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Disney Confirms 2D Characters Are Back After Outcry Over Live-Action ‘Lion King’ Decision

Lion King
Credit: Disney

Disney confirms it will be leaning on its original animated Lion King film for its upcoming theme park project.

An image features a stage with the

Credit: Disney, Epic Games

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The Walt Disney Company recently held its D23 event, which brought several major updates for both fans of Disney’s theme park and entertainment divisions.

Officially called “D23: The Ultimate Fan Event,” the conference saw Disney share updates on numerous projects, giving fans a lot to look forward to over the next few years. During the conference, Disney confirmed that work was underway on not one but two new Frozen films and a new Incredibles sequel.

Several projects are in the pipeline for both the Marvel and Star Wars universes, and Disney also shared an update on its partnership with Epic Games through Fortnite.

However, for many, the parks panel was the most exciting and surprising segment of D23, as Disney announced several new rides, attractions, and new experiences coming to the theme parks over the next decade.

The list of new attractions coming to the Disney parks is quite extensive and carries over to Disney’s international resorts as well, with Disneyland Paris receiving one of the most surprising updates of the entire event.

Disney Announces New Lion King Ride

Concept art for 'The Lion King' land at Disneyland Paris, featuring a log flume ride and characters from the live-action film.

Credit: Disney

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During the parks panel, Disney unveiled a new log flume attraction based on The Lion King that’s coming to the Disneyland Paris Resort. This announcement was one of the most surprising of the entire D23 event, shocking the Disney theme park community.

Fans quickly took note of the concept art, which seemingly confirmed that Disney would be using its live-action version of The Lion King from 2019 for the new ride.

Unsurprisingly, this decision proved highly controversial. Disney’s live-action films have a history of being bemoaned by hardcore fans and lovers of traditional 2D animation. Fans shared their thoughts during and following the event, with the decision to rely on the live-action version of the film being a major point of controversy.

However, Disney apparently intends to use the classic style of its 1994 original The Lion King film for the upcoming attraction, sharing a new statement to quell confusion.

Avid Disney reporter and fan Scott Gustin shared the update on Twitter/X.

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“The attraction will be based on the 1994 animated movie,” states Disneyland Paris. The company claims that the concept art shown during D23 was only “illustrative” and shows the project in the “early stages” of development.

It’s certainly bewildering how Disney could show off two entirely different approaches to this attraction, but fans made it abundantly clear which version they would prefer.

This flip-flop is made even stranger by the fact that the classic animated characters from the original Lion King were shown on a scale model of the upcoming attraction during Disney’s D23 event.

There’s currently not an official timeline given as to when guests can expect this new ride to debut, but guests can expect to see it open after World of Frozen, another major expansion, opens at Walt Disney Studios Park in 2026.

In addition to these massive upgrades, Walt Disney Studios Park will be renamed Disney Adventure World.

Are you excited about this new Disney ride? Do you prefer original animation or live-action?

About Luke Dammann

When at Disney world, Luke will probably be found eating with his favorite animatronic, Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. When not at Disney World, Luke will probably be found defending Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe to people who claim "there are better restaurants"

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