Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings, the Up-themed flying chair carousel coming to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris in 2027, just reached a major construction milestone. Walt Disney Imagineering Paris has installed the ride’s central column on Adventure Way, a 12-meter, 22-ton mast that stands about 39 feet tall and weighs roughly 48,500 pounds.
Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings is set to be the first ride at any Disney park themed to Disney and Pixar’s Up. It sits on Adventure Way directly across from Raiponce Tangled Spin. Adventure Way opened on March 29, 2026, the day Walt Disney Studios Park officially became Disney Adventure World, which we covered in our report on World of Frozen and the new park’s debut.
The column holds up the entire ride, and getting it in place was no small job. Timothée Pons, ride project engineer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris, said lifts like this are “always tricky” because of the size of the parts, “especially since this particular project involves numerous highly detailed decorations that we have to handle with care.”
The first themed pieces are already going in around the mast. Hand-painted murals show a blue sky full of clouds, with Russell and Dug floating upward on colorful balloons. Hundreds of brightly colored balloons will hang beneath the canopy, and the guest seats will hang from them. The outside of the canopy will get 16 decorative panels with stylized clouds, a starry sky and touches of gold. Up top, a golden finial will show Carl’s house being carried away by a cluster of balloons, a nod to Pascal perched on the roof of Raiponce Tangled Spin across the way.
Disney’s update skips a few details it shared back in April, when it announced the ride’s name. Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings will have 48 chairs and 64 seats, including duo chairs for riding in pairs, and the dome above riders will tilt as it spins to add to the feeling of flight. The queue will be split into four zones based on moments from the film, with props like Carl’s childhood aviator helmet and goggles and Ellie’s adventure book. Imagineers started construction in November 2025.
There is still plenty left to do. Disney says set pieces for the queue are being built now, and ride testing will start well before opening. No exact opening date has been announced beyond 2027.
American fans will spot some familiar ground here. The Wilderness Explorers from Up have been part of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney California Adventure, and Silly Symphony Swings at Pixar Pier is the closest stateside cousin to this style of ride. Up also has a French connection. In 2009, it became the first animated film ever to open the Cannes Film Festival.
Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings opens at Disney Adventure World in 2027. For more Disney parks news from around the world, stay with Fantasy Land News, and catch up on our Pixar coverage. Read Disney’s full update on Disneyland Paris News.
