Every two years, Disney fans meet in Anaheim, California, for a major Disney convention. This year, D23: The Ultimate Fan Event (formerly D23 Expo) took place from August 9 to 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
For travel advisors, the event provided an opportunity to learn about future Disney destinations around the world. Many of these updates were announced during the Disney Experiences presentation, held at the Honda Center on August 10, the first time it was held as a separate, ticketed event.
Disney has promised “turbocharged” investments in its theme parks and during the presentation, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, assured that his announcements were not “what ifs” but “will dos.”
Everything we share is under active development.
“Everything we’re sharing here is in active development,” D’Amaro said. “The plans are drawn. The first steps are well underway. I just want to make one thing clear: We’re implementing everything you’ve heard here tonight.”
Here are all the important announcements affecting Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.
Walt Disney World Resort
In response to questions about the D23 Expo 2022, D’Amaro finally revealed what’s coming behind Big Thunder Mountain in the Magic Kingdom – and it’s the biggest expansion in the park’s history.
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Disney has listened to the wishes of its fans and is building an entirely new, multi-acre site dedicated to the Disney Villains, featuring two major attractions as well as restaurants and shopping.
“Be prepared, you poor, unfortunate souls,” D’Amaro warned. “It will be a fearless new vision of what a Disney experience can be.”
In addition, popular “Cars” characters will be seen outside of Radiator Springs when the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island are transformed into a new “Cars”-themed area that includes a brand-new rally race and family-friendly attraction. Work on the new area will begin in early 2025.
It will be a fearless new vision of a Disney experience.
“Every time we enter Magic Kingdom, we understand the tremendous responsibility to get it right and tell stories that resonate with our guests,” said Imagineer Michael Hundgen. “We’re excited to put our guests in the driver’s seat as we explore – quite literally – a new frontier in Frontierland.”
D’Amaro also confirmed that Indiana Jones and “Encanto” are coming to Animal Kingdom, a new 11-acre “Tropical Americas” area that will open in 2027 with two special attractions.
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Disney promises that the new Indiana Jones attraction at Animal Kingdom will be “different from any other (Indy) experience around the world” as guests accompany the archaeologist on an adventure in an ancient Mayan temple.
Customers can also enter the Madrigal family’s magical casita on the first-ever “Encanto” themed ride, as Antonio is given the gift of speaking to animals and his room is transformed into a rainforest.
At Hollywood Studios, the first-ever Monsters, Inc. land offers the chance to explore the “not scary at all” Monstropolis and ride (just like Mike and Sulley) through the Monsters, Inc. doorway on the first roller coaster ever to appear in a Disney park.
Photo credit: 2024 Concept art courtesy of Disney Experiences
“When I first saw ‘Monsters, Inc.,’ I just wanted to ride on one of those doors,” D’Amaro said. “Remember the movie where those claws grab the doors and lift them up in the air and take them away? We do that too. And you get to ride along.”
Disneyland Resort
The massive projects aren’t limited to Orlando, Florida; Anaheim is getting its fair share, too, including the confirmation of a previously announced new attraction for Avengers Campus and the surprise reveal of a second new ride for the Marvel-themed land in California Adventure.
Avengers: Infinity Defense takes customers on a multiverse-inspired adventure, visiting Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) locations such as Asgard and Wakanda, where customers team up with heroes such as Iron Man, Ant-Man, Black Panther, and The Hulk.
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The second new attraction at Avengers Campus (making a total of four on site) is the brand new Stark Flight Lab, where visitors can test out new flight technology developed by Tony Stark – and on each ride, customers will meet different MCU heroes.
Additionally, a new Avatar-themed land is being built in California Adventure, which, according to Imagineer Ali Rubinstein, will be based on the second and third Avatar films (as opposed to Pandora – The World of Avatar in Orlando).
Image credit: 2024 concept art courtesy of Disney Experiences)
“Guests will embark on the adventure of a lifetime, seeking majestic natural wonders unique to Pandora. And they will experience the beauty – and danger – that comes with that journey,” she said. “It will be a dynamic, intense and emotional experience on a grand scale.”
Even better news for California Adventure fans: The park will be the site of the first “Coco” ride in a Disney park, which takes customers on a journey to the land of the dead with Miguel.
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While not quite as surprising as the other Disneyland news, we also learned that the highly anticipated attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at Disneyland Park on November 15, just in time for the holiday season. The attraction opened at Walt Disney World on June 28.
Disneyland Paris Resort
As work continues on the expansion of Disney Adventure World (the new name for Walt Disney Studios Park) at Disneyland Paris, D’Amaro shared that the park’s new World of Frozen area – including a brand new version of the popular Frozen Ever After attraction – will open in 2026; but that’s not all.
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The first immersive attraction and the first themed area around “The Lion King” will also be brought to life in Disney Adventure World.
“This new area – inspired by the unforgettable story that has enchanted several generations of viewers – is not found anywhere else in the world,” said Natacha Rafalski, President of Disneyland Paris. “It will allow guests of all ages to make one of their wildest dreams come true: exploring the Pride Lands together with all their favorite characters.”
The country’s unique water attraction takes visitors on a journey into the caves beneath King’s Rock, where they accompany Simba on his transformation from lion cub to king.
Disney Cruise Line
Alongside all the theme park news, Disney has also revealed big plans for Disney Cruise Line. Four new ships will be added to the fleet – meaning there will soon be eight new Disney ships.
