D23 took place from August 9th-11th, 2024, and we got so many new and exciting announcements.
D23 included news about upcoming movies like Incredibles 3, Toy Story 5, Moana 2, and many more. We even got to see 14 new Disney Legends inducted, including Miley Cyrus and everyone’s favorite earring-wearing Imagineer, Joe Rohde. During the Disney Parks Panel, the Chairman of Disney Experiences, Josh D’Amaro, made many exciting announcements about what is coming to the parks in the future.
At Destination D23 last year, we got a taste of what is to possibly come to Disney World, but at the 2024 D23 event, D’Amaro made it clear that what was announced is not Blue Sky anymore and instead is currently in development.
These announcements included changes for Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.
In Magic Kingdom it was announced what will finally be “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain.” Using the land behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, there will now be a whole new land dedicated to Disney villains. Also near Frontierland, it was announced that a brand new version of Cars Land would debut at Magic Kingdom. Currently California Adventure has Cars Land but the Disney World version will be more “Western” to fit the vibe of Frontierland.
The unfortunate news about this announcement is that the new Cars Land area will overtake the Rivers of America along with Tom Sawyer Island.
Hollywood Studios is getting another new land, this time themed to Monster’s Inc. This area of the park will even include Disney World’s first suspended rollercoaster.
A DinoLand U.S.A. re-theme in Animal Kingdom was teased at Destination D23, and this year’s D23 confirmed that DinoLand’s days are numbered. With construction expected to be completed in phases by 2027, DinoLand will transform into the Pueblo Esperanza and feature a carousel with one of the animals being Kevin from UP. The land will also feature an Encanto boat ride, and DINOSUAR will transform into an Indiana Jones-themed ride.
The Tree of Life will also say goodbye to It’s Tough to Be a Bug to make way for a new Zootopia-themed show called “Zootopia: Better Zootogether”, which will open in the Winter of 2025.
WOW! That is a lot! This does not even include changes being made to Disney World hotels or even changes being made over at Test Track.
While we know change can be scary, it is also exciting to think about all the new attractions, dining, experiences, and shops coming to these new areas. However, all of these changes mean one major issue: construction.
If you got tired of all the walls during the EPCOT Transformation, then we have some tough news to deliver. All of these exciting new projects equals more construction, more walls, and more closed areas.
While we only currently have a time period for the Animal Kingdom projects, we can expect construction walls to start popping up more and more.
We have already started to notice trees coming down around DINOSAUR to make way for construction, starting with the re-theme. Construction permits have already started to be filed for work to be done.
We are interested in seeing how Disney handles all of this construction. Recently, Disneyland had Haunted Mansion, and all of Critter Country (soon to be Bayou Country) closed, which meant a huge part of the park was inaccessible. While Haunted Mansion has recently re-opened as Haunted Mansion Holiday with a Virtual Queue, a very large portion of the park still remains closed.
This makes us wonder if construction will be done similarly at Disney World or if Disney will try to keep certain areas of the park more open. We will make sure to keep you updated as more details and dates are released about these projects. We will also continue to monitor construction permits to see if any progress is being made.
Overall, we are looking forward to seeing Disney World’s future, but we are a little nervous about all the construction and wondering what will be closed as these new additions make their way into the parks.
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What project are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
A land celebrating villains? Come on Disney, you can do better. Celebrate HERO’s, not villians
Rides that will not be accessible should be posted online and at entrances of parks and (not gonna happen) but park pricing should be charged accordingly for the inconvenience.
I’m excited for all the changes. Wish they would come build them faster.