The Lion King Ride and Area at Disneyland Paris Gets New Images, Details, and a Construction Start Window
The Lion King ride headed to Disneyland Paris has received new exciting images, details, and a construction start window of Fall 2025.
As detailed by Disney Parks Blog, the first-ever land and attraction themed to The Lion King will be one of the biggest draws of the reimagined Walt Disney Studios Park that will be known as Disney Adventure World. Alongside this new water ride that will take guests through the biggest moments of the 1994 classic, the land will feature a 120-foot-high Pride Rock and tons of dining, shopping, character meet-and-greets, and more.
Disney shared a new concept image from the ride, which you can see above, that shows Audio-Animatronics of young Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa chowing down on some grubs in a beautiful jungle setting. This will be just one part of the ride that will also send guests down a 52-foot drop, which is two inches taller than Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
While we don't have a date yet, it will be arriving after the grand opening of World of Frozen in 2026. This will also be one piece of the puzzle that is Disney Adventure World, which will be double the current park's footprint.
Alongside World of Frozen, The Lion King ride, and the previously announced Raiponce Tangled Spin ride that will see Mandy Moore returning to voice Rapunzel, guests will get to look forward to the first-ever attraction themed after Up. This ride will be a "spinning carousel" that will offer a "bird's eye view of the park's stunning scenery."
World Premiere will also be one of the stars of Disney Adventure World when it opens on May 15, 2025, as it will be a brand-new park entrance that will aim to recreate a "glamorous premiere in the heart of Hollywood." There will also be World Premiere Plaza, which is inspired by Broadway and the West End district and will have theaters with such shows as TOGETHER: A Pixar Musical Adventure, Mickey and the Magician, and Frozen: A Musical Invitation.
For more in the world of Disney, check out our 30th anniversary retrospective of The Lion King, when you can get your tickets for Destination D23: A Journey Around the World of Disney and our recently updated top 25 Disney animated movies list.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.o
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How ‘Elio' Pays Homage to Classic Sci-Fi Films Like ‘The Thing,' ‘Close Encounters' and ‘Alien'
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for 'Elio,' now playing in theaters. Disney Pixar's latest animated feature, 'Elio' centers on a young orphan boy who is desperate to be abducted by aliens. More from Variety Box Office: '28 Years Later' Chomps on $14 Million Opening Day; 'Elio' Facing Pixar's Lowest Debut Ever as 'How to Train Your Dragon' Rules Again New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Box Office: '28 Years Later,' Pixar's 'Elio' to Battle for Second Place as 'How to Train Your Dragon' Looks to Hold at No. 1 The premise of the film igave the creatives a perfect opportunity to pay homage to great sci-fi classics, including 'Alien' and John Carpenter's 'The Thing.' But the one film directors Domee Shi ('Turning Red') and Madeline Sharafian ('Burrow') referenced a lot was 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' Shi explains, 'We reference that movie a lot because it's also about a guy who's in love with space.' She adds, 'We loved how that film gave the aliens a big drum roll and with the tone, you didn't quite know were they friendly? What are their intentions? And we liked that aura of mystery for the Communiverse.' Disney Pixar's 28th feature was also co-written and directed by Adrian Molina ('Coco') with Shi and Sharafian stepping in to take over directing. The two spoke with Variety from Annecy, where the film screened for audiences, about Easter eggs and how its theme of loneliness resonates in today's world. Madeline Sharafian: What helped us a lot was that, as Adrian was making 'Elio' and his original pass, he screened it many times as we do at Pixar. Over the years, we have watched the story grow, and we were familiar with the characters and with the world, which I think made it a lot easier for us to jump in. We were aligned with his taste. I'd worked with him on 'Coco' and Domee worked with him on 'Turning Red.' Once we had the film in our hands, we were given a lot of freedom, and we were allowed to make big shifts. One of the things we did was we changed Elio's drive. We added the idea that he wants to be abducted by aliens, which was a really fun thing to play with, and that made him this weird, compelling character. Like, why do you want to be abducted? Domee Shi: We were inspired by our past and our childhoods. Being these lone, nerdy kids in our hometown who like drawing every single day, hoping and praying that we could go to animation school one day and find our people. That was the inspiration for the character of Elio. We always loved Adrian's concept of the world's weirdest kid being mistaken for the leader of Earth and getting abducted. But in giving him this kooky drive at the beginning of the movie, it endeared us to him because we were fellow nerds who eventually found our people, not in space, but at Pixar. Sharafian: Olga, voiced by Zoe Saldaña, is an amazing character because she is representative of Earth for Elio. She's part of the reason why he's writing Earth off entirely, because he doesn't realize at the beginning of the film that she's just as lonely as he is. She's right there next to him, but we always talked about how he's too busy looking at the stars, and he never looks at her. We told the animators to focus on that and the scenes that they have together. He never directs his attention at her until the end of the film, when he finally returns to Earth. We made that scene where they reunite, all about seeing each other and their similarities. Shi: It was always the core relationship of the story: Olga and Elio. That was another shift in the story that we brought on when we joined. Writer Julia Cho ('Turning Red') pitched to us the idea of turning Olga from Elio's mom to Elio's aunt. It's a family dynamic that isn't as commonly seen in a lot of movies. But there are all kinds of families in real life, and it clicked for us. It made Elio feel like his life on earth was more unstable. It made Olga feel unprepared, put her under pressure, and more prone to making mistakes. It gave them more conflict. Also, it was another way that we were able to relate personally to the character of Olga, too, of this career woman overwhelmed with a sudden and unexpected present that lands on their lap. Shi: We talked to a lot of child psychologists for this film. We even consulted with the U.S Surgeon General at the time, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who talked about the epidemic of loneliness in our current day society, and how a lot of people are finding it harder to connect with others and to make friends. One of the things we discovered with the experts this idea that one of the steps to curing loneliness is to admit that you are lonely and that you need help. But a lot of people don't do that, because it's also a feeling that brings about a lot of guilt and shame. The first thing that Elio does, when he really does cement his bond with Glordon in the movie, is that he lets his walls down and reveals that deep, vulnerable part of himself that he's been burying inside. When he admits to Glordon, 'I'm afraid that there's something wrong with me, that it's not earth.' That's a really big step for him. He's never admitted that to anybody. Shi: Both of us are huge fans of horror, and it was fun to pitch ways that we could include it in the movie. Sharafian: The musicality and the way the Communiverse first contacts Elio is totally an homage to 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' We reference that movie a lot because it's also about a guy who's in love with space. But we loved how that film gave the aliens a big drum roll, and with the tone. You didn't quite know, are they friendly? What are their intentions? And we liked that aura of mystery for the Communiverse before we reveal it. Shi: John Carpenter's 'The Thing' with the clone. And definitely 'Alien' (in an exchange between Elio and Glordon). Sharafian: We were inspired by 'Contact' as a movie that uses space as healing for the main character. Shi: All the classic Pixar Easter eggs are in there, too. We got the Pizza Planet Truck, the Luxo Ball. We even have an Easter egg that hints at our next movie, 'Hopper.' It's hidden in plain sight, and there's an Easter egg for Maddie's short film 'Burrow' (on the sunscreen bottle). Shi: In our post-COVID, current world of craziness, I feel like a lot of people are probably feeling how Elio is feeling. They're struggling with a lot of their issues, silently. But when they watch 'Elio,' our hope is that they feel inspired to share their struggle and make a connection with someone. This interview has been edited and condensed. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ashley Tisdale Explains Why Sharpay Evans Wasn't the ‘Popular Girl' in 'High School Musical' (Exclusive)
Ashley Tisdale, 39, told PEOPLE that she doesn't think her High School Musical character Sharpay Evans was the 'popular girl' The actress said that playing Sharpay as though she thought she was popular is what helped make the character 'so funny' 'What's so funny is that she's not the popular girl. She's the drama queen,' she explained of SharpayAshley Tisdale is spilling the tea on what she thinks made her High School Musical character so iconic. Tisdale, 39, who played musical theater queen bee Sharpay Evans in the hit Disney franchise, recently caught up with PEOPLE and she exclusively shared what she thought was 'so funny' about the role. 'When I played the character of Sharpay — I think it was probably what made her so funny — was that I truly thought [Sharpay] was the popular girl in school. I thought Sharpay was popular, and I played it like she was popular,' Tisdale recalls. 'And [director] Kenny Ortega enhanced that. He really made me feel like I was popular. But what's so funny is that she's not the popular girl. She's the drama queen. And my husband's like, 'That's what's so funny about how you played it. You really thought you were popular,' ' she continues. The actress also shared how it feels 'so cool' to see the character find new life on social media and in meme culture. 'Sharpay is — I swear she's mother to everybody — because it's like she just keeps coming back on these memes and people keep talking and doing the songs,' she says. 'And I'm just like, I mean, out of everyone in High School Musical, my character is the most iconic. It's so cool.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Tisdale — who also voices Candace Flynn in the hit animated series Phineas and Ferb — went on to say how lucky she feels to have been a part of multiple franchises that have reached cult status. 'I mean, it's so cool … It's really awesome to be a part of these projects that have really been so prevalent in pop culture and to play these characters," she adds. "It's just, you're like, 'Dang, man.' I can't believe out of everything that I auditioned for [...] I got this animation [series] that has lasted this long. Or I was always trying to get a Disney movie, and never got the movie. And then, I got High School Musical. " 'Out of all the ones, I get that. This is pretty awesome,' she says. High School Musical became one of the most successful Disney Channel Original movies of all time. It generated two popular sequel films, the third of which was released in theaters in 2008 and earned more than $250 million worldwide at the box office, per Variety. High School Musical 3: Senior Year marked the biggest opening weekend for a musical film up until that point (though it was eventually eclipsed by Les Misérables in 2012). Read the original article on People
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Disneyland Guest 'Almost Spit Out His Coffee' Over Nearly $1K Breakfast Bill For Family of 5
A family of five spent $938 on Disneyland's Princess Breakfast Adventures, a three-course character dining experience at the California park The father shared the receipt and his surprise on X, where the post went viral with over 15.5 million views and sparked widespread discussion The poster admitted he hadn't checked the price before, but said the experience was worth it for his kids A family of five kicked off their morning at Disneyland with a nearly four-figure price tag. X user @jrockandrollt, aka John 'Rock & Roll' Tolkien, took to the social media app on Monday, June 16, to share a photo of his receipt from his family's breakfast. The bill showed that he had spent $937.65, including a $150 tip. In the caption, he wrote, 'Princess Breakfast' at Disneyland with my kids. Almost spit out my coffee." Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures, which is held at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, is a dining experience at the Anaheim theme park where guests get to enjoy a three-course breakfast and activities with Disney princesses, like storytime with Belle, according to the park's website. The meal starts with a tiered tower of appetizers like lobster rolls, cornbread and beignets. For the main course, kids can choose between chicken and Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles and macaroni and cheese, while adults have options like braised short ribs, deviled eggs and truffle macaroni and cheese. For the final course, guests can taste cream puffs, sorbet and other desserts. The price starts at $142 for adults and children ages 3 to 9, per the site, and tip and tax are not included. The post quickly garnered X users attention and has been viewed over 15.5 million times as of Wednesday, June 18. The original poster waded through commenters' questions and explained that the bill was for two children and three adults and that one person ordered a Bloody Mary. He joked in the comments, 'If I find that goddamn mouse I am going to mug him.' He also wrote that he felt the pricey venture was worth it, despite his shock at the bill: 'Kids enjoyed it, so I think it was worth it. The kids definitely learned some new words when I opened the bill though.' Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. A picture of his plate shows that he ate shrimp cocktail, macaroni and cheese, asparagus, deviled eggs and beef roast, and he wrote that the food was a 7/10. 'Service was attentive and enthusiastic, princesses were all trained pro actresses and spent a lot of time with the kids. I enjoyed it,' he commented. While many users praised the poster for being a 'great dad,' others couldn't get behind his shock. 'Bro they tell you the price when you book, if you're surprised that's on you,' one person wrote and the poster replied that he didn't book the meal nor look at the menu. Read the original article on People