OutsidEars co-founder Ally shared a look at scrapped plans for the major refurbishment of Studio 1 at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris. The park’s main entrance bulding will be re-themed to a movie premiere garden party, instead of movie set, mainly focused on Restaurant en Coulisse.
Studio 1 Scrapped Plans
Ally shared photos on Twitter of one model by Walt Disney Imagineering that was ultimately rejected.
This plan would have the left the facades on left side of the street intact while the facades in front of Restaurant en Coulisse would be demolished and the seating area turned into a lush park. It has more trees and tables and chairs than the final design, but it was determined this took up too much walkway space, which all guests must walk through in order to enter or leave this park.
The model also features an El Capitan Theatre façade (at the back in the above photo) above the exit of Studio 1, leading guests into the park. Ally notes that multiple different theatre façades were considered. Guests will ultimately enter the park through a theatre façade, featuring a new awning. This is to make guests feel like they are being transported through a movie screen into Disney’s various films.
This effect is reminiscent of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which also has an El Capitan-inspired façade at Disneyland in California.
Walt Disney Studios Park Expansion
Work on Studio 1 and the surrounding Theater District is scheduled to be completed in May 2025, alongside the rest of the park’s updates and expansion, which includes the “Frozen”-inspired Kingdom of Arendelle.
The expanded promenade leading to the Kingdom of Arendelle will also include new gardens and a rotating boat ride based on “Tangled.”
An art nouveau-inspired restaurant will offer panoramic views of the new lake and future attractions beyond the World of Frozen.
The plan originally included a version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but this was likely canceled and may be replaced with an “Avatar”-inspired land.
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