Disney Adventure World

Listen for a moment before you move. Somewhere ahead, a fanfare drifts out of a speaker hidden in a planter. Behind you, a train horn sounds from the station. The pavement under your feet is smooth and pale, swept clean before the gates opened. This is a place designed down to the sound of your footsteps. And today, you are walking into a park that has quietly reinvented itself.

You are in Chessy, a small commune east of Paris, inside the Disneyland Paris resort. This is the resort's second park. For more than two decades it carried another name: Walt Disney Studios Park. It opened in 2002, built around the idea of moviemaking. Visitors would see how films were made, with soundstages, backlots and behind-the-scenes tours. In 2026, after years of construction, the park reopened under a new name — Disney Adventure World.

The new name tells you about the new purpose. The original park focused on the craft of film, with cameras, studios and stage sets. Over time, Disney decided that guests wanted something different. They wanted to step inside the stories themselves, not watch how those stories were filmed. So the park moved away from showing the process and towards building whole worlds. The change was gradual. Many of the attractions you will see today were added piece by piece, long before the new name appeared on the gate.

Here is something many visitors miss. This park was long considered the smaller and plainer sibling of the main Disneyland Park next door. Critics often described it as unfinished, with wide grey spaces and too few rides. The transformation you are walking through answers that criticism directly. Large areas of open tarmac became lakes, paths, gardens and themed lands. In a sense, the whole park is a second draft — and you are reading it.

The largest change sits around a new lake at the heart of the park. Water changes everything in a theme park. It softens noise, reflects the sky, and gives the eye somewhere to rest. Walk to the shore and notice how the crowds slow down here. People stop to take photographs, sit on low walls and simply look out. In the evening, the lake becomes a stage for a nighttime show, with light and music over the water.

Across the water, you may spot rooftops and mountains that look Scandinavian. This is World of Frozen, a land based on the animated films. It recreates Arendelle, the fictional Nordic kingdom where Elsa and Anna live. Look at the steep roofs, the painted wood and the decorative patterns around the windows. They borrow from real Norwegian folk design, especially rose painting — a traditional style of flowing floral decoration. The main ride here, Frozen Ever After, takes guests by boat through scenes from the story.

Now walk towards the older areas of the park. Here you can still see traces of the original studio idea. Some buildings look like film sets, with flat facades and painted backdrops. This is the layer underneath the new park. Like an old city with medieval streets beneath modern ones, this place keeps its history in plain sight. If you look carefully, you can read where the old ends and the new begins.

One of the best-loved attractions is Ratatouille: The Adventure, which opened in 2014. It is based on the Pixar film about Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris. The setting fits the location perfectly. Around the ride, you will find a small Parisian square with rooftops, lamps and shopfronts. Here is the clever trick — the ride vehicles make you feel rat-sized. The kitchen around you looks enormous, as if you have shrunk to the height of a floorboard.

Not far away, a darker building rises above the skyline. This is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which opened in 2007. It is designed as an old Hollywood hotel, faded and abandoned after a mysterious night. Its sandy walls and dark windows feel completely different from the bright colours of Arendelle. That contrast is deliberate. Theme park designers use height and shadow to create anticipation. You will often hear screams before you see where they come from.

Nearby is Avengers Campus, opened in 2022 and themed to the Marvel superhero films. Its architecture is sleek, metallic and futuristic. Here, the story is that you are visiting a training headquarters for heroes. Characters appear in the plaza, and the music has a heavier, cinematic beat. Notice how the paving, lighting and even the bins change style as you cross from one land to another. Small details like these tell your brain, without words, that you have entered a new world.

If you travel with children, look for the Toy Story area. Its trick is scale. Everything is built as if you were one of the toys in a child's backyard. Giant blades of grass, oversized fences and enormous toys surround you. Adults often find it funny, children find it completely believable. It is a good place to slow down, take photographs and watch how families react when they suddenly feel tiny.

Pause for a second and consider the work behind all of this. A theme park is never really finished. Paint fades, rides need maintenance, and stories age. Disney Adventure World is the result of years of rebuilding while the park stayed open. Much of it was assembled behind tall construction walls, while guests walked past. That is the second surprise many visitors miss — you are standing in a place that changed around people, almost season by season.

As you explore, take a moment to compare this park with Disneyland Park next door. The older park centres on a fairy-tale castle and a classic main street. This one has no single centrepiece. Instead, it offers a series of separate worlds connected by paths and water. One park asks you to believe in a single kingdom. This one invites you to travel between many, from a Nordic fjord to a Paris kitchen in a few minutes.

Before you move on, find a quiet spot near the lake. Listen again. The fanfare has changed, the voices have multiplied, and the light has moved across the rooftops of Arendelle. Somewhere, a ride vehicle rattles, and a child laughs. Look at the water and notice what it reflects right now. When you walk away, watch how the music fades and changes under your feet — each step carrying you into another story.