Come with us on a day trip to Walt Disney Studios Park, including a look at its brand new entrance plaza which just opened in May 2025.
Editor's Note: This is part of an occasional series of features highlighting Disney destinations which are outside of the traditional collection of DVC resorts. Many of these destinations can be booked using DVC points. For details, see our information regarding Using DVC Points for Non-DVC destinations.
Ten years after the debut of Disneyland Paris--or Euro Disney as it was known at the time--The Walt Disney Company added a second gate to its French theme park complex. Walt Disney Studios Park opened in 2002 with a modest list of attractions which have mostly been retired in the years since. Among the opening day offerings familiar to Walt Disney World fans were a clone of Rock N Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith and the original version of Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show.
Also recognizable to Disney park fans is the Earffel Tower which rises above the Walt Disney Studios Store to the left of the park's main entry plaza.
Straight ahead is World Premiere, an newly-enhanced gateway to the park which made its debut in the spring of 2025. Replacing Disney Studio 1, this covered building is Disney Studios version of Main Street USA, welcoming guests into the Hollywood-themed park.
The interior is a dimly-lit replica of a Hollywood featuring a variety of shops and dining options, along with the Disney Theater marquee beckoning in the distance.
Quick service dining options line the left side of the building, along with a generous amount of seating.
On the right are a series of shops with exteriors designed to reflect 1920s equivalents, like Hollywood & Vine Five and Dime depicted above.
Looking back toward the point of entry, a replica Disney Studios office building is visible. The windows feature lightly animated scenes, bbringing some movement to the facade.
The eye-catching Disney Theater marquee is what grabs guests' attention and beckons them further toward the theme park.
Immediately outside World Premier are a series of "sneak preview" posters like those guests see under the train station at parks like Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The artwork helps promote attractions within, a list that includes Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy.
To the rear of the building is Walt Disney Studios Park's version of the Partners Statue. It is a lovely photo spot with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse surrounded by a garden with a character collage behind.
Immediately inside the park, the familiar art deco style of Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure dominates. The forward portion of the park is flanked by the animation building with a Frozen walk-through atraction and Animation Academy on the right. To the left is Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The Tower of Terror area is neatly designed, albeit not as expansive as the original Hollywood Studios version. It also lacks movement outside of the elevator shaft which is present in the Florida original.
The left side of the park includes the Stitch Live interactive show.
But just beyond that is Avengers Campus which made its debut in 2022. Similar to the Disney California Adventure land of the same name, Avengers Campus features a variety of attractions, shops and photo spots which tie-in to the recent run of Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure is shown below on the right. This fun interactive game allows guests to simulate casting web from their wrists, a-la Spider-Man, to help wrangle an ever-growing army of self-replicating Spider Bots. Players are scored individually and as a 4-person team based upon the number of bots destroyed.
On the left is Pym Kitchen, a table service restaurant featuring a clever combination of large and small food items themed to the Ant Man films and comics.
Further into the campus is a replica Avengers Quinjet. Guests are unable to interact directly with the aircraft, rather it is used as a sort of performance stage with regular appearances by characters like Captain America and Spider-Man.
The campus' second attraction is Avengers Flight Force, a re-theming of Rock N Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith. Avengers Flight Force recruits Iron Man and Captain Marvel to take guests on a superhero adventure. The ride itself features the same track layout as Rock N Rollercoaster including the three inversions. Video screens and other content is added to the ride and preshow to fill out the storyline.
Heading over to the right side of the park, visitors will find mostly Pixar-themed attractions. Arguably the most popular is Crush's Coaster.
Crush's Coaster loads guests into 4-person turtle-type vehicls with two guests facing forward and two in the rear. The early portion of the ride takes guests through a series of Finding Nemo scenes, including one brief portion where the track takes riders "shell" outdoors.
However the bulk of the ride is best compared to EPOCT's Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Inside the dark show building, vehicles rotate as they make their way along the winding track at high speeds. Crush's Coaster is arguably the highlight of a visit to Walt Disney Studios Park. It is certainly the most unique experience for guests who have visited many other Disney parks.
The next Pixar film feature in the park is 'Cars', courtesy of Cars Quatre Roues Rallye. This 2007 attraction is a clear predecessor to Alien Swirling Saucers in Florida and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in California.
Next up is Toy Story Playland. This 2010 addition to the park includes three attractions. RC Racer, pictured below, takes guests back and forth along a toy-themed half pipe track. Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin and Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop complete the trio of carnival-type attractions which are not particularly represenative of peak Disney Imagineering.
While remaining in the Pixar realm, the landscape shifts dramatically for this nod to the film 'Ratatouille.' The original Remy's Ratatouille Adventure is featured in this corner of the park, along with one of the more well-regarded restaurants of Disneyland Paris in Bistrot Chez Rémy.
Finally, that brings us to Cars: Road Trip.
Cars: Road Trip is a re-theme of the park's former Backlot Tour, maintaining most of the road-based elements. Utilizing the original Backlot Tour route and ride vehicles, guests are taken on a leisurely visit past several "landmarks" from the world of 'Cars.' For instance, pictured below is the "World's Largest Lugnut"...along with Lightning McQueen, Luigi and Guido making token appearances.
Further in are appearances from Mater, Fillmore and the "I-Fuel Tower" (center.) It is 100% fan service, providing brief glimpses of static Disney characters in an attraction that struggles to entertain most guests above the age of 8.
But let's not overlook the former Catastrophe Canyon area. It is a replica of the now-defunct tour from Disney's Hollywood Studios. However, someone throught it would be a gret idea to paint the tanker truck to look like a character from the 'Cars' universe...and then proceed to set him on fire in the same earthquake-and-flood sequence used for years in Florida.
But hey, where else can you hear a Disney cast member exclaim: "Au revioir! Ka-Chow!"
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney announced plans to make siginficant investment in the park. Avengers Campus was the first part of that investment to be made reality. A version of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was once discussed but later (seemingly) abandoned. Construction is under way on a Frozen-themed land which will feature an expanded version of EPCOT's Frozen Ever After surrounded by the land of Arendelle. This expansion is targeted for a 2026 opening.
In 2024, Disney announced plans to rename the park Disney Adventure World. Other attraction will be added including Pride Lands, a Lion King-themed water flume ride. The model pictured above is available to view in the current park. The expansion area is shown on the upper right, including the 'Frozen' land and 'Lion King' attraction.
Walt Disney Studios Park and Disneyland Paris are certainly bucket list destinations for any Disney theme park fan. While they are largely populated by atractions that can be found in the U.S., the unique and expansive nature of the two european parks makes them a worthwhile visit. Though the repeatablity may come into question for U.S.-based Disney Vacation Club members--everything from Remy's Ratatouille Adventure to Tower of Terror to W.E.B. Adventure can be accessed more efficiently in the states. And it's probably worth delaying a visit until 2026 for the new Frozen land alone.
But the easy accessibity of the two parks from metropolitan Paris make it an easy visit, even if only once in a lifetime.
Check out our prior recap of Disneyland Paris for more comprehensive details on what the two parks have to offer.
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