The Partners statue has been removed from Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris during ongoing construction outside Studio 1. Construction walls went up in early October, blocking the view of the Partners statue.
Partners Statue Gone from Disneyland Paris
Crews have moved construction walls away from the Studio 1 exit and DLP Report shared photos of the place where the statue used to be.
There is now just a large patch of black concrete where the statue and a surrounding planter used to be.
We previously shared the below concept rendering, which shows the future new position of Partners facing the park instead of Studio 1.
Compare the photo and rendering to the below photo of the Partners statue from 2014.
Construction walls are now up around Animagique Theater.
Studio 1 is a building that acts as the park’s “Main Street.” Disneyland Paris filed a permit in March for construction at the enclosed indoor space. Exterior work will reportedly last until April 2024, at which point Studio 1 will close for interior construction. It will reopen on April 25, 2025.
Inside Studio 1 is Restaurant en Coulisse, which is currently themed to a backstage catered meal area on a movie set. With the reimagining, the restaurant will be updated to instead take guests to a movie premiere garden party. The Studio 1 entrance will also get a new awning that makes it resemble a cinema.
Work on this entire area — the Theater District — is scheduled to be completed in May 2025, alongside the rest of the park’s currently announced updates and expansions, which includes the “Frozen”-inspired Kingdom of Arendelle.
How do you feel about the updates to Walt Disney Studios Park? Let us know in the comments.
Walt Disney Statues at Disney Parks
The original Partners statue was created by Blaine Gibson and unveiled at Disneyland on Mickey’s birthday, November 18, 1993. It stands in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, with Walt and Mickey looking down Main Street, U.S.A. A plaque below it has the following Walt Disney quote: “I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place…where parents and children can have fun…together.”
The statue also exists at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, with a plaque reading, “We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun – together.”
Gibson also sculpted Sharing the Magic. This statue of Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse on a bench was installed at Magic Kingdom in 1999. It can be found in Town Square, though sometimes moves around for different holiday decorations.
The Storytellers statue, designed by Rick Terry and Ray Spencer, was installed in Disney California Adventure in 2012. Storytellers depicts a younger Walt as he would have looked when arriving in Los Angeles in 1923, and an earlier design of Mickey. Versions of Storytellers were later added to Tokyo DisneySea (2013) and Shanghai Disneyland (2016).
On October 15, Hong Kong Disneyland unveiled their new Walt and Mickey statue, “Dream Makers,” inspired by the moment Walt dreamed up Disneyland.
The finished Walt the Dreamer statue was unveiled at D23 Expo 2022. It will be installed at Dreamers Point in EPCOT this year. It has actually seemingly arrived but is still in a crate.
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