Guide Tour of Front Lot, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disneyland Paris, France

Front Lot is a themed land or studio lot at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris, based on the glamorous administration areas of Hollywood movie studios from the “golden age” of movies in the 1930s. It serves as the main entrance area of the park, similar to Main Street USA, with park services and several boutiques. Earffel Tower, the park’s icon, is located in this area.

From the Place des Frères Lumière to Disney Studio 1, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the magic of filmmaking are in the spotlight in this setting that pays homage to Walt Disney’s early career in cinema. Discover the hidden secrets of filmmaking as you go backstage on a Hollywood film set! Wander between the film crew before stepping under the dazzling spotlights and in front of the camera for your big moment…

Front Lot serves as the park’s main entrance and is home to most shops and services of the park, the Earffel Tower is located here. The entrance courtyard, La Place des Frères Lumière, is designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style, a style common to 1930’s Hollywood. It is loosely based on the design of the original Disney Bros. Studios on Hyperion Avenue.

Cross the Place des Frères Lumièreg, to access the rest of the Park, a covered walkway with shops and restaurants themed after a soundstage with a recreation of a Hollywood street inside. The central feature of the courtyard is a large Fantasia fountain. Disney Studio 1, is based on the first soundstage ever owned by Walt Disney himself, at the original Disney Bros. Studios on Hyperion Avenue, Burbank, California. The name of the courtyard is a tribute to the French inventors of cinema.

Place des Frères Lumière
Place des Frères Lumière is a large square decorated with a fountain in its center, representing Mickey in the costume of a sorcerer’s apprentice (Fantasia) filling a basin using bewitched broomsticks. It is delimited to the northeast by the access doors to the park, to the southwest by Studio 1, and also by two buildings located on either side of the square, the aesthetics of the buildings evokes architecture. California Hispanic of the early 20th century.

The building on the left as you enter is a large store on the theme of Disney productions, called the Walt Disney Studio Store, the building on the right has theStudios Services (information desk, lost and found, toilets, etc.) and the Studio Photo shop.

Studio Photo is a small shop that mainly sells small Disneyland Paris souvenirs and accessories (autograph books, photos, frames, PhotoPass+ service). Walt Disney Studios Store is a store where you can find Disney characters, collectibles, souvenirs, gifts, treats.

Studio 1
Studio 1 is the name of the imposing building facing the entrance to the park, it is accessed by Place des Frères Lumière. Visitors entering the park must walk through the building to gain access to the rest of the park, it serves as an indoor shopping street and has the largest square footage in the Walt Disney Studios Park

The space is separated in two by the street, on the left we find the shop called Les Légendes d’Hollywood, it is a succession of several spaces. Their styles are a reinterpretation of art deco stores, with, as a final space, a gas station paying homage to the ambiance of Route 66. On the other side on the right, Restaurant en Coulisse represents in film sets the emblematic restaurants and clubs of all Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Studio 1 exit opens onto the park’s main plaza. In the middle of the square is the Partners statue. To the right is Toon Studio (formerly Animation Courtyard), to the left is Production Courtyard, and at the end of the left wing of the park is the Avengers Campus, scheduled to open in 2021. Opposite is the area created in 2007, Hollywood Boulevard, but included in Production Courtyard. It is an evocation of Hollywood Boulevard, combining real buildings and trompe-l’oeil, discover the imposing attraction The Tower of Terror: A Leap into the Fourth Dimension.

Studio 1 presents itself as a mythical Hollywood as it could have existed during the Golden Age in the 1930s, and reveals the artifices of decorators with its many shops “hidden” behind real cinema facades. Famous Hollywood architectural elements are thus reproduced, and a night sky has been recreated.

Restaurant en Coulisse has three dining areas offering 670 seats. This is a fast food restaurant with counter service and a floor offering an aerial view of the building and all the decorations. Les Légendes d’Hollywood is a store located in Studio 1 and is inspired by a movie studio. There are gifts and souvenirs inspired by Disney movies.

Backlot
The Backlot was an opening day lot themed after actual movie backlots with an industrial theme. This lot featured the attractions Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Avec Aerosmith, the Moteurs… Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular, and the special effects show Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux. The cafeteria service restaurant Blockbuster Café, the buffet Restaurant des Stars, and a small diner Café des Cascadeurs were also part of the Backlot. This area was closed in 2019 to make way for the upcoming Avengers Campus, opening in 2022.

Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park, located in the Val d’Europe sector in Marne-la-Vallée, in Seine-et-Marne, is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris, which opened on 16 March 2002. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. It is dedicated to show business, movie themes, production, and behind-the-scenes.

Walt Disney Studios Park is part of the Disneyland Paris leisure complex, formerly called Euro Disney Resort then Disneyland Resort Paris. The park is represented by the Earffel Tower, a water tower similar to one that was installed at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. In the 2010s, the park began to entered a new direction of immersive theming and attraction development inspired by iconic Disney stories.

In 2019, the park hosted approximately 5.2 million visitors, which places it in 4th place in Europe and 23rd in the world 3. Since its opening, it has twice been honored with a Thea Award, this is a global award given by the Themed Entertainment Association. The park was awarded the first time in 2003 in the attraction category for CinéMagique and the second time in 2015 in the thematic restaurant category for the Bistrot Chez Rémy.