We have a lot of news this month, thanks to the recent D23 Expo announcements! Because there was definitely plenty of announcements for every part of the Disney company – Disney World, Disneyland, international Disney parks, and Disney Cruise LIne all had exciting announcements. We also got some big news for film and TV, with new movies announced for Pixar, animated Disney, and more. Let’s get into it!
Disney news
- A new show will be coming to Disney+ based on Inside Out, called Dream Productions.
- Pixar announced several new films coming in the next few years, including Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and a new movie called Hoppers, where a girl can “hop” her mind into a robot beaver.
- Continuing with sequels, we found out we will be getting Zootopia 2. We received a bit more info in Frozen 3, including the fact that it seems likely it will be split into two films (Frozen 3 and 4, effectively).
- The Greatest Showman: The Musical was announced as coming to Broadway.
- Other new films that were announced include a live-action Lilo and Stitch, and a sequel to Freaky Friday called “Freakier Friday.”
- California Adventure is getting two new attractions – a Pandora-inspired ride and a Coco attraction. We also learned more about the big ride coming to Avengers Campus (Avengers Infinity Defense) and that there will be a previously unannounced 4th attraction coming to the land called Stark Flight Lab.
- Over in Disneyland, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was given an official opening date of November 15th. They are also going to receive a new show to rotate with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which will feature a Walt Disney animatronic.
- Epcot will receive a Spaceship Earth lounge, opening in 2025. We also found out the Test Track rethemeing will open next year.
- Animal Kingdom is receiving an entirely new land replacing Dinoland. It will include an Indiana Jones attraction, and Encanto ride, and a carousel. There will also be a Zootopia show replacing “It’s Tough to be a Bug” next year.
- Hollywood Studios will be receiving a Monstropolis land with a Monsters Inc. roller coaster – no word yet on where that will go. There will also be a new “Mando and Grogu” story coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
- Magic Kingdom received a lot of attention, with many announcements and a big expansion! We’ll start off with a nighttime parade in the summer in 2025, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean themed lounge opening that year. Rivers of America (Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle) will be replaced by a Cars-themed land, with 2 attractions. Finally, there will be an entirely new addition with a villains land, and it will include two major attractions, shopping, and dining.
- The international parks are getting some love, with a Lion King themed land coming to Disneyland Paris, and a Spiderman coaster going in Shanghai.
- Disney Cruise Line announced they will be adding FOUR more ships to their fleet by 2031. We also learned that the Disney Destiny will have a Hercules Broadway-style stage show.
- Disney also had some exciting announcements about Fortnite and Epic Games.
- Disney World has shared some fun additions for Hispanic Heritage Month, including extending the show “Celebracion Encanto” in Epcot.
- We recently received more details about the new addition to the Polynesian resort, including the Wailulu Bar & Grill, a new pool and splash area featuring Moana, and beautiful new spots called the Terrace Gardens.
- Disney Springs has lots of Halloween food and drink options starting on September 9th – you can find out more about them here.
- In preparation for the expansion of Avengers Campus, California Adventure will be closing down the red car trolley.
Disney rumors
Disneyland // With the announcement of the closure of the Red Car Trolley is speculation that this closure is probably permanent. Avengers Campus is expanding, and the new Pandora attraction also needs to go somewhere… that sadly doesn’t leave a lot of room for the trolley.
Lightning Lanes // A rumor about some sort of “premiere pass” has surfaced. There’s some discussion about what this could be, but the most likely explanation seems to be that it is a version of MultiPass or a way to book in advance at Disneyland.
Hollywood Studios // The biggest set of rumors is about the newly announced Monstropolis area coming to Hollywood Studios – and specifically where it will go. The two spaces that are heavily suspected are Animation Courtyard (replacing Star Wars Launch Bay) and Muppets Courtyard (replacing Muppetvision 3D). Lots of rumors in favor of each have surfaced, and Disney has not yet confirmed anything.
Other Disney blogs
The Disney Cruise Line blog shared this fun photo scavenger hunt for the Disney Wonder cruise ship!
If you’ve ever been curious about visiting Walt’s hometown, Shannon at WDW Prep School wrote an article all about visiting Marceline, the museum there, and other significant Walt Disney related spots.
Another highlight of the D23 Fan Event, besides all of the announcements, is their cosplay/costume contest! The D23 Blog has a look at just some of the incredible costumes at this year’s Mousequerade event.
Want to make your own cute Mickey Mouse tote? Melissa at Polka Dot Chair has a great tutorial.
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