For as massive a phenomenon as 1994’s The Lion King is to the Disney pantheon, Walt Disney Imagineering has never built a ride based on the movie. That’s all changing with a new attraction under construction, and Disney just revealed a sneak peek to an arena full of fans.
Disney announced its Lion King ride title and what to expect from the new land being built around the ride. We were in the room to hear all the specifics. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including 7 huge Disneyland ride reveals and 11 big Disney World ride announcements.
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First Lion King Ride in the World
A log flume ride based on The Lion King is under construction as part of a new land entirely focused on the film opening at Disney Adventure World, the newly renamed theme park, previously known as Walt Disney Studios Park, at Disneyland Paris.
The log flume will tell the story from the original 1994 hand-drawn film, not the 2019 computer-animated remake. Riders will see Simba’s rise from cub to king and hear the classic songs from the movie along the way.
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Much of the ride will be indoors, with Audio-Animatronics figures depicting scenes from the film. The ride will culminate with an outdoor splashdown from atop Pride Rock.
The format of the attraction shares similarities with Disney’s previous log flumes, Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. However, Paris’s Lion King log flume is being built from the ground up rather than converting any previous attraction into this new experience. Paris never had a Splash Mountain.
Disney first announced its plans for the new Lion King ride in 2024. Fast-forward to August 15, 2026, and we were in the room at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event when Disney shared a sneak peek of what’s coming as part of a special presentation titled Horizons: A Carousel of Progress.
This incredible piece of new concept art shows the dramatic face-off between Scar and Simba. In the background are hyenas supporting Scar. We hope this scene will be brought to life with advanced Audio-Animatronics figures. Given the Imagineers’ impressive recent figures, we don’t doubt their ability to build full-scale Audio-Animatronics lions.
The lighting in the concept art, with its contrast of red for Scar and blue for Simba, speaks to the way Imagineers will use visuals to surround riders in the story.
Disney also gave fans a look at a model of one of the scenes from the ride. Imagineers emphasized how the attraction will showcase the entirety of Simba’s journey as a hero, both the trying times and the happy moments.
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The ride vehicle will resemble a log and will feature four rows, with two riders in each row. This is the same setup as the Florida version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Rafiki’s tree will stand outside of the ride. Look closely, and you can see the mandrill’s illustration of cub Simba on the tree.
The Lion King ride news is one of many Disney theme park announcements just revealed. Other big news includes Villains Land rides, one of which will feature Scar, and a stunning new look at a future Coco ride. Click here to see all the news revealed at D23 with our ongoing coverage!
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