ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney’s D23: Ultimate Fan Event weekend has come to a close, and with it came several updates on upcoming attractions and lands at Walt Disney World, as well as a few surprise announcements.
Magic Kingdom
Villains Land
Disney used D23 to confirm the name of the new Villains-themed area coming to Magic Kingdom, which will simply be Villains Land. Disney says the name was conceived to be consistent with the rest of the park.
Concept art was also revealed for two attractions that the area will feature. One being an “exhilarating roller coaster” that takes riders through Maleficent’s, the villain of 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, stronghold.
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The second attraction Disney said will be a dark ride with Magic Mirror from 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as guests’ guide.
Disney says the ride will take guests through the Mirror Realm where they will encounter several iconic villain characters.
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Piston Peak
More details were announced for Piston Peak, including additional concept art for the previously announced Cars Ride Run Rally attraction and the unveiling of a second attraction for the Cars-inspired area, Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along.
Inspired by the character from Cars 3, the attraction will feature a “huge school-bus-sized animatronic who hosts a stampeding bash.”
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The new looks at Cars Ridge Run Rally showed where riders traverse a snow-covered mountaintop and come back to go through a geyser field.
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Carousel of Progress
New details were given about the refresh currently being worked on for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Disney announced Bryan Cranston and Jamie Lee Curtis will be joining the voice cast as the roles of Mom and Dad.
New concept art was also shown for Act II of the ride, which features the family during Halloween in the 1980s. It is also the first scene in Carousel of Progress history to be hosted by the mom.
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EPCOT
Disney announced two new updates coming to EPCOT, including the return of a long-absent character from the original Journey Into Imagination attraction.
The character of Dreamfinder will join Figment at the theme park’s Imagination Pavilion in a future update to Journey Into Imagination With Figment.
Disney also says Spaceship Earth, EPCOT’s flagship opening day attraction located inside the park’s iconic geodesic sphere, will receive a reimagining for the first time in two decades.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Monstropolis
Disney revealed the new Monster’s, Inc.-inspired area at Hollywood Studios will begin a phased opening in 2027.
When the area opens, guests can expect a new show at the theater that once housed MuppetVision 3D, which will now become Monstropolis’ Glob Theater.
Hosted by Mike and Sully, the show will be called Welcome to Monstropolis and will “highlight how similar monsters and humans really are.”
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Two eateries will also be open, one being called Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza. The other is Harryhausen’s Restaurant, which is the location of Mike and Celia’s date in the original Monsters, Inc.
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Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Tropical Americas
As Disney works to transform the former Dinoland USA area in Animal Kingdom into Tropical Americas, the company announced the name of the upcoming Encanto attraction.
It will be called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, where guests will be taken on a journey through the rooms of Casita as the family celebrates Antonio’s new ability to communicate with animals.
Disney says several voice actors from the film, including Stephanie Beatriz, Jessica Darrow and Diane Guerrero, who play the roles of Mirabel, Luisa, and Isabella, will return for the attraction.
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New updates were also given for Tropical Americas’ Indiana Jones attraction that is replacing DINOSAUR.
The company revealed the name for the ride will be Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, which takes guests through a cave said to lead to the Maya Underworld.
Disney also shared that the attraction will include an animatronic modeled after Harrison Ford and a large animatronic serpentine creature called the Tsukán.
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Expedition Everest
Lastly, an update is coming to Expedition Everest that will see the Yeti featured near the end of the attraction to no longer be a static figure.
The Yeti initially had animatronic motion when the attraction first opened in 2006, but had to be turned off early in the ride’s lifecycle due to an issue that was never fixed.
Little details were given about the animatronic update other than concept art and a quote: “We’re bringing the Yeti back to life inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!”
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