On Our Radar: Celebrating 25 years of Disneyland Paris

When EuroDisney opened its doors on April 12, 1992, it proudly boasted 30 attractions including Big Thunder Mountain and It’s a Small World. Twenty-five years, one rebrand, the addition of a new park and 29 new rides later, the magic of Disneyland Paris, as it has been known since 2002, is still very much alive.

The past 25 years haven’t always been easy (the discarding of the EuroDisney name followed a period of financial difficulty) – but since 2004, Disneyland Paris has been the continent’s number one tourist destination, a title it still claims today, drawing 13.4 million visitors to its 59 attractions in 2016.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the park’s 25th Anniversary event in March, Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, described the park as a “place where the young and young at heart can step into the worlds of their favourite stories... We’ve got even more magic in store for our 25th anniversary,” he added.

I was lucky enough to put this claim to the test, when I visited Disneyland Paris – family in tow last month – to find the festivities still very much in evidence, with “25” banners hanging from the entrance and balloons lining the streets.

For thrill seekers like myself – and Star Wars buffs like my seven year-old nephew – the big news was the latest rides opened to commemorate the anniversary. These included the renamed Hyperspace Mountain, and Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, a 3D motion simulator which launched in March, featuring 70 “missions”.

Even queuing was an experience, as CP30 instructed us about our mission. Once on the spacecraft simulator, we flew through space at lightning speed, crashed into the sea, whizzed past Jar Jar Binks and were half eaten by a giant sea creature. We emerged from the craft to cries from my nephew to do it all again – and we took little persuasion.

There were also plenty of other new celebratory attractions for those less concerned with the galaxy far, far away. The daily Disney Stars on Parade featured new costumes and music, while we chuckled along to new 20-minute show Mickey Presents “Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris”, a musical set in the shadow of the castle.

The greatest birthday spectacular though was the Disney Illuminations nightshow, which turned the fairytale castle into scenes from Disney classics over the past 25 years including The Lion King, and (much to my nephew’s delight) Star Wars, before culminating in a stunning firework display that bathed the park in a multitude of colours. My parents stood opened mouthed, alongside my equally mesmerised nephew, just as Chapek promised. The young at heart and the young.