World of Frozen, an immersive land themed to the blockbuster animated franchise, opened Sunday, March 29, as the centrepiece of a 2 billion euro ($2.18 billion) transformation at Disneyland Paris.<\/p>\n
\nThe transformation renames one of the two theme parks at the Disneyland Paris complex from Walt Disney Studios Park to Disney Adventure World. The inauguration drew Pen\u00e9lope Cruz, Naomi Campbell and Teyana Taylor.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nNaomi Campbell attends the inauguration of Disney Adventure World and World Of Frozen at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
It is the largest expansion in the 34-year history of Disneyland Paris, and one node in a roughly $60 billion global buildout of Disney\u2019s parks, resorts and cruise lines.<\/p>\n
It is also the first major international stage for Josh D\u2019Amaro, who took over as Disney\u2019s chief executive on March 18 \u2014 just 11 days before the French gates opened \u2014 after nearly three decades in the company\u2019s theme parks division.<\/p>\n
The parks-and-experiences business generated about 57% of the company\u2019s $17.5 billion in segment operating income last year, the force that observers say propelled D\u2019Amaro from parks chief to the corner office.<\/p>\n
An Associated Press journalist accompanied D\u2019Amaro on the \u201cFrozen\u201d ride Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The carriage splashed through water to childlike cheers from riders and laughter from the new chief executive as they glided past singing Elsa in the dark. Some stepped off lightly, wet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Walt Disney Company was built on one man\u2019s dream, and for more than 100 years we\u2019ve shared that dream with the world,\u201d D\u2019Amaro told the inauguration crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cStorytelling is fundamental to everything that we do, whether that\u2019s on screen or stage, in our theme parks, on our cruise ships, or even at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called the opening \u201ca transformational moment\u201d and paid tribute to the creative team behind the land, including \u201cFrozen\u201d writer-director Jennifer Lee \u2014 all now at work on \u201cFrozen 3.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday, D\u2019Amaro had stood alongside Emmanuel Macron at the resort.<\/p>\n
The French president used the visit to claim the park as a national economic asset, calling Disneyland Paris \u201cthe leading tourist destination in Europe\u201d and describing it as \u201ca genuine ecosystem of success.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nChairman of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro, left, French president Emmanuel Macron, center, and President of Disneyland Paris, Natacha Rafalski, visit Disneyland Paris ahead of the inauguration of the new World of Frozen, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus, pool)<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
Macron said the latest expansion would create 1,000 additional direct jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the beginning, that\u2019s 13 billion euros invested in this territory,\u201d Macron said.
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\nDisneyland Paris says the resort now employs more than 20,000 people, supports 70,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and has recorded more than 445 million visits since 1992 \u2014 accounting for 6.1% of France\u2019s national tourism revenue.<\/p>\n
Macron\u2019s presence underscored a remarkable reversal.<\/p>\n
When the park opened as Euro Disney in 1992, French intellectuals derided it as a \u201ccultural Chernobyl.\u201d Now, a French president was standing in front of cameras, calling it an engine of national prosperity.<\/p>\n
It is no coincidence that \u201cFrozen\u201d and \u201cTangled\u201d \u2014 the two stories anchoring Disney\u2019s new lineup at its sole European resort \u2014 both trace their roots to European folklore.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrozen\u201d draws loosely from \u201cThe Snow Queen\u201d; the new Tangled family ride recalls the Brothers Grimm\u2019s Rapunzel.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrozen, of course, has its roots in European storytelling,\u201d said Michel den Dulk of Walt Disney Imagineering.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen. So to have a northern European, charming wooden little village here in Disneyland Paris, where you can see your favourite Frozen characters \u2014 it just made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The land recreates Arendelle around a lagoon, its timber buildings painted in muted Scandinavian pastels, facades adorned with rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian decorative art.<\/p>\n
At the centre is Frozen Ever After, a boat ride featuring state-of-the-art animatronics and immersive projection effects.<\/p>\n
Guests can meet Anna and Elsa inside Arendelle Castle, have a conversation with a responsive baby troll named Mossy who talks back, and watch a lagoon celebration called the Snow Flower Festival \u2014 featuring an original song.<\/p>\n
A next-generation robotic Olaf roams the land.<\/p>\n
Beyond World of Frozen, the rebranded park brings a vast new lake called Adventure Bay, a Tangled family ride, 15 new dining locations \u2014 including the posh Regal View Restaurant \u2014 and a nighttime spectacular called Disney Cascade of Lights featuring more than 380 drones.<\/p>\n
A Lion King land, already under construction, will follow.<\/p>\n
More than 90% of the second park\u2019s offerings will have been redesigned since it opened in 2002, and Disney says the footprint will roughly double once the full transformation is complete.<\/p>\n
Disney’s streaming has swung from deep losses to profitability, but the parks remain the company\u2019s most dependable earnings engine \u2014 and D\u2019Amaro is the man who ran them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to dream bigger and bring stories to life in brand new ways,\u201d D\u2019Amaro told the crowd.<\/p>\n
Pyrotechnics lit up Arendelle Village.<\/p>\n
The ice palace on the mountain turned blue.<\/p>\n
And 34 years after Euro Disney became a punchline, a brand-new kingdom opened in the fields east of Paris \u2014 for the first time in forever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n