The ultimate Disney fan event kicked off yesterday and there were some huge announcements made regarding a whole plethora of Disney Parks with some new rides, attractions and even a brand new land introduced in this very exciting plan for the future of Disney parks.
First and foremost let’s dive into some Walt Disney World news!
Walt Disney World Announcements
Let’s kickstart the first wave of announcements in Magic Kingdom as this one park is getting one hell of an expansion!
Magic Kingdom
So let’s start with a test, shall we? A Test Track test if you will as the reimagining of the ride was announced to be reopened at EPCOT in 2025 as Walt Disney Imagineering and Chevrolet will introduce six distinct exhibits in the queue, new show scenes and a scenic outdoor route.
Ok, so now we’ve had the tester let’s announce something HUGE.
Magic Kingdom Park is set to get a brand new land themed around Disney Villains!
This extraordinary news expands on the ever-growing rumours as this new land will celebrate a variety of films and stories and will feature two major attractions plus dining and shopping. Disney’s answer to Dark Universe at Epic Universe perhaps?
A nighttime parade will be introduced in Summer 2025 and will continue the legacy started by the Main Street Electrical Parade and feature characters and stories from Peter Pan, Encanto, Frozen, and more. The parade’s magic will all be brought to life by the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio.
Frontierland is expanding which also fuels the rumours that Tom Sawyers Island and the riverboat may be on the chopping block with the Villains land expansion but with this expansion comes two new attractions inspired by the Pixar movie Cars. The first attraction is a racing ride through the mountains as you splash through mudholes and the second ride will be a kid’s ride with lots more details to come!
Last but certainly not least a new lounge is being added to Magic Kingdom themed around Pirates of the Caribbean as the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed tavern first announced at D23 in 2023 is in progress within Magic Kingdom. No opening date has been announced though however.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Disney’s Hollywood Studios will see a new story inspired by The Mandalorian and Grogu in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run with the ride set to feature a new story created with Epic’s Unreal Engine as this new mission will appear in the theme parks after 2026. This change will also apply to the Disneyland Park and Disneyland Resort versions of the ride.
Magic Kingdom isn’t the only park at Walt Disney World getting a new land as a very exciting Monsters Inc themed land will be constructed in the park along with a suspended rollercoaster (Disney’s first) themed around the hanging doors in the film. Construction for this land will get underway in 2025.
EPCOT
There wasn’t much EPCOT news revealed at D23 this year other than the introduction of a brand-new lounge inspired by Spaceship Earth is on its way.
No further details about the lounge were announced other than the space will be themed around the park icon itself featuring a zen space, warm metallic tones and a mysterious vibe.
Animal Kingdom
Similar to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studio’s it seems like a lot is coming to Animal Kingdom over the next few years and it’s time to get excited!
The DinoLand USA area of Animal Kingdom is set to be transformed into a new Tropical Americas Land as this 11-acre area will begin the transformation in late 2024 with the work set to take place in stages.
Guests will find a lived-in land with a rich history, including a large hacienda that will feature one of the biggest quick-service restaurants in all of Disney World.
A giant working carousel and two new attractions will make up the area including a ride based on Indiana Jones and Encanto.
This new Indiana Jones ride will take the current Dinosaur ride and completely change it to be its own unique Indiana Jones attraction as you journey through an ancient Mayan temple.
Last but not least the Encanto ride will feature the Madrigal family as guests go inside the Casita as Antonia has just received his special gift and transformed his room into a rainforest.
Disney California Adventure
A brand new Avatar experience is coming to Disney California Adventure Park and will be themed around the 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming Fire and Ash instalment in the Avatar franchise.
A boat ride themed around Coco is coming to California Adventure with music being the main focus of the ride, expect beautiful theming and wonderful storytelling as the ride will break ground in 2026 and will feature the latest in Audio-Animatronic technology.
At D23 Expo, it was revealed that a new attraction – specifically, a boat ride – inspired by Pixar’s Coco is coming to California Adventure. Disney will break ground on the attraction in 2026, and the ride will feature the latest in Audio-Animatronic technology.
Avengers assemble as two brand new Avengers Campus attractions are on the way. Avengers Infinity Defense is the long-promised E-Ticket attraction designed for the land. Avengers Infinity Defense will take recruits to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City as King Thanos wreaks havoc across worlds. Construction for this attraction begins in 2025.
Stark Flight Lab is the second attraction coming to Avengers Campus in a new ride system for Disney Parks as you enter Tony Stark’s own labs in two-person pods as you go onto a simulated flight.
Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Tony Stark just for this attraction in what looks to be a robot arm-style attraction.
Disneyland
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opens is set to open in November 2024 as the date was finally revealed at D23 with the Anaheim version of the ride set to open November 15.
Critter Country will be rethemed and renamed. It will officially become Bayou Country when the ride opens.
To celebrate the 70th Anniversary a brand new Walt Disney animatronic will be coming to the Main Street Opera House in 2025 in a new show as Walt Disney – A Magical Life, will give guests a chance to imagine what it would be like to visit Walt’s office.
Disneyland Paris
A brand new Lion King ride is coming to Disneyland Paris as plenty of changes are happening in the reimagined Disney Adventure World (formerly Walt Disney Studios).
The new ride will feature characters and stories from the film in a very unique boat ride flume attraction as you journey with Simba from cub to king.
This ride will be part of a new land called Pride Lands as dining, shopping and character meet and greets aplenty will grace this new themed area.
World of Frozen will also officially open in 2026 as fans will visit Arendelle in a Disney Park outside of Hong Kong Disneyland.
Disneyland Paris will also get a new nighttime spectacular in January 2024.
Shanghai Disneyland / Tokyo Disneyland / Hong Kong Disneyland
Both Shanghai Disneyland Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland are getting new Marvel-inspired attractions that were announced with Shanghai Disneyland getting a Spider-Man coaster and another Spider-Man attraction different from that being built at Shanghai coming to Hong Kong as the Stark Expo area will be expanded.
Tokyo Disneyland is also getting a new nighttime show in September 2024.
Disney Cruise Line
New Disney Cruise Line ships are on their way as FOUR (yes four) new ships have been announced and will set sail between 2027 and 20231.
Disney Cruise Line’s fleet will feature a total of 13 ships!
