Disneyland And Disney World Expansion Plans: Every New Theme Park Attraction Just Announced
Source: Fast Company, Michael Grothaus
Photo: Courtesy of Disney
From Avengers to Avatar, the entertainment giant is leaning into its most lucrative franchises to keep live experiences fresh for years to come.
Earlier this year the Walt Disney Company unveiled a map that detailed plans to expand its Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. The expansion will allow for all new themed lands at the park.
But Disney’s future plans for its parks aren’t just limited to that expansion. At the company’s D23 fan event this weekend in Anaheim, the House of Mouse unveiled even grander plans for its Disneyland and Disney World theme parks in California and Florida, respectively.
Those plans include all-new lands based on some of Disney’s most iconic franchises—including one of its most recently acquired ones. The announcement comes after Disney revealed in an earnings report last week that demand for its theme parks has softened.
Here are the lands and attractions that Disney plans to roll out to beef up its theme park experiences and, it hopes, spur more people to come to its parks in the years ahead.
A villainous land
The lands at Disney’s theme parks have historically been modeled on the heroes from Disney’s iconic franchises, but the company has announced that this will soon change—at least at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Disney plans to roll out a new land in the Magic Kingdom that is “based on the wickedly wonderful Disney villains you just love to loathe.” Which villains will feature most prominently is unknown, but Disney says the new land will feature dining, shopping, and two new attractions.
Cars come to Frontierland
The Cars franchise is one of the most successful from Disney/Pixar, with Disney saying the movies have brought in $1.4 billion at the global box office. Now Disney World will see an expansion of its existing Frontierland to include two new Cars attractions.
One will be a family-friendly attraction aimed at young fans and the other will be “an off-road thrilling rally race” aimed at older crowds.
Indiana Jones and Encanto come to Animal Kingdom
Disney says it is expanding Animal Kingdom at Disney World to include an all-new “Tropical Americas”-themed section.
Attractions here will include a new Indiana Jones adventure that takes place in a Mayan temple and the ability to roam through Casita from the Encanto movie. In addition, visitors will also be able to explore Pueblo Esperanza, a fictional rainforest village.
Tropical Americas is the only new attraction Disney revealed a date for. It is opening in 2027.
Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory
Walt Disney World is also getting other Pixar-theme attraction. This one is from the Monster’s Inc. franchise. Guests will be able to enter the Laugh Factory and ride on a suspended roller coaster—a first for Disney.
Avengers expansion
Not to be left out, Disneyland in California is getting two new upgrades, too. The first is an expansion to the existing attraction based on its Marvel franchise. Disney says its Avengers Campus attraction will double in size, so it can fit new attractions within.
Avatar
The second Disneyland upgrade is based on one of the company’s newest franchises, Avatar, which Disney acquired after purchasing 20th Century Fox.
James Cameron’s world of Pandora will be coming to California via its Disney California Adventure land. The new Avatar-themed adventure will be based on the second film, Avatar: The Way of Water. Disney says attractions will be based on upcoming Avatar films as well.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Grothaus is a novelist and author. He has written for Fast Company since 2013, where he’s interviewed some of the tech industry’s most prominent leaders and writes about everything from Apple and artificial intelligence to the effects of technology on individuals and society.