# Walt Disney Studios Park

Walt Disney Studios Park (French: Parc Walt Disney Studios) is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 16 March 2002, and it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Upon opening, it was dedicated to show business, movie themes, production, and behind-the-scenes, but in the 2010s, in a similar manner to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, it began to distance itself from the original studio backlot theming and entered a new direction of attraction development inspired by Disney stories. The park is represented by the Earffel Tower, a water tower with Mickey Mouse ears similar to the one formerly located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, which in turn was inspired by the water tower at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California.
As of 2024, the park is undergoing a €2 billion overhaul that will double the footprint of the park, adding a World of Frozen land. As part of the project, the park will be renamed Disney Adventure World. In 2023, the park hosted 5.7 million visitors, making it the 20th-most visited theme park in the world and the third-most visited in Europe.

## History

Initial plans for a second theme park, named Disney-MGM Studios Europe or Disney-MGM Studios Paris, were scheduled to open in 1995, though these plans were canceled around mid-1992 due to the resort's financial issues at the time. After the resort began to make a profit, these plans were revived on a much smaller scale. The park was announced on 29 September 1999. Construction would officially begin a year later in 2000. Walt Disney Studios Park opened on 16 March 2002.
In the 2019 documentary series The Imagineering Story, Bruce Vaughn, the Chief Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, described his reaction when he visited the park when it first opened:
   The first time I went to Paris' second gate, it was after hours. No kidding, for the first ten minutes, I'm walking through, and I was like, 'When are we gonna be in the park?' And he turned to me, and he goes, 'You're in the park.' And I'm like, 'I'm on stage?' He goes, 'You're on stage.' Like, 'This looks backstage.' It's a bunch of gray warehouses. He goes, 'Yeah. It's supposed to be like a studio.' But again, it was this notion of, 'Ah, the people… the guests will buy it. This is what a studio really looks like. The guests, they just want, you know,' and it's like talking yourself in at the highest levels of, the guests… the guests would just buy this stuff.
In 2007, Walt Disney Studios Park began expanding. June 2007 saw an expansion to Animation Courtyard opened along with the new area wide name "Toon Studio". It is themed as a "toon backlot", representing the film studio workplace of animated characters, where they produce their animated films. The concept has been created exclusively for Walt Disney Studios Park and features two rides not seen in any other Disney theme park, along with small merchandising locations and many character meet-and-greets. This expansion phase added Crush's Coaster, an indoor spinning roller coaster, and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye themed after Pixar's 2006 film Cars, with the ride taking the form of an enhanced teacups ride. A similar ride is found in Mermaid Lagoon at Tokyo DisneySea. On 22 December 2007, Production Courtyard grew in size with the introduction of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which soft opened with the new Hollywood Boulevard.
In March of 2008, a variant of Stitch Encounter was imported from Hong Kong Disneyland with the new name 'Stitch live!'. It was one of two shows introduced to replace the Disney Channel Studio Tour and Cyberspace mountain attractions.
In 2009, new entertainment opened at Walt Disney Studios to run alongside Mickey's Magical Party, which began in April 2009. Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! was the second of the two shows to replace the Disney Channel Studio Tour and was presented in French, English and Spanish. In addition to Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage! came the opening of Disney Stars 'n' Cars, a smaller version of Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade imported from Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, Florida. The parade was introduced to replace 'Disney's Cinema Parade' which had been operating since opening in 2002.
In August 2010, expansions continued with the opening of Toy Story Playland to coincide with the new Disney·Pixar film Toy Story 3, "shrinking" guests to the size of a toy. The three attractions are a Half Pipe coaster named RC Racer, a parachute jumpstyle ride named Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, and a Music Express train named Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin, all themed intricately around the first two Toy Story films.
The first push of expansions came to an end with the addition of 'Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy', soft opening 21 June 2014 and fully opening on 10 July.
On 27 February 2018, Bob Iger announced a transformative multi-year expansion, opening in phases from 2021. The cost of this expansion is €2 billion. It will feature new areas based on Marvel and Frozen, all surrounding a new man-made lake.
This second round of expansion began with the closing of Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux on 31 March 2019 followed by "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith" (2 September 2019), Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic (6 January 2020) and The Moteurs... Action! (13 March 2020) in order for both the walkway to the lake expansion to be started (demolition of the tram tour station) and for Avengers Campus to replace the Backlot area of the park.
On 14 March 2020, Walt Disney Studios Park, alongside Disneyland Park, temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Both parks reopened on 15 July 2020 with strict rules such as limited guest attendance, social distancing, and mandatory wearing of face masks. The park closed again on 29 October 2020 following a second nationwide lockdown, the resort's original intended reopening on 2 April 2021 was ultimately deferred to 17 June.
On 15 June 2021 the new changes and expansion to the park started to arrive with the soft opening of Cars: Road Trip. This attraction consists of the loop for 'Catastrophe Canyon' from the Studio Tram Tour redecorated with props and characters based on the world of the 2006 film Cars.
On 9 July 2022, Avengers Campus soft opened as the first phase of the aforementioned expansion. It opened with the Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure and the rethemed "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith", known as Avengers Assemble: Flight Force.
On 12 April 2024, Disney announced that as of the opening of the now named 'World of Frozen', Walt Disney Studios Park would be rebranded as Disney Adventure World. The park will consist of the areas 'World Premiere Plaza' (Formerly Studio 1), World of Hollywood, 'World of Frozen', 'Adventure Bay' (The lake), and 'Adventure Way'. These will be joined by Front Lot, Worlds of Pixar, and Avengers Campus scheduled to debut in 2025.
On 24 May 2024, it was announced that was replaced by a new outdoor shows, Alice & The Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland, and the areas was renamed Theater of the Stars, which was became part of the last remaining Production Courtyard area until 29 September 2024 and right behind the location of Avengers Campus, since the final performance of The Moteurs... Action! and Backlot area would be permanently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Paris for over four years ago.
At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2024 on 11 August 2024, it was announced that "World of Frozen" was delayed to 2026, while a new Lion King Land will be built at Disney Adventure World.
On 30 September, 2024, it was announced that a new nighttime spectacular show, Doctor Strange: Mystery of the Mystics, which will be premiere in Avengers Campus on 23 November, 2024 until 29 March, 2025 at Walt Disney Studios Park.
On 26 October, 2024, it was announced that a new temporarily show, Minnie's Musical Moment, which would be premiere in Studio D on 1 November, 2024 until 30 March, 2025 at Walt Disney Studios Park, since it was announced that the final performance of Disney Junior Dream Factory would be permanently closed on 31 August 2024. In December 2024, it was announced that Alice & The Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland as the outdoor shows, would be return on 17 May, 2025 until 31 August, 2025 at Disney Adventure World.

## Areas

Walt Disney Studios Park is divided into five "studio lots." Originally these were to represent various aspects of film production present at a Hollywood film studio, though this connection has weakened over time with the addition of lands themed for prominent film franchises.

### Front Lot

Front Lot serves as the park's main entrance and is home to most shops and services of the park, the Earffel Tower is located here. The entrance courtyard, La Place des Frères Lumière, is designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style, a style common in Hollywood in the 1930s. It is based on the design of the original Disney Bros. Studios on Hyperion Avenue. The central feature of the courtyard is a large Fantasia fountain. The name of the courtyard is a tribute to the French inventors of cinema.

#### Former features

| Name | Opened | Closed | Description |
| Disney Studio 1 | 2002 | 2024 | A covered walkway with shops and restaurants themed after a soundstage with a recreation of a Hollywood street inside. |
| Hep Cat Club | 2002 | 2024 | Includes the Hep Cat Corner, a counter-service restaurant which opened in 2013. |
| Restaurant en Coulisse | 2002 | 2024 | A counter-service restaurant with two-floor seating. |
The venue closed in April 2024 and will reopen after a refurbishment as World Premiere, with the counter-service restaurant Hollywood Gardens Restaurant.

### Toon Studio

Toon Studio features attractions and shopping based on Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios franchises, including a live show, Mickey and the Magician. When the park originally opened in 2002, the area was known as Animation Courtyard. In 2007, as part of the park's fifth anniversary, two new rides were added: Crush's Coaster and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye. In 2010, the area was expanded with the creation of the Toy Story Playland. In January 2012, construction began on a new Ratatouille-themed ride and restaurant.
In 2021, most of this area's attractions were separated into the newly named Worlds of Pixar area of the park.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| Animagique Theatre | 2002 | An indoor theatre that is currently home to the live-action stage show Mickey and the Magician. Set in the atelier of the titular magician (of Fantasia origin) in 20th century Paris, his apprentice Mickey gets into mischief, as he explores and learns to use his own magic. |
| Animation Celebration | 2002 | Walk-through exhibition attraction that celebrates the magic of Disney animation. The venue hosts the interactive experience Frozen: A Musical Invitation, wherein guests step into the snowy world of Frozen to meet Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven. Guests can also participate in the Animation Academy, where they can be instructed on the hand-drawing of Disney characters. |
| Flying Carpets Over Agrabah | 2002 | An aerial carousel ride very similar to the famous Dumbo the Flying Elephant. The attraction is set against a large "movie set" backdrop of Agrabah where riders act as extras in the Genie's directorial debut as they fly on magic carpets. It is a clone of The Magic Carpets of Aladdin at the Magic Kingdom, and is the only opening-day attraction at the park that remains open to this day. |
| Toon Studio Catering Co | 2007 | Outdoor food trucks. |

### Worlds of Pixar

Formerly a part of the Toon Studio section, the Worlds of Pixar area features rides, attractions, shopping, and restaurants based on Pixar's Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille franchises.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| Bistrot Chez Rémy | 2014 | A premium table-service restaurant serving French cuisine. It is based on Ratatouille and set within the Paris-themed area. |
| Crush's Coaster | 2007 | A spinning roller coaster where guests enter the beached sound stage and film set of Finding Nemo, where Crush invites them to climb aboard sea turtle shells for a ride through memorable scenes from the movie. |
| Cars Quatre Roues Rallye | 2007 | A Zamperla Demolition Derby where guests spin at a Radiator Springs car service station. Their cars are located on four spinning plateaus and they change from one spinning plateau to the next. |
| Cars: Road Trip | 2021 | An abridged version of the defunct Studio Tram Tour themed to the Cars franchise. This attraction utilises part of the Studio Tram Tour track, and the "Catastrophe Canyon" portion of the former ride. It has been designed as a "temporary ride to increase park capacity until the new expansions open". |
| Laugh'N' Go! | 2021 | A food truck serving cheese-based products from The Laughing Cow. |
| Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy | 2014 | A motion-based trackless dark ride based on the 2007 Disney·Pixar animated film Ratatouille. It opened in a new Paris themed area of the park. |

#### Toy Story Playland

Toy Story Playland is a sub-area of Toon Studio/Worlds of Pixar themed to the Toy Story franchise, which opened on 17 August 2010 to market and promote Toy Story 3. The area shrinks guests down to the size of the toy as they ride three over-sized attractions.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| RC Racer | 2010 | A steel shuttle roller coaster where guests ride on a 25-meter half-pipe aboard RC. |
| Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin | 2010 | A Caterpillar-style ride where guests twirl and swirl with Slinky Dog as he tries to grab his tail in front of his dog bowl. |
| Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop | 2010 | A parachute jump ride where guests test their parachute-floating skills with Sarge and the other Green Army Men. |
| Toy Story Playland Boutique | 2010 | Set within a Barrel of Monkeys container, this store sells Toy Story merchandise. |

### Production Courtyard

Production Courtyard's theme revolves around the production aspect of Hollywood movies and the Hollywood mythos, including movie legends. The land contains two distinct parts: Hollywood Boulevard, which features Hollywood-inspired street sets and the ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – A New Dimension of Chills and Place des Stars themed around the production facilities of movie lots, containing Stitch Live!.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| Disney Jr. Dream Factory | 2021 | Set within Studio D, this is a live interactive show featuring the characters from Disney Jr.. |
| Food Trucks | 2002 | Various food trucks selling different snacks and drinks. |
| Production Courtyard Stage | 2017 | A open-set stage located nearby the Tower of Terror. It showcases many different shows, including The Incredibles' Challenge and Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance-Off!. |
| Stitch Live! | 2008 | Set within Studio D, this is an interactive, living character show where guests communicate with Stitch from Lilo & Stitch. |
| Studio Theatre | 2002 | A live-show theatre that was formerly the longtime show of CinéMagique. Since 2023, the current show in the theatre is the Disney/Pixar-themed TOGETHER: A Pixar Musical Adventure. Previous shows have included Marvel: Heroes Unite, Merry Jolly Jingle, The Lion King: Rhythm of the Pridelands (playback of recorded show from Frontierland in Disneyland Park for guests unable to secure tickets to watch live) and has also held various character meet & greets. |
| The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – A New Dimension of Chills | 2007 | A large 13-storey free-fall thrill ride where guests enter the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel, and follow the story inspired by the television series. The finale of the ride involves a series of drops at different lengths. This ride originated at Disney's Hollywood Studios and has varying copies both at Disney California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea. |
| Theater of the Stars | 2024 | The former Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectaculaire! arena, now hosting the temporary show Alice & the Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland. |

### Marvel Avengers Campus

Marvel Avengers Campus, a land themed around the Marvel Cinematic Universe, soft opened on 9 July 2022, and opened to the public 20 July 2022. Anchored as a transformed Paris-based secret location for S.H.I.E.L.D., the area's attractions and dining include Avengers Assemble: Flight Force (an Iron Man re-theme of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith) and Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure (a clone of Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure from the Anaheim version of the land). This area replaced the previous "Backlot" lot of the park.
| Name | Opened | Description |
| Avengers Assemble: Flight Force | 2022 | A steel Roller Coaster where guests Team up with Iron Man and Captain Marvel to save the world from an intergalactic threat. |
| FAN-tastic Food Truck | 2022 | Iron Man-themed food truck serving American-style food. |
| Hero Training Center | 2022 | Meet-and-Greet attraction that allows Heroic Encounters with Spider-Man and a random Marvel hero every day. |
| Pym Kitchen | 2022 | All-you-can-Eat buffet restaurant themed to Ant-Man and The Wasp. |
| Stark Factory | 2022 | Cafeteria-style restaurant set within a former Stark Industries building. |
| Super Diner | 2022 | 1940s-style table service restaurant themed within the Agent Carter series. Replaced Café des Cascadeurs. |
| WEB Food Truck | 2022 | Food Truck that sells Asian-style food. |
| Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure | 2022 | 3D shooting screen attraction themed to Spider-Man. |

### Former areas
#### Backlot

The Backlot was an opening day lot themed after actual movie backlots with an industrial theme. This lot featured the attractions Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith, the Moteurs... Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular, and the special effects show Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux. The cafeteria service restaurant Blockbuster Café, the buffet Restaurant des Stars, and a small diner Café des Cascadeurs were also part of the Backlot. This area was closed in 2019 to make way for Avengers Campus, except for Theater of the Stars.
| Name | Opened | Closed | Description |
| Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux | 2002 | 2019 | A special effects show which showed multiple scenes from the 1998 film Armageddon. The attraction closed on 31 March 2019, to make way for Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure. |
| Moteurs... Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular | 2002 | 2020 | A stunt show that showed how action movies are filmed, using car and motorbike stunts. There was also a clone of the attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando which closed in 2015. This attraction closed on 13 March 2020, as the final attraction of the area. The closure was moved earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, as it was initially planned to stay for a short time longer, but instead closed. Following the announcement, Walt Disney Studios Park announced that the Paris version of the show will be replaced by a new show, Alice & The Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland, and the area was renamed Theater of the Stars, which opened on 24 May 2024, and will run until 29 September 2024. The arena is now considered part of Production Courtyard. |
| Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith | 2002 | 2019 | The largest attraction of the area, and an almost exact clone of the ride found at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, with only a few story aspects changed. The attraction closed on 2 September 2019, to make way for Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, which retained the track layout. |

### Future areas

On 27 February 2018, Bob Iger announced that The Walt Disney Company will invest €2 billion into the Disneyland Paris resort. The Walt Disney Studios Park will be expanded with two new areas based on Marvel and Frozen. In addition to the two new areas, the expansion includes a new lake, which will be the focal point for entertainment experiences and will also connect each of the new park areas.

#### World of Frozen

The second phase of the expansion will be World of Frozen which was originally scheduled to be open in 2023 but has since been delayed to 2026, since the opening date was postponed indefinitely followed the closures of the park due to COVID-19 pandemic. The land will be set in the kingdom of Arendelle (after the events of Frozen and before Frozen II), where Queen Elsa has declared a Summer Snow Day for its citizens. A new and expanded version of Frozen Ever After will debut with the land as well as a restaurant and a shop.

#### Lion King area

In August 2024, it was announced that a Lion King area with a flume ride based on the original 1994 animated film will be added to the park.

## Attendance

| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Worldwide Rank |
| 4,710,000 | 4,800,000 | 4,470,000 | 4,260,000 | 4,440,000 | 4,970,000 | 5,200,000 | 5,298,000 | 5,245,000 | 1,410,000 | 1,884,000 | 23 |

## Shows and parades
### Current

* Mickey and the Magician: 2016–2020, 2022–present
* Together: a Pixar Musical Adventure: 2023–present
* Stitch Live!: 2008–present
* Doctor Strange: Mystery of the Mystics 2024–present
* Alice & The Queen of Hearts: Back to Wonderland: 25 May - 29 September 2024, 17 May - 31 August 2025

### Retired

* Avengers: Power The Night: 1 September – 5 November 2023; 1 December 2023 – 7 January 2024
* Stars 'n' Cars: 2009–2014
* Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular: 2002–2020
* CinéMagique: 2002–2017
* Animagique: 2002–2016
* Disney Cinema Parade: 2002–2008
* Disney Junior Dream Factory: 2021–2024