Disclaimer: WDWNT previewed an advance copy “Adventure Has a New Name: The Making of Disney Adventure World,” which releases in April 2026.

During our visit to Disney Adventure World on its opening day, we got a sneak preview of an upcoming book release that will divulge new details behind the extensive Disneyland Paris park retheme, touching on current guest offerings and projects still to come.

Of particular note, the book provides our very first look at some of the new animatronics and ride vehicles we can expect out of the upcoming Lion King attraction.

‘Adventure Has a New Name: The Making of Disney Adventure World’

“Adventure Has a New Name: The Making of Disney Adventure World” is an upcoming Disneyland Paris-exclusive book tied to the transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park into Disney Adventure World.

The book runs nearly 450 pages and offers a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the park’s evolution, starting with the 2002 opening of Walt Disney Studios Park and continuing through its reimagining and renaming as Disney Adventure World on March 29, 2026.

Contents will include archival photos and concept sketches, many previously unpublished, along with exclusive interviews with Imagineers and members of the entertainment and food and beverage teams involved in the expansion.

The book will go beyond the history of the park and offer a new look at projects still under development. While attending today’s grand opening, we were able to get our hands on a display copy and take a look at some of the new content within.

Notably, our first look through the book revealed some never-before-seen photos of design developments on the Lion King additions yet to come to Disney Adventure World. Keep reading to learn more.

A New Look at Disney Adventure World’s Latest Attractions and a Peek at More Still to Come

The exterior of the book features a glossy typeface on the title and the Disney Adventure World logo on the back cover. The featured graphic on the front cover shows five beams of light emanating from a stylized Hollywood-esque skyline, evocative of the World Premiere Plaza entry area of the park.

Within each colored beam of light are various graphics themed to many of the characters and settings at the core of the park’s five lands. These include motifs and graphics, from left to right, from Tangled, The Lion King, the Avengers, Frozen, and several Pixar films.

Taking a dive into the book’s proper contents, we are met with a two-page spread spotlighting concept art of Adventure Way, the new central thoroughfare for Disney Adventure World, home to some of the new and upcoming attractions and offerings in the rebranded park.

Staying on the Adventure Way topic, the book also provides a detailed look at concept art for the upcoming flying carousel attraction themed to Pixar’s Up. Construction is still underway on the Up ride as of the park’s opening on March 29, which you can see in more detail as work on the project began earlier this year.

A brief text section accompanying the Up ride’s concept art describes the attraction as follows (text throughout the book is printed in both French and English):

A family experience characteristic of traditional the-me parks: ‘flying chairs, like those found at Tivoli Gardens, celebrating a world inspired by the Disney-Pixar film Up (2009). This type of attraction is very popular with all our guests for the accessible sensations and impressive birds-eye view it offers. This new addition promises to imbue Adventure Way with even more energy, colour and fantasy!

New Details Revealed for The Lion King Attraction

Elsewhere in the book, a sizable section is dedicated to the upcoming Lion King area and its core attraction, a new log flume ride that brings guests on a journey into and eventually down from the franchise’s iconic landmark, Pride Rock.

Additionally, this section offers some more detail on the sheer scale of the construction of this realistic rendition of Pride Rock, as well as the variety of scenes to be included in the ride experience:

Returning to such a legendary tale required a large-scale structure: Pride Rock. Behind it, the building housing the attraction will be one of the largest in Disneyland Paris, with a surface area of almost 14,000 m2. This genuine coming-of-age story will be told through no fewer than 19 emblematic scenes marked by Disney’s unique attention to detail and the latest Audio-Animatronics® technology.

The book also shares more angles on the scale model of the Lion King ride and area, which we first saw at D23 in 2024. You can check out our earlier coverage for more information and a closer look at the model.

In a new reveal from this section, we get our first look at a wide range of maquettes designed around various characters and animals featured in the film, presumably as Imagineers work through scale mock-ups of these figures before production commences on new audio-animatronics and other full-scale physical figures.

The photo (left half of the above image) features Lion King producer Don Hahn examining the maquettes at a studio in Glendale. The scale model of the broader Lion King area can also be seen behind Hahn.

Among the maquettes, we can make out characters including Rafiki, Nala, a young Simba, Timon and Pumba, Zazu, and at least two hyenas, likely the named characters Shenzi, Banzai, or Ed.

More highly detailed concept art for the ride is shown throughout this chapter. The art includes exterior angles and an interior look at one of the scenes starring a young Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa. We got our first look at these particular pieces in an early look at the ride concepts back in 2025.

In the same section, we get our first look at two more major reveals. In the above image, we see Imagineers Michel den Dulk and John Mauro together with Don Hahn reviewing a scale diorama of what appears to be the same ride set we’ve previously only seen in the form of concept art featuring young Simba, Timon, and Pumba.

If it is indeed supposed to be a scale set of the same scene featured in the earlier art, there are a number of changes between the two stages of development on this scene.

In the art, Timon and Pumba are situated separately from one another, with Pumba seated on the ground and Timon standing on a fallen log with Simba to the left of him. In the diorama, however, all three characters appear to be situated on a level tree root, with Simba positioned to the right and Timon positioned on top of Pumba.

Assuming these models represent animatronics to come, this may suggest a Timon animatronic could be positioned on the back of a Pumba animatronic, or the two may function jointly as a single moving unit.

In the text accompanying these photos, it is revealed that “the design phase of the attraction is now complete following several years’ work” and “the earth-levelling work was finalised at the end of 2025, and vertical construction is now underway”.

Beth Clapperton, Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, also shares the following:

“It will be an extraordinary experience for our guests to relive legendary scenes from The Lion King. Personally, I’m really looking forward to the attractions final scene, which will revive one of the film’s most iconic and moving scenes in a completely new way”

In another reveal centered around the Lion King attraction, we get our first look at a model of the log flume ride vehicle. The model vehicle seems to include four rows, each of which appears wide enough to accommodate at least two riders side-by-side. This would vary from the vehicle as seen in the initial concept art, which only showed one rider per row.

The accompanying description reads in full:

Any self-respecting log flume must include a waterfall, and the attraction at Disney Adventure World will feature not one, but three! But to ensure that most of the route remains covered, only the final waterfall – offering the most sensational 16-metre drop – will be located outside. It also offers a spectacular view of the Pride Lands! To prepare for the attraction’s climax as best as possible and to assess the future vessels, the Imagineers carried out a number of full-scale tests during the summer of 2025, using a metal structure assembled behind the scenes.

Offering a unique blend of adventure and sensations, the attraction will also plunge guests into the heart of Simba’s story, as Michel den Dulk explains: “Ever since that very first sunrise appeared on cinema screens around the world in 1994, audiences have been captivated by the story of The Lion King and its characters, and that fascination continues to this day. Our aim as Imagineers was to transpose all the emotion of the film into this exciting project, and to bring it to life again for our guests through this unique attraction.”

First announced on March 19, 2026, the book is slated to go on sale in April 2026, though Disneyland Paris has not yet confirmed the exact date at the time of the park’s opening.

Disney Adventure World’s Grand Opening on March 29

Disney Adventure World, formerly Walt Disney Studios Park, adds several major expansions as of the park’s official debut today, March 29.

The highly anticipated World of Frozen expansion includes a walking, talking animatronic Olaf, a Frozen boat show, and Frozen Ever After.

Around 11:20 AM local time for Disneyland Paris, an official alert was sent via the Disneyland Paris app informing guests that the new World of Frozen area had already reached “maximum capacity.”

Elsewhere in the expanded park, guests can enjoy a new nighttime show with air and sea drones, the Rapunzel Tangled Spin ride, Regal View Restaurant & Lounge, and new gardens. A book about the park’s making is also set to be released soon.

Have you ever visited a Disney Park on its opening day? Tell us about your experience on social media.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.