When people think of Disney park attractions they typically think of rides, or maybe the shows. However, at Disneyland Paris they have another type of attraction that in our opinion they do really well – walkthrough attractions! In this blog we’re highlighting the walkthrough attractions you can find at Disneyland Paris – where they are and what they’re like, to help you decide if you want to visit them on your next Disney Paris trip.

Discovery Arcade and Liberty Arcade – Main Street USA

Running along the back of both sides of Main Street USA in Disneyland Paris are arcades – Liberty Arcade on the left (as you look at the castle) and Discovery Arcade on the right. Most people use them as a covered short cut – but Disney class them as attractions!

The reason for this is that both arcades are packed full of turn of the century detailing, and displays relating to their them. The Liberty Arcade side has information and displays on the Statue of Liberty and how it was made, and also includes the Statue of Liberty diorama. This small display is essentially lit mannequins with a cool backdrop and soundtrack, but it’s to recreate the occasion when France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA.

Over on the Discoveryland Arcade side, you have a lot of really cool displays showing innovations and inventions from the turn of the 20th century, particularly those considered futuristic (at the time!), as well as posters that show how cities were going to look at around the turn of the 21st Century – as imagined from the turn of the 20th Century. As you can probably imagine it’s pretty different from what actually happened!

By all means use the Arcades as a way to escape crowds on Main Street USA, or to find some shelter from sun or rain. But do try to look at the displays as you do so, they’re surprisingly interesting!

Legends of the Old West – Frontierland

This is a bit of an honorary mention as the bulk of this attraction has been closed for years at this point, and we don’t know if it’s making a comeback anytime soon. But a few bits are still visible, and you never know what Disney might do in the future!

Legends of the Old West is set in Fort Comstock, that’s the fort at the entrance of Frontierland. Essentially it features little tableaus depicting scenes from the old West including a sheriff, a jail cell, a prospector and more. Most of the scenes were only visible from going up the stairs of the fort – sadly this meant that they were only visible for guests who can do stairs. But it’s the stairs that have now been shut for ages!

You can still see some of the theming from the ground level at Legends of the Old West, and one of the scenes depicting the legendary entertainer Buffalo Bill. Look out for it next to the back door of the Frontierland merchandise shop (off to the right a bit as you enter the land). This scene used to be a nice tie in with the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show that used to take place in Disney Village. Sadly that’s long gone too!

Recently (as in over the last few days!) some construction walls have appeared around Legends of the Old West, with some sign of actual work taking place. We can only hope that’s a sign that it’s going to come back to life in the future!

Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage – Adventureland

Tucked just inside the entrance of Adventureland, Aladdin’s Enchanted Passage is an attraction that retells the story of the 1992 movie through themed tableaus.

You enter through what looks like the door of an Arabian marketplace, and then key scenes from the film are depicted through models, scenery and soundtrack. It’s all very simple so don’t expect anything too fancy here, but there’s some fun special effects including the appearance and disappearance of the Genie in the Friends Like Me scene (it’s actually achieved through Pepper’s Ghost, which is also used for the ghosts in Phantom Manor among other Disney attractions!)

Aladdin rarely if ever gets a wait (I’ve never queued up to get in here), but it’s not a large attraction inside so it can feel a little cramped at times. If you’re unlucky enough to hit a large group moving through, try to tuck over to one side and let them pass, and you’ll hopefully be able to get up to the scenes more easily! Also make sure you take a look at the setting here, there’s some wonderful stained glass, fountains and other items to bring the feel that you’re in a place where Aladdin could have taken place. We’ve seen the old little one slightly nervous by the Cave of Wonders and Jafar as a snake scenes, but it’s easy to quickly move past anything that folks don’t like. And this attraction is flat and fully accessible, which is great.

Overall we think this is a rather overlooked attraction and well worth a visit when you’re in Adventureland!

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – Adventureland

Although it’s part of Adventure Isle (see more on that in a second!), the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse is also a walkthrough attraction in its own right, as you get the chance to explore the treetop home created by the Robinson family in the 1960 live action Disney film.

The tree the attraction is based on isn’t real, but it’s pretty convincing for all that, and the walkthrough of the Robinson home includes kitchen, bedrooms, music room and more. While I doubt that many kids now days are likely to know the Swiss Family Robinson story or to have seen the Disney film, the tree top living style still seems to capture the imagination!

The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse has one big flaw – it’s only accessible by stairs, and there’s a lot of them – over 100 to the top, and then you’ve got to negotiate the same number coming down! So for folks with mobility differences, this attraction is a bit of a no go sadly. Which is a shame as there’s a lot of theming here to appreciate!

The treehouse rarely if ever draws a line. I still think you might want to tackle this earlier in a park day though if you’d like to visit, just so you’re not too tired to take on the stairs involved.

Adventure Isle – Adventureland

Taking up a large part of the area of Adventureland, Adventure Isle offers numerous places to explore including caves, bridges and more!

For those who have been to the USA Disney Parks, Adventure Isle is the Disneyland Paris equivalent to Tom Sawyer Island, only we’d argue even more elaborate (and more convenient – the USA versions have to be visited by raft, whereas Adventure Isle can easily be reached by bridges.)

Adventure Isle is kind of two themes melded into one. On the side nearest Indiana Jones it’s more jungle themed, featuring the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and bridges to explore, and a lot of lush jungle foliage. On the other side nearest Pirates of the Caribbean, Adventure Isle has a more piratical flair too with caves to explore full of spooky vibes and Pirate treasure to uncover. The addition of a Pirates themed scavenger hunt here has added extra interest, but be warned – the Hunt is surprisingly challenging! Despite the two different themes they meld together well and overall it’s a space for little ones to burn off some energy while having a great time exploring caves, swinging bridges, shipwrecks and more!

On the accessibility front, some parts of Adventure Isle are accessed by stairs only, notably the upstairs levels in the caves system, some overlooks and the Pont Suspendu swinging bridge. But some of it can be scene from ground level too. So while it’s not an ideal spot for those who can’t manage stairs and you’ll certainly have a lot less to see, it’s still worth passing through to enjoy the theming and views, which are pretty stunning in places. Just a note about the Pirate caves too – in places they are very dark and disorientating, so it’s quite easy to get lost in here! Which could be fun or horrifying, depending on your view. I’d recommend keeping a close eye on any group members apt of wander off, and if you get really stuck look out for signs featuring a red arrow – they point to the nearest exit.

Alice’s Curious Labyrinth – Fantasyland

In this walkthrough attraction things get curiouser and curiouser as you navigate different paths through a labyrinth, discovering scenes from Alice in Wonderland en route to the Queen of Hearts castle in the centre!

This attraction begins by navigating a range of different paths past models of various Alice characters to a circular section with the Dodo (which has water effects some times). Following this you see the Caterpillar, pass a very large Cheshire Cat flowerbed, and the find yourself at a photo opportunity with the cards that are painting the roses red. After this you have more different paths to choose from – and look out for the Queen of Hearts or Cards popping over the hedges at you! Finally you reach the centrepiece, the Queen of Hearts castle. Here you can climb stairs if you like to get different overlooks over the park – and then you can exit to the Unbirthday Party! (Actually just Fantasyland very close to the Mad Hatter’s Teacups, which makes sense given the shared theming).

Alice can be a lot of fun to wander around, and all the cute Alice models and props make for some great photo ops. It’s a pity that some of the special effects in the maze are often turned off – the water effects for example (although Paris is too cold to run them for a chunk of the year), and the Queen of Hearts and Card pop up characters towards the end are very temperamental. You’ll still get the audio cue when they should have appeared though!

Of all the attractions in this blog, Alice is the one that tends to be the busiest. It can sometimes even get a queue (although it’s rarely long and moves quickly). The downside of being in here at a busy time is parts of the attraction feel less like a maze and labyrinth and more like a conga line with wacky scenery, as everyone follows the guest in front! If you can catch this at a quieter time I think it’s a lot better. Accessibility wise, most of Alice is on flat ground and accessible to wheelchairs, but note that sometimes you have to use certain gates to avoid narrow paths, and you won’t be able to go to the upstairs levels of the Queen of Hearts castle. The views up here can be fun, but the viewing platforms are often packed and the stairs can be very busy, so choose your own adventure here if you want to go up the stairs or not (if you’re able to do them!).

While it can be busy at times, we still think Alice is a lot of fun and it adds some great scenery to Fantasyland!

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough – Fantasyland

Sleeping Beauty Castle is more than just the pretty icon of the park! (Although that’s plenty to be fair.) Inside are two walkthrough attractions. The first is the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough based in the upstairs level of the Castle, retelling the story of Sleeping Beauty.

As you’d expect with something inside Sleeping Beauty Castle, this walkthrough is both beautiful and elegant. The story of Sleeping Beauty is retold through a mixture of stained glass windows, tapestries, and some themed props (look out for the spinning wheel, Prince Philip’s words and shield, and a suit of armour that snores among other things). You also get gorgeous views of the vaulted ceiling in the centre of the castle, and can walk out onto a balcony that overlooks Fantasyland. It’s a pretty simple attraction, but it is beautiful and well worth a visit.

Although the walkthrough can get busy at times, you don’t tend to see any waits here. Access wise, the entrance is up a set of stairs located off the path through the centre of the castle. If stairs are difficult there is a lift located almost directly behind them. Whereas the walkthrough’s main exit is a set of winding stairs off of the Fantasyland balcony, those who need to use the lift will need to return to the same spot to head up and down.

This attraction can get overlooked – but we think it’s stunning and well worth a visit.

The Dragon’s Lair – Fantasyland

If your vibes are more spooky and creepy than Princess elegance, then Sleeping Beauty Castle is for you too. Because in the basement, here be dragons!

Located under the entrance of Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Dragon’s Lair is actually a very dark cave. In the centre is a cavern, where a large dragon animatronic slumbers, surrounded by bones and bits of armour of the knights who lost a fight with the beast. At intervals the dragon awaits and roars with displeasure at having its cave invaded by guests, before returning to sleep.

The animatronic is huge and very impressive, even while asleep you can see the dragon’s tail twitching, wings moving and pattern of breathing. It’s something unique to Disneyland Paris, and well worth a visit! It also never has a wait – in fact a lot of people don’t even discover this spot! It actually has three entrances – one via stairs at the back of the Merlin the Enchanter shop inside the castle, and two around the castle on the left as you look at it from Main Street USA. These are level entrances so even those with mobility differences can pay the dragon a visit.

A couple of notes about the Dragon’s Lair. One is that it is extremely dark in there, so if you’re coming in from sunshine pause a second to let your eyes adjust, and if you have issues with dark spaces this might not be the attraction for you. Also the dragon is very realistic and can be quite scary, we’ve seen quite a few little ones in here crying with fear! But despite those minor reservations, we don’t think you should miss this hidden gem of Disneyland Paris.

Mysteries of the Nautilus – Discoveryland

Most visitors to Discoveryland will probably notice the large model of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea sitting in the waters next to Hyperspace Mountain. But many will be totally unaware that they can explore the submarine itself!

On the path that runs around the right of Hyperspace Mountain past Autopia, the entrance of the Nautilus is actually a little structure partly along on the left. It looks like the structure just holds a winding stair case – but there is a lift for those who can’t manage the stairs, you just need to ask a Cast member.

Once down the stairs and down some wooden corridors, you enter the Nautilus itself – and here you get to explore the treasure room, map room, engine equipment, bedroom and Main Parlour, with a large viewport window that opens at intervals to show different types of sea life going past the submarine. This walkthrough attraction is very rich in detail, and even those who haven’t seen the Disney film appreciate the theming and steam punk design elements here, as Imagineers have tried to recreate a setting that Jules Verne himself would have recognised in the late 1800s. A lot of people seem to just run through this attraction, but we recommend slowing down and taking in all the rich detail. This is an attraction that you really need to take pause in to appreciate!

As you can tell from the description above, we love the Nautilus. And this attraction is very overlooked, it never sees queues and is seldom very busy. If you have the misfortune to encounter a large group here just pause to the side for a little while and let them pass, you’ll probably soon get some space! It can be a little dark down here that could worry some, and there’s the occasional puff of machinery that can take people by surprise, but for all that we seldom here of people getting scared down here. Many of the attractions in Discoveryland attract massive queues, but this is one attraction that is easy to visit, and seldom attracts a large crowd.

A note on Disney Adventure World

Disney Adventure World unfortunately doesn’t really have any walkthrough attractions. But some of the scenery here could be considered one.

Many of the lands in Disney Adventure World are rich in detail – from the new World of Frozen to Avengers Campus, so taking some time to walk through here to appreciate the details is recommended! The new gardens on Adventure Way can also be a place to pause and appreciate detail. So while there aren’t walkthrough attractions in the purest sense of the world, it’s worth walking and taking notice of what’s around you here.

Hopefully this has brought to life some of the lesser known attractions of Disneyland Paris. Walkthrough attractions are something we feel Disneyland Paris do particularly well, and it’s worth taking the time to visit them! Do you have a favourite? Let us know in the comments, and while down there please consider subscribing to this blog – you’ll receive future blogs in your inbox, and receive a free copy of our Magically Different Guide to Disneyland Paris attraction accessibility (typically £3). We’d also love to see you over on our YouTube channel. And if you’d like to support our work, please do consider leaving us a tip or shopping our Amazon storefront. Thank you!