With the introduction of the Festival of Pirates and Princesses (check our review here), spring officially arrived in Disneyland Paris. We have some beautiful topiaries to show you and we check on the refurbishments. During this trip, we also took a walk through the Walt Disney Studios for a first goodbye to the attractions and shows that will, or will not, be missed when the great expansion of the park starts.

Spring in Disneyland Park

Although the sun is not always shining in Paris, the decorations announce the spring season. When entering the park, the guests are greeted by new topiaries referring to Mary Poppins. The gazebo, as you can see in the background, is decorated with the famous penguins from the movie.

Looking behind the gazebo, there is a big heart in the same style as the topiary characters.

Around the castle, there are more characters to be found in the topiaries. One has characters from Bambi and The Aristocats, while next to Royal Castle Stage, Tinker Bell is watching over the castle.

On Central Plaza, there are stages in the topiaries for the Festival of Pirates and Princesses. They are surrounded with fresh flowers that bring color to the square.

Refurbishments in Disneyland Park

Are you looking forward to a hot dog? Well, you are in luck then! Although Casey’s Corner is being refurbished, the restaurant is still open during renovations. It is decorated with a tarp in order to maintain the ambiance of Main Street, U.S.A. Although it is not the real building, I feel like it is really well done!

There are more tarps in Disneyland Paris at the moment. Phantom Manor is undergoing a big refurbishment and to hide the old mansion and the metal construction around it, Disneyland Paris put up another, incredibly beautiful tarp.

For those who have not seen it already, the Phantom Manor area is closed with fences in theme of Frontierland, with posters that contain clues to the story of the mansion and Thunder Mesa.

A short cruise on the Molly Brown Riverboat through the waters of Frontierland gives an insight at what the construction crew is doing around Phantom Manor.

Frontierland is full of construction work these days, since the Last Chance Cafe and the area around it are also being refurbished.

The Pocahontas Indian Village, a play garden for children, is also getting a new look which means it is closed for public. With the Frontierland Depot of the Disneyland Railroad and the Chapparal Theater also in refurbishment, it is not possible to travel to the outskirts of Frontierland. But, traveling by boat brings you this view on the refurbishments:

As you might see, there is not much left of the Chapparal Theater, home to shows as the Frozen Sing-along and Forest of Enchantment. In 2019, the newly built theatre will future a Lion King show.

In Fantasyland, by order of the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups are being refurbished. To keep people out, the Playing Cards are keeping guard with an official declaration from the queen, that reads: “By order of Her Imperial Highness, Her Grace, Her Excellency, Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Hearts (and the King), this area is begin refurbished for your future enjoyment.”

When riding on the Disneyland Railroad, it occurred to me that the entrance to the infamous Pizza Planet Restaurant is still there, but behind gates so you can not enter. I would really like to see how that place looks now, after closing for good two years ago.

Walt Disney Studios Park

With the recently announced multi-year expansion for the Walt Disney Studios Park, it was time for a stroll through the park with special attention for the rides that will not be there anymore in a couple of years (or at least not in the shape as we know them.)

The show CinéMagique had its last show March 29th, 2017. The Studio Theater is now being made ready for the Marvel stunt show that will premiere this summer during the Marvel Summer of Super Heroes. It is surrounded with fences and the CinéMagique logo is recently removed.

Close to the theatre, behind the entrance for the Disney Junior Live on Stage! Show, construction workers are working on the new Kiara building. This backstage building will be used for the Cast Members working on the Marvel show this summer.

When continuing our walk through what is going to be the Marvel Area we face Armageddon: les Effets Spéciaux. This attraction, where people are transported to the set of Armageddon and receive a blast of heat from a great fire, will not be missed by many. However, it is a nice place getaway during cold winter months.

Almost immediately left, we find the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith, becoming an Iron Man themed attraction in 2020. For now, we have some time left to enjoy the timeless soundtrack by Aerosmith.

Also, some of the restaurants are likely to change. We stopped and waved to the Blockbuster Café (already themed to Iron Man, but also to Pirates of the Caribbean) and the Café des Cascadeurs.

After a snack, we went to Moteurs, Action! Stunt Show Spectacular. In this show, the audience gets to experience how stunts are done and being filmed with a humorous touch from the stunt coordinator and the director of a second unit.

The Studios will undergo many changes until 2025 and apart from the expected changes displayed here, there is more on the list. Studio 1, the entrance hall of the park, will receive a big make-over and the outdated Studio Tram Tour will disappear to make way for a Main Street-like entranceway to the new, central lake. There is still some time to say goodbye to what we now know as the Walt Disney Studios Park, so we will definitely be back.

I hope you enjoyed this short update from Disneyland Paris. Let us know in the comments what changes you are most excited about!

Henk