A whole bunch of new and exciting information has been announced at Destination D23 regarding the future of Disney Parks worldwide!
But this year marks the 100 Years of Wonder celebration across Parks & Resorts as well, so going into this event, we had high expectations of incredible experiences and news that would be announced. With plenty of sneak peeks and opening dates, let’s see if the news thrills or disappoints…
Walt Disney World Resort
The majority of the announcements revolved around Walt Disney World Resort, which was welcome news to us, since the Orlando parks have been in need of some love lately. From opening dates (finally) being announced for EPCOT’s new experiences to some frankly incredible (and incredibly sad) blue sky concepts for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, change seems to be coming to Walt Disney World.
Magic Kingdom
Probably the most impacted park of the morning’s panel, Magic Kingdom will be seeing a few significant changes.
HAUNTED MANSION
Most immediately, we finally narrowed down the release of the Hatbox Ghost at Haunted Mansion over in Liberty Square: we’ve been told the Ghost will begin making his appearance in late November. What was most interesting to us about this information was the explanation Disney gave about the Hatbox Ghost’s previously announced location (at the end of the Endless Hallway), which is quite different from where the ghost was originally located and where he currently resides in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. In fact, in a bout of meta-humor, Gonzo (the Muppets played a part in many of the announcements at the panel) asked if Imagineers had looked for the Ghost behind the stack of hatboxes in the Mansion’s attic.
But we were given an explanation that, since the Hatbox Ghost is actually an “unhappy haunt,” he’s able to move around the Mansion in ways the other ghosts can’t. At least there’s a story reason behind the Ghost’s somewhat bewildering location!
COUNTRY BEAR JAMBOREE
Another big piece of news comes just down the street, with opening-day attraction Country Bear Jamboree set to get a refresh debuting in 2024. Disney was quick to assure us that our beloved characters will still be there (thank goodness!) but that their set will be updated with new songs. Essentially, the Country Bears are now going to be reinterpreting classic Disney songs in various country music styles, and Disney has enlisted authentic Nashville musicians to record the music, ensuring they get that country vibe “just right.” While it was unclear if this new act will completely replace the old one, it’s clear that Disney is aware the Country Bears need to become a bit more relevant to current park-goers. They stated the attraction will be an homage to Nashville’s classical musical revues, and the attraction poster is stylized in that classic variety show look.
We even got to see a really cool behind the scenes video of Nashville musicians in the recording studio, laying down the tracks of a country interpretation of “Bare Necessities.”
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN LOUNGE
Moseying down even further, a new experience is also going to be coming to Adventureland: a new tavern/”watering hole” expanding on the Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Featuring the old barker bird that used to be in front of Pirates, he has now taken residence in a new tavern, and will ostensibly be welcoming guests to his establishment. Though this project is in its earliest stages, we did get this awesome piece of concept art, and the tease that more information about this new watering hole will be coming soon.
BEYOND BIG THUNDER
Finally, Magic Kingdom was the subject of one of the Blue Sky announcements, with Josh D’Amaro and Bruce Vaughn, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, hinting that there may be a brand-new land coming to Magic Kingdom, on the scale of New Fantasyland, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, and Pandora: The World of Avatar. Pointing to the amount of space they have “beyond Big Thunder Mountain,” Bruce hinted that completely brand new attractions and experiences could be coming to the Magic Kingdom in the future, in the scale that “every Imagineer dreams about.” Josh said that “we’re about to go into overdrive at the Magic Kingdom,” which hopefully promises great new things to come!
EPCOT
We also got some really exciting news about EPCOT, including a new experience that is debuting tomorrow!
FIGMENT
Starting September 10, guests will be able to meet Figment at the Imagination Pavilion, an experience many have been hoping for. We got to see a sneak peak of him at the panel, and he looks just as cute as you’d expect!
WORLD CELEBRATION
We also finally have an opening date for World Celebration, the third and final section of the former Future World that has been under construction for quite a while. Although nothing definitive was given to us, we did get a date of December 2023. We were told that World Celebration will unite the front of the park, and bring together World Discovery and World Nature in a fun and exciting way.
JOURNEY OF WATER
Speaking of World Nature … we also finally received an opening date for Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana! This brand-new attraction will have its grand opening on October 16. The walkthrough waterplay attraction, which we caught a sneak peak of earlier this week, is a cute and fun addition to the park. It offers a sort of Animal Kingdom-like oasis with a side of classic EPCOT edutainment, where guests will be able to learn all about the natural journey of water in its cycle while becoming friends with water, just like Moana. It also teaches us how we can protect our natural resources moving forward. You can opt in to play with the water along wet pathways, or stay along the dry path and watch others’ interactions. With a splash pad area for little ones, Journey of Water is a great place for families to cool off under the hot Florida sun.
In addition to the attraction, Moana will also be getting her own dedicated meet n greet location in World Nature, right next to Journey of Water. She’ll begin meeting guests on October 16 as well.
SOARIN’ OVER CALIFORNIA
…You read that right! In celebration of Disney100: Beginning September 22nd, Soarin’ Over California will return to EPCOT’s Land pavilion for a limited time.
TEST TRACK
In a surprising bit of news, Disney also announced that they’re going to be reimagining Test Track (again!). Imagineers will still be working hand-in-hand with Chevrolet, who has been a part of that attraction since it’s been World of Motion (well, General Motors sponsored World of Motion, which owns Chevrolet). In this new imagining, Disney promises they’ll be “bringing the spirit of optimism back” and will be utilizing information from the original World of Motion attraction. We’d love to see some of the humor of World of Motion return to that pavilion!
EPCOT LAGOON SHOW
Disney also officially released the name of the new nighttime show coming to the EPCOT lagoon, and told us its debut date. Beginning December 5, Luminous: The Symphony of Us will light up the night sky around EPCOT, featuring pyrotechnics, lasers, and fountains. It will also use Disney music and be a story that brings a lot of “heart.”
Animal Kingdom
Although not much concrete was announced for Animal Kingdom, the Tree of Life is getting a new experience, and some Blue Sky concept art was released for Dinoland USA. For those who remember the last D23 event, Disney hinted that a land inspired by Zootopia would potentially be replacing that area of the park, though that seems to be no longer the case. For complete coverage of the new and potential changes to Animal Kingdom, check out our article here.
🚨 Zootopia, Encanto and Indiana Jones Projects in the Works for Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Disneyland
Not much was announced for the Anaheim park, though we did get a small tease of a new attraction coming to Avengers Campus at Disney’s California Adventure.
Since it opened, there’s been rumors of a second E-ticket attraction coming to that area, and the space is definitely there for the expansion. Now we know the theme of that ride: a multi-world initiative that will involve a vehicle that will allow guests to jump between worlds and even multiverses. Using technology from Tony Stark, Wakanda, and Xandar, guests — who have been in training to be heroes themselves — will get to put their skills to the test and help many other heroes save not only our world, but possibly others, and other galaxies as well.
This was just a small teaser, so stay tuned for more information about this new ride, hopefully coming soon!
Hong Kong Disneyland
The World of Frozen is taking shape over at Hong Kong Disneyland, and we’ve also now received an opening date for the land: November 20. We were given glimpses of the new land, and it looks absolutely gorgeous, especially at night! We saw images of the Arendelle castle lit up at night, and with the ice features, it’s quite the sight.
The World of Frozen will feature two attractions: the new Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleigh, which will be the first ever Frozen-themed roller coaster, and Frozen Ever After. Aside from the attractions, there are a plethora of shopping and dining locations, as well as iconic images from the movies. Guests will be able to walk through the magical Arendelle forest, see the clocktower where Anna and Hans had their first date, and see Anna and Elsa’s friendship fountain.
This looks to be an incredible addition to Hong Kong Disneyland and we can’t wait to step foot into their version of Arendelle ourselves!
Shanghai Disneyland
Another land that’s opening soon is Zootopia, which will be coming to Shanghai Disneyland soon! Although no opening date has been released, we were able to get more details about the land, including information about its all-new attraction, and some cool details about the land’s shopping and dining experiences.
Guests visiting Zootopia will be completely immersed in the various neighborhoods of the city, and will be able to shop at Fashions by Fru Fru, a shop owned by our own favorite fashonista, Fru Fru! Inside there’ll be two special areas themed to Yax and Duke Weaselton, which will help make the store that much more exciting to visitors.
Those who are peckish will also be able to delight in treats familiar to those who love Zootopia at Jumbeaux’s Cafe. There you can grab a paw-shaped popsicle, indulge in a chocolate marshmallow, or pick up Officer Clawhauser’s favorite donuts.
Zootopia also features a state-of-the-art attraction, Zootopia: Hot Pursuit. Guests experiencing the attraction are new recruits at ZPD, and they are greeted by Officer Clawhauser. We’re soon whisked away to an emergency briefing by Chief Bogo, however, as Gazelle has been kidnapped, ruining her big performance for Zootopia Day. Soon we’re partnered up with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde on a pursuit of the kidnappers, which soon turns into an “out of control chase” that is achieved by the attraction’s trackless vehicles.
Zootopia is going to be a great, immersive land that will also feature one-of-a-kind live entertainment experiences, which will bring some of Zootopia’s most iconic citizens to life. Inspired both by the animated film and the cityscape of Shanghai, Zootopia will be a uniquely themed land we’re excited to see.
Tokyo Disneyland
New information has come out regarding brand new experiences at Tokyo Disney Resort, or, mainly, at Tokyo DisneySea. A huge expansion is coming to the Tokyo DisneySea park, including a whole new land and a new luxury hotel.
Fantasy Springs is said to be opening in early fiscal year 2024, meaning sometime after April 2024, and it will feature three new sections: one dedicated to Peter Pan, one to Tangled, and one to Frozen.
Peter Pan’s Never Land will feature two new attractions and a counter-service restaurant. Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure is a boat ride that will see guests helping Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Wendy rescue John from Captain Hook and his pirates. This unique boat ride will also feature 3D elements, as guests will be wearing 3D glasses on the ride! Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies is a smaller attraction that sees Tinker Bell starting her own delivery service in Pixie Hollow.
Rapunzel’s Forest will feature one new attraction: Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, and one new counter-service restaurant, the Snuggly Duckling, which will be taken straight out of the movie! In Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, guests will experience a boat ride that will follow Rapunzel’s “best day ever” as she falls in love with Flynn Rider.
Frozen Kingdom will feature one attraction and two new restaurants, one counter-service and one a snack shop. Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey will be a Frozen-themed boat ride, but will be completely unique to Tokyo DisneySea, meaning it will not be the same ride found in other Disney Parks around the word. Oak’s OK Foods is a neat snack stand, and Royal Banquet of Arendelle is a restaurant actually inside Arendelle castle, with areas inspired by the film.
As part of the Fantasy Springs expansion, Tokyo DisneySea is also getting a Park-integrated hotel, the Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel, which will be a 475-room luxury hotel, the most luxurious property at Tokyo Disney Resort. Featuring two buildings, the Fantasy Chateau and the Grand Chateau, guests looking to completely immerse themselves in the fantasy of it all will have to look no further than Tokyo DisneySea’s newest resort.
Disneyland Paris
Keeping on the theme of hotels, Disneyland Paris’s flagship hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, is still undergoing refurbishment. While no specific opening date has been given yet, it has been revealed that guests will be able to start enjoying the hotel in the first quarter of 2024, with bookings beginning September 12.
Disneyland Hotel’s renovations bring a brand-new, royalty-inspired theme to the building, with a Beauty and the Beast-inspired lobby and rooms themed after a wide variety of Disney royalty, including Tangled, Cinderella, Frozen, and of course, Beauty and the Beast. They are also creating a brand new restaurant that will feature the four aspects of royalty and will be themed to various royals, including ones from the Princess and the Frog and Emperor’s New Groove.
Work also continues in the Disneyland Paris parks, and the new Frozen land is beginning to take shape. Imagineers will also begin construction of the new Tangled-themed attraction coming to the park. While information on these two new attractions hasn’t yet been forthcoming, we’re hoping more news about them gets released soon.
Disney Cruise Line
Last but not least, new information about the Disney Cruise Line was released. While we already got an awesome new look at the Cruise Line’s newest ship, Disney Treasure, which is set to begin sailing in 2024, we also were informed of a whole new Disney Cruise Line destination!
Beginning in 2024, Disney Cruise line will be stopping at a whole new private island in the Bahamas: Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. This location has been in development with the Bahamian government and culture representatives and will hopefully showcase the Bahamian culture and identity along with that Disney magic. On June 6, a select number of guests will be able to take a 3-day preview cruise out of Fort Lauderdale to get a sneak peak at Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.
Disney Cruise Line is also currently working on its seventh ship to add to its fleet: the Disney Adventure. A ship that will be dedicated to Singapore and Southeast Asia, the Adventure doesn’t yet have a debut date.
Whew! Needless to say, there are a lot of new and exciting developments coming to the Disney Parks worldwide in the next few years. Josh D’Amaro stated that Disney is investing billions of dollars in their destinations around the world. He also said that innovation is finally catching up to the Disney imagination, so he’s excited to see what the future will bring. He stated there will be more projects in the works over the next decade than ever before, with new lands, new attractions, and new reimaginings around the parks.
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Let’s Hear from You
What do you think? What new development are you most excited to see? Surprised that more wasn’t announced for Disneyland? Let us know in the comments below!