The Christmas season may be in full swing at Disneyland Paris, but they’re already planning ahead by recently announcing new and updated activities coming in the new year! In this blog we’re giving an overview of what’s to come. Who’s excited? (We are!)

(Top image – concept art for Tales of Magic (c) Disney)

Disney Tales of Magic

On 10th January a new night-time spectacular will debut in Disneyland Parc, Disney Tales of Magic! Taking over from the quite long-running (at this point) Disney Illuminations, Disney Tales of Magic will combine projections, fireworks, fountains, and drones!

The theme of the show is, as the name suggests, magic! It explores what magic means in Disney and where it can come from, and moves through different eras of animation. And Pixar are getting represented here too!

What this show will do is incorporate the drones into the main show, as opposed to having them as a ‘pre-show’ as they are right now with the Electrical Sky Parade. It sounds like Disney have made them integral to the story! Another new thing for this show is that for the first time the projections will not only be on the castle but down Main Street too, allowing Disneyland Paris to follow in the footsteps of Walt Disney World and Disneyland in California.

The new show sounds amazing, and we think it will be very, very popular! As the firework crowds can be a bit of a nightmare in Disneyland Paris expect to have to find a viewing spot early. If you’re are eligible for the special viewing area for the differently-abled with the Priority Pass we recommend you take it, and those wanting the perfect view might want to invest in the paid fireworks slot that puts you right in front of the castle with a little more elbow room than the rest of the Hub. If you want to avoid the scrum but still see the show we’ve found standing at the back of Main Street can be a good call (it also puts you closest to the exit!), although the projections down Main Street may change the crowd patterns a little. We’ll just have to see when the show debuts on 10th January!

Disney Music Festival

In a first for Disneyland Paris, from 19th April to 7th September they will be holding a music festival! For those who automatically associate wading through mud, camping and crowds when they picture music festivals, this promises to be a rather more organised affair! (Although there’ll probably still be crowds, to be fair).

The Music Festival will consist of 12 different shows, scattered around Disneyland Park. It’ll start with Mickey Mouse (naturally) welcoming guests with a new song at the beginning of the day, and Minnie leading a walking band. Also on Main Street, Mary Poppins and Bert will be joined by a Pearly band to play tunes from the films, and Goofy will be conductor of a fountain show next to the castle. And at the end of the day there’ll be an orchestral farewell! (I’ll be interested to see how they work that with the crowds there!)

Moving on to Fantasyland, in the Italian section Donald and Daisy Duck will be joined by someone playing an accordion (I’d expect ‘Bella Notte’ to be belted out here!), and over near the Princess Pavilion Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (or Eugene Fitzherbert as I like to think of him!) will be accompanied by a folk group.

Adventureland will get in on the action with a chance to learn to dance with Moana, and a fun interactive show with Timon which is returning from 2019. And in Frontierland a mariachi band will join Miguel from Coco (we’re already getting Mariachi Cobre from Epcot vibes!)

Finally in Discoveryland you’ll be able to meet Stitch, and watch a show in the Videopolis theatre that’ll give rock and pop takes on classic Disney songs through the ages!

Overall the Music festival sounds like it’ll be a great time. There’ll be a chance to interact with characters we don’t get to see much at Disneyland Paris, such as Miguel, Moana and Flynn Rider. The spread of the shows round the park also should hopefully distribute crowds a bit between the lands! How the show timings work, and if it’ll be possible to see all of them in day, is something we’ll need to wait and see in April (and may well change due to opening hours and predicted crowd levels too).

The only possible downsides is that it might bring more crowds to areas that are generally a bit less busy (such as the path next to Bella Notte in Fantasyland), and the show in Videopolis might make eating at Café Hyperion (the quick service restaurant that overlooks the theatre) much more of a pain! (But also food and show which is pretty awesome!)

World Premiere

Anyone who’s been to the Walk Disney Studios park this year knows that it’s been having some, well, lets call it growing pains. While most of the construction work is taking place at the back of the park, the entrance way (formerly known as Studio 1) has been closed, as has a lot of the pavement behind it. This has led to some confusion and congestion as people figure out where to go, and my husband comparing walking through the walls to the trench run in Star Wars! Thankfully though this is all due to end in 2025, with the opening of World Premiere – the new name for Studio 1.

(I’ll probably keep referring to it as Studio 1 for the next 10 years or so out of habit. Hey I still call Hollywood Studios in Orlando MGM studios at times!)

The newly imagine World Premiere is due to open in Spring 2025 (no exact date as of yet). The space will be designed to evoke a Hollywood street at night-time, with a film premiere happening. The building facades in the space have been recreated from actual buildings in Los Angeles, including the Disney animation building.

As for what is in the space, it’s actually going to be very similar to what was in the old Studio 1 – on one side there will be a quick service restaurant, on the other a large retail space. Both seem to be inspired by old Hollywood glamour; for those that have been to Hollywood Studios in Florida the concept art is giving Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard vibes! Disney has used the word ‘elegant’ to describe this, so we’ll probably be moving away from the old neon signs that used to be here, and the upstairs seating area known as ‘Carmen’s Veranda’. (Possibly not Disney’s finest moment when it comes to puns!) The old quick service here, Restaurant en Coulisse, was very much the standard theme park food site of this park – burgers and hot dogs, that kind of thing. It’ll be interesting to see what changes a new menu brings.

Disney have also said they’ll be reopening the courtyard behind World Premiere in stages too, bringing some more space and beauty to the park which does need it! Hopefully this will also see the Partners statue restored to its old place. No word yet on if the Monsters Inc photo op will make a return though.

Overall the opening of World Premiere can only be a good thing, bringing space, activities and new life into this park! It’s also an important step on the way to the transition to Disney Adventure World, as the Studios will be renamed in 2026. And speaking of that…

What isn’t coming in 2025?

When Disney first announced the new Frozen land coming to the Studios park, it was giving an estimated opening of 2025. This has now been pushed back to 2026!

There’s also no word yet on when the new activities leading to the World of Frozen (the park area and the Tangled ride) will be opening either, but while a late 2025 opening might be possible it’s probably going to be 2026 too.

And as for the Lion King land that was announced, there’s no news on an estimated opening for this yet at all – so we’re probably looking at 2027 or beyond!

When the World of Frozen does open, it will change the name of the Studios park to Disney’s Adventure World. So 2025 will be the last time to enjoy this park under its Walt Disney Studios Park name!

What are you most excited for in 2025? We’ll keep you updated on the latest news on the openings as we have it – subscribe to our blog or follow us on our social channels to be kept in the loop!