Disney Announces First-Ever Lion King Ride

It’s the Circle of Life: A beloved Disney movie inspires a Disney theme park ride. 30 years after Disney Animation’s The Lion King was crowned as the most successful animated film of all time when it opened in 1994, Disney’s theme park division announced its first-ever Lion King ride. The untitled attraction — which will open at Disneyland Paris’ second gate, the renamed Disney Adventure World — appears to be a log flume ride with a Splash Mountain-style drop down a waterfall.

Just-revealed concept art depicts Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, and their animal kingdom as they appear in 2019’s The Lion King, the Jon Favreau-directed reimagining that blended live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery. Disney will return to Pride Rock with director Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King, the photorealistic prequel-sequel that debuted its new trailer at the D23 convention in Anaheim ahead of the theme park ride reveal.

The water-based dark ride ride takes place in the caverns beneath Pride Rock, where guests will experience Simba’s journey from cub to king. The World of the Lion King — a new area of the park dedicated to the characters and stories from the film, including dining, shopping, and meet-and-greets — is part of a $2 billion expansion for the 22-year-old park that promises “new experiences, attractions, and enhancements designed to transport you right into the heart of memorable Disney stories.” 

Along with Avengers Campus, Worlds of Pixar, and the Arendelle-themed World of Frozen (opening in 2026), the park’s multi-year transformation includes the Art Déco-inspired theater district, World Premiere Plaza, which immerses guests with all-new pieces paying homage to historic movie theaters replacing the entrance’s soundstage decor.

“Embracing a transformation that involves the overhaul of more than90% of Walt Disney Studios Park since its debut in 2002, we’re unveilinga fresh creative vision that has completely redefined our second gate,” said Natacha Rafalski, President of Disneyland Paris. “It’s set tooffer unique adventures in immersive worlds, serving as a perfectcomplement to Disneyland [Paris] Park.”

A 12-minute film featuring the characters of the Lion King, Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, played at Walt Disney World in Florida’s EPCOT Land Pavilion between 1995 and 2018, while The Legend of the Lion King stage show ran from 1994 to 2002 before it was replaced by the still-operating Mickey Philharmagic 4D. Disneyland Paris staged its own Broadway-inspired production of Legend of the Lion King between 2004 and 2009, and the park’s Frontierland section has been home to The Lion King: Rhythms of the Pride Lands musical since 2019.