Review of Disney’s newest (named) theme park: Disney Adventure World

Goodbye Walt Disney Studios Park. The theme park is now officially Disney Adventure World. With Adventure Way and World of Frozen, the two brand new lands, as well as their brand-new nighttime show, the park is on its way to offering a full-day experience for guests. Disneyland Paris invited us for a preview of Adventure Way and World of Frozen, as well as their brand-new nighttime show. Here’s my Disney Adventure World review:

By Chloé Falco L’Hérault

Disney Adventure World Review

Where once stood the entrance to the Studio Tram Tour, now opens a peculiar view for those used to the old concrete sights of the park: a long avenue adorned with greenery, intricate arches and benches lead to a picturesque lake. Ice covered mountains and wooden roofs underline the Kingdom of Arendelle beyond the vast body of water.

Walking towards the lake, various gardens appear: the English Gardens near the Tower of Terror, with its bronze statues of characters and small gazebo for musical happenings; the Toy Story Gardens completing the access to Toy Story Playland from the lake; the Rapunzel Gardens with its pond and Rapunzel’s Tangled Spin; and the upcoming UP gardens with its flying-chairs. 

Arriving at the lakefront, the Art Nouveau inspired Regal View Restaurant and Lounge graces the right side, leading the way to three other small kiosks in the same style further away (nicknamed the Aristocats). On the left side, Café Luminosity is also sharing the Art Nouveau identity and opens the way to what will be the Lion King Land in a few years. Both sides lead to what crowns the Adventure Way and bay: World of Frozen. 

Adventure Way Main Path, Lake, and Gardens

It is a very surprising sight. Wide alleys, plants, ornate elements of Art Nouveau. Finally, some space in a park that always felt cramped! While the style, more akin to a modern and more mature Fantasyland, feels a little alien, the space added brings a much-needed relief to our eyes and experience in the original park. 

The areas directly surrounding the lake were created as escalated viewing spaces to accommodate as many guests as possible, and give an equivalent view to everyone, adding to the sensation of a wide area where everyone can breathe without being stepped on. A good number of benches also adorn the main path. Coupled with the calm and playful original music composed for the area, the sense of pause and wonder seem to be their main feelings leading the space. 

Space is also the main negative point in the area. While it could be argued the expansion is not complete and they might add some more to this area, currently the pathways around the lake feel empty, making the way to World of Frozen a little dull and long. Some places are already defined for upcoming experiences, so it doesn’t seem likely new additions will help make the area more alive. 

In a complete opposite fashion, the English Gardens seem too small, closer to a square than a proper garden. The entertainment will bring crowds, especially with Rapunzel and Flynn headlining, but the space available doesn’t seem to be enough for such popular offers in the parks. 

Regal View, Café Luminosity, and the Kiosks

Those used to Epcot’s World Showcase will recognize the setting of these three food and beverage points around the lake, with a variety of sitting tables and standing ones around to accommodate dining around the bay. 

The Regal View offers the two premium dining experiences of the expansion. On the restaurant side, guests can dine at the Princesses’ summer residence, promising royal encounters, an enchanting view of the lake, and an elegant meal. On the lounge side, guests can enjoy the only bar directly inside the French parks, with a similar elegant atmosphere, refined drinks, and even grander view. 

Good luck trying to get a reservation for the restaurant. The character dining, wonderful setting, and exclusive costumes for some princesses make the experience highly popular even before opening. It’s already completely booked for its opening months. The lounge is an excellent option for those who seek a moment of peace. It’s a slightly more mature Disney experience with excellent drinks. Our sunset visit had us completely enchanted with the view. 

Café Luminosity and the kiosks offer a variety of interesting snacks and outdoor meals. While still far away from the variety of food options found in all other parks around the world, I still note an effort to bring some novelty to the menus. The biggest downside is the fact it is, indeed, outdoors. The region’s weather being extremely windy, rainy at times, and prone to cold temperatures, it seems a little odd to have made such a big part of the expansion this way. In comparison, the Disneyland Park next door has very clever covered areas that were unusual for a Magic Kingdom style park back in 1992, but a well thought detail from Imagineering to ensure guests can warm up and be shielded from the rain. 

Rapunzel’s Raiponce Tangled Spin

Raiponce Tangled Spin is small and pretty flat ride and for now, the only ride for the Adventure Way area. Themed around Rapunzel’s floating lanterns festival, it is a variant of the classic spinning teacups ride, with boats instead of cups, but keeping the idea of lanterns hanging from the roof. Two songs are possible for your ride, either an upbeat version of “I see the Light” or the Kingdom Dance as it is. The roof has been painted by Rapunzel herself, making for adorable designs, the Pascal details are also absolutely enchanting. 

It’s a gorgeous flat ride, but it doesn’t spin much, and the boats seem to be smaller than the original teacups, accommodating less people per vehicle. The decision to make an upbeat version of “I see the Light” is understandable, but we know many people who have grown up with “Tangled” who would have loved to gently spin under the lanterns with their very own Flynn Rider or Rapunzel, recreating the scene from the movie and creating an everlasting memory. 

As a general note, the Adventure Way area is very reminiscent of the Efteling, a theme park that opened in 1952 in the Netherlands. We also note the Vice-President Portfolio Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering Michel Den Dulk was a designer for said park prior to working for Disney. Coincidence? 

World of Frozen

The most anticipated land of the expansion, the last iteration of its kind after Hong Kong’s version in 2023 and Tokyo’s in 2024, the magic of Arendelle has arrived in Paris. 

At the end of the lake of Adventure Way, stands a Fjord and its drakkars, a street filled with wooden nordic buildings leads to a castle, a mountain grows towards the sky with an icy peak and an ice palace. For the first time in forever, Arendelle opens their gates for everyone, celebrating their Snowflower Festival. 

This picture-perfect recreation of the kingdom is a near carbon copy of the land in Hong Kong, with its own twist. 

Frozen Ever After

The upgraded version of Epcot’s 2016 ride also found its way in Paris after Hong Kong. A cruise around the kingdom brings us to various iconic locations of the original Frozen movie, meeting Olaf, Sven, the trolls, Kristoff, Anna, Elsa, and even Marshmallow. It’s the first dark ride of this kind for Disneyland Paris, using modern Audio Animatronics and a grander scale than what had been done since 1992. It feels fresh, more magical than ever, and is a very welcome addition to the destination. The boats are wider than Epcot’s original version, scenes as well, making for a more detailed world. It also does get you wet, more than Pirates of the Caribbean! 

For international Disney travelers, it might feel a little redundant to find a 10-year-old ride, even if it’s a gorgeous and updated version of the original. The languages chosen for the main scenes being mostly English, there’s not much difference to it (even “Let It Go” is only sung in English, no French whatsoever).

The exit through the gift shop has been upgraded compared to Hong Kong, making it wider and helping guest flow. The capacity of the ride being fairly impressive, the number of guests going through is high. With the exclusive merchandise being sold there, and the fact Frozen is still one of the most popular franchises even 10 years after its release, people do tend to stay in the shop and it gets crowded fast. Here you can find references to other works from Andersen (author of “The Snow Queen”, the original source for “Frozen”) that were adapted by Disney in the past, like a certain ballerina and Tin soldier missing a leg (“The Steadfast Tin Soldier” from “Fantasia 2000”). 

Nordic Crowns Tavern, Fjord View Shop

The Nordic Crowns Tavern is the only restaurant of the land. Nestled in the buildings that make the village part of Arendelle, wooden walls decorated with royal portraits of the sisters, maps of the Fjords, and fishing equipment surround guests as they dine in the tavern. A purring cat seems to be spying on guests’ plates from the window, but I fail to see what seems so appealing on the menu. It’s very similar to an Ikea cafeteria and served in plain plastic bowls. The ordering sequence is also closer to a modern fast food restaurant, with touchscreens only to order and displays to track your order number, cutting away from the immersion of a traditional wooden inn from Norway. Its sister iteration in Hong Kong offers a more adequate presentation when it comes to plates and ordering sequence with cast members, making it cozier and truer to the story it tells. 

The Fjord View shop offers a few pieces of merchandise from the main shop and exit of the ride. There’s also a makeover service where guests can take their celebration of the Snowflower festival to the next level by adopting Arendelle fashion, a great addition to the experiences in Arendelle. 

Anna and Elsa Royal Encounter, Arendelle Celebration

The two exclusives of the Paris version, the meet & greet experience with the royal sisters and the barge show on the Fjord are the highlights of the land, bringing the story to life like never before. Starting with the meet & greet, guests get to enter the Castle of Arendelle for a royal audience with Anna and Elsa, passing through the halls filled with paintings Anna used to play with as a child. We can even find measure marks of the sisters on columns, showing how they grew between the royal walls before reaching an ornate room with a view of the North Mountain where the sisters await. The experience being exclusive to reservations feels like an exclusive moment with the beloved characters. 

The Arendelle Celebration is a small boat show happening over the Fjord, visible from all bridges and decks around. Olaf, Kristoff, and Arendelle citizens prepare the last details for the festival before the Royal sisters arrive, to celebrate together love and friendship that can thaw any frozen heart. 

It’s a simple, but endearing storyline, with an animatronic Olaf that truly brings the character to life like never before, gorgeous wonderfully crafted boats, pyrotechnics and mist effects, snow and water fountains around the castle, and the main cast of Frozen reunited for all to enjoy. The nighttime version makes for a gorgous truely magical experience true to the story of the snow sisters. The B-mode for the brand-new animatronic Olaf happens to be a puppet, which adds a human touch to the experience without breaking its charm, making it an overall incredible addition to the land. 

Cascade of Lights Nighttime Show

We’re finishing this report with the show that will close the park every night. “Disney Cascade of Lights” happens over the lake in Adventure Way, using traditional drones, new water drones developed exclusively for the show, water fountains and screens, as well as classic pyrotechnics. An original song opens and ends the show, leading a medley of Disney characters and stories, not unlike most nighttime shows in the parks. It’s an impressive technological display, truly showing how the company keeps pushing boundaries and developing new ways to tell stories, but for me, it falls short of delivering strong emotions the way “Tales of Magic” does currently in the other park, or even older iterations like “Dreams”. It’s a pleasant way to end the night that, with a couple of updates, can become a classic that will last forever in everyone’s heart.