Looking online, people have a lot to say when they get back from a trip to Disneyland Paris. Comments vary from how magical it is (true!), to how rude some of the other guests are (sadly also true). But there’s one complaint I’ve see a lot of recently from people who didn’t expect it – and that’s the amount of construction that’s going on!

As I write (March 2025, if you’re reading this at a later date, what’s the future like? Are there rocket cars yet?!) Disneyland Paris is in a process of a lot of change. So in this blog we’re breaking down why that is, and how it may affect you’re upcoming trip.

“Disneyland will never be completed…”

Walt Disney said those words about the original Disneyland in Anaheim. He recognised way back in the 1950s that as stories change, people change, and tech improves, that there’ll always be new things to do to expand and improve the park.

And Disney still sticks to that ethos today, constantly announcing and undertaking new projects that bring new characters and experiences into the parks, and taking out more out of date attractions. In every Disney park around the world there’s pretty much always some sort of construction going on – whether that be to build a new land or attraction, or refurbish what was already there. And Disneyland Paris is not immune to this process of change.

Okay, but there’s A LOT of work at Disneyland Paris – why is that?

There’s no escaping that at the moment Disneyland Paris seems to be getting more than its fair share of construction, even taking into account Disney’s ethos to maintain and improve their parks. So why is that?

I think what this essentially boils down to is that Disneyland Paris just didn’t get the improvements it needed for quite a while! While ride maintenance went on, for quite a while the two parks essentially had the same attractions, and the variations were really in shows and seasonal entertainment. While this could be put down to a few reasons, I think part of it is that for quite a while Disneyland Paris wasn’t run directly by Disney but a third party, and also the parks didn’t perform as well as hoped financially in their early years. As such the incentive to add new things and improve the parks wasn’t really there. However, a few years back now Disney took over the running of the parks again and gave some of the existing attractions in the main park some much needed love and updates, such as Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain.

However, there was the Walt Disney Studios Park to deal with, and that’s another whole issue. If you ever watch the Imagineering Story on Disney + the imagineers say how there were three parks essentially rushed into opening for financial reasons which meant they weren’t as good as they’d wanted – those parks were California Adventure, Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Walt Disney Studios in Paris. Both California Adventure and Hong Kong Disneyland have had some massive works to improve them in more recent years – and that’s what we’re now seeing at the Walt Disney Studios park. Add into this mix the fact that theme parks that were originally based on looking behind the scenes at films and TV have essentially all been moving instead towards allowing people to experience movies in new ways – we’ve seen that with Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. So with the Studios in Paris there was a combo of an outdated theme and a lacklustre park, and that’s taking some fixing! It should be noted that construction to improve this park is certainly not new, as additions have taken place over the years including the Ratatouille area, Toy Story Playland, Tower of Terror, and most recently Avengers Campus. But a lot of the construction feels very front and centre recently, which is why I think it’s being noticed more. Eventually it’ll culminate in the park being renamed as Disney Adventure World.

The lack of investment showed in a few other places in Disneyland Paris too and is also being addressed; the recent rennovations at the Disneyland Hotel and Hotel New York were essentially the finale of a project to massively revamp the hotels. And Disney Village, bless its heart, did have a distinctive ‘stuck in the 90s’ vibe that is now being addressed. But to address it takes, you’ve guessed it, a lot of construction. And as it’s in public areas, it’s being noticed a lot.

So that’s why there’s construction, but where is it? Let’s find out!

Walt Disney Studios Park

Let’s rip off the band aid first and talk about where most of the construction is at the moment – the Walt Disney Studios park.

I think a lot of complaints about the construction in this park is that it’s been so front and centre recently, as they revamp the entrance plaza and the old Studio 1 into a new park entrance and World Premiere, a new entrance way paying tribute to the park’s original Studio theme and providing a transition into the world of movies that people will be able to experience in the park. Around the building there has also been work to improve the pavement area behind it, where people will enter the park properly and then disperse to the various lands. What this has meant in the short term though is a sea of construction walls, a less than impressive entrance into the park by a side path, closed theatres around as they get updated to meet the new theming, and some very congested pavements.

The good news is that this should be soon coming to an end, as the new World Premiere is due to open this spring! (No set date at time of writing). While a few construction walls may linger as they finish work on the landscaping behind the building, the end of this work should mean construction is not as in your face as it is now!

Should you be visiting before this happens though, my best advice is to try not to let the temporary entrance and construction walls put you off; the park is open behind them and waiting to be explored. These closures though do limit the amount of restrooms in the centre of the park, and takes out the largest quick service in the park. For your Studios day if you’re not planning to eat in either of the table service restaurants I’d recommend considering Stark Factory as an alternative, and maybe don’t plan to eat all your meals in the park – you might struggle!

This doesn’t mean that construction will end in the park at this point – far from it. But thankfully the bulk of this is more tucked away at the back of the park, and therefore should be less intrusive to a park day (although there’ll still be some walls and construction noise). This work is to add a new gardens and Tangled attraction, a lake (!), and the World of Frozen which is due to open in 2026. But wait, there’s more! (As they’d say in an infomercial). World of Frozen will be followed at some point with a land themed to the Lion King, also based around the new lake. So there’s a lot to come, but hopefully these longer term works will be a bit less in your face! And as for how this will impact future trips, it honestly shouldn’t – much. As it’s mostly at the back of the current park, apart from glimpsing some of the walls it shouldn’t impact current visits much at all. And hopefully will bring some great benefits once it’s finally finished!

That doesn’t mean the rest of the park is immune to construction – Disney recently announced they’re converting the old Fastpass area for Tower of Terror into a new gift shop. Another construction spot is the old ticket booths, and guests services within the park. New temporary booths are replacing the ticket office building while it gets refreshed, and the guests services within the park will move into Studio Photo nearby as a temporary measure, so the services should all still be available if you need them.

A final note on the Studios – the shows here can sometimes close for months at a time. This is pretty typical for Paris, and while it can be frustrating that you can’t see that show, it otherwise shouldn’t impact your visit too much.

Disney Village

The other big construction hot spot in Disneyland Paris at the moment is Disney Village. What was edgy design back in the early 1990s is now, well, let’s say less edgy. And a bit dated. And a lot of the restaurants and shops have been kind of the same for years upon years now, so it’s not surprising it was in need of a refresh.

Not that the Village has been immune to change. There was the addition of a sort of second ‘street’ on the other side of the World of Disney that contains a few overlooked restaurants. The World of Disney store itself was a newer addition. And in more recent years the German castle stylings of King Ludwig’s restaurant was transformed into the Royal Pub, and the classic Cafe Mickey became the French restaurant Rosalie. The village also sadly lost the epic Buffalo Bill’s Wild West stunt show, the building of which is still sitting empty as far as I know.

So refurbishment here is hardly new, but there’s been a lot going on at the moment that, like at the Studios, is very much in guest view and has been dipping a lot into the thoroughfare as it goes through Disney Village. A lot of this work has been to improve and update some of the shops – and the good news is that some of this ends very soon with Disney Glamour and Disney Style due to open tomorrow (8th March)! The revamped Lego store should follow later this year. And while the New York Sandwiches has closed for ever, it will be a new addition to the Sports Bar instead, which should open later this year.

Having said that though, there will be refurbishments continuing – including an update of the Disney Store, a refresh of the McDonald’s (take note chicken nugget fans), and the rather obvious construction of the new Italian restaurant on the site of the old Planet Hollywood – if you’re entering the Village from the parks you really can’t miss this as it’ll be in your face!

So how will it affect your upcoming trip? Well for starters there’ll be two new shops to experience – enjoy! But bear in mind you’ll probably be seeing walls in and around the village, and some shops and experiences might be closed when you visit. Check the Disneyland Paris website, app and social media accounts for the latest news. This is particularly important if you have favourite restaurants that you rely on typically for your family – check to ensure they’re open, and plan otherwise if that’s not the case! The other consideration is that the Village might be a little bit more congested than normal as works continue, so if you struggle with crowds you might want to aim to walk through the village at off peak times (not directly before park opening or after park close) to avoid feeling trapped.

Disneyland Park

Thankfully compared to the Studios park and the Village, construction work in the Disneyland Park is a lot more limited – but it’s still there.

The big one in 2025 that might impact park goers is the closure of Big Thunder Mountain and the Thunder Mesa Riverboat until the summer. Expect to see some walls and construction in Frontierland as a result. Sadly, if you’re visiting before the summer there’s not much you can do about this, but warn anyone in your group who may be fond of these rides so they know what to expect!

There has also been construction work happening around the hub on Main Street USA. Some of this has been to build a covered seating area for Casey’s Corner, the restaurant – something that is very needed! This is currently impacting the amount of seating in the area so you might struggle to find a spot to eat your Casey’s currently – thankfully it’s due to open this spring so hopefully we’ll all have a new spot to munch on hot dogs soon! At the side of the castle, the Castle stage is undergoing expansion which has also led to construction in this area. Thankfully construction walls have started to come down, so while the work is ongoing this is hopefully a sign it’ll be finished soon! With this work bear in mind you might want to stand more on the Adventureland side of the castle to prevent the walls being in photos, and one of the paths down the side of the castle will be closed for a while. Parade viewing in this area might also be more limited than before, so you might need to look elsewhere if near the stage was your go to spot!

There’s also some ongoing work in Discoveryland refreshing Space Mountain, although the ride seems to be staying open. It’s near neighbour Orbitron is going down for refurbishment soon however, so there may be some disruption to your Discoveryland visits in upcoming months!

The hotels

With the recent refurbishment of the Disneyland Hotel complete, there may be less disruption at the hotels. However there is currently construction work outside Hotel New York to create a new security area (which is very much needed!)

The pools at the various hotels do also regularly go down for maintenance, so if swimming is important to you it’s best to check before you book! And Disney will undertake work refreshing exterior paint at the hotels without much warning, so don’t be surprised to spot a cherry-picker or too lurking at your hotel on any given day. (They were repainting Hotel Cheyenne last time we popped in there).

As it was the first hotel worked on in the recent swathes of room updates (and that was some time ago now), there have been rumours for ages now that refurbishment work will begin soon at Sequoia Lodge. But this was expected to kick off soon after the Disneyland Hotel works wrapped and didn’t happen, and Disney haven’t confirmed anything. No idea if it’s been shelved or not – but I’d always recommend keeping an eye on Disney’s social media to see if they announce anything that might impact your stay!

Phew – that was a lot! As Rafiki once said, “Change is good”. And as Simba responded “But it isn’t easy!” Rest assured though if you go into your Disneyland Paris trip prepared for some construction, you can still have a magical time!