A mountain of ice now rises over the Paris countryside – and it’s not a natural wonder.
It’s Disney’s most ambitious European expansion yet.
This weekend, Disneyland Paris officially opened its long-awaited World of Frozen, a vast immersive land crowned by Elsa’s shimmering palace perched atop a 118-foot icy peak. Below it, a Nordic-inspired village unfolds around a lagoon, bringing Arendelle to life with striking realism.
The opening marks the centerpiece of a €2 billion transformation that is reshaping the resort’s second park into a completely new identity: Disney Adventure World.
The scale of this expansion is unprecedented for the resort, which first opened in 1992 as Euro Disney. Today, it stands as Europe’s most visited tourist destination – a shift so dramatic that French President Emmanuel Macron now describes it as a national economic engine. Standing alongside Disney leadership ahead of the launch, Macron pointed to more than €13 billion invested in the site since its opening, over 20,000 direct jobs, and hundreds of millions of visitors. What was once dismissed by critics has become a cornerstone of France’s tourism economy.
World of Frozen has been designed as a fully immersive environment rather than a traditional themed zone. Visitors move through Arendelle as if stepping directly into the film, with timber buildings painted in soft Scandinavian tones and detailed with traditional decorative motifs. At the heart of the land is Frozen Ever After, a next-generation boat ride combining advanced animatronics with projection technology. Guests glide through scenes featuring Elsa, Anna and Olaf, with water elements adding a physical dimension to the experience. Inside Arendelle Castle, visitors can meet the characters, while interactive elements such as a responsive baby troll and a roaming robotic Olaf create moments that feel spontaneous and alive. The land also introduces a new lagoon show with original music, reinforcing Disney’s strategy of blending storytelling with spectacle.
The timing of the opening is significant. Josh D’Amaro, who became Disney’s chief executive on March 18, used the launch as his first major international appearance. His rise to the role reflects a broader shift within the company. Disney’s parks and experiences division has become its most reliable source of profit, generating more than half of its operating income. While the company’s streaming business has recently returned to profitability, it is the physical experience of Disney’s parks, resorts and cruises that continues to drive consistent financial performance.
The transformation extends far beyond the Frozen land. The rebranded Disney Adventure World introduces a vast central lake known as Adventure Bay, alongside new attractions, restaurants and nighttime entertainment. A Tangled-themed ride inspired by Rapunzel is part of the expansion, and a new evening show using hundreds of drones adds a technological layer to the park’s entertainment offering. Further developments are already underway, including a Lion King-themed area, and Disney has indicated that the park will nearly double in size once the full project is complete.
There is also a deeper cultural logic behind the expansion. Frozen draws from European folklore, loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, while Tangled is rooted in the Brothers Grimm tradition. Positioning these stories at Disney’s only European resort reinforces a sense of narrative alignment that resonates with local audiences while maintaining global appeal.
