Disney pulled back the curtain and offered a sneak peek at a bunch of new rides, shows and lands coming to Disneyland, Disney World and other Disney theme parks around the world during the marquee event of the D23 fan expo in Anaheim.
Walt Disney Imagineering is hosting the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15 at the Honda Center as part of the three-day D23 event running this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center.
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We will be providing live updates from Disney’s D23 theme parks showcase throughout the Saturday night event — so keep this page open and hit refresh often.
The Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase is being broadcast live on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Pacific Time on the Disney+ streaming service.
As promised, Imagineering unveiled new details on Saturday night about new Disney attractions currently under construction and in the early stages of blue sky development after months of speculation and build up.
Horizons host Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a song about wanting to be a Disney Audio-Animatronic.
Documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks is working on a second season of “The Imagineering Story” that will debut in 2028 on Disney+.
Reimagining Tomorrowland
Imagineering will reimagine Tomorrowland at Disneyland using Walt Disney’s original vision for the 1955 opening day land that dreamed of an imaginative, wondrous and optimistic future.
The reimagined land will feature new attractions and open spaces full of attention to detail, immersive storytelling and emotional experiences.
Avengers Campus
The Avengers Infinity Defense dark ride and Stark Flight Lab thrill ride will open in 2028.
The two new attractions are currently under construction in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure.
The Imagineering: Horizons pavilion on the D23 show floor featured a scale model of the Avengers Campus expansion and a maquette of the Stark Flight Lab ride vehicle.
Coco ride
The backstory for DCA’s new Coco ride will pick up a year after the original animated film with memories central to the story.
Disneyland has broken ground on the Coco boat ride in Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure.
A maquette of the Hector statue that will appear in the outdoor queue area of the Coco attraction was on display in the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion on the D23 show floor.
Disneyland entertainment
Disneyland will take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a throwback entertainment lineup in 2027.
The Disneyland resort will bring back the 2005 “Remember… Dreams Come True” fireworks show, the original 2010 “World of Color” water show and the 2020 Magic Happens parade.
Avatar themed land
Disneyland shuffled the timing of the new Avatar land on the project timeline after announcing plans for a complete overhaul of Tomorrowland.
The new Avatar land was moved into the fourth slot on the Disneyland resort project calendar behind the Avengers Campus expansion, Coco boat ride and Tomorrowland transformation.
The Imagineering: Horizons pavilion on the D23 show floor featured a scale model of the Avatar E-ticket attraction dominated by a towering ribbed rockwork wall and maquette of the 30-person ride vehicle. The Disneyland Monorail traveled along the edge of the Avatar attraction in the scale modelDisneyland has announced the new land themed to the “Avatar: The Way of Water” film will take over the Hollywood Land studio backlot at Disney California Adventure.
Villains Land
The new Villains Land at Florida’s Magic Kingdom will feature a Maleficent thrill coaster, Evil Queen dark ride, themed restaurant and shops.
The Evil Queen from 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Cruella de Vil from 1961’s “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” and Dr. Facilier from 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog” will each have their own lairs in the new land that reflect their own style, humor and personality.
A pair of maquettes showing off the Dark Forest trees inspired by Snow White’s animated film were on display in the D23 Imagineering pavilion.
Space Mountain
Disneyland Paris will open the Space Mountain: From the Earth to the Moon ride overlay in 2027.
Space Mountain Earthrise will be the name of the new indoor roller coaster under construction at Tokyo Disneyland.
Expedition Everest
Imagineering will finally fix the Yeti animatronic on the Expedition Everest roller coaster at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida.
Tropical Americas themed land
The new Tropical Americas land under construction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida will feature an Encanto boat ride, Indiana Jones dark ride and an enchanted carousel.
Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent and Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto will be the names of the two marquee attractions in the new land.
Maquettes of the Encanto ride vehicles and the carousel animals were on display in Imagineering’s D23 pavilion.
Piston Peak National Park themed land
The Cars-themed land at Florida’s Magic Kingdom will feature an off-road rally race thrill ride and a whip-style ride similar to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree geared toward younger kids.
The new rides will be named Cars Ridge Run Rally and Miss Fritter’s Demolition Derby.
A massive scale model of the new Piston Peak land along with maquettes of the ride vehicles were the marquee attraction in Imagineering’s D23 pavilion.
Spider-Man themed land
A Spider-Man thrill coaster will anchor the new Spider-Man land under construction at Shanghai Disneyland in China.
Marvel drop tower ride
The expansion of the Stark Expo land at Hong Kong Disneyland will add a new Avengers-themed drop tower ride and Marvel-themed entertainment.
A scale model of the attraction was on display at the D23 Imagineering pavilion.
Lion King themed land
A Simba-themed water flume ride similar to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be the marquee attraction in the Lion King land coming to the recently reimagined Disney Adventure World theme park at the Disneyland Paris resort.
The Lion King ride will offer a retelling of Simba’s journey from cub to king, including a finale confrontation with Scar.
Monstropolis themed land
Monstropolis: The City Frightful will open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Floridain 2027.
The Monsters Inc. land will feature a Boo’s bedroom door suspended roller coaster, Harryhausen’s restaurant and Glob Theater show.
The “Welcome to Monstropolis” show will play in the Glob Theater with a song of the same name by Randy Newman.
Maquettes of three-eared rabbits, two-headed pigeons and triple-tailed squirrels were on display at the Imagineering pavilion.