Guide Tour of Toon Studio, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disneyland Paris, France

Toon Studio is a land at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris, France. Toon Studio is located to the right of the Studio 1 output. Its entrance is marked by a statue of Mickey sporting his sorcerer’s apprentice costume seen in Fantasia and placed on a blue and silver base on which is fixed the name of the studio.

Step into the colourful worlds of Disney animated classics. Relive Aladdin’s adventures and find a Whole New World complete with the Genie’s outrageous humour. A favourite attraction for very little ones that also delights couples and friends. Fly over the Kingdom of Agrabah, experience unforgettable moments with Characters from Disney, Pixar and MARVEL…

The land, formerly known as Animation Courtyard, received a revamp in 2007 to features a more colourful and “immersive,” theming. In August of 2021, much of the land’s Pixar attractions were rebranded under a new sub-area referred to as Worlds of Pixar.

Developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the new land was announced on January 11, 2005 by Euro Disney SCA, the owner and operator of Disneyland Resort Paris, as part of a new initiative to add new attractions to both theme parks.

The Toon Studio concept is a spin-off of the Mickey’s Toontown idea. Mickey’s Toontown is an area currently at two other Disney theme parks where guests can experience the living environments of Disney characters, whereas the Walt Disney Studios is being publicised as where the Disney characters go to work, producing their animated films themselves using conventional movie-making equipment.

Disney Animation
Disney Animation is an attraction at the Disneyland Paris. Through combining theatre presentations with interactive exhibits, the Art of Disney Animation takes guests on a trip from the historical world of previous Disney animation techniques to “the creation of modern-day Disney characters.” The iconic Sorcerer’s Hat is the perfect way to usher guests into the building and start this experience. Additionally, in front of the building near the wait area, there is a collection of golden statues of various Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Dumbo, Mulan and Donald Duck to name a few.

After guests pass the outdoor wait area, they enter the pre-show room. “A colorful mural wraps around the left side of the room charting early animation inventions.” This room has on display an original multiplane camera which was used in the production of the film Bambi. The attraction also displays other early animation inventions such as the Greek urn that date back to 500 BC as well as the Magic Lantern (1659), an early type of image projector, which was invented in the Netherlands.

Other animation inventions include the English Thaumatrope (1825) which is “a disk or card with a picture on each side. The disc or card is attached to two strings on each side. When flipping the disc or card in a continuity movement from one side to the other, it looks like the two separate pictures merged into one single image.” The Phenakistoscope invented in Belgium in 1832 is “a vertical spinning disc with multiple drawings that gave the illusion of a moving picture once it was set in motion.”

The Zoetrope (1834) is another English invention and “it is a cylinder with slits in the side.” Inside the cylinder, a band with images is placed. Once the cylinder is set in motion an illusion of movement is created.” The last animation invention featured in this room is the French Praxinoscope (1877) which “improved on the Zoetrope by using an inner circle of mirrors that create a brighter and less crooked picture.”

After this exhibition pre-show, guests are taken to the Disney Classics Theatre which is a seated cinema is showing a collection great Disney and Pixar animated moments touching on Disney’s themes of love, loss and rebirth. Guests are then moved on to the Drawn to Animation room, where they are welcomed by a Disney animator and their host Mushu, the dragon. Together they explain, how Disney creates its many characters and “how they [bring] them to life on the big screen.” At the end of this presentation, guests are shown some scenes from the latest Disney or Pixar animation, the scenes obviously changing with the release of a new animated movie.

Guests are then moved into the final and largest room of the attraction, which features a series of interactive “animation stations”, where they can try out some of the things they had just seen on the tour. Guests have the possibility of trying their hand at drawing Mickey Mouse with the help of an animator who explains the whole process. They can also draw their own Zoetrope animation on bands of paper and test the results on one of the devices. There is also a sound creation game and a voice over game, as well as many other fun stations to explore.

For those who want to see a little bit more of Disney animation history, there is a display of concept art highlighting the design and creation of Disney’s films as well as statues displayed behind glass windows. This final room can be entered without visiting the main attraction, allowing guests to return to view certain exhibits and take part in “animation stations” during their visit to the park.

Mickey and the Magician
Mickey and the Magician is a Walt Disney Studios park show at Disneyland Paris, opened July 2, 2016. It is located in Studio 3, more commonly known as the Animagique Theater, a theater of Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture, such as Hollywood movie theaters in the 1930s. The show replaces Animagique, played in this same room until January 31, 2016.

Mickey and the Magician is a magic show presented at the Animagique Theater in Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. It features Mickey accompanied by several Disney characters (the Good Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, Lumière from Beauty and the Beast, Rafiki from The Lion King, The Genie from Aladdin, Olaf and Elsa from Frozen ). Throughout the show, a magic hat whose name is unknown will help Mickey on his journey through the various songs sung live. During the show, a magician advises Mickey.

The story takes place in an old Paris. Mickey is the apprentice of a great Magician. His role is to clean a magic workshop but Mickey is torn between the task entrusted to him and his irresistible desire to do magic. He will meet many Disney characters during his journey.

Frozen: A Musical Invitation
Frozen: A Musical Invitation is a show offered at the Animation Celebration (formerly Art of Disney Animation ) building in two acts themed around the movie Frozen. The first act takes place in Kristoff and Sven’s barn, while the second act takes place in Queen Elsa ‘s ice palace.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin is a ride in Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World. It is based on the 1992 film, Aladdin. It is similar to the Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction in that riders in the front rows control how high their carpets fly, and the ride lasts about 90 seconds. Aladdin’s magic lamp is at the top, rather than Timothy Q. Mouse.

The attraction opened at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris on March 16, 2002, as Flying Carpets Over Agrabah. The attraction is set against a large “movie set” backdrop of Agrabah, with guests playing as the extras in Genie’s directorial debut. This is the last ride which opened on the opening day of the park which is still operating.

At the entrance, there is a camel that squirts people as they walk by, much like the Stitch figurine outside the World of Disney store. Guests who have visited Adventureland before may notice that this area has a new look. The shops look like the marketplace buildings from Aladdin, and different characters from Aladdin are in some of the buildings to do meet & greets and sign autographs.

Remy’s Square
This section represents the Paris of the movie Ratatouille, it is composed of the attraction Ratatouille: L’Aventure totally toquée de Rémy, a table service restaurant Bistrot Chez Rémy, a shop Chez Marianne Souvenirs of Paris and toilets. The whole is decorated with facades of Parisian buildings, groves of flowers, trees, benches, lampposts and a fountain.

Ratatouille: Rémy’s Totally Crazy Adventure is a scenic course equipped with LPS (Local Positioning System) technology. It is inspired by the Pixar Studios animated, Ratatouille. This attraction plunges visitors to the size of a rat by mixing real decorations, projections in relief and sensory effects such as heat or cold effects and water splashes, visitors embark in vehicles with six seats out of two rows and should wear polarized glasses.

Bistrot Chez Rémy is a restaurant open on the exit of the Ratatouille attraction. It extends your experience to the size of a small rat for lunch or dinner in a Parisian bistro setting. Chez Marianne (Souvenirs of Paris). In this Art Deco -style shop, there are souvenirs inspired by the movie Ratatouille and French sweets.

Worlds of Pixar
Worlds of Pixar includes seven Pixar-themed attractions and photo locations in Toon Studio. This includes Crush’s Coaster, Ratatouille: The Adventure, and Cars ROAD TRIP. Guests will also be able to see Pixar characters including The Incredibles, Lightning McQueen, and more. There will also be Pixar-themed snacks.

Three new backdrops were also painted that are being described as Instagram-able locations. This is the continuation of work being done to add more Disney-Pixar storytelling and characters to Walt Disney Studios. There are more changes expected to be announced at Disneyland Paris for Walt Disney Studios as the park continues to be transformed.

Toy Story Land
Toy Story Land is a themed land, the area is based on the Disney•Pixar film series Toy Story. Toy Story Land in France originally opened as part of Toon Studio on August 17, 2010 at a cost of 79 million euros. It is an area of three Toy Story -themed attractions.

In Toy Story Playland, a giant statue of Buzz Lightyear sits at the entrance, we then walk into Andy’s garden, shrunken to toy size, and wander around in the company of characters such as Zigzag the dog, the Karting remote-controlled car, the green soldiers or even Rex the dinosaur.

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.