On Saturday night, at its D23 fan convention in Anaheim, California, Disney announced many new plans for its theme parks. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'amaro said these announcements are not for "blue sky" possibilities but concrete plans. "[E]verything we're going to share with you is in active development. Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving. I want to be clear about this: We are doing everything you've heard here tonight."
Note that all of the plans announced were themed on existing Disney movie properties, continuing Disney's trend of basing theme park attractions not on new, original concepts but only on existing IP.
Among the most significant announcements were:
A new "Villains Land" in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (Orlando, Florida), themed around the villains from Disney animated movies. This looks to be a major area, "home to two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale." The concept art below indicates a roller coaster to the left.
Disney generally did not include in their announcements information about where each new expansion or change would occur. Still, it's generally believed among fans that this Villains Land will be what's been referred to as a rumored "Beyond Big Thunder" expansion, meaning it could be built in undeveloped land beyond the northwest corner of the Magic Kingdom.
Also, in the Magic Kingdom, a new area themed to Pixar's "Cars" franchise was announced to be built in a "reimagined section of Frontierland." This will include two new Cars attractions. The concept art indicates that one of the attractions will be an "off-road race" through various landscapes.
Again, it's unclear where this area will go in Frontierland, but because of its size, it's rumored to encompass at least Tom Sawyer's Island, a quaint and charming but under-utilized piece of real estate. I've seen speculation that this could encompass not only Tom Sawyer's Island, but the Rivers of America around it. Construction begins in 2025.
This assumes that the "reimagined section of Frontierland" will be on existing Frontierland real estate, which makes sense. But maybe this Cars land will be part of a Frontierland expansion into Beyond Big Thunder.
A "blue sky" plan to replace DinoLand in Disney World's Animal Kingdom with an area themed around Tropical Americas had already been announced, but on Saturday, this was confirmed: "work on this new 11-acre section of the park … set to begin later this year," with a planned opening in 2027.
The Tropical Americas space will resemble a Latin American town square called Esperanza, with a large fountain in the center and a "hacienda" that will be one of the largest quick-service restaurants in WDW. It will also feature a carousel of "wood-carved" animals from Disney stories.
One of the two main attractions will be a ride based on the movie "Encanto."
"Inside the Casita, Antonio has just received his special gift — the ability to communicate with animals — and his room has transformed into a rainforest. It's time to go explore alongside him, and you never know what member of the family you might bump into…"
The concept art makes the ride look like a dark boat ride.
The other attraction will be an Indiana Jones ride, replacing the "Dinosaur" ride. That Dinosaur ride was built in 1988 using the exact same track and ride vehicle of the existing Indiana Jones ride from Disneyland (Anaheim), so there was a theory Disney would merely replace Dinosaur with a clone of the Disneyland Indiana Jones ride.
But that is not the case: "A new Indy experience is set to arrive in Disney's Animal Kingdom and will be different from any other Indiana Jones experience around the world." This new ride will take place in a Maya temple that houses a "rumored" mythical creature. I'm betting the rumors are true.
A new area in Disney World's Hollywood Studios will be themed to the Pixar movie Monsters, Inc. This will include a suspended roller coaster simulating the "door vault" from the 2001 movie. Construction is planned to begin in 2025.
It's unclear where this Monstropolis area will be built in Hollywood Studios. Still, rumors are that it could be replacing the Muppets area or the Animation Courtyard / Star Wars Launch Bay area.
I've seen speculation that it could replace "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith," which is overdue for a re-theming, but I doubt that because I think Disney would want to keep its very popular roller coaster track and ride system, and the Monsters ride would require tearing it down and starting from scratch, as you can see from the model in the xeet below.
There will be a new Avatar area and ride in Disneyland Resort's Disney California Adventure (in Anaheim), based specifically on the second of the film, "The Way of Water." The ride will not be a clone of the excellent Avatar ride, "Flight of Passage," in Animal Kingdom, as fans had previously speculated. The concept art indicates a boat ride but promises to be a "dynamic, intense, and emotional experience on a grand scale."
No timeline or location for construction was given, but it's possible this is part of the Disney Forward expansion of Disneyland Resort, which was recently approved by the city of Anaheim. The expansion will involve a parking lot across the street (Disneyland Drive) from the existing resort.
But scheduled for construction in 2026, there is also a new attraction in California Adventure, based on the Pixar movie "Coco": a boat ride through the land of the dead. I haven't seen any indication or rumor about where this ride will be constructed.
Disney also announced that California Adventure's Avengers Campus area will double in size (possibly into an adjacent parking lot?) with two new attractions. Construction will begin in 2025.
One attraction will be "Avengers: Infinity Defense," which "will have guests join in battle across the multiverse alongside the Avengers to defeat King Thanos and recover stolen Stark technology."
The other addition to Avengers Campus will be called "Stark Flight Lab," in which guests will apparently enter two-person pods and be thrown around by giant robotic arms.
And I can't fail to mention that a change will be made to Disneyland Park's "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" animatronic show. This show will now alternate with a new show featuring another great American that the Disney Company has determined worthy of sharing this stage with Abraham Lincoln… Walt Disney. "Walt Disney – A Magical Life" will play in rotation with "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" after its initial debut in 2025.
There were many other theme park announcements, such as a new nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom, a Zooptopia show in Animal Kingdom, a new "Lion King" ride at Disneyland Paris, and two different Spider-Man thrill rides, one in Shanghai Disneyland, and one in Hong Kong Disneyland.
In spite of the recent softening demand for U.S. Disney theme parks due to rising costs, these announcements represent a major investment in Disney Experiences and a significant response to Universal's upcoming new theme park in Orlando, Epic Universe.
Previously:
• Disney's amazing new drone show
• Disney Nostalgia: old Disney Parks postcards
• Tron Lightcycle/Run is the newest, coolest, and most oddly punctuated ride at Disney World
• Walt Disney World's newest ride: Tiana's Bayou Adventure
