Disneyland Paris Update: 30th Anniversary & News

Hello from the magical land of Disneyland Paris! It’s been a while since we’ve taken you on a tour of the park— the last Disneyland Paris Update we ran about was way back in July 2021. So today, we’re catching up on the resort’s 30th anniversary, news from Disney Village, and general updates around the resort. You’ll want to get comfortable because there’s a lot to see in today’s Disneyland Paris Update!

Disneyland Paris Entertainment

As with Disney Parks around the globe, entertainment is slowly returning to Disneyland Paris. Much to guests’ pleasure, Disney Stars on Parade has been back at the park since January 10th this year. Here’s a full view of the parade:

Unfortunately, the floats aren’t in the best condition— especially after 2 years of no use. There are paint issues and technical problems, but worst of all are several broken animatronic elements. The prime offender is on the Finding Nemo float, where Crush hasn’t been working for more than 4 years.

On the happier side of things, the Disney princesses finally have their own float. This is something that’s been needed since the premiere of the parade back in 2017 for Disneyland Paris’ 25th anniversary. While the float itself isn’t new (it was used for the Once Upon a Dream parade in 2007 and again for Disney Magic on Parade in 2012), we’re happy that the princesses are able to have their own dedicated float.

Another show that has returned is Disney Junior Dream Factory. The dance show was brought back on February 19 with new choreography and it feels more vibrant than ever.

Additionally, Lion King: Rhythms of the Pride Lands has made a comeback. Similar to its 2021 return, this iteration is excellent. This is definitely something you’ll want to watch.

Disneyland Paris 30th Anniversary

And now, onto the big stuff! Since March 6th, Disneyland Paris has been celebrating its 30th anniversary. There was a lot planned for the park, back in the initial announcement of the 30th anniversary back in 2019— including a brand new parade— but a lot was scaled back due to the extended park closure and health situation.

Fortunately, not all is lost! Since the work for Avengers Campus is a year late, attention will be diverted to the new land as opposed to the fact that the park is missing a new parade. Additionally, there are two new shows created just for the 30th anniversary: Dream… and Shine Brighter!, which is a daytime show at the central plaza, and Disney D-Light, which is a nighttime show complete with drones.

On the decorations side of the 30th-anniversary, Main Street USA is looking fabulous with decorations on the Disneyland Railroad station and the gazebo.

The decorations for this celebration do look similar to the 25th-anniversary with its luminous plastic pennants. The main difference between the 25th-anniversary and 30th-anniversary decorations is how they look at night. The ones for the 30th look absolutely gorgeous once the sun starts to set.

Disneyland Paris is definitely taking a cue from Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary, particularly with having statues that commemorate how many years the park has been around. There are 30 statues at Disneyland Paris that illustrate distinct themes of what makes the park special.

There are statues of Disney princesses, villains, fairies, and depictions of space, friendship, and nature. Take a look at the statues in the walk-through below!

But it’s at night that these statues really take on a life of their own. The Gardens of Wonder are transformed into fairy gardens, complete with fluorescent plants.

You can see how different everything looks at night in the video below!

Dream… and Shine Brighter!

This is THE spectacle for the 30th anniversary. It’s dynamic and vivacious, and the performance is very well produced. The show takes place at the central plaza of the park, and while it’s not perfect, it really does feel like a breath of fresh air for entertainment.

The reason it doesn’t get a perfect score is for a couple of reasons. It can be said that the show is lacking in dancers and there are only a handful of vehicles involved. Additionally, the positioning of the show/performers should be reviewed so more guests can enjoy it, not just the ones located closest to the center of the plaza. If you’re at the center of the plaza, you’re in a prime spot, but if you’re on the outer edges near the entrances to the other lands, you won’t see much other than the backs of performers. I hope that there’s a way to include more guests beyond those directly in front of the performance space. My suggestion is to add more dancers!

Essentially, the show takes the basics of Jungle Book Jives and converts it to a 30th anniversary show. That is a little disappointing considering this is one of the only new entertainment offerings we’re getting for this special occasion. However, it is still very enjoyable, even with its flaws. Take a look for yourself:

All that said, I still believe that Jungle Book Jive remains the show to beat as far as shows built for the central plaza. In my opinion, Jungle Book Jive is as close to perfection as you can get. Here’s that show: 

Disney D-Light

Disney has finally brought drones to a nighttime show! For Disney D-Light, a show specially created for the 30th anniversary, there are 150 drones that fly in 7 different formations for 7.5 minutes. It’s a well-realized ballet of lights and technology that really “wow!” viewers.

There are some technical limitations for the drones, so if you’re visiting on a blustery day (anything with wind speeds at 19 mph or higher), you’re not going to see the light show. 

We would love to see these drones integrated into the Disney Dreams night show too! But while we’re waiting for that day to come, we’ll enjoy seeing this kind of entertainment.

Here’s a video for you to watch Disney D-Light for yourself:

Food News

The 30th anniversary doesn’t stop with decorations and entertainment. Instead, there’s a whole bunch of items at Disneyland Paris that were previously only available in the US, China, and Japan (all the Disney Parks except Paris!). You can now find items like Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars, Mickey Waffles, and a Disney Parks classic, Turkey Legs! 

At Café Hypéryon there is a special meal offered for the anniversary (20€). It’s a simple burger and fries, with an option to add on a dessert for 5€. Although the burger itself was good and higher quality than other options, the dessert is small and not worth the price. If the meal were to cost a total of 20€ (17€ for the meal and 3€ for the dessert), we’d be more inclined to eat this again.

While characters will be able to give out hugs again in a couple of weeks, as of March 31 character dining has returned to “l’Auberge de Cendrillon” (Cinderella Inn) and Plaza Garden.

Over at Casey’s Corner, there’s a soft and sweet vanilla caramel baseball ice cream. Definitely hitting it out of the park with this!

The pizzas around the park are finally in the shape of Mickey! While the size of the pizza is still on the smaller side, we really love the new shape and the packaging with the 30th-anniversary logo. We hope that this stays beyond the anniversary celebration.

Disneyland Paris Maintenance & Refurbs

There are some ongoing construction projects around the resort… and some things that appear to have fallen by the wayside. Over in Fantasyland, the installation of pavers is a continuing project. Additionally, it’s a small world will remain closed until mid-2023.

Over in Adventureland, the Pirate Galleon looks beautiful…

However, on closer inspection, it’s obvious that it’s time for some much-needed maintenance.

And of course, there’s the eyesore that’s lasted 10 years at this point… the Mark Twain Riverboat. It last operated back in 2011 and there’s no word from Disney on how things are going.

Let’s head back to Main Street and the Disneyland Hotel by means of the Disneyland Railroad.

The Disneyland Hotel is continuing with renovations.

Walt Disney Studios Updates

Now that we’ve covered Disneyland Paris, let’s take a trip to the other theme park in the resort, Walt Disney Studios.

Several of the fast-food eateries around the resort are offering a new Veggie burger. It’s actually pretty good!

Construction continues on the Disneyland Paris Resort’s version of Avengers Campus. In theory, the Marvel-themed land will open in time for the start of the French summer holidays. We’re interested to see how it will be different in comparison to Disney California Adventure’s version.

Disney Village

There are some big changes headed to Disney Village. The Bertrand Group has taken over the management of Disney Village, and will finance its major transformation over the next 4-5 years. Additionally, the Bertrand Group will operate the dining and entertainment district’s restaurants. Changes are expected to be numerous, based on the concept art.

The concept art shows that there will be a profound transformation, with the reworking of spaces, facades, and the creation of new terraces and the improvement of the promenade around the lake. It looks like the current McDonald’s building will disappear along with the unused nightclub.

The first part of this transformation will start later this year in September with the demolition of Café Mickey (which has been closed since 2021). 

 

The Café Mickey space will be rebuilt as Rosalie brewery, which is scheduled to open in 2023. Here’s a look at the concept art:

As for the visitor parking situation, it looks like there’s some work happening. Solar panels are being installed at high speed.

However, there are still some longstanding problems. The moving sidewalks haven’t functioned in 4 years, and there are many instances of much-needed refurbishments.

That said, the tents that have been in a sad state of repair for the last few years are finally getting some attention and getting fixed up.

Let’s Hear From You

That’s it for this trip through Disneyland Paris! What do you think about Disneyland Paris’ 30th-anniversary celebration? Are you surprised that the park stayed relatively low-key for this anniversary? What do you think about the Disney Village transformation? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!