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| All artwork courtesy of Disney Parks Blog |
The annual D23 convention is taking place in Anaheim this weekend. Disney always has a ton of stuff to announce, and plenty of celebrities to trot out to help with these announcements. There were already a ton of things announced for the entertainment division the other day, but for the purposes of this blog, the real focus is on the Parks and Experiences division, which had its major showcase last night
Even more specifically, this blog focuses on Walt Disney World. There were a bunch of exciting announcements for Disneyland (with their 70th anniversary coming up next year) as well as the international parks and the cruise line. But we're only going to look at the things that impact Disney World, and there were a bunch of bombshells this year.
As an overview, the last couple of years has seen Disney make a lot of large, sweeping statements about what was to come. My complaint in these cases was that there wasn't enough substance - it's easy to just say things to get your base excited, but when was the actual work going to start? When do we go beyond "blue sky" dreaming and into actual plans for what was next?
I won't rehash everything here, but Disney looks like they're finally ready to spend that $60 billion investment that they've been talking about for a while. Parks is their most profitable division, and they are prepared to deliver on that promise over the next decade or so. The biggest questions I wanted answered this year were - when was Tropical Americas actually going to open, as well as what was going to be in it? And what was truly "beyond Big Thunder" at Magic Kingdom? Everything else was just gravy. And did they deliver? Let's talk about that second one first.
Villains Land Coming to Magic Kingdom:
This was the big one, the blockbuster that we have been waiting for. It was actually announced last, and considering it was about 1:00 a.m. ET when this came out, I wasn't sure if I had dreamed it or if it was actually announced. But Villains Land is coming to Magic Kingdom - this is what will live beyond Big Thunder Mountain as a huge expansion of their most visited park.
Villains Land had been a white whale for years among Disney fans. There were always rumors that it was gaining traction, only for those to be unfounded. Even as recently as a few months ago, both Villains and Coco were being considered for this area, but it never seemed like a reality ... until now. I'll have a lot more thoughts on this one in particular, but it is every bit as big of a deal as you can think. It will be the first major expansion at Magic Kingdom since New Fantasyland in 2012 and the first entirely new land in Magic Kingdom EVER.
As to the substance, nothing has officially been announced for the land (perhaps next year when they need another big headline?) but Josh D'Amaro said the "space will be home to two major attractions, dining and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale." What the parks need is more capacity, and this will certainly deliver that.
Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade Coming in Summer 2025:
Speaking of expected/rumored items coming to Magic Kingdom, a nighttime parade has been on that list. Unlike Villains Land (and some of these other things), a nighttime parade should come together rather quickly, meaning we won't have to wait years to have something new. By next year, this parade will open at Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom hasn't had a real nighttime parade in years. What I like about this more than anything else is that it's original, not a rehash of Spectromagic or Paint the Night. It's easy to bring something back to keep fans happy, but I prefer reaching for something new. This one seems like a good one, featuring the Blue Fairy as well as Encanto, Peter Pan and Frozen. Everyone loves a parade, and having one after the sun has gone down makes it more bearable to stand on Main Street and watch. Hopefully this means extended park hours to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, something Disney is strangely lacking at the moment.
Cars Attractions Coming to Magic Kingdom:
Let's stick with flagship park in Florida for a minute. There were a lot of things that were expected to come out of this D23, but there are always a few curveballs that no one can see coming. This was one of them (though in fairness, ex-Imagineer Jim Shull teased on Twitter that Cars Land from Disneyland could be placed beyond Big Thunder; thankfully, this was wrong, as we're getting both Cars AND Villains in different areas).
This will not be a clone of Radiator Springs, as Disney Parks Blog makes clear that "it's time to leave the pit stop and head west into exciting new frontiers." Work will begin in early 2025, and will feature two new attractions - one a thrill ride through the mountains, and a second smaller ride aimed at families. I'm not sure exactly how Cars fits into Frontierland, though that ship sailed long ago and the concept art does a good job of making the setting seem organic.
The question of WHERE this expansion will go is my biggest issue remaining. There just isn't that much available land that I am aware of, with the exception of the area that will now be Villains Land. They're obviously not replacing Tiana's Bayou Adventure (which just recently opened) and I find it very hard to believe that this will replace Big Thunder Mountain itself. I'll be keeping an eye on this one as it gets underway.
Tropical Americas Officially Opens in 2027:
This was another project that has been teased for years, but was essentially all but confirmed in recent months, most notably when permits were filed at Animal Kingdom. So essentially this has been the worst kept secret among Disney officials - we all knew it was happening, we just didn't know when and we weren't 100% sure of what was going into it.
It was all but a given that Indiana Jones Adventure would replace Dinosaur, and that was confirmed yesterday. However, it was announced that this would be an entirely new adventure, and therefore not a direct clone of the Disneyland version. The ride system is still the same as Dinosaur, but it will feature new scenes unique to Animal Kingdom. That's a win/win.
The other big attraction is based on Encanto, something we talked about on here a few months ago. I still contend that this will be THE ride of the land, bigger than Indy. Disney also noted that there will be a family friendly carousel attraction, which is a good idea to soak up some of the younger crowd. Work is set to begin this fall (which makes sense given the permits) and is now officially scheduled to open in 2027. An interesting part of this is that the land is being built in stages, meaning that while they're working on the Encanto ride, Dinosaur will remain open to guests. This is a good idea for many reasons, but most important is that Animal Kingdom is starved for rides and this way they won't lose one more during the three year wait for this land to open.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether to Open Winter 2025:
This was another (smaller) thing announced for Animal Kingdom last year, so this isn't really anything "new". But it does have a name now and getting an official announcement means that it wasn't scrapped, which is a good thing. There is a sequel to Zootopia coming next year, so this would be a good tie in to that. There's no separate Disney Parks Blog post on this, but you can see some art via Scott Gustin's Twitter.
Monsters Inc. Land Coming to Hollywood Studios:
If I had to pick one thing that came out of this D23 that was completely beyond anything I would have guessed, this would be it. A new land is coming to Hollywood Studios, themed to Monsters Inc. They already have Toy Story Land there, so Monsters Inc. land fits with that Pixar theme. Work is expected to begin next year, with no opening date announced.
The major attraction here will the first ever (for Disney) suspended coaster, which takes guests into the air like the doors in the factory from the movie. This is one of those things that seemed made for an attraction when you watched the movie, and now they're bringing it to life. No other word on what else will be in the land, but I'm sure we'll hear plenty more as it starts getting underway.
Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run to Feature Mandalorian and Grogu:
The Mandalorian is one of the hottest properties in Star Wars, so it makes sense to bring that world to the parks. There is a movie featuring Mando and Grogu coming to theaters in 2026, and apparently this will tie into a new mission for the Millennium Falcon ride at Hollywood Studios.
There are no further details here, but this definitely has my attention. Will this be an entirely new re-theme to this ride? Galaxy's Edge has always been very specific in what time period and characters are part of it, and this might be a break from that for the first time. Or will it just alternate with the current story for the ride, involving Hondo Ohnaka and retrieving coaxium? Either way, this reminds me a lot of adding new scenes to Star Tours, also at Hollywood Studios. These screen based attractions should be easy to swap out while keeping the ride system intact. I think that's what's happening here and honestly, I would not be at all upset about replacing the current story with something Mandalorian-related full time.
More Details on the Test Track Reboot:
Test Track 3.0 was announced last year at Destination D23, and the previous version of the attraction has closed with work already underway at Epcot. So this one isn't much of a new announcement, thought it does fill in some details on what to expect from the new experience. It seems that the car design section has been replaced, as "the queue will feature six distinct exhibits" that "help get people to our next chapter in our motion journey." The real draw of Test Track is the ride section, particularly the speed test at the end. While this doesn't specify (it uses the terms "joy ride" and "scenic outdoor route" in the article), I assume that last part remains largely as it was before.
Two New Lounges Opening in 2025:
The Pirates of the Caribbean themed tavern was announced last year, and work has seemingly already begun on that front (whether it's going to be in the space of the current gift shop or across the way in Tortuga's Tavern is still a question). So this one wasn't a big surprise. But the second lounge was not on my radar, and that is a Spaceship Earth themed lounge at Epcot. No word on where exactly this will go, though presumably it needs to be near the attraction itself. This announcement is not really for me, as the lounges don't really move the needle for me personally. But the demand is surely there, and that's why Disney is doubling down. This is another situation where the work can be completed quickly, as they are both scheduled to open in 2025.
All in all, this was a major D23 this year. As I said, there were plenty of huge announcements for Disneyland as well, which I'm not getting into here. But in combination, this is proof that Disney is finally willing to spend some of their money on improving these parks in large chunks. These will take time, and we won't see the fruits of their labor on these major projects for at least a few years. But now that they are happening, the future is very bright over the next decade.
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