THE Disney announced a series of projects for theme parks and cruises to be developed in the coming years, including a villain area, an “Encanto”-inspired ride, the ability to fly like Iron Man and new audio-animatronic technology that will bring Walt Disney to life for guests. The news comes after a financial report showed a decline in attendance at domestic parks.
Fans at Disney’s biannual D23 convention have been eager for details on these new projects for years, complaining that previous announcements have featured only vague concepts.
However, at Saturday’s presentation (10), at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California, the 12 thousand fans present discovered how the promised investment of 60 billion dollars (around R$330 billion) in parks and cruises will come to life in the next decade.
In an interview with CNN Travel the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Josh D’Amaro said: “What we’re doing, I think, more aggressively than ever before, is leveraging technology, not just for its own sake, but to create magical – almost mind-blowing – experiences.”
What’s Coming to Walt Disney World in Florida
The largest expansion ever made in Magic Kingdom will be developed behind the existing “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” attraction and will include a villain-themed area as well as an area inspired by the film “Cars.” Pixar .
The concept art shown on Saturday (10), depicts a dark scene in the villains’ area, where Disney promises two big attractions.
The announcement of “Cars”, marked by a live performance of “Life is a Highway” by the singer Shaboozey detailed an area that It will not be a replica of Cars Land in California.
Instead, it will be an “off-road” adventure (which means driving on unpaved terrain, such as trails), with one more extreme attraction and one more family-friendly attraction. Construction on the area will begin in 2025.
The Magic Kingdom will also have a new nighttime parade called “Disney Starlight” in the summer of 2025.
At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have a new area called “Monstropolis”, based on the franchise “Monsters Inc.” .
Billy Crystal, who voiced the character Mike Wazowski, announced this development, which will feature the first suspended roller coaster in any Disney park where visitors can walk through the Monsters Inc. factory’s vault of doors.
In both Florida and California, the attraction Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run located in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, will have a new story featuring the Mandalorian and Grogu.
At Animal Kingdom, the Tropical Americas area has been confirmed to open in 2027. It will include the first attraction from the film. “Charm” which will take place inside the magical “Casita”, where the Madrigal family lives.
Visitors will be able to follow the day that character Antonio receives his magical gift, following him as he opens his door to reveal a lush landscape full of animals he can talk to.
The same area of the park will feature an “Indiana Jones” attraction inside the former Dinosaur attraction building, but it will not be a replica of the franchise’s current attractions at Disneyland in California or Tokyo DisneySea. Instead, guests will board a adventure where Indiana Jones discovers a Mayan temple .
Ke Huy Quan award-winning actor Oscar who appeared as a child in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” was on hand to introduce the new attraction. “This looks amazing,” he said. “But will there be snakes?”
Disney will build a central “town” within Tropical Americas called Pueblo Esperanza, featuring lush foliage, Spanish-style architecture and a carousel with carved wooden characters.
Animal Kingdom will also have a previously announced “Zootopia” show in the theater under the Tree of Life debuting between late 2025 and early 2026.
Node EPCOT the Test Track renovation is set to open in 2025. The park will also have a new lounge at Spaceship Earth that overlooks Dreamer’s Point, where there is a statue of Walt Disney.
When asked if the Florida resort would get a fifth theme park in the coming years to compete with Universal’s Epic Universe park, which is set to open in 2025, D’Amaro told CNN Travel : “We’re always thinking about what’s next. For now, we have a lot to celebrate and talk about with fans at D23, and I think it’s going to be so impressive for them that that’s all they’re going to think about.”
What’s Coming to Disneyland Resort in California
The original park, Disneyland, will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2025. To mark the occasion, the company will create the Walt Disney’s first audio-animatronic version with a level of technological complexity not yet seen in a Disney park.
He will be featured on stage, while theatergoers can watch him sit in his office, telling stories about his time running the company. This show will alternate with the current “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” at the Main Street Opera House.
“For me, it’s a very exciting thing,” D’Amaro said. “It’s important for our visitors because it showcases our heritage on one hand, but also showcases the incredible technology and innovation that we have within the walls of Imagineering.”
D’Amaro mentioned that the project is developed with the approval of the Disney family .
Disneyland’s former Splash Mountain has been transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, opening on November 15 – an attraction that was also revamped and opened earlier this summer at Disney World in Florida.
On the other side of the esplanade, in Disney California Adventure park, the Avengers Campus will be more than double the size, with construction scheduled to begin in 2025.
The first major attraction added to this area will be the “Avengers Infinity Defense” ride, where guests will discover that portal technology has gone missing, causing King Thanos to wreak havoc across multiple worlds.
Audiences will fight alongside the Avengers to defend New York City. They will also face battles in Asgard, Thor and Wakanda, from Black Panther .
The second major attraction in this expanded area is “Stark Flight Lab,” where visitors can take a test flight like the Iron Man in a two-person capsule lifted by a robotic arm that makes it fly.
There will be different flights to experience, and the attraction will not involve virtual reality effects. The robotic arm will be responsible for physically carrying the attraction vehicle.
Disney California Adventure will also feature a new attraction inspired by Pixar’s “Coco,” a family adventure that will begin construction in 2026. Guests will be able to follow Miguel’s journey through the underworld, traveling through colorful scenes and seeing animatronics of the film’s skeletal characters.
A new area based on “Avatar: The Way of Water” and future Avatar films will also be built at California Adventure. It will include a new attraction unlike the one currently at Pandora in Florida.
Disney fans in attendance at the presentation seemed most excited about the attractions, which included detailed concept art and construction start dates.
Tom Bricker who writes for the Disney Tourist Blog, told CNN Travel These surprise details and plans will ease recent skepticism among the parks’ most loyal visitors, but some may postpone their visits.
“These projects will not impact visitor attendance in the short term,” Bricker said.
As previously reported, the Disneyland Resort will greatly expand its capacity to build attractions on its current land, with an investment of at least $1.9 billion (around R$10.4 billion) over 10 years.
Victoria Wade a D23 fan and content creator who attended the presentation, told CNN Travel : “[A Disney] basically put themselves on our level and showed that they listened to our feedback, that they heard us and that they want the parks to grow and succeed as much as we do [queremos]”.
Wade said she and her friends summed up the night this way: “We came back with a bang.”
Disney Cruise Line News
Currently, the Disney Cruise Line has five ships, with four more in production. The company announced on Saturday (10) that it will add four more ships by 2031, almost tripling the size of the fleet currently in operation.
“Demand is so high compared to our relatively small fleet today that we have great confidence in our ability to invest and deliver incredible experiences – and that last part is important – around the world,” D’Amaro said. Specific locations for the ships’ voyages have not yet been announced.
The new Disney Destiny ship will have a Hercules musical on stage.
Robert Niles founder and editor of Theme Park Insider, said the biggest surprise of the night may have been this cruise line expansion: “It’s a huge turnaround from just four years ago, when people were predicting the end of the cruise industry because of the pandemic.”
What’s Coming to Disney International Parks
Disney parks in Shanghai, China, and Hong Kong will receive new Marvel attractions. Shanghai Disneyland will have a thrilling Spider-Man attraction, the first time Marvel will appear at the park.
In Hong Kong, another major Marvel attraction featuring Spider-Man and one of his enemies will be added to the “Stark Expo” area in Tomorrowland.
In Paris Disney’s first theme park attraction inspired by “The Lion King” will be built at the newly renamed Disney Adventure World. Guests will experience this new floating log attraction, which follows Simba’s journey from cub to king, in a Pride Lands-themed area.
A night show will be held at the lake under construction in the same park, called “Adventure Bay”.
The original Disneyland Paris park, along with Tokyo Disneyland, will also be getting new nighttime shows. In Paris, the show will begin in January, with projections on the castle and, for the first time, on Main Street. The Tokyo show, called “Reach for the Stars,” will begin on September 20.
What’s Coming Soon at Epic Games
Disney had already announced an investment of 1.5 billion dollars (around R$ 8.2 billion) in Epic Games shares . At the D23 event, the company announced new Fortnite characters – part of the presentation was even broadcast live on that platform.
New characters include figures from Disney, Star Wars and the movie “The Incredibles” from Pixar. The next Marvel season in Fortnite will begin on August 16 and will feature Dr. Doom.
“This is exactly what Disney needed tonight – a big emotional win with its biggest fans. The next step is to amplify that excitement to attract casual fans and occasional visitors. That’s Disney’s next challenge going forward,” said Robert Niles.
*CNN’s Megan Thomas contributed to this story.
Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
