Disney turned Saturday night’s D23 showcase into a veritable all-star concert, bringing A-list talent on stage to perform classic songs from Disney films and help introduce a veritable avalanche of new attractions and lands based on the company’s intellectual property.
Performers included Meghan Trainor, Shaboozey, Rita Ora, Plain White T’s, Pentatonix, Chromeo, Abi Carter, Tank and the Bangas and All-4-One, with appearances and performances from Billy Crystal, John Stamos, Darren Criss, Skylar Astin and Ke Huy Quan.
The presentation was led by Disney parks, experiences and products chairman Josh D’Amaro, who helped introduce all of the new offerings on tap.
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“These are the true, true Disney fans. They have a history with us. They have memories of their families being here. They have a passion for our stories, they have a passion for our cast members,” D’Amaro tells The Hollywood Reporter of the crowd in attendance at the D23 panel. “We do our best to make sure that we cover the world, and cover our ambition in a very creative, storytelling way. And we know that our fans are going to carry that message out to the rest of the world. It’s the best place in the world for us to be talking about the future.”
This year’s showcase took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, with a capacity of about 12,000 people, meaning around twice as many people were in attendance as in past years when it was held in the Anaheim Convention Center.
Disney’s parks and experiences business is a top priority for the company, and it has committed $60 billion to expand at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, its international parks in France, China and Japan, and elsewhere around the world via its Disney Cruise Line.
Read on for all the new announcements from the Disney Parks and Experiences Showcase at D23.
A Disney Villains Land Will Come to Magic Kingdom
D’Amaro confirmed that a major new land will be built at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, a land based on the Disney villains. Details are still slim, but it will include shopping, dining and two “major new attractions.”
“This land will be home to the villains that you know, and those that you loathe,” D’Amaro said, after a performance from Descendants villain Rita Ora.
“Be prepared, you poor unfortunate souls,” he added. “It’s going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be.”
A ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Land Is Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The 2001 Pixar film Monsters, Inc. will form the backbone of an entire land at Hollywood Studios in Orlando. Billy Crystal, who played Mike Wazowski in the film, helped introduce the new land (“When they showed me the character it was just that one big eye and those big legs, and I thought, oh my God, it’s CBS walking!” Crystal quipped on stage).
The land will bring humans into the world of Monstropolis, with a signature ride bringing visitors into the door vault alongside Mike and Sully.
“The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley,” D’Amaro told the crowd. “You’ll go into the factory and experience the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney park. Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and hoist them up into the air to take them away? We’re doing that, too. And you’re going along for the ride.”
Avengers Campus in Disneyland Will Double in Size With Two New Attractions (And Robert Downey Jr.)
Disneyland’s Avengers Campus will double in size as it gets two new attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. And Robert Downey Jr. will be along for the ride.
During the presentation, D’Amaro shared a photo of Downey testing one of the ride vehicles alongside Disney CEO Bob Iger, and announced that the actor would reprise his role as Tony Stark on Stark Flight Lab.
Infinity Defense will see visitors travel to different worlds from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Wakanda, Asgard, and uh, New York City, where they will battle Thanos.
Stark Flight Lab will see visitors testing out new Stark-made pods.
New ‘Encanto’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ Attractions Coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
D’Amaro and Disney Imagineering chief creative director Bruce Vaughn announced details on Tropical Americas, the new land that will replace DinoLand in Animal Kingdom in Orlando.
The two attractions will be based on the Indiana Jones franchise, and on the 2021 film Encanto, and both will open in 2027 in conjunction with Tropical Americas.
The Indiana Jones ride “takes place in an ancient Mayan temple that Indy has recently discovered,” D’Amaro said, warning of an “ancient mythical creature” that could throw a wrench in the situation. He was joined by Ke Huy Quan, who starred in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
As for the Encanto attraction, it will see visitors travel through the Casita from the film on the day that Antonio receives his special gift, culminating in his room, which has become a lush rainforest. Along the way, they will encounter all the members of the Madrigal family, perhaps including one that nobody talks about (no no no).
Details on the New ‘Avatar’ Land Coming to Disney’s California Adventure
D’Amaro and Disney Imagineer Ali Rubinstein formally announced the upcoming Avatar land will be coming to Disney’s California Adventure.
Rubinstein said that the new land is set in a new location on Pandora (very different than the one at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando), inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming Fire and Ash, as well as future Avatar films.
There will also be a new Avatar ride, where guests will journey by boat on “an excursion in search of majestic natural wonders that can only be found on Pandora,” Rubinstein said.
Two ‘Cars’-Themed Rides Will Come to Frontierland in Magic Kingdom
In a major bit of news for Walt Disney World, D’Amaro said that a portion of Frontierland in Magic Kingdom will be transformed into a pair of attractions based on the Cars franchise from Pixar.
One ride will take guests off-road, and another will be geared specifically toward families with young children.
“The American West has always been about keeping your eyes on the horizon … believing in yourself, carving your own path, and striving toward success,” D’Amaro said. “That goes for miners in the mountains, bears from the country, a princess from the bayou … or a racecar from the big city.”
But the addition may bring some controversy along with it, as the new attraction will replace a historic Disney world location:
“To make way for this completely new frontier, the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be transformed into vast and rugged terrains for a rally race with some of the world’s most iconic racers<‘ the company said.
A ‘Coco’ Ride Is Coming to Disney’s California Adventure
D’Amaro revealed that a new ride inspired by the film Coco will come to Disney’s California Adventure, with the groundbreaking set to begin in 2026. Details are scarce, but D’Amaro said it “drew inspiration from Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean,” with guests set to take a journey to the Land of the Dead from the film.
A ‘Lion King’ Ride Is Coming to Disneyland Paris
Disney’s second park in France, which is set to be renamed Disney Adventure World, is already getting a new Frozen world (D’Amaro says it will open in 2026), and now it will also get a ride inspired by the classic 1994 animated film The Lion King.
There will be themed dining and shopping, as well as characters, and the ride will see visitors step into the caves to follow Simba as he goes from cub to king. “It will feel like you’ve stepped right into that movie,” D’Amaro said.
Disneyland Will Get an Audio-Animatronic Walt Disney
For the first time, an audio-animatronic version of Walt Disney will come to a Disney park, when Disneyland debuts “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” as a show in 2025.
The show will debut inside the Main Street Opera House, and after its initial run, the attraction will play in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”
D’Amaro said that creating an animatronic of Walt Disney is “an idea that’s been whispered in the hallowed halls of imagineering for years, maybe even decades now… We are finally ready.”
Roy P. Disney was in the crowd, and D’Amaro said that the Disney family is on board with the new show.
