Walt Disney Studios expansion takes shape... WhileAvengers Campus opened to great fanfare in 2022 at Disneyland Paris, officially launching the festivities for the large-scale expansion plan announced in 2018, which includes a lake and three themed zones, the lake is back in the news on April 12, 2024 with a host of new features. Starting with an official name: Adventure Bay! And a few details about the future restaurant too, The Regal View Restaurant & Lounge.
Disneyland Paris: The Regal View, the restaurant & lounge in the future lake zone at WDS
Disneyland Paris tells us more about the future Lake Zone this Friday, March 12, 2024 at a press conference. This new area of the Walt Disney Studio park is set to unveil a new premium restaurant: The Regal View Restaurant & Lounge. [Read more]
In addition to the restaurant, this immersive zone invites you to stroll around an immense 70,000 m3, 2-hectare body of water, including a beautifully landscaped shoreline, as well as a central promenade linking the new zone and the park entrance. A lake destined to become a 360-degree entertainment mecca, equipped with the latest technology to offer"impressive water shows with fountains, music, lights and special effects that will delight visitors", as explained in a press release.
The night-time shows are detailed in a prefectoral decree authorizing the project, unveiled several years ago, and are"planned in association with the new universes covered by the park extension", including"pyrotechnic shows, light displays and aquatic animations".
Disneyland Paris: a night-time floating show on the future Lake Zone with aquatic drones
At D23, we learn more about what's new at Disneyland Paris. This time, the veil is lifted on the new Lake Zone and the floating show that awaits us there. [Read more]
Also planned around the lake, between the Snow Queen and Cars Roadtrip zones, as explained byOutsidEars last November, is a"second pavilion called Pavillon Ouest [...] of a more modest size than its big brother", which will house a restaurant complemented by"two awnings, located between the lake and the circular track that surrounds it".
Another pavilion is also planned. Evoked in February 2023, this is a"multifunctional building" housing"a service counter, but also a sanitary block and technical support for future shows that will take place on the lake", explains OutsidEars. The building will also house"dressing rooms and rest rooms for characters, as well as various technical rooms linked to operations support (shows, cash processing, drinks storage and dispensing room in connection with the snack bar...) and a cash dispenser". Two covered terraces are also planned on either side of the counter, to enable visitors to eat under cover.
A few months ago, at D23, the Disney conference to be held in Anaheim, California, from September 9 to 11, 2022, the lake area was also the talk of the town... And with good reason, since it revealed a little more about itself and some new features to come.
What are these new features? According to our colleagues at disneyphile, several small gardens are planned - two have been officially announced - including an English-style garden"paying tribute to many beloved characters, including Peter Pan", as well as a Toy Story garden, with"larger-than-life characters and a recreational landscape".
On the character side, two statues are planned, one of Jessie and one of Woody, to be located at the brand-new Toy Story Playland entrance, overlooking the lake. A Meet & Greet area is also planned.
The English Garden will also feature a kiosk with entertainment. At the Disney Parks, Experiences & Products panel, Josh D'Amaro also unveiled concept art for the future walkway leading to the lake and linking to the Snow Queen area.
Just a few days earlier, on August 26, 2023, a new Rapunzel attraction planned upstream from the lake was leaked by our colleagues atOutsidEars, who revealed in an article the content of this attraction through the publication of construction plans (the famous "blue prints").
According to insiders, this will be a "round ride", tea cup-type attraction, exactly like Mad Hatter's Tea Cups at Disneyland Paris. But instead of tea cups, visitors will whirl around in boats to relive the famous lantern scene from the film, which will also be present above the boats. The attraction is to be designed by Zamperla, the company behind Mad Hatter's Tea Cups. The new attraction would be accompanied by a small pond, reflecting the lanterns at nightfall.
An attraction that now has a name: Rapunzel Tangled Spin! The announcement was made by Disneyland Paris at a press conference held to mark the destination's 32nd anniversary.
Disneyland Paris: Tangled Spin, the future attraction inspired by the film Rapunzel at WDS
At a press conference held this Friday, April 12, 2024, Disneyland Paris reveals more about the new features expected for the new lake area, Adventure Bay. Good news for Rapunzel fans: a new attraction is about to plunge us into the famous lantern scene. We tell you all about it! [Read more]
What about an opening date? While work is still in progress, no date has yet been announced by the destination. But one thing seems certain: this new area could open at the same time as the Snow Queen zone, as explained by Natacha Rafalski, President of Disneyland Paris, in an Instagram post:"As our ambitious transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park continues, we've just unveiled another glimpse of the second zone that will delight visitors after the much-anticipated opening of the Avengers Campus this summer!", she indicated. The Snow Queen zone opening in 2026...
David Wilson, portfolio executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, for Disneyland Paris:"After the eagerly awaited opening of the Avengers Campus this summer, this project (the Snow Queen zone, editor's note) and the development of a picturesque lakeside promenade make up the next chapter in the historic expansion of Walt Disney Studios Park," he explained.
While we're waiting to discover this new zone, let's head over to Avengers Campus if we haven't already!