Disney Parks Reveal New Magic, Models & Concept Art

The Disney Parks and Experiences Pavilion is always a highlight of the D23 Expo show floor.   And this year, it is once again not-to-be-missed.  This year’s Disney Parks pavilion represents the “Wonderful World of Dreams” Disney Imagineers are busy creating around the world. With sneak previews of upcoming attractions including Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland, to peeks at upcoming attractions in Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea, not to mention the ongoing transformation of EPCOT — there’s sneak previews around every corner…  

Exploring Disney Parks’ Wonderful World of Dreams

Expo guests enter the Disney Parks’ Wonderful World of Dreams pavilion through a neon rainbow portal. 

The entry portal showcases photos, concept art, maquettes of characters, models of ride vehicles and more from projects that have recently wrapped up at Disney Parks around the world.

A ride vehicle maquette from Epcot’s new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction

Quinjet model from Disneyland Paris’ newly-opened Avengers Campus.

Maquettes of finials for Hong Kong Disneyland’s new Castle of Magical Dreams. 

Shanghai Disneyland 5th Anniversary Celebration icon.

Zootopia at Shanghai Disney Resort

After passing through the entry corridor, guests enter the gallery area where they are greeted with areas dedicated to each Disney Resort around the world.  From Shanghai to Tokyo to California and beyond, each Resort has art, models, and maquettes of upcoming projects on display.  Below, Shanghai Disneyland’s new Zootopia land is highlighted.  The windows on the cityscape wall open up periodically with puppets of Zootopia construction worker characters talking about all their hard work building Zootopia.

Animal puppet characters are planned to bring Shanghai Disneyland’s Zootopia-themed land to life, and these very cute guys are our first taste of what’s to come…

Take a look at these guys in action in our video clip below:

A model of the ride vehicle for the major new Zootopia dark ride is on display.  

Will this attraction be an Enhanced Motion Vehicle similar to Indiana Jones Adventure? 

 

Fantasy Springs at Tokyo Disney Resort

Nearby, Tokyo Disney Resort is showcasing its upcoming Fantasy Springs expansion at its Tokyo Disney Sea park.  The expansion will include four new attractions and a hotel.

Poster artwork and maquettes of the ride vehicles from each new attraction are on display.  Below, the land’s new Tangled and Frozen boat rides:

Note the lantern hanging off the back of the Tangled boats.

Frozen attraction boat maquette.  It’ll be interesting if these are traditional flume-style boat rides or if they will utilize the trackless boat ride tech used in Shanghai Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean.

Below, the new Peter Pan and Tinker Bell attractions:

A look at the Peter Pan ride vehicle.  Very interesting! 

The letter on the envelope has a very interesting address on Cherry Tree Lane…

 

Frozen-themed land at Hong Kong Disneyland

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Disneyland is showing off its own Frozen-themed attractions…

Below, the ride vehicle for the upcoming Wandering Oaken’s sleigh ride attraction…

And here, the boat for Frozen Ever After at Hong Kong Disneyland.  Note, this attraction which will largely be a copy of the same attraction at Epcot (but different than the upcoming Tokyo attraction), has much larger boats than its Epcot counterpart.  Imagineers noted that because the Hong Kong attraction isn’t using an existing building, it will have a wider flume for bigger boats, some show scene changes and enhancements, and a longer drop! 

Lovely new Cast Member costumes for the Frozen-themed land in Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

Walt Disney Studios Paris expansion at Disneyland Paris

Nearby, Disneyland Paris doesn’t have any items on display except some concept art on the wall, which was released at the previous D23 Expo.  The expansion of Walt Disney Studios Paris park is shown, with no noticeable changes.  This is interesting as rumors had recently been circulating that Paris’ version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that is planned for the Studios park had been canceled.  It’s still being featured in the art for the park’s large-scale expansion project, however, so perhaps it is safe after all! 

 

Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland Resort

In the next large gallery room, Disneyland and Walt Disney World are showcased with sneak peeks at major projects currently under construction.  For Disneyland, Mickey’s Toontown is highlighted with two large scale models of areas of the land which are currently getting major additions and changes. 

A new attraction poster for the upcoming dark ride is on display for the first time! 

This model shows the Downtown Toontown area, where the new El CapiTOON Theater is being built.  The El CapiTOON will be home to the new Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attrition.  

 

Check out our video look at both Mickey’s Toontown models below:

 

The facade of the new Runaway Railway ride will be a classic toon-style movie theater called the El CapiTOON Theater. 

The removal of the gazebo here will open up this space for more extended outdoor queue as well as shaded outdoor dining space. 

The existing dining locations will largely remain as they were.

Goofy’s Gas will lose the gas station theme and become Good Buy Grocers, a grab-n-go fresh fruit and snack location. 

A second Toontown model showcases a large area of the land that’s being completely reimagined.  The new CenTOONial Park area, Goofy’s House and Donald’s Boat are all detailed here and big changes are in the works! 

Interactive play for young guests is the focus here — and Imagineering is focusing heavily on making sure Toontown’s play areas are accessible to all children.  Inclusion is the key, and no child will have to watch other play from the sidelines due to any condition or disability.

The reimagined Goofy’s House brings a new How-To-Play Yard with numerous interactive and sensory elements into the fold.  Soft, spongey ground, a sound garden, a clubhouse, slides, and other features will be found here. 

Goofy’s House is candy inspired. Young “Candymakers” are invited to join the fun. 

Donald’s Duck Pond removes the real-water moat that previously surrounded Donald’s Boat and adds in a new interactive water play area.  Soft ground, interactive fountains, and more bring new life to Donald’s Boat and help families cool off in the Southern California heat. 

An all-new addition to Toontown is the CenTOONial Park, on the east side of Goofy’s House.  The new park brings grassy areas where families will be able to enjoy picnic lunches, relax, and de-stress under the shade of the new Dreaming Tree.  

A new interactive fountain with water tables will invite guests to have a watery sensory experience.

A close-up look — it’s very cute! 

The new Dreaming Tree, inspired by one Walt Disney used to dream at when he was young, will provide shade and sculpted roots for climbing and play. 

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland Resort

On the other side of Disneyland, Splash Mountain will soon begin its transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure!  The new Princess and the Frog-themed attraction is showcased at Expo with a detailed new model of the re-themed mountain.  The new attraction expands on the story of Princess Tiana and takes place after the events of her film, meaning the ride is full of new character story and lore.

Check out our video walk-around of the entire model below:

The display reminds us that Tiana was motivated by the spirit and love of her family. 

Of course, meeting Prince Naveen didn’t stop her drive.  She opened Tiana’s Palace, her dream restaurant, and then continued to grow her business with a new venture — Tiana’s Foods.

A closer look at the re-themed peak of the mountain. 

Guests will splash down into a spectacular Mardi Gras finale after the perilous drop. 

Gone are the thorny vines of the laughin’ place — and here are swampy bayou trees and charming lilly pads that will light up at night. 

A screen above the display shows a look at the attraction at night. 

The Briar Patch gift shop will be repurposed as a Bayou Adventure gift shop. 

Fresh garden on the side of the mountain…

 

Over in New Orleans Square, the long-closed Le Bat en Rouge shop will officially reopen September 20, 2022 as a Princess and the Frog-themed retail space.  Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets will open in the space offering a mix of Eudora’s hand-stitched fashions and Tiana’s culinary treats.  

A look at the shop’s logo and future sign. 

Concept of the interior give big Le Gourmet vibes, harkening back to old school New Orleans Square.  Pretty cool! 

 

Epcot at Walt Disney World

While Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is also coming to Walt Disney World, the model on display is clearly the Disneyland version of the attraction.  The Walt Disney World version of the ride will undoubtedly look similar, however.  Speaking of Walt Disney World, the pavilion moves on to showcase upcoming EPCOT additions…

A big item on display here is the actual “Walt the Dreamer” statue that will be installed at EPCOT’s World Celebration in the near future.  

First, a maquette of the statue…

 

And then, the real deal.  Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro told media attendees the statue on display at D23 Expo is the one they will soon have installed at EPCOT. 

D23 Expo attendees can get up close with Walt and have their photo taken with him before he finds his permanent home at EPCOT.

Meanwhile, a scale model of Te Fiti from the upcoming Journey of Water inspired by Moana walkthrough attraction is on display.  It’s a gorgeous scale model and the full scale version will surely be an impressive addition to EPCOT. 

Walt Disney Imagineering R&D — Stuntronics 

As far as big sneak previews of attractions, this is the point in the pavilion where previews come to an end.  The rest of the pavilion gives a look behind the curtain at the development of Imagineering’s Stuntronics animatronics.  Tiny looks at the new Storyliving residential project and Disney Cruise Line round out the pavilion.

Storyliving by Disney

Not much to see yet from the Storyliving project…

Disney Global Resorts and Disney Cruise Line

Disneyland’s upcoming Pixar re-theme of the Paradise Pier Hotel and the new Fantasy Springs Hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort are highlight here.

And a look at the new Disney Wish Cruise Line ship ends the walk-through of the pavilion.

While nothing truly groundbreaking is on display this year, what is here gives a good look at some of the big projects currently in the works around the world.  Since Disneyland is my home park, the big models of Toontown and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure were exciting for me… but if your home park is Walt Disney World or anywhere overseas, you may leave the pavilion a little disappointed.  The ride vehicles look great but it sure would have been great to see more from all of the attractions coming to the parks in Asia!  

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