026. Finally, in 2025, a new night-time show on Sleeping Beauty Castle will replace Disney Illuminations.
And what about The Lion King?
So this is the surprise (well, no, not really!) of D23, the arrival of a Lion King land at Disney Adventure World. Well, a land is a bit oversold, as there will be just one attraction (it’s always one more) and a food court, probably with new shops. Talk of a land is pretentious.
Reactions have been mixed on social networks. It’s understandable! A Lion King Land, even if it’s the only one of its kind in the world, versus a Stars War Galaxy Edge… it can be a bit of a pill to swallow! And yet there’s no shortage of superlatives when it comes to selling this new land.
Park error?
In fact, this land seems to be nothing more than a zone with what the guets and fans have been asking for for a long time: a water attraction like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (this has yet to be confirmed). So we can be delighted. However, the park’s choice has been the subject of debate. Many see it as a rehash of Adventureland. And it is!
We can therefore wonder whether it would not have been wiser to add this zone to Disneyland Parc rather than Disney Adventure World. The choice of Adventureland solved two problems: the absence of a new zone for 30 years and the possibility of reducing waiting times at other Disneyland Park attractions. The zone would be perfectly integrated into the land, contrary to the choice made. The African savannah side by side with the Norwegian fjords – that was a daring move!
If the park’s choice for this new attraction doesn’t seem convincing, neither does the theme chosen. A licence that some consider too old for a park that is reinventing itself… Another universe could have been proposed, such as Wakanda. The link with Avengers Campus was obvious!
It’s true that in terms of consistency, the Walt Disney Studios (soon to be Disney Adventure World) are no example! We have Alice and the Queen of Hearts: Return to Wonderland, instead of Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular. Here again, Alice’s choice was not convincing, as the audience did not stay…
We have Aladdin’s “ride” in World of Pixar (unless there’s a pleasant surprise after his rehab? Naaaan! ). In short, there is a vision for this park, but what is it? That’s the mystery!
Get the programme!
But let’s get back to the future of Disneyland Paris. When you see the programme for the American parks, it’s enough to make you jealous! Disneyland Resort will benefit from an aquatic attraction inspired by Avatar and an attraction about Coco for Disney California Adventure, an audio-animatronice from Walt !!!! Avenger campus will double in size with two new attractions.
Walt Disney World is not to be outdone with a new Monster and Company coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studio, two Cars attractions, a Disney Villains land at Magic Kingdom with two attractions, a brand new Indiana Jones attraction, one on Encanto, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a new night parade and a brand new Zootopie show.
What about the competition?
It’s already here and it’s here. For several years now, Futuroscope has been inverting and investing heavily: 300 million euros. The result is three major attractions, including a water park, Aquascope, with an aquatic cinema, a first, mapping and various immersive zones. Parc Astérix is not to be outdone. It intends to invest a minimum of €200 million, including the redesign of certain areas. They don’t need 8 years to bring out a land whose technology is already a decade old. Both parks are also developing their hotel offer. Europa Park took just two years after the fire to rebuild Piraten in Batavia! In the meantime, we’ve had a poor theming of Fuente Del Oro, another failed new hall at Bella Notte and let’s not even talk about the catastrophic refurbishment of Nautilus!
When you wish…
With Universal’s arrival in the UK, perhaps it’s time for Disneyland Paris to move on! Universal and Disney, particularly in the USA, have a habit of bickering. When Disney announces a plan for its American parks, Universal retaliates with its own plan.
Perhaps Disneyland Paris has a few trump cards up its sleeve? Does the Parisian park have any surprises in store for us in the coming days and weeks? That’s what we hoped when we read the post by Lise Valencia, Senior Manager Business Solutions, on her linkedin account, where she talks about a series of exciting announcements… In the end, it’s just a repeat of D23. We’re all familiar with this kind of announcement at Disneyland Paris… Usually it’s to announce what we already know!
It took a decade to correct the mistakes at Disney California Adventure, and 16 years to see the start of an expansion plan at Walt Disney Studios… Will we have to wait another 20 years to see these new errors corrected in one or other of the resort’s parks? All that’s left is to pray to the lucky stars!