During the Second Night of Marquee D23 Showcases, Disney Experiences Unveils Full Slate of Projects for Disney Destinations Around the World and into the Digital Universe

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Aug 11, 2024, 01:41 ET

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro lays out bold plans for new cruise ships, lands, attractions, shows, and storytelling platforms during Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, featuring performances from Meghan Trainor, Shaboozey, Rita Ora, and more.

Throughout the day, fans experienced a spectacular lineup of offerings at the Anaheim Convention Center from across Disney's brands and businesses, including presentations featuring exclusive announcements and interactive show floor opportunities from beloved franchises.

ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tonight at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa^®, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro hosted an extraordinary musical celebration for Disney's biggest fans as he unveiled the future for Disney parks, cruise ships and beyond, including the future of storytelling made possible through a groundbreaking collaboration with Epic Games. Major announcements, surprise celebrity guests and special musical performances closed out day two of the mega fan event.

"Disney Experiences is embarking on an accelerated path of ambitious growth and innovation," said D'Amaro. "With so many great Disney stories to tell, we're excited to bring an unprecedented number of new projects to life in the near future, whether it be in our theme parks, on our cruise ships or through our partnership with Epic Games in the digital space."

Among the many announcements were plans for four new cruise ships and details about six new themed lands and areas that will bring guests deeper into the stories they love, including Monsters, Inc., Cars, Indiana Jones, Encanto, Avatar, The Lion King, and the classic Disney Villains fans know and loathe. D'Amaro announced plans for 14 all-new attractions featuring those stories and more, such as The Avengers, Spider-Man, and the first-ever ride-through attraction themed to Coco coming to Disney California Adventure park at the Disneyland Resort, inviting guests to join Miguel on a trip through the Land of the Dead. Among the five new shows and nighttime spectaculars coming to Disney parks around the world is "Disney Starlight," an all-new nighttime parade coming to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.

D'Amaro was joined onstage by Disney Imagineers and creative leads across Disney's film studios to share breaking news, as thousands of fans heard from stars and storytellers in an unexpected show only Disney could deliver. Celebrities, surprise guests, and award-winning recording artists joined the fun. Billy Crystal announced a Monsters Inc.-themed land coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. Meghan Trainor surprised the audience with a moving rendition of "Feed the Birds." D'Amaro also announced the largest expansion in history for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, before Shaboozey brought the house down with a new rendition of "Life Is a Highway" to announce a Cars-themed area and Rita Ora joined the Magic Mirror to perform "Trust in Me" as part of the announcement of a Villains-themed land.

"Today we unveiled an extensive slate of new experiences that only Disney can deliver," D'Amaro said. "Work is well under way on all of the new projects we announced, and fans will start to see them come to life in the near future."

Top 10 Announcements from the Disney Experiences Showcase:

Expansion of Disney Cruise Line– Disney Cruise Line will add four new vessels to its growing fleet between 2027 and 2031. Once these ships are built, guests will have 13 different ways to experience Disney's world-class entertainment, renowned dining, and impeccable guest service in more parts of the world.
Monsters, Inc. at Disney's Hollywood Studios – Construction begins next year on the first full land dedicated to Monsters, Inc., coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida. The land will feature the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney park, where guests can experience what it's like to zoom through the door vault in the factory, just like Mike and Sulley.
Cars at the Magic Kingdom– Pixar Animation Studios' beloved Cars franchise is coming to a reimagined area of Frontierland with two all-new attractions taking guests into the wilderness beyond Radiator Springs – a thrilling off-road rally race and a family friendly attraction even the youngest racers will love. Construction on this area will begin early next year.
Villains Land at the Magic Kingdom– Work is already underway on a new land dedicated to Disney Villains coming to the Magic Kingdom – complete with two attractions, dining, and shopping – where happily ever after may feel like just a distant dream. It will be a fearless new vision of what a Disney experience can be on a grand scale that only Disney can deliver.
Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom – Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom will feature two new signature attractions – a thrilling adventure following the heroic Indiana Jones into an ancient Maya temple and a journey through the Casita Madrigal from "Encanto" following Antonio's story on the day after he received his magical gift. It will also feature a beautiful carousel featuring animals from many favorite Disney stories, perfect for young families to enjoy. Tropical Americas is set to open in 2027.
Avatar at Disney California Adventure – An all-new Avatar experience will come to Disney California Adventure including an innovative new attraction that will bring all the action, the excitement, and the wonder of Avatar to life in a completely new and thrilling way.
First-ever Audio-Animatronics Figure of Walt Disney – Next year, a new show based on the life of Walt Disney, "Walt Disney – A Magical Life," will play at the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland park and feature the first-ever Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney. After the show's debut run, it will play in rotation with "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln."
Avengers Experiences in California, Shanghai and Hong Kong – The presence of Super Heroes is expanding at Disney parks around the globe. The original Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort will double in size with the addition of two new attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. Shanghai Disney Resort will introduce its first major Super Hero attraction, a Spider-Man-themed, high-energy thrill coaster. At Hong Kong Disneyland, the presence of the Avengers will continue to expand with a major new attraction coming to Tomorrowland featuring Spider-Man and one of his most formidable villains.
Lion King Area at Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris – On the heels of the highly anticipated World of Frozen, set to open in 2026, the first-ever ride through attraction themed to "The Lion King" will come next to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris in a new Lion-King themed area of the park, complete with dining, shopping and character meet & greets. This water attraction will go down into the caves beneath Pride Rock to follow Simba on his journey from cub to king, following the story from the classic Walt Disney Animation Studios film.
Epic Games Collaboration – While livestreamed in Fortnite, D'Amaro was joined live on stage by creative leads from across The Walt Disney Company — Jennifer Lee from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pete Docter from Pixar Animation Studios, Kevin Feige from Marvel Studios, and Dave Filoni from Lucasfilm — to discuss Disney's expansive collaboration with Epic Games and how the full power of Disney storytelling will come to this dynamic, new environment. They shared how the world's most notable characters and stories will converge in one connected universe where fans can watch, play and even create Disney stories. The group also announced new characters and skins coming soon to Fortnite, from Disney Villains to The Incredibles and The Mandalorian, and showed a trailer for the next Marvel season featuring Doctor Doom which debuts on August 16.
These experiences will give fans around the world even more to be excited about, and more ways to be captivated by the joy and magic of Disney's iconic stories. Full details for all announcements can be found on the Disney Parks Blog.

Highlights from Earlier Today at the Anaheim Convention Center

Throughout the day at the Anaheim Convention Center, fans were treated to even more exciting announcements across five stages filled with extraordinary programming. Disney Experiences shared the news that Directing at Disney is moving off the page and debuting as an original exhibition opening on October 17 at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, guest curated by Pete Docter, Pixar's Chief Creative Officer, and author Don Peri. Like the book, this special exhibition will spotlight many of the legendary directors who made Walt Disney's animated films possible and feature an extensive selection of archival photographs and rare film artifacts from The Walt Disney Studios.

"The Simpsons" announced that season 35 of the hit animated series will launch October 2 on Disney+, with 18 more episodes of fun with the Simpsons family. New season 35 art can be downloaded here. During "The Simpsons" panel at the Anaheim Convention Center, Matt Groening, Matt Selman, Al Jean, Mike Price, Brian Kelley, David Silverman and Nancy Cartwright also shared that four never-before-seen episodes of the series will be made available exclusively to Disney+ subscribers, including a special Christmas-themed double episode premiering December 17. The four exclusive episodes, titled "The Past and the Furious," "Yellow Planet," and "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" — a Christmas double-episode — will debut in the months ahead on Disney+. This October, Disney+ will also be home to an exclusive new Halloween-themed short from "The Simpsons."

Head of Marvel Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum shared a look at the next two years of Marvel Animation's series during the Marvel Animation Sneak Peek panel, including a look at the final season of What If…?, the second season of X-Men '97, Eyes of Wakanda, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He was joined on stage by voice talent including Cal Dodd, who voices Wolverine in X-Men '97 and Lenore Zann, who voices Rogue in X-Men '97. Winderbaum was also joined by filmmakers Bryan Andrews, director and EP for What If…? and Marvel Zombies; Todd Harris, director and EP of Eyes of Wakanda; Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther and producer of Eyes of Wakanda; and Jeff Trammell, head writer and EP of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, who announced that Hudson Thames will be playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and Colman Domingo will play Norman Osborn in the upcoming series, before both actors joined him on stage. The panel ended with a surprise look at the much-anticipated series Marvel Zombies.

The Disney+ Original series Percy Jackson and the Olympians made a splash with a star-studded panel at D23 on the Premiere Stage. Moderated by Juju Green, aka Straw Hat Goofy, the panel featured series stars Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood), with Charlie Bushnell (Luke Castellan) and Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue) who join as series regulars this season, alongside executive producers Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz, and Craig Silverstein; plus, surprise appearances from Toby Stephens (Poseidon), Jason Mantzoukas (Mr. D/Dionysus), and Daniel Diemer (Tyson). The panel marked the first public appearance of all six of the season-two series regulars together. Mantzoukas also confirmed that he'll return as Camp Half-Blood's camp director Mr. D.

Additionally, it was announced that Sandra Bernhard, Margaret Cho, and Kristen Schaal will guest star in season two of the epic adventure series as the Gray Sisters. Bernhard will portray Anger, the Gray Sister in charge of collecting cab fare from heroes who call upon the taxi. Anger impatiently awaits her turn to use the one eye shared between the Sisters. Schaal will portray Tempest, who currently has the coveted eye shared between the sisters and uses it to peer at the Heroes, read their future, and tease them about their crushes and social lives. Cho will portray Wasp, the main driver of the Gray Sisters Taxi. She takes the heroes on a high speed and hair-raising journey to Camp Half-Blood. Even though she's blind most of the time, she's truly seen it all.

Season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is based on The Sea of Monsters, the second installment of Disney Hyperion's bestselling Percy Jackson book series by acclaimed author Rick Riordan. From Disney Branded Television and 20th Television, production on the Disney+ Original series is currently underway in Vancouver for a 2025 debut on Disney+. More casting news to come. Click here to download headshots and new behind-the-scenes photos shared during the panel. Please visit the press site here for more information on the series and use the social tags @PercySeries, @DisneyPlus.

Last night, fans were treated to exclusive announcements during the Disney Entertainment Showcase from the powerhouse creative engines bringing new and beloved characters to the screen and the stage. Tomorrow, Disney fans of all ages from around the world will finish the weekend strong with even more immersive and expansive experiences, distinctly Disney shows, and opportunities to meet the storytellers, creators, and talent behind the magic. In the evening, back at the Honda Center, the star-studded Disney Legends Award Ceremony will close out the historic weekend.

To follow along with announcements from the weekend, follow DisneyD23 on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and use the hashtag #D23.

About Disney Experiences

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products brings the magic of The Walt Disney Company's powerful brands and franchises — including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, ESPN, 20th Century Studios and National Geographic — into the daily lives of families and fans around the world to create magical memories that last a lifetime.

When Walt Disney opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, he created a unique destination built around storytelling and immersive experiences, ushering in a new era of family entertainment. More than 65 years later, Disney has grown into one of the world's leading providers of family travel and leisure experiences, with iconic businesses including six resort destinations with 12 theme parks and 57 resorts in the United States, Europe and Asia; a top-rated cruise line with five ships and plans for eight more; a luxurious family beach resort in Hawai'i; a popular vacation ownership program; and an award-winning guided family adventure business. Disney's global consumer products operations include the world's leading licensing business; the world's largest children's publishing brands; one of the world's largest licensors of games across all platforms; Disney store locations around the world; and the Disney Store e-commerce platform.

These experiences are created by Disney Imagineers, the creative force behind experiences found in Disney theme parks, resort hotels and cruise ships.

About D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event Presented by Visa
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa is a one-of-a-kind, multi-day fan experience showcasing the very best in creative storytelling and innovation from across the worlds of Disney. D23 in 2024 has been reimagined to be more expansive and more immersive than ever before, with three packed days of showcases with stars and storytellers, sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes moments, thrilling performances, shopping, surprises, and more. For the latest news on D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, visit ultimatefanevent.d23.com. Presentations, talent, and schedules are subject to change. Join the D23 conversation online by following DisneyD23 on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and use the hashtag #D23.

About D23
The name "D23" pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney's over 100-year history. It gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic year-round through special experiences; member-exclusive offers and discounts; its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; the D23 Inside Disney podcast; and the latest news and stories on D23.com.

Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($99.99/year), Gold Duo Membership ($129.99/year), and General Membership (complimentary) levels at D23.com. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

For images, logos, videos, and press releases, please visit D23Press.com.

SOURCE The Walt Disney Company