Biggest International Disney Theme Park Stories of 2024
Disney didn’t reserve all the fun for the United States.
In fact, Disney’s biggest expansion this year occurred overseas. It was one of many amazing enhancements at Disney’s non-American parks.
Photo: Also D23
Here are Disney’s biggest international theme park stories of 2024.
Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Let me be clear. THE biggest international theme park story of the year happened at Tokyo DisneySea.
Fantasy Springs debuted at the park and established new standards in theme park excellence.
Photo: Disney
One of the unheralded facts about this park is that Disney doesn’t own it.
The Oriental Land Company (OLC) pays Disney tons of money to license the entire concept.
Photo: Disney
Then, every OLC project is subject to review by Disney officials.
So, the OLC parks are held to an even higher standard than Disney ones.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Not coincidentally, many theme park analysts perceive Tokyo Disney Resort as the best Disney destination in the world.
In 2024, Tokyo DisneySea somehow got even better by opening Fantasy Springs, highlighted by several new attractions.
Photo: Disney
The biggest one in terms of IP is Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, which is a modified take on EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After.
Here’s the thing, though – and I say this a superfan of Frozen Ever After – Frozen Journey is better.
Watch this clip if you don’t believe me!
This is the anchor attraction of the new World of Frozen, and it’s legitimately the best Frozen ride to date.
Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival
Disney
Realistically, Frozen Journey isn’t a new ride per se. Disney took an existing premise and extended it with new scenes and sets.
THE new attraction of the year is Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, an absolutely breathtaking ride experience. Take a look:
Disney didn’t even need to do much here. Imagineers simply needed to honor the story and visuals of Tangled.
Disney
Some seminal moments from the film involve the raising of the lanterns, and they make for a perfect backdrop.
This is one of Disney most gorgeous rides ever, even though it’s just a simple dark ride on a boat.
Peter Pan’s Neverland Adventure
Peter Pan’s Flight
I’m not doing these alphabetically for a reason. Fantasy Springs introduced even more rides, one of which is Peter Pan’s Neverland Adventure.
Rather than take another crack at Peter Pan’s Flight, which has been done to death over the past 70 years, Imagineers tried something new.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Please watch this ride video and tell me whether you notice anything familiar:
Yes, those digital displays employ the same technology as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Tokyo Disney had them first.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
On the same day, Fantasy Springs unveiled three stunning new attractions, each of which exemplify Imagineering excellence.
Notre-Dame Drone Show
Like many of you, I watched in horror as Notre-Dame de Paris suffered a tragic fire in 2019.
As a tourist, I’ve stumbled into this majestic facility just in time for Sunday evening mass, and it was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Image: Disney
The thought that this historic cathedral could burn to the ground broke the hearts of many people like me.
Five years later, reconstruction was completed on Notre-Dame. The landmark is now better than ever, and Disney wanted to celebrate.
Photo: Disney
So, Disneyland Paris, which is only 27 miles from Notre-Dame hosted a unique celebration
You can watch this nighttime drone show in its entirety here:
This was one of many drone presentations at Disney’s international parks this year.
Disney has been testing them thoroughly abroad before bringing them to America, as happened with Disney Dreams That Soar this summer.
Still, among all the drone presentations thus far, this one was Disney’s most impactful and significant.
Photo: Disney
For all the criticism over the years, Disneyland Paris has been an excellent neighbor to the good people of Paris.
This show was a meaningful demonstration of the relationship between Disney and Paris.
Walt Disney Studios Park is now Disney Adventure World
Disney
What’s in a name?
In the case of Walt Disney Studios Park, it’s 22 years of unpopularity.
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering
Disneyland Paris added a second gate in 2002, and let’s just say that it wasn’t an immersive experience.
Here’s Bruce Vaughn, the current head of Walt Disney Imagineering, describing his first visit:
Bruce Vaughn inside the Millennium Falcon at Stars Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
“The first time I went to Paris’ second gate, it was after hours.
“No kidding, for the first ten minutes, I’m walking through, and I was like, ‘When are we gonna be in the park?’
Bruce Vaughn (left center) at the groundbreaking of Pandora.
“And he turned to me, and he goes, ‘You’re in the park.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m on stage?’ He goes, ‘You’re on stage.’
“Like, ‘This looks backstage.’ It’s a bunch of gray warehouses. He goes, ‘Yeah. It’s supposed to be like a studio.’”
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure’s Single Rider Line
That’s a rather telling anecdote, isn’t it? One of Disney’s most accomplished modern Imagineers turned up his nose at the park.
Frankly, for many years, fans perceived Walt Disney Studios Park as the Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure park.
Image Credit: Disneyland Paris
That evaluation sounds harsh, but I assure you it was the majority opinion for many years.
Finally, Disney officials acknowledged the truth. The branding of this park possessed too much of a negative stigma.
Image: Disneyland Paris via Scott Gustin
So, Disney is currently reinvigorating the space with a Frozen-themed land and a Lion King-themed land complete with a flume ride.
Just as importantly, Walt Disney Studios Park is no more as of 2025. The park will become Disney Adventure World.
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Feature Photo: Tokyo DisneySea
