Welcome to a new edition of the DLP Report! This week: Sports, Snow and Santa. Let’s go!
Take me to the Sports Bar
After what was a pretty quick turnaround time of less than a year, the Sports Bar – and Lounge has reopened.
The area looks particularly fantastic at night, bringing that new age Disney Village vibe to another 50 meters of the street. Similarity to the other remodels for the district, gone is the 1992 “power station” theme, swapped for the brick and textured mix of materials with Disney “pop” accents that ties together the remodel. Most importantly, it’s another stretch of the street that feels fresh and coherent, whether you like the style or not.
Saturday morning Disney Village, Disneyland Paris and Coca Cola execs were on hand to open the venue. For the occasion, Bruno Chastain shared a little (too much?) more about what’s to come at Disney Village:
- Disney Store will close Jan 4, 2026 to transform into Disney Wonders opening “late summer” 2026,
- Pelé Sport (the football shop) will open Spring 2026,
- Annette’s will also close Jan 4, the theme won’t change but the dining room will be refreshed and the kitchen completely rebuilt. Reopening……not until Spring 2027!
Inside the redesigned venue, the space is bright and modern (it definitely needed it) but has gained and retained some retro touches (like the awesome bar lights) and an assortment of sports memorabilia that feels like it’s been there forever. A new yet inviting and familiar environment.
On the walls, sports photos and signed jerseys help getting that “this has been here for a while” feeling and sports fan will enjoy checking out items from iconic players.
On to the menu starting with the bar of course which has received a much more elaborate selection, often themed around sports. We tried as few:
- O’Reipina (Magnifica de Faria – Tradicional Ipê Cachaca, passion fruit, Espelette pepper) €12.50
- Rugby’s Mastermind Mocktail (Pear nectar, green apple, blue curaçao, coconut) €9.50
Bar snacks also got an upgrade with a bigger selection and some fun items with tater tots, potato wedges, croquetas all very well presented. It’s definitely a new vibe for the location.
On to the food- and here again the menu has been vastly expanded and features touches of sports theme. Overall it feels like a bit of a “American/Californian“ menu with items like the baby back ribs and the salmon Caesar Salad. If selection is up, so are the prices as the venue aims to upscale itself into more of a mid range sit down restaurant, away from the cheap Mickey pizza and nuggets. Whether that is something Guests are looking for remains to be seen in the next few months.
As part of the media event we were invited to try some of the dishes and everything looked fantastic and tasted good. Maybe a bit light on the seasoning with some dishes that could use a bit of salt. A lot of the dishes also don’t come with a side which of course adds to the bill if you want one. Our selection:
- Baby Back Ribs (€14)
- Hot Pretzel Sandwich (€16)
- Cesar Salad with Salmon (€22)
- Pretzel Balls (€7.50)
- Ham Croquetas (€8.50)
The venue also features some custom designs for coasters and cutlery which help complete the theme. Overall a great job!
As part of the area’s remodel, the restrooms also received a complete remodel and wow – great design (love the tiles) , new water point, clean spacious facilities.. this is very welcome!
So welcome Sports Bar & Lounge 2.0 and congratulations to the design and opening team!
Let it Snow
On Sunday we had our first “sticking” snow of the season. Always a special moment!
Around the lands, the slight blanket of snow lasted until early afternoon.
And at Disney Adventure World, it was the first snow in (fully built) Arendelle, when theming crosses with reality !
Construction and Refurbishments
It’s a Disney Village special this week, with the other projects ongoing – starting with this building which, as Bruno Chastain said (for some reason) is not a hotel, not a parking but a McDonald’s.
Decent progress is also happening at Casa Giulia with one year to go.
And at the new Disney Hotels security gates, the exit monitoring booth is being installed. Cute!
Christmas Ball
It’s been revealed that adaptations of blockbuster shows Forest of Enchantement and Frozen Singalong will be featured at the December 5 “Christmas Ball” Disneyland Pass event. Fun!
A list of attending character was also shared. See you then!
This and That..
This week we took a peek at the Disney x Selfridges Christmas in London. A fantastic collab with high quality creations.
One of the most popular windows, Peter Pan, featured projections, physicals and holographic effects designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.
And the day is ALMOST HERE! Join us on Monday November 24 for a special report live from the Disney Adventure World media event starting at 2pm CET. On the menu: more details inside the expansion project and finally an opening date!
