World Premiere to premiere at Disneyland Paris
Catching up on Disney parks news
With Universal Epic Universe wowing guests during previews, the year-round haunt attraction, Universal Horror Unleashed, set to debut in Las Vegas on August 14, and Universal Kids Resort on tap to open next year in Texas, Universal is hogging much of the parks and attractions spotlight. As if that’s not enough, the prolific company just officially announced that a new Universal Studios theme park will be opening in 2031 in the UK, its first entry in Europe.
The park industry’s other big cheese, Disney, is in the early stages of an ambitious $60-billion plan to invest in new and expanded attractions and more across its parks and experiences division. What a time to be a theme park fan, am I right? Let’s run down some recent reveals from The Mouse and find out what it’s been up to with all that cheddar.
Disneyland Paris is transforming its second gate, Walt Disney Studios Park, into Disney Adventure World, with the changeover set to launch in 2026. The resort announced that the park’s reimagined indoor entrance plaza, which it is rebranding “World Premiere,” will welcome guests starting May 15, 2025. The Art Deco-inspired entryway will include a new quick-service eatery, The Hollywood Gardens Restaurant.
As I previously reported, World of Frozen, a new land similar to the Nordic outpost at Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as a log flume attraction in the vein of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure but themed to the “The Lion King,” will open as part of the expanded Disney Adventure World in 2026. A flat ride, Raiponce Tangled Spin, will be part of Adventure Way, the redesigned land in the park’s center. Now, the resort has announced that a second flat ride, which will be themed to “Up,” will be added to the area as well. According to concept art released by Disney, it appears this will be a standard carousel swing ride found at many amusement and theme parks. A number of manufacturers produce the spinning rides, notably Zierer, which calls its model the Wave Swinger.
Meet your new Buddy at Walt Disney World
In other company news, Walt Disney World in Florida announced that the Tomorrowland favorite, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, will be closing in August and reopening next year with changes and improvements. The Magic Kingdom attraction will feature new vehicles that will be outfitted with video monitors to display passengers’ gameplay and new handheld shooters that will feature colored beams, sound, and haptic feedback to help guests better track their blasts and improve their scores. The attraction’s “Z” targets, which are currently static, will be tricked out to respond when passengers successfully activate them. Space Ranger Spin will also feature a new introductory scene featuring “Buddy,” a robot who will coach players as they depart on their intergalactic mission to help Buzz Lightyear zap Emperor Zurg.
The Florida parks have a number of developments it will be rolling out soon, including a new show, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, and the revamped The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, both debuting at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 27. Later in the summer, the third iteration of Test Track at Epcot will rev up. The park’s new adults-only Spaceship Earth lounge, GEO-82, along with a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed tavern at the Magic Kingdom will begin pouring drinks later this year.
Before new tariffs were introduced and financial markets started going kablooey, the Disney parks had already begun offering special deals, even during the typically busy summer season. Now, forecasts that call for a challenging period in the travel and tourism industry have to be rattling all parks and attractions. Among Disney World’s latest offers: 50% off children’s (ages 3-9) park tickets; free dining plan with certain hotel packages; and discounts on select Disney hotel bookings.
Like me, have you had a hard time getting a decent score on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin? Will you welcome the attraction’s enhancements? This might warrant a separate article, but have US and world events, including shaky economic forecasts, had an impact on your plans to visit parks this spring, summer, and beyond? Might you take advantage of special deals like those offered by Disney World?