Back back back again with a new look at the few things that are new this week at Disneyland Paris!
Secret Forest
After a bunch of leaks, we finally have all the details about “La Forêt Secrète”, the third restaurant or rather gastronomic pop up restaurant by Chef Jean Imbert (who all of you Disneyland Paris fans will remember from his previous collabs on Disneyland Paris 25).
This Secret Forest will open on March 7 for dinner Wednesday to Sunday. I’ll offer a 3 course menu for €140 and a 5 course for €200. It’s very expensive but based on the rest of the coma inducing prices at the Disneyland Hotel I was expecting more. Dishes will be themed to classic Disney Animation properties and served in a redecorated space which is very green, very gold, very over the top, but pretty cool.
Unnecessary photo with Mickey and Minnie instead of showing inside the redesigned space.
Construction and Refurbishments
That’s right – it’s a quiet week so we’re already going into where it’s definitely not quiet: Disney Adventure World. The entrance to Toy Story Playland is coming along nicely with the base layer for the new road now in place.
So much going on at Adventure Way: arches, trees, paving, infrastructure and more. A former imagineer was saying that we don’t need just another public park and – while I agree that this needs another attraction across from “Raiponce Tangled Spin” let’s see what wonders they can do with landscaping, sculptures and the gazebos.
Other notable items in this area are the Rapunzel Sun mosaic which is gonna look fantastic, and this new backstage gate for a storage area at the back of Toy Story Playland.
Down down down the Frozen road it’s time for the finishes, at least on the outside.
All around the lake, a myriad of small projects are ongoing from the rock work to the lights, gazebos, walkways and more. We sometimes forget how much work it is to create any type of themed public space.
Over in the ugly area, World Premiere got that D! I will never tire of this pun. note also the nice green rims.
Poor Animagique Theater however is not getting that D, as the stage number frame has been completely removed and will be painted over.
The backdrop mural for the Partners Statue is also being worked on again after being erased. On the facade, touch ups are being made before the full repaint.
We also have sooooooo many lampposts. So many. Hopefully they’re not all insanely bright. A bit of darkness is part of the charm of any Disney Park at night.
Did you miss tripping out to the Toy Story Zoetorpe? It’s now in the Animation Celebration preshow room. The sad part is that you have to queue for the show to see it and that’s a popular show!
Outside the gates a big remodel project for the ticketing booth has begun. Unclear why these need to be completely redone but possibly as the Resort expects massive amounts of Guests to pour in come 2026 for the big rebranding. Then a few years later Universal UK will open..
Later in the week, themed temporary booths had arrived just behind the walls.
Over at Disneyland Park the refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain continues and I personally find these photos of the expertly lit up scaffolding satisfying.
Also cool: dried up splashdown.
Some repair work has been done on the Sleeping Beauty Castle bridge. But is it too little too late as the whole bridge really needs a full refurbishment which may not come until Sleeping Beauty Castle gets refurbished again sooner than you think.
At Disney Village, we’ve got some actual progress with a lot of the signage going up for the new shops, facade finishing, and even some furnishings inside. The shops are meant to open by the end of this quarter and it’s expected they will be just a tiny bit late, but not by much.
This and That..
A reminder that French school holidays are ongoing and in waves until the first week of March. With the UK, Belgium and probably other markets also on holidays, expect full parks. Dont forget to cross reference all the European holiday dates when choosing your trip, if you can.
Starting in March, Disneyland Paris will start using the “Authentic Disney Pins” branding similar to other Disney Parks, for items made for the resort. This won’t affect any exclusive releases or Pin Trading events.
