Walt Disney Imagineering is building the first-ever ride in a Disney theme park based on The Lion King! The attraction will be part log flume thrill ride, part Audio-Animatronics story ride, in the style of familiar Disney attractions like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Splash Mountain. Imagineers just shared new details on how development is going.
The Lion King log flume ride is a project in Disney’s future that fans have been extremely excited about, and a look behind closed doors at the Imagineers’ offices reveals how Disney is adapting this beloved story for a new medium. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including new Disneyland license plates for California residents and a look at the biggest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history currently under construction.
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Disney’s First Lion King Ride
The Lion King log flume ride, for which Disney has yet to reveal an official name, is under construction at Disney Adventure World in Disneyland Paris.
The ride’s opening is still a few years away, but some of its creative leaders provided a progress report behind the scenes on the Disney Parks YouTube channel.
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“With the latest in technology, projection effects, [and] state-of-the-art Audio-Animatronics, everything will be combined in this attraction,” said Michel den Dulk, VP Portfolio Executive Creative Director of Disneyland Paris at Walt Disney Imagineering. “It’s going to be amazing.”
The ride will tell the story of the 1994 animated classic, complete with the film’s award-winning soundtrack.
A new look at the scale model for one of the scenes in the attraction shows Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog teaching young Simba the ways of “hakuna matata,” no worries.
“I promise you, when you go on this ride, there will be things that you look at and say, ‘Wow, how did they do that?'” remarked John Mauro, Portfolio Executive Creative Producer.
The ride will reside in a full Lion King land, requiring some clever Imagineering tricks to adapt the film’s locale to a French climate.
“We have to create the African savanna in Paris,” said den Dulk.
“We find local types of trees that will grow in Paris,” added Mauro, “and over the next several months and years, we’re going to be training them and pruning them and clipping them so they have that iconic shape.”
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These new sneak peeks arrive in addition to the previously revealed concept art, pictured above.
During our visit to Disney Adventure World earlier this year, we saw Disney testing a prototype track for the ride’s final drop backstage. The real ride will be built at a different spot in the park.
Disney has not announced an opening date or year for the new Lion King ride.
Lion King Ride Part of Newly Renamed Disney Theme Park
The upcoming Lion King log flume ride is another step in the multi-year expansion of Disney Adventure World, the newly renamed theme park at Disneyland Paris. The park was previously known as Walt Disney Studios Park.
The new name launched in March 2026 with the opening of World of Frozen, a land that, like The Lion King’s, also features a boat ride with Audio-Animatronics characters, though with milder thrills than the kind Pride Rock will boast.
The park also opened a new Tangled teacups-style ride and a new signature restaurant themed as the Disney Princesses’ summer home.
Looking ahead, Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings, an outdoor ride based on Pixar’s Up, will open in 2027.
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