In honor of Disneyland Paris celebrating its 33rd Anniversary on April 12, the resort has announced a surprise new attraction based on Pixar’s Up coming to the reimagined Disney Adventure World theme park! This post covers dates & details, concept art of the ride, plus a lot more construction progress updates on the second gate in France that’s currently being overhauled and expanded.
To mark the occasion of the Disneyland Paris 33rd Anniversary, the place where dreams come true unveiled never-before-seen images and new details about its unprecedented transformation. Since 2018, Disneyland Paris has celebrated countless changes and major milestones, from the reimagining of Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel and Disneyland Hotel to the opening of Avengers Campus, plus an overhaul and new look for Disney Village.
All the while, work has been underway to reimagine the studios park and make it worthy of the Disney name. The resort’s second gate, which is currently known as Walt Disney Studios Park but will be renamed Disney Adventure World when the new Frozen-themed area opens in 2026, is undergoing a major expansion and embracing a fresh creative vision. Disneyland Paris is now pulling back the curtain further on what to expect from the future Disney Adventure World in 2025 and 2026…
These updates are being shared as part of a major transformation plan for the future Disney Adventure World, which is coming to fruition thanks to a 2-billion-euro investment to expand the park, as announced in 2018 (albeit with several changes since). By reimagining more than 90% of the second gate’s opening day offerings and roughly doubling its footprint, the soon-to-be-renamed park will become a truly can’t-miss experience by the end of its expansion journey.
The future Disney Adventure World is set to usher in its next phase with the grand opening of World Premiere on May 15, 2025. World Premiere is the gateway to the existing and future immersive worlds of the park.
When guests set foot in the World Premiere building, they will become special attendees of a glamorous film premiere in the heart of Hollywood, under an ever-present sky full of stars. Then, they will be able to discover fully immersive worlds, placing them into the heart of their favorite Disney, Marvel, and Pixar stories.
The interior of the former Disney Studio 1 soundstage has been completely reimagined to feature new crafted décor, refurbished spaces and a brand-new storyline that sets guests in an authentic Hollywood boulevard, recognizable by its palm trees, the stars on the ground, the rich and varied architecture of its façades and its famous movie theaters.
Numerous nods to Los Angeles, Disney and other park experiences will be hidden within the sets, particularly including the impressive skyline that serves as the backdrop to the entire building.
At the end of the central alley, the Disney Theater and its majestic, illuminated sign weighing nearly three tons will beckon guests to venture deeper into Disney Adventure World and its immersive worlds. At World Premiere, a wide range of experiences will await guests.
An invitation to dine under the stars at any time of day will be presented through, in the elegant ‘outdoor’ setting of The Hollywood Gardens Restaurant, which will offer delicious quick service options. A range of snacks and hot and cold drinks will also be available to take away from the Searchlight kiosk.
For those who fancy a bit of shopping, the must-visit place at World Premiere will be Mickey’s of Hollywood Boutique, inspired by the classic American department stores of the 1920s. Guests will be able to find a wide selection of products inspired by Disney stories brought to life in the park’s immersive worlds.
Once outside the building, guests will arrive in the heart of World Premiere Plaza. Inspired by Broadway and the West End district, this vibrant area brings together several theatres, currently celebrating Disney Animation and Pixar stories, in a stylish setting. The Walt Disney Imagineering Paris teams are hard at work to turn the park’s former central square into a dynamic and warm environment.
This initiative, which focuses on reimagining pathways, creating colorful murals, introducing new landscaped areas, and adding new Art Deco-inspired street furniture, aims to bring harmony to the space while enhancing the appearance of World Premiere Plaza. The transformation work, which is being carried out in phases, will be completed before the opening of Disney Adventure World’s new areas in 2026.
“As our second gate continues its transformation, we are proud to be unveiling the next milestone with the opening of World Premiere in a few weeks,” said Natacha Rafalski, Présidente of Disneyland Paris. “At the end of its expansion journey—which includes the opening of Adventure Way, Adventure Bay, and World of Frozen in 2026, and later an immersive world themed to The Lion King—we’ll have reimagined more than 90% of the park’s offerings since its debut in 2002, and roughly doubled its footprint to truly become a can’t-miss experience!”
New Up Attraction Coming to Adventure Way
“Adventure is out there!” – this famous quote from Pixar’s “Up” will soon resonate with Disney Adventure World guests as they board a flying carousel that will spin in the air, offering bird’s-eye views of the park’s stunning scenery.
Blending the charm of family attractions with the colorful world of Up, this new experience will mark the first time an attraction inspired by this beloved film is coming to a Disney park. It will be located across from Raiponce Tangled Spin, another attraction that is already being brought to life in the heart of Adventure Way.
This all-new experience will enrich the family-friendly offerings and further elevate the dynamic of this area, which combines lush landscape with European-style Art Nouveau architecture, giving guests of all ages the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of adventures.
Construction on the first attraction at a Disney park themed after Pixar’s “Up” will begin by the end of 2025. Disney suggested this is opening next year: “There’s even more coming to the resort’s second park when Adventure Way opens as part of Disney Adventure World in 2026!”
That’s slightly ambiguous, though, as the 2026 date could simply be referring to Adventure Way itself. A swings ride could be built pretty quickly, but our guess is that it debuts sometime after the rest of Adventure Way. Perhaps late 2026?
While I think that Pixar’s “Up” deserves more than a flying swings ride, I also think that’s true with like 75% of Disney’s franchises since the 1990s. It’s baffling that so many movies from my youth–now modern classics–still don’t have major attractions in the parks. Yet, we’re subjected to 47 different (give or take) Toy Story rides. So I’m just glad “Up” is getting anything at all.
Many Disney fans will turn their noses up at an amusement park style ride, but not me. Silly Symphony Swings at Disney California Adventure is a lovely attraction, offering big views and fun to riders, as well as adding kinetic energy to the area for passersby. It’s also dressed-up just enough that it’s an on-theme addition worthy of Disney. The same cannot be said of much (most?) of the circa-2002 Walt Disney Studios Park.
The “Up” swings will be a solid addition, bringing life to an area of Adventure Way that otherwise felt like it might be a lot of walking past trees and gardens without much of substance to see along the way. This should help break up the pathway adding focal points that draw guests further down the promenade and make that walk more interesting.
It’s also another ride! It’ll add capacity! As someone who firmly believes we should normalize Disney rounding out ride rosters with this type of attraction where thematically appropriate, I’m all for this. I’d love to see a couple of flat rides in the upcoming Pride Lands Lion King area, to help round out the slate around the marquee log flume. Same goes for World of Frozen. This type of attraction can be relatively inexpensive and helps a bit to soak up crowds. Having 3-4 attractions in new lands, with a trio of them being flat rides, sure beats the current trend of single-attraction lands.
It’s also amusing that this announcement is coming only a few days after Bob Iger Warns of Tariffs’ Impact on Disney’s $60 Billion Expansion Plans. This surprise announcement might give the appearance that the company is already shifting spending away from Walt Disney World and Disneyland due to tariffs. In reality, this is purely coincidental. The “Up” attraction would’ve been greenlit and ordered months ago, with the company waiting for the opportune time (the anniversary of Disneyland Paris) to announce.
Featuring themed gardens that celebrate beloved stories, such as Disney Animation’s Tangled and Pixar’s Toy Story, Adventure Way has been dreamed up as a crossroads between the front of the park and the new immersive worlds. In this place out of time, guests will be able to unwind and daydream before diving into immersive journeys to the heart of Disney stories.
In addition to offering a broad range of experiences, Adventure Way will also be home to the Regal View Restaurant & Lounge, a stylish restaurant where guests will not only be able to meet Disney Princesses, but also watch the breathtaking new nighttime spectacular that will light up the new Adventure Bay central lake at night.
This show will combine water screens, fountains, special effects, and innovative drone choreography. The entertainment teams at Disneyland Paris have already started conducting tests in preparation for this groundbreaking experience.
Disney Adventure World Construction Report
Project managers, engineers, landscape architects, and designers: all year long, the Walt Disney Imagineering Paris teams work alongside more than 800 professionals on the Disney Adventure World construction site to bring to life the new worlds that will enchant guests starting in 2026.
At World of Frozen – which is progressively coming into view – the finishing touches are being added to the North Mountain, which rises 36 meters above the ground, creating a breathtaking new backdrop for the park. 400 tons of metal required to build its structure, which was then covered with sculpted concrete and painted by hand.
From the choice of seaweed texture, cobblestones, and lighting to the construction of life-size boats, the exceptional attention to detail that is close to Imagineers’ hearts will extend to the kingdom of Arendelle’s façades, fjord, and neighboring landscape, offering an unprecedented immersive experience in the world of Frozen.
Inside the Frozen Ever After attraction, teams are hard at work putting together the décor and programming the 34 state-of-the-art Audio Animatronics characters that guests will encounter during their adventure.
We’re looking forward to World of Frozen, and think it’ll be a pleasant surprise to most guests–especially those who have only experienced Frozen Ever After at Walt Disney World. But for us, it’s hard to imagine that this won’t be a distant third to the Frozen areas in Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Again, I believe it was a mistake to make this a single-ride land.
Adventure Way’s themed gardens are also taking shape thanks to an exceptional landscaping endeavor: more than 1,000 trees were meticulously selected by the Imagineers in European plant nurseries and planted in the park as part of its expansion, and another 100,000 shrubs and groves will also adorn this dreamlike setting.
Already, Toy Story garden has recently welcomed two impressive statues of Woody and Jessie, and the Raiponce Tangled Spin attraction has already received its vehicles, which are inspired by the small boats featured in the iconic floating lanterns scene in the Disney Animation movie Tangled.
Disney also announced that Mandy Moore, the original voice actor for Rapunzel in Tangled, has reprised her role to record a variety of announcements for Raiponce Tangled Spin, bringing an extra touch of authenticity to the guest experience.
In addition to the storytelling that plays a key role in Disney park experiences, the surrounding architecture, cutting-edge technology, lush landscape, signage, music, and entertainment are just a few of the ingredients that will help transport guests into a larger-than-life fantasy world when they discover Disney Adventure World in 2026.
Turning to commentary, I’m really looking forward to visiting the second gate at Disneyland Paris. Those were not words I ever thought I’d type back in 2012 after experiencing the Walt Disney Studios Park for the first time. I knew everyone thought it was bad, but I couldn’t believe it was this bad. And after spending a couple days in the beautiful Disneyland Paris, I also thought that maybe Parisian Disney fans had too high of expectations. Nope.
If anything, my perspective is that diehard Disney fans grade WDSP on a curve. That the park is so bad they look for any nuggets of positivity. For example, I’d say Crush’s Coaster is one of the most overrated Disney attractions on earth. It’s certainly good, but it’s sometimes made out to be a top 10 ride worldwide…and I’m not sure it’d crack my top 50. We seldom do it because the wait in that boring extended queue is never “worth it” to us…and because we spend 90% of our time in Disneyland Paris.
In any case, what a difference a decade (give or take) makes. The Walt Disney Studios Park still has a long way to go, but each new update on the park has me more excited for Disney Adventure World (still an awful name that I have not gotten used to). It’s an unprecedented feeling for the second gate at Disneyland Paris.
While promising, it’s not a perfect plan. For one thing, it’s taking about 2 years too long. This all started back in 2018, and even accounting for COVID derailing things, World of Frozen should’ve opened last year. And knowing that the expansion pads around Adventure Bay are looking pretty bare, the Lion King project should’ve been fast-tracked for a 2026 opening.
Beyond that, I still wish Disney ripped the band-aid off and went all out in demolishing the front entrance sound stage instead of reimagining it into World Premiere. I’m sure that’ll be much lovelier than what was there before, but it still strikes me as lipstick on a pig.
The soundstage idea is neat in theory as it puts a roof over guests’ heads to shelter them from the elements, but execution is terrible. Not only that, but every other ‘studios’ park is distancing itself from the ‘studios’ conceit, so this very much feels like a relic of 1990s trends. Even reimagined, it’s hard to imagine that World Premiere will age well in another decade. Disney should’ve followed the same playbook as the Arcades at Disneyland Paris, which are practical but don’t interfere with the awe-inspiring opening act that takes center stage.
These are minor nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. This is still a massive leap forward in the right direction. Disney is investing more now on the transformation into the soon-to-be Disney Adventure World than they spent on the opening day Walt Disney Studios Park.
My only other nitpick is the name. Bob, it’s still not too late for the obviously superior Disney’s CineMagique Adventure! Please have faith and trust that your guests are not too stupid to understand that more elegant and less descriptive park name.
For the basics of planning a visit to Disneyland Paris, check out our Disneyland Paris Trip Planning Guide. Find the best place to stay in Disneyland Paris Hotel Reviews. Check out 101 Disneyland Paris Tips for some (101, to be exact) of our best random tips for doing DLP like a pro. See Disney Park Tickets Tips & Tricks for ways to save on tickets. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. Finally, for advice beyond Disney, check out our Ultimate Travel Guide to Paris, France.
Your Thoughts
Thoughts on the swing ride themed to Pixar’s Up? Do you view this as a good ‘supporting attraction’ addition to Disney Adventure World, or wish they went bigger? Are you excited for the Lion King Pride Lands, Adventure Bay, World of Frozen, or any other upcoming additions to the second gate at Disneyland Paris? Excited to finally stroll around the central lake and experience the reimagined park? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!