D23 2026: Disney Presents New Attractions and Themed Lands

(eap) During the annual three-day D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event (D23) in Anaheim, California, the Walt Disney Company unveiled numerous new announcements and updates on ongoing projects across its parks and attractions worldwide.

The upcoming refurbishment of “Space Mountain” will “bring back the moon” to the heart of this iconic Disney attraction. © Disney

New experiences were also announced for Europe’s Disneyland Paris, for both Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure World. At Disneyland Park, work on the transformation of the iconic “Space Mountain” roller coaster is scheduled to begin in late 2027. The attraction, which received a Star Wars theme in 2017 and has since operated as “Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain: Rebel Mission”, is set to return to its original name, “Space Mountain – De la Terre à la Lune”, and be redesigned accordingly. The original soundtrack by Steve Bramson, popular with fans, is also expected to return. A new daily parade is planned for 2028. Led by Mickey Mouse and his friends, it will feature new floats with characters including Genie and Jasmine from “Aladdin”, Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog”, Rapunzel from “Tangled”, as well as Miguel from the Disney and Pixar film “Coco”.

Construction on “The Lion King” themed area began in Fall 2025, with foundation work completed next to the banks of Adventure Bay.

Meanwhile, work is progressing on the new 30,000-square-metre “The Lion King” themed land at Disney Adventure World. Its main attraction, a water ride, is set to be brought to life by Audio-Animatronics^® figures of Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Scar and other characters, accompanied by the film’s familiar main soundtrack. The ride will feature three drops in total, including a 16-metre descent from “Pride Rock”. The area will also include a shop, dining facilities and character appearances. As early as 2027, the new chain-swing attraction “Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings” is scheduled to open opposite “Raiponce Tangled Spin”.

That’s how “Cars Ridge Run Rally” at Magic Kingdom is supposed to look like.

Most of the new additions, however, were announced for Walt Disney World in Florida. In late spring 2027, the “Carousel of Progress” at Magic Kingdom Park is set to receive four new decades as well as a new scene featuring Florida’s first Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic figure. Disney also provided new insights into the planned “Piston Peak” and “Villains Land” themed areas at the park. Piston Peak, the new Cars-themed area, will feature the attractions “Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along”, inspired by the demolition derby from “Cars 3”, and “Cars Ridge Run Rally”. The latter is intended to offer a racing experience unlike any other at a Disney park, using a newly developed vehicle designed to sway and bounce like an off-road vehicle.

Concept art dark ride at future “Villains Land” coming to Magic Kingdom.

Comparable in scale to “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge”, “Villains Land” is set to feature dining, shopping and two attractions: a thrilling roller coaster inspired by Maleficent, taking guests through a mountain fortress and a thicket of enchanted thorns, as well as a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror and featuring a range of Disney villains. At sister park EPCOT, the park icon “Spaceship Earth” is to undergo its first major redesign in almost 20 years, extending its story into the internet age and beyond.

“Antonio s Fiesta de Encanto” at Disney s Animal Kingdom will be an attraction for the whole family.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the new “Monstropolis” themed area is scheduled to welcome its first guests next year. As a preview, the “Glob Theater” will host the show “Welcome to Monstropolis”, featuring Mike and Sulley. While work continues on the suspended coaster first announced in 2024, two F&B outlets – “Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza” and “Harryhausen’s” – as well as the “Scareporium” merchandise shop are also scheduled to open in 2027. Further details were also revealed for the new “Tropical Americas” themed area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Planned attractions include the family ride “El Carrusel de los Animalitos”, featuring 22 hand-carved animals from Disney and Pixar films, as well as “Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto”. The latter will have no minimum height requirement and will allow guests to discover more than 50 animals from the world of Disney’s “Encanto”.

Stark Flight Lab will sit two persons in “gyro-kinectic pods” rolling along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot arm…

At the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, guests can look forward to the return of the nighttime spectacular “Remember… Dreams Come True” at Disneyland Park as well as a reworked version of “World of Color” at Disney California Adventure Park. Both shows are scheduled to launch in February 2027, followed by the return of the “Magic Happens” parade at Disneyland Park in the summer. Work is also progressing on the new Coco boat ride, whose story will be set one year after the events of the original film. The queue is planned to begin next to “Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind” and lead guests through a “casa museo” dedicated to Miguel’s great-great-grandfather. In addition, “Tomorrowland” is set to be redeveloped in the future, including new attractions. Details on the transformation of the themed area of the same name at Japan’s Tokyo Disneyland were only recently announced (see EAP News of 13 Aug. 2026). The opening year of 2028 was also confirmed for the two new Marvel attractions “Avengers Infinity Defense” and “Stark Flight Lab” at Disney California Adventure. The expansion is expected to double the size of the park’s “Avengers Campus”.

Guests at Shanghai Disney Resort can look forward to a giant Spider-Bot.

Further Marvel experiences are under development at Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. In Shanghai, a Spider-Man themed area is being developed around a roller coaster first announced at D23 in 2024, whose track was completed in June. The first test runs are expected to begin shortly. For the first time, the fictional Worldwide Engineering Brigade (W.E.B.) will also be integrated into the theming of the area. In parallel, work is underway on an expansion of the flying theater “Soaring Over the Horizon”, as well as two new themed hotels and accommodation for employees. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, the “Avengers Tower” drop-tower attraction is under construction and will take riders alongside their favourite Marvel superheroes through worlds including Wakanda and Asgard.

“Disney Believe’s” stern will opt for playful lettering that mimics “Toy Story’s” famous block-style font.

Finally, updates were also presented for Disney Cruise Line. These included new insights into the “Disney Believe”, which is scheduled to set sail next year. Concept art shows the “Grand Hall”, inspired by the spirit of exploration from “Moana”, as well as the ship’s stern, which will be decorated with sculptures of Woody and Buzz from “Toy Story”. Disney also announced that the entirely new ship class planned to debut in 2029 will comprise three vessels. These will be larger than earlier ships such as the “Disney Wonder”, but smaller than newer vessels such as the “Disney Wish”, allowing for greater flexibility in deployment. The Disney fleet is ultimately set to comprise 13 ships. ■