D23 2026 has come and gone, and after spending months predicting what Disney might announce, we finally know what the company actually has planned for the future of its theme parks and honestly… I’m pretty happy.
Going into this presentation, I think I had pretty realistic expectations. In my original predictions (watch on YouTube), I argued that Disney already had such an enormous number of projects underway that this D23 was probably going to be less about unveiling dozens of completely new attractions and more about expanding on projects we already knew about. For the most part, that is exactly what happened. But there were some surprises that felt like Disney had somehow reached into my personal wish list. Then there were the parts of the presentation that… well… let’s just say I’m not sure what they were thinking.
The presentation itself was probably my biggest mixed bag. There were some fantastic moments, but I found the whole thing very corporate at times. More like Disney were selling their parks to investors than telling a room full of dedicated fans the real details they would want to hear. Which hey, I guess they kind of always are. Mixed in with this were the musical numbers, which I’m sure some people loved and even I’ll admit that I enjoyed a few. Although the joke in the opening number about the Hatbox Ghost’s narratively disruptive location in Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion did not make me smile. Disney you aren’t in on the joke, fix it and then maybe I’ll laugh. But while you continue to request that we all overlook disruptive details, I struggle to find this funny. Worst of all was what seems to be the company’s new favourite phrase…We do it for you. Excuse me while I vomit. On a more positive note, I did really enjoy the overarching Carousel of Progress references that structured the panel in between announcements.
Now, with that all covered, let’s crack on and rank the announcements themselves. Like with my predictions video, I’ll only be ranking the theme park announcements and won’t be touching on anything cruise related. I also won’t try to rank the Season 2 of The Imagineering Story reveal, but will just say that that is something I’m very excited to watch. I’ll go through the reveals chronologically, ranking them from S to C. S will be for announcements that I think are super exciting & likely, the things I am allowing myself to get properly excited for. A Tier is for Great news! The things I’m happy about but that aren’t quite on the level of those in S. Then B Tier is sounds great, but I’m not holding my breath. These are the announcements that I love on paper but that lack the detail and timelines that make me feel safe to assume they are guaranteed. Finally, there’s C Tier, which is the only category where I’m still skeptical on the quality of the announcement. We’ll call this one ‘I’m Not Sold Yet’. Sure, the attractions could end up being great, but the info we have so far just isn’t convincing me. So, with the tiers set up, let’s start the ranking.
Carousel of Progress
The first announcement is the extra information we got about the updates occurring to The Carousel of Progress. While we all know this transformation is already well underway, D23 provided us with our very first look at the new 1980s scene, set during Halloween in 1985, and revealed the new voices, with Jamie Lee Curtis as Mother and Bryan Cranston as Father, which I think is a really fun bit of casting. Plus, if Disney sneaks in a Halloween reference for Jamie Lee Curtis, then I’ll be very very excited. The most important thing for me is that Disney actually seems to understand what the Carousel of Progress is supposed to be and from what we’ve seen so far, this new version seems like it will keep the essence of the original alive. We also found out that this will debut late Spring 2027, so it’s something coming right around the corner and that I’ll happily pop all the way up in the S tier.
Disneyland Entertainment: Remember… Dreams Come True, World of Color & Magic Happens
The next group of announcements was those surrounding entertainment at the Disneyland resort. February 2027 will see two iconic shows return, Remember… Dreams Come True at Disneyland and the original World of Color in California Adventure. Both will be refreshed, with Remember… Dreams Come True featuring all new projection mapped elements on Main Street, the Rivers of America and it’s a small world. I’m particularly excited about World of Color because I absolutely adore the original show and don’t think it’s been topped since. Then later in 2027, summer will see the return of the Magic Happens Parade. While this isn’t one of my all time favourite Disney parades and I do think it’s always been a little too short, I still think that as one big package, these announcements bring a nice array of entertainment to the resort. But because none of this is really brand-new and because I’m considerably more excited about some of the other things we’ll get to later, I’m going to put the Disneyland entertainment package in the A Tier.
Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune (Disneyland Paris)
Now, onto the space section. At Disneyland Paris, Space Mountain is going back to its roots, with the Hyperspace Mountain overlay finally being removed and the attraction returning to its original Jules Verne-inspired identity, Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune. Disney is promising an updated version rather than simply recreating the 1995 attraction, with the original soundtrack returning as part of the experience. The refurbishment is expected to begin towards the end of 2027. Honestly, this is one of the best announcements any Disneyland Paris fan could have wished for. Discoveryland sits in a pretty poor state, with much of its identity having been diluted over the years. While this won’t totally fix the land, having the major E-ticket attraction return to its original Jules Verne concept is one of the best things they could possibly do. Yet the lack of detail and timeline makes it impossible for me to put this in S. In fact, I fear I might have to place this one in B until we get just a bit more information. Until we know exactly how much the attraction is being changed and how ambitious that update actually is, I’m not quite ready to get carried away with excitement just yet.
Space Mountain: Earthrise (Tokyo Disneyland)
Next we have Tokyo Disneyland’s Space Mountain: Earthrise, the brand new built from the ground up replacement Space Mountain, which is well under construction and set to open in 2027. While we already knew a fair bit about this project, the details revealed certainly helped increase my level of excitement. We were told that guests will board a rocket ship and blast into space, with the experience focusing on the beauty of our planet and giving riders a perspective of Earth that Disney describes as something never before experienced on a Space Mountain. I love that Disney are reimagining this classic without adding an IP and the fact that it’s also part of a wider Tomorrowland redevelopment makes it feel like a proper transformation rather than an isolated attraction replacement. We don’t know everything about the ride yet, but what Disney has shown is already incredibly ambitious, and because this is already physically under construction, there’s considerably less room for me to worry that we’re just being sold a pretty piece of concept art. This one is going straight into S Tier.
Spaceship Earth (EPCOT)
Finally for the space section is Spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth is the victim of a past announced change that never materialised, so more news on the future of this attraction was high up on many people’s wish lists, including mine. I was incredibly happy to hear that the old concept has seemingly been scrapped, and that there was no mention of IP like had once been planned. Instead, the attraction will retain its classic EPCOT identity, with the story continuing to focus on the history of human communication but broadening that idea to human connection. Old scenes will be updated and new ones will be added, bringing the story into the present day and beyond. While I was very happy to hear these plans, the lack of concept art and timeline makes me feel pretty cautious about this one. Maybe it’s just the trauma of the past cancelled plans, but I struggle to put this anywhere higher than B. I like the idea, I think the concept sounds much more appropriate for EPCOT, but until Disney gives us something more concrete, I’m keeping my expectations firmly in check.
Expedition Everest Yeti Restoration (Animal Kingdom)
Now onto one of probably the biggest “I genuinely can’t believe they’re actually doing it” announcements of the entire presentation. Disney has finally confirmed that the Yeti inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is going to be brought back to life, meaning the legendary 25-foot Audio-Animatronic will finally be restored to its full movement after spending almost the entire history of the attraction in B-mode. During this announcement, Disney absolutely leaned into the “Disco Yeti” joke, even bringing out Gloria Gaynor to perform “I Will Survive” during the announcement. I appreciate that they know how ridiculous this whole situation has become, but I’m going to be honest… I found the Disco Yeti stuff incredibly cringe and am not ready to laugh until they give us a concrete date for this fix. Nevertheless, this is still massive news. After years of assuming this was never going to happen, Disney has finally said they’re going to fix the Yeti and that alone is enough for me to put this straight into S Tier… lack of timeline be damned.
Hong Kong Disneyland: Stark Expo & Avengers Tower
Next up is the Marvel section, where we first got a much more detailed look at the expansion of the Stark Expo in Hong Kong Disneyland. The area is going to grow with the addition of a new pavilion, home to the Avengers research and testing labs where guests can encounter characters including Peter Parker, as well as a new Quinjet landing platform where the Avengers will appear and interact with guests. Then there’s the big attraction itself. The Tower of Terror ride system is one of my favourites of all time, so I was very excited to get a closer look at how they are going to Spider-Man-ify this. The ride will take guests beyond Hong Kong and into the wider Marvel universe, featuring destinations such as Asgard and Wakanda. I think this is exactly the sort of attraction Hong Kong Disneyland needs, something substantial, exclusive and genuinely different from the existing Marvel experiences at other Disney resorts. We still don’t have every detail I’d like, but there’s enough here to get properly excited about, and unlike some of the more speculative announcements, this is a project that is actually underway. I’m putting the Hong Kong Stark Expo expansion into A Tier.
Shanghai Disneyland: Spider-Man Land
Then we got more information on Shanghai Disneyland’s new Spider-Man land, which will be the first Disney theme park land dedicated entirely to Spider-Man, centred around a new W.E.B. facility and a high-speed Spider-Man roller coaster. D23 gave us a much better look at the area, which will feature more than 20 murals created with local artists, and also confirmed that the coaster’s track installation has now been completed. The coaster itself could absolutely change my mind, and I don’t want to judge a land before we’ve actually seen it finished. But from what Disney has shown us, I’m struggling to see what makes this feel like a fully realised Spider-Man land rather than a coaster surrounded by Spider-Man decoration. The murals are a nice touch, and I do like that Disney is incorporating local artists, but compared with some of the other major expansions announced at D23, this just feels surprisingly thin. The fact that the coaster is already so far along does at least mean we’re going to find out fairly soon whether I’m completely wrong or not. For now, though, I’m putting Shanghai’s Spider-Man land in C Tier, as I’m definitely not sold yet.
Avengers Campus Expansion (Disney California Adventure)
Finally for the Marvel part of the panel, we got some new info on the Avengers Campus expansion at Disney California Adventure. This will effectively double the size of the land and will contain two new attractions: Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. While we already knew about this expansion, D23 provided us with some very exciting new details. We also got confirmation that the attraction will feature all new footage of Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Stark Flight Lab, the second new attraction, will have guests training to fly under the guidance of Iron Man, Captain America and Captain Marvel, with Downey Jr., Mackie and Brie Larson reprising their roles again here. Perhaps most exciting was the news that the closed pathway between Cars Land and Avengers Campus will be reopening very soon, while we will have to wait until 2028 for both attractions to be complete. This project has been in development for years, so seeing it pushed out that far does take some of the excitement away. But despite that, there’s enough here for me to put the Avengers Campus expansion in A Tier.
Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent (Animal Kingdom)
The panel then moved onto one of my personal most anticipated projects, Animal Kingdom’s Tropical Americas. We finally got some more information on the Indiana Jones attraction, which will revolve around an original Indiana Jones story set in the 1950s, with Indy exploring an ancient Maya temple and a passage leading into the Maya Underworld. Disney is putting a lot of emphasis on the cultural side of the attraction too, with Imagineers working with archaeologists, anthropologists and Maya experts, as the story explores the relationship between Maya culture and nature. Once we’re dragged through a portal into the Underworld, things get considerably more Indiana Jones-y, with monstrous bats, enormous scorpions, fire, snakes and, eventually, the Tsukán, a giant serpentine creature from Maya mythology. But the biggest surprise was Harrison Ford himself. For the first time ever, Ford is actually being used as the model for an Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronic, meaning this should be the closest we’ve ever come to having the real movie Indy appear in a Disney attraction. The combination of a huge physical temple, an original story, Maya mythology and a giant practical creature feels much more in keeping with the sort of culturally immersive attraction I want from Animal Kingdom than simply recreating the Disneyland Indiana Jones attraction. We don’t know exactly how the finished attraction will come together yet, but from what Disney showed us, this genuinely looks amazing, so I’m putting Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent in the S Tier.
El Carrusel de los Animalitos (Animal Kingdom)
Staying in Tropical Americas, we also got our first proper look at El Carrusel de los Animalitos, the new carousel coming to the land. Disney has confirmed that it will feature 22 unique, hand-carved animal figures based on Disney and Pixar characters, with examples including Pua, Heimlich, Simba, Timon, Kaa and Kuzco in his llama form. We’ve received concept art of 21 of these animals, but it seems Disney are still keeping the 22nd one as a surprise, so feel free to guess away in the comments. I absolutely love the look of this so far. It feels like the sort of attraction that fits Animal Kingdom rather than simply being an IP ride dropped into the park. The hand-carved figures give it a much more distinctive character, while having 22 completely different animals means there should be plenty of fun little details to discover. It’s also the sort of attraction that gives the new land kinetic energy and something for the entire family, rather than making Tropical Americas entirely about its two major dark rides. I’m putting El Carrusel de los Animalitos in A Tier.
Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto (Animal Kingdom)
Then, perhaps most exciting of all, we found out proper details about the land’s Encanto attraction which will be called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto. We now know that the ride will take place inside Casita on Antonio’s gift day, as he discovers his ability to communicate with animals and celebrates with his family and extended animal family. Disney has worked with its Animals, Science and Environment team to create over 50 animal figures, all of which they have ensured are accurate to Colombia. In addition to this, the ride vehicles themselves will appear made up of different pieces of furniture assembled by the magical Casita and will behave like a character. So it seems to me there will be some very dynamic movement by the vehicles themselves. Crucially, there is no height requirement, which means this is a major attraction that can be enjoyed by everyone. What I love most of all about all this is just how perfect of a fit this attraction will be for Animal Kingdom. It’s the perfect example of why IP isn’t the problem, but that what matters is how it is made to fit a parks theme. This attraction perfectly fits Animal Kingdom’s philosophy of connecting people with the natural world. The returning cast recording new dialogue is another lovely touch, and the combination of practical environments, Audio-Animatronics, a living ride vehicle and that huge collection of Colombian wildlife sound like exactly the sort of attraction I was hoping Tropical Americas would deliver, and therefore I’m putting Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto straight into S Tier.
Coco (Disney California Adventure)
Then we get to Coco, which I think might be one of the easiest S Tiers of the entire presentation. This is exactly the sort of attraction I want to see Disney building at California Adventure: a classic, family-friendly Disney boat ride based around a film that is absolutely perfect for one. The attraction will pick up roughly a year after the original movie, with Miguel reflecting on his incredible journey, and guests will enter through a museum dedicated to his great-great-grandfather, Héctor Rivera, before boarding boats and travelling through Miguel’s memories of the Land of the Dead. Disney is also working closely with Pixar to make sure the attraction fits alongside both the original Coco and the upcoming Coco 2. Again, there’s no height requirement. I think the boat element is particularly perfect for California Adventure. The park has never had an abundance of these big, slow-moving, immersive family dark rides, and Coco gives Disney an incredible way to build one. The colour, texture and vibrancy of Mexico, the music, the characters and the transition into the Land of the Dead all lend themselves incredibly well to a traditional Disney attraction. I also love that Disney isn’t simply retelling the movie; setting the story afterwards and making memories central to the experience gives Imagineering room to create something new while still feeling unmistakably Coco and crucially, still keeping all the elements we love about the movie. Something totally new, like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, has to lose out on. While I enjoy Tiana’s, I do think it’s such a shame that none of the classic songs from the movie are featured, so I’m very happy to hear this same problem won’t apply to the Coco boat ride. Therefore, while it might be getting a little full, there’s no way I can’t put Coco straight into S Tier.
Avatar (Disney California Adventure)
Next we have Avatar, which is where I’m going to remain extremely sceptical. Disney did give us a new look at the planned Avatar destination at Disney California Adventure, including a detailed model of the land and the boat vehicle for its major attraction, so this project clearly hasn’t simply disappeared. It is still intended for the Hollywood Land area and is inspired by The Way of Water and the wider Avatar universe. But compared with the amount of detail Disney gave us for Coco and Avengers Campus, there was remarkably little here to get excited about. We got almost no mention of this attraction within the panel, just simply a reference to the fact that it is coming in the future. This is why I still stand by what I said in my original predictions: I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if this eventually goes. Disney is still showing the project and hasn’t cancelled it, so I’m not saying Avatar is dead. But we’ve now got a project with a long history, very little concrete information and no opening timeline. So for now, Avatar is going into C Tier.
The Lion King (Disney Adventure World)
Following this, we found out some very exciting details about a project that is far further along, The Lion King at Disneyland Paris, which I think has the potential to be the absolute standout of the entire Disneyland Paris expansion. This will be the first-ever Lion King-themed land and attraction, with the new Pride Lands area built around a major water ride that retells Simba’s journey from cub to king. D23 finally gave us a proper look at the attraction, including the climactic confrontation with Scar, and Disney has confirmed that the ride will feature Audio-Animatronics of Simba, Timon, Pumbaa and Scar. The Lion King is such a huge part of Disney’s identity that it’s honestly surprising we’ve never had a proper attraction dedicated to it, and making this a large-scale log flume adventure through the Pride Lands feels like a very natural fit. What particularly excites me is that Disney appears to be going all-in on recreating the world. You’ve got Pride Rock, the wider land and the central attraction which we now know will tell the story of Simba’s journey from cub to king. Unlike some of the projects we’ve just discussed, this one is already under construction, so I’m much more comfortable getting excited about it so I’m putting The Lion King in S Tier.
Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue (Tokyo Disneyland)
Next up is Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue at Tokyo Disneyland, the new Wreck-It Ralph attraction replacing Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters as part of the wider Tomorrowland transformation. Opening in spring 2027, guests will be transported into the world of Sugar Rush, joining Ralph and Vanellope as they try to save the game from Sugar Bugs — glitches created by King Candy. Our job is to restore these creatures to their original forms, turning them back into things like gummies and cupcakes, while keeping an eye out for King Candy and other familiar faces. It’s also an interactive attraction designed for both children and adults, with Disney describing it as a new type of gaming experience for Tokyo Disney Resort. Honestly, I think this sounds like a really fun replacement for Astro Blasters. It’s colourful, it’s interactive, it’s based on a film that lends itself ridiculously well to a theme park attraction, and perhaps most importantly, it’s actually opening very soon. We’ve also now seen some of the huge Ralph Audio-Animatronics, which makes me considerably more confident that this isn’t going to be just a screen-based gaming experience. I don’t think it’s quite in the same league as Space Mountain Earthrise, but it’s exactly the sort of accessible, family attraction that Tomorrowland needs. I’m putting Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue in A Tier — Great News!
Piston Peak (Magic Kingdom)
Then we get to Piston Peak, the enormous Cars-themed expansion coming to Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland, and I think this might be one of the announcements where seeing the actual details has made me considerably more excited than I was when the project was first announced. The expansion will extend the story of Frontierland into a national-park setting inspired by America’s natural landscapes. The two attractions are Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along, a demolition-derby-style family ride hosted by the giant animatronic of the school bus from Cars 3, and the headline ride Cars: Ridge Run Rally. The latter is the one that really caught my attention. Rather than simply copying Radiator Springs Racers, it’s an entirely different experience, with Lightning McQueen and Mater taking us off-road through the Piston Peak wilderness, racing up into the mountains, through geysers and around the snow-covered peak before heading back down towards the finish. Disney is pitching it as a new type of racing experience, rather than another straight clone of an existing Cars attraction. I think that distinction is really important. My biggest concern with a Cars land at Magic Kingdom was always that we’d basically get Radiator Springs 2.0 dropped into Frontierland, but Piston Peak clearly seems to have its own identity. I particularly like the idea of using the Cars characters to tell a story about America’s national parks and natural wonders, because that gives the expansion a reason to exist in this particular part of Magic Kingdom rather than simply being Cars for the sake of Cars. But it’s the two rides that sell this for me. Ridge Run Rally sounds genuinely exciting, and if Disney can pull off the combination of physical scenery, off-road movement and that huge mountain environment, this could be a fantastic family thrill ride. Even Miss Fritter’s ride, while obviously the smaller attraction, gives the land a great flat ride that will add lots of movement and energy. This is another one I’m putting in S Tier.
Monstropolis (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Next up was Monstropolis, and there is actually a lot here that I really like. The land is going to feel properly alive, with dynamic movement throughout the streets, and D23 gave us a much better look at the restaurants and entertainment coming with it. The Glob Theater will host Welcome to Monstropolis, a new show starring Mike and Sulley, with Sulley attempting to put together a small homespun production while Mike, being Mike, has a few surprises up his sleeve. Plus we got to hear the new song from the show Welcome to Monstropolis, written by Randy Newman which is actually the first song he has composed specifically for a Disney theme park. We also got names of the shops and eateries within the land which will be Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, the Monsters University Alumni Club with its elite Scarer’s Club, the Scareporium shop and most excitingly Harryhausen’s Restaurant, where the famous sushi chef will be brought to life as an Audio-Animatronic. Although I do question what Disney meant when they said the menu will be unlike anything else at Walt Disney World. Sure there will be some monster puns, but I ultimately struggle to see how the sushi restaurant’s menu in Hollywood Studios will differ that much from the one we already have in Epcot. This isn’t an insult to the announcement, but just a part of the panel that made me raise my eyebrows. Anyway, we of course got some very exciting news about the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster. This coaster will lift guests 40 feet into the air in just four seconds before launching them into the door vault, which sounds fantastic. The load animation we saw genuinely looks incredible. But the frustrating part is that Monstropolis is opening in phases. The rest of the land is scheduled to open in 2027, but the coaster won’t be ready at the same time and that really is unfortunate. Still, when you look at what is actually being built, I think Monstropolis will be a fantastic addition to Hollywood Studios. So while I have my criticisms, I truly can’t put Monstropolis anywhere but in S Tier.
Villains Land (Magic Kingdom)
Then we get to Villains Land, which I think is probably the project I was most curious to hear more about. We now have an actual story for the land, and Disney is going for a much more elevated, elegant and sophisticated vision of Disney villains, rather than simply putting a collection of evil characters together and calling it a day. The story begins when guests stray from the safe path into a dark forest and discover a broken, twisted wishing well. Apparently, someone made an evil wish that corrupted the well, unleashing its poisoned magic into the forest and attracting villains including Cruella, the Evil Queen and Doctor Facilier, who all want to claim that power for themselves. They’ve used the cursed magic to create their own lairs, with the architecture of each area reflecting the individual villain. Disney is promising a land on the scale of Galaxy’s Edge, which is a pretty exciting prospect. We got some more info on the attractions but we still know very little. One will be a roller coaster that will take us into Maleficent’s enchanted briar, racing around her mountain fortress with Disney promising elements that have never previously been attempted on a Disney coaster. The other attraction takes us beneath the Evil Queen’s palace into the catacombs, where the Magic Mirror pulls us into the spirit realm and allows us to experience the world from the other side of the glass, combining physical sets and special effects with an assortment of villains conjured by the mirror. My concern is that while we’ve now been told this will be an enormous, immersive land with two major attractions, we’ve still got a long way to go before we can see whether Disney can actually deliver on that promise. In fact, we actually have no rough timeline at all. So as this is an absolute dream land for me, but for now, Villains Land is going into B Tier — Sounds Good, but I’m not holding my breath. I can’t get excited for this until ground has truly been broken.
Tomorrowland (Disneyland)
After this, we received some huge news surrounding Tomorrowland at Disneyland, which is probably the perfect example of an announcement that sounds incredibly exciting but one which really lacked detail. Disney says the land is being reimagined around the idea of “Yesterday’s tomorrow, today,” with a renewed sense of optimism and a return to Walt’s original vision of Tomorrowland as a vista into wondrous ideas. We’re being promised new attractions, more open spaces and places to dream about the future, with Disney describing this as the next great chapter for Disneyland and saying that it all begins with Tomorrowland. Look, I’m absolutely on board with the idea of this. I’ve been saying for years that Disneyland’s Tomorrowland needs a proper, cohesive rethink rather than simply continuing to add things to it, and the language Disney is using here suggests they’re at least thinking about the land as a whole rather than one isolated attraction. But… that’s pretty much all we have. There is a lot of rhetoric here and very little detail. I desperately want this to mean a proper Tomorrowland overhaul, and yes, I’m still quietly hoping that somewhere in all of this we get a return of the PeopleMover, but until Disney actually tells us what these “new attractions” are, I’m not getting carried away. So this feels like another B Tier announcement for me. I love the ambition, and I think Disneyland’s Tomorrowland desperately needs exactly this sort of attention, but we’re essentially ranking a collection of promises rather than an actual project. Give me some concept art, give me an attraction, give me a timeline — then I’ll get excited.
Journey Into Imagination (EPCOT)
Finally, we have another one that I was desperate to hear about in my original predictions: Journey Into Imagination. The Dreamfinder is coming back. That sentence alone probably would have been enough to make 1980s EPCOT fans collapse with excitement, because bringing Dreamfinder back is something fans have been asking for practically forever. But, unfortunately, that’s basically where the information ends. We don’t have a detailed attraction concept, we don’t have a timeline and we don’t really know what this new Journey Into Imagination is actually going to look like beyond the fact that Dreamfinder will once again be part of it. Will it be a total overhaul or just simply a single refreshed scene? That’s why, despite this being something I personally really want, I’m adding this to the B Tier.
Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of my ranking of the Disney Parks announcements from D23 2026 — and now the real waiting game starts, since almost everything above still needs a firm opening date. We’re tracking every one of these projects, alongside everything else in development at parks worldwide, on our What’s Being Built tracker. Looking back at the whole presentation, I think my biggest takeaway is that Disney has actually given us a pretty fascinating glimpse into where these parks are heading. There are some genuinely brilliant projects here — Coco, The Lion King, Monstropolis, the Yeti finally coming back to life — alongside some announcements where I still need Disney to prove to me that what they’re promising is actually going to become reality. But overall, I think there’s a lot here to be excited about. Some of these projects could genuinely become some of the best attractions Disney has ever built, while others have the potential to completely reshape the parks they’re coming to. Of course, now comes the hard part: actually building and paying for all of it.
Which D23 announcement are you most excited for, and which one are you still the most sceptical about? And, of course, let me know what you think of my ranking — especially if there’s an announcement you think I’ve put way too high or way too low.