The Future of Disney Parks: Everything You Need to Know from D23 2024

Aug 11, 2024 in "D23 - Official Fan Organization"

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D23 2024 Villains Land

Posted: Sunday August 11, 2024 1:07am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2024, Disney revealed nearly 50 new projects that are set to shape the future of its parks, resorts, and entertainment offerings.

Here's a look at everything that was announced for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and beyond.

Monsters, Inc. Land at Hollywood Studios

Construction Begins in 2025
Disney's Hollywood Studios will soon welcome a new land based on Pixar's Monsters, Inc.. The new attraction will allow guests to step inside the world of Monstropolis and explore the Monsters, Inc. factory in Disney's first suspended coaster, with construction scheduled to begin in 2025.

Monsters Inc. Land Concept Art

Cars at Magic Kingdom

Construction Begins in 2025
Pixar's Cars franchise is making its way to Magic Kingdom with two new attractions planned for the park. Set to begin construction in 2025, this new area will offer family-friendly experiences featuring fan-favorite characters from the Cars movies. One attraction will invite you on a thrilling rally race through the mountains. Take on wild terrain as you race across the landscape climbing mountain trails, dodging geysers and — Mater’s favorite — splashing through mudholes. The second attraction will be geared towards smaller racers and the whole family.

Cars Concept Art

Villains Land at Magic Kingdom

Construction Soon
Magic Kingdom will also be getting a darker twist with the introduction of a Villains-themed land. This new area, which will highlight the more sinister side of Disney fairytales, is set to begin construction soon.

Magic Kingdom Villains Land Concept Art

Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom

Coming to Life in 2027
Animal Kingdom will be expanding with a new land called Tropical Americas. This area will include attractions inspired by Indiana Jones and Encanto, allowing guests to explore the magical world of the Madrigal family and the adventures of the iconic archeologist.

Tropical Americas Pueblo Esperanza Concept Art

Encanto-themed ride concept art

Indiana Jones Attraction Concept Art

New Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade at Magic Kingdom

Arriving on Main Street, U.S.A. in 2025
Magic Kingdom will debut a new nighttime parade, Disney Starlight, in 2025. This parade will bring new energy to Main Street, U.S.A.

Disney Starlight Parade Concept Art

Test Track Reimagined at EPCOT

Opening in 2025
EPCOT’s Test Track will undergo a major reimagining, set to debut in 2025. The new version of the attraction will explore the past, present, and future of automotive innovation.

Concept art showing the new exterior of the reimagined Test Track

New Adventures in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Jump to Lightspeed in 2026
Mandalorian fans will have a new reason to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2026. A new adventure featuring Mando and Grogu will be added to Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, in celebration of the upcoming film, The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Mando and Grogu Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Concept Art

New Lounges Coming to Disney World

Coming in 2025
Two new themed lounges are set to open at Disney World in 2025, inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean and Spaceship Earth.

Pirates of the Caribbean themed lounge concept art

Spaceship Earth Lounge Concept Art

'Zootopia: Better Zoogether' at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Opens Winter 2025
The show, "Zootopia: Better Zoogether!" will take guests on an adventure through different biomes seen in the film.

Zootopia show concept art

Avatar-Themed Destination at California Adventure

Disney California Adventure will soon offer a new Avatar-themed area, inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water and future films in the franchise. This addition will allow guests to explore a new corner of Pandora.

AVATAR concept art for Disneyland

Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics Figure

Debuting in 2025
Disneyland will introduce the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure as part of the new show, Walt Disney: A Magical Life, at the Main Street Opera House. The show will debut in 2025 and later alternate with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

Walt Disney - A Magical Life Concept Art

Avengers Experiences Around the Globe

Assembling Soon
New Avengers experiences are set to launch at Shanghai Disneyland Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland. Additionally, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure will double in size with two new attractions: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab.

Avengers Campus Expansion Concept Art

Stark Flight Lab

Avengers Infinity Defense

The Lion King Attraction at Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris will introduce the first-ever ride-through attraction based on The Lion King. Guests will follow Simba’s journey from cub to king in this immersive new log flume experience.

Lion King Ride Concept Art

Coco Attraction at Disney California Adventure

Construction Begins in 2026
Disney California Adventure will bring Pixar’s Coco to life with a new attraction that takes guests on a journey to the Land of the Dead with Miguel and his family. Construction is set to begin in 2026.

Disney California Adventure 'Coco' Attraction Concept Art

Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Disneyland

Opening November 15, 2024
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, inspired by The Princess and the Frog, will officially open at Disneyland on November 15, 2024. The attraction will immerse guests in the vibrant world of New Orleans.

Disneyland's Tiana's Bayou Adventure Poster

World of Frozen at Disney Adventure World

Opening in 2026
A new Frozen-themed land is coming to Disney Adventure World in 2026. This area will transport guests to Arendelle, where they can meet characters like Anna, Elsa, and Olaf.

Disney Cruise Line Expansion

Setting Sail from 2027 to 2031
Disney Cruise Line is set to launch four new ships between 2027 and 2031, bringing the total number of ships in its fleet to 13. This expansion is part of Disney’s broader strategy to enhance its cruise offerings worldwide. Additionally, new details were revealed about the upcoming ships, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny, which promise to elevate the cruising experience with innovative features and immersive storytelling.

Disney Cruise Line Expansion Artwork

Disney and Epic Games Collaboration

New Marvel Season Premieres Next Week
Disney continues its collaboration with Epic Games, bringing beloved characters from Disney Animation, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel into the Fortnite universe. A new season featuring Doctor Doom is set to launch next week, with more content from these iconic franchises to follow.

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Tony the TiggerAug 21, 2024

From a friend’s post. Here’s what’s up with Shaboozey:

Sir_CliffAug 21, 2024

Yes, I'm puzzled why people are insisting he said all of this would be completed in 5 years when he clearly didn't: it's right there on YouTube for anyone who wants to watch it. Maybe Disney PR later briefed the media that all of this would be finished in 5 years, but I don't get why anyone would cling to that. None of the public statements from the company either through D'Amaro or the DisneyParks blog (to the best of my knowledge) have claimed everything announced at D23 would be completed within the next 5 years. I would trust what they are willing to actually say in front of the cameras or put in writing over what a PR person is quoted as saying given the potential for wires to get crossed along that chain. It would be odd for D'Amaro to say all the projects would only start to come to life if the plan is for them to be finished during that period. Then again, they announced a ride based on the original Lion King with artwork depicting the new Lion King, so who knows how thought through all of this was.

brb1006Aug 21, 2024

Mousesteps just uploaded the full D23 Parks Presentation for those that missed it.

BrianLoAug 21, 2024

There seems to be some poor memory of what the timelines actually looked like last decade. Galaxies Edge: "The lands were announced on August 15, 2015, and construction at both parks began on April 14, 2016. The Disneyland version opened May 31, 2019, and Disney's Hollywood Studios' version opened August 29, 2019." Really, Galaxies Edge is the most viable comp with two major attractions. We're currently a full year ahead of that timeframe. Now, I personally think Villains Land from a marketing roll out perspective is most likely a 2029 project. But 2029 is certainly not "fast" or even unrealistic.

TTA94Aug 21, 2024

Are we expecting anything to be announced or further details discussed at D23 Brazil? Will there even be a presentation?

wutisgoodAug 21, 2024

My assumption was villinans land does will not require reconfiguration of existing areas as a true expansion so they can start work sooner even if the area is more complex. I would think it was possible they would want to open villians land first for extra capacity while they take down frontierland to reconfigure it. In any case especially with with big thunder moutain retrack there has to be some clear phased opening plan. Disney wasn't really direct about what that was. I expect thatsome of this constuction may be accelerated if the Universal 3rd gate does prove sucessfull in taking marketshare away more than disney thought. I could also see timelines accelertaing or slowing base on other unnanouced projects being finalized.

SWGalaxys_EdgeAug 20, 2024

Maybe then add a "speeder chase" as depicted in the trading cards...

J4546Aug 20, 2024

i dont think so....it was gonna be a capacity and maintenance nightmare

SWGalaxys_EdgeAug 20, 2024

Maybe GE will reconsider the 3rd ride and put it into the park.

Andrew25Aug 20, 2024

Yes - but 2025's film slate is worrying... but WDW should benefit from increased travel to Orlando next year. (Even if people skip a WDW park or two, Disney's hotels should benefit).

doctornickAug 20, 2024

So I was just thinking... I know many of us are jittery about how the financial state of the company can impact decisions to cut funding or value engineer projects. And the stock price not doing well has me on edge a bit as to whether the planned parks investment will be cut. But I will say that the recent movie successes (Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, now Aliens) means that that division will be healthier in the shorter term. and with streaming collectively turning a profit last quarter, can we be optimistic that they will let investments in the parks happen rather than siphoning off that profits there to support other branches of the company? The parks alone generate enough net profit to find the $6B/year that they planned.

bwr827Aug 20, 2024

Yup — setting clear expectations for the market. “As we previously shared, we’re on a multi-year path of investing $60B to turbocharge our parks…” (not an actual quote)

doctornickAug 20, 2024

But they are increasing their Capex spend. That's kind of the entire point of the "we'll be spending $60B on the parks division in the next 10 years" announcement.

Nubs70Aug 20, 2024

Why?? Fixed CAPEX expenditures. They seem to only want to spend a fixed amount for construction per month. If you build 2 projects at once, they will take 2x as long to complete.