BIG Disneyland Resort D23 Expo Announcements!

There was SO MUCH news tonight at the Disney Experience Showcase at the D23 Expo tonight! We’ve compiled a list of updates for Disneyland Resort all in one place here so you can see everything new and exciting coming soon. These are projects Disney is building right now, and for many, you’ll start to see them come to life over the next five years. The sky’s the limit, and Disney is only just getting started. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said it best:

“At Disney Experiences, Imagineers dream, create, design, and build these stories into real places. And we have Imagineers in place right now all around the world because everything we’re going to share with you is in active development. Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving. I just want to be clear about this: We are doing everything you’ve heard here tonight.”

AVATAR-THEMED DESTINATION AT CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
- Date TBA

Pack your bags, we’re all heading to Pandora! In the future, you’ll be greeting everyone with Oel ngati kameie — that’s “I see you” in Na’vi — when this all-new exciting destination arrives at the Disneyland Resort with awe-inspiring sights and experiences.

As Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced during Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, we’re venturing further into Pandora with a new destination at Disney California Adventure. While Pandora—The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is based on Oscar-winner James Cameron’s “Avatar” film, this new destination draws inspiration from “Avatar: The Way of Water” and upcoming Avatar films to bring Pandora to life in a brand-new way.

FIRST EVER WALT DISNEY AUDIO-ANIMATRONICS FIGURE
- Debuting in 2025

On stage during Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro gave a small glimpse of a fitting tribute coming to Disneyland. For the first time ever, when it debuts in 2025, you’ll actually be able to see Walt Disney through the magic of Audio-Animatronics technology in “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.”

Walt Disney Imagineering’s first Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney is being created for this very special experience. “I speak for our entire team when I say there is so much pride and excitement for everyone involved in this endeavor,” Josh told the crowd.

The past, present, and future are coming together, giving visitors the chance to imagine what it would be like to stop by Walt’s office. Who knows what he might be dreaming up inside? Only time will tell with Walt.

“Walt Disney—A Magical Life” will debut inside the Main Street Opera House. After its initial run, the attraction will rotate with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” This is a fitting acknowledgement of Walt’s significant advances with Audio-Animatronics about 60 years ago, when he first introduced the groundbreaking technology.

AVENGERS EXPERIENCES AT DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
- Opening Date TBA

Ready, recruits? The size of Avengers Campus at Disneyland will double with not one but two brand new attractions to suit up and fight alongside some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Construction on this expansion will begin next year.

Get ready for a multi-world adventure experience with Avengers Infinity Defense. Technology that allows the Avengers to jump between worlds has gone missing, and King Thanos is using it to wreak havoc everywhere. Recruits will travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City alongside the likes of big, and small, heroes. You also just might find yourself face-to-face with King Thanos, too.

If you’re up for another mission, Tony Stark has one for you. And you know Tony, he always wants to try something new and exciting, and it’s going to make you feel like a Super Hero yourself. With the just announced Stark Flight Lab, you’re going to sit in two-person pods and deploy to a test station. Then a robot arm grabs your pod and starts whirling you around in a simulated flight.

And a familiar face will join you at the Stark Flight Lab — Mr. Stark himself. Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark for the attractions in the land.

COCO ATTRACTION AT DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
- Construction begins 2026

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro took the stage to reveal that an all-new, FIRST EVER attraction themed to Pixar Animation Studios’ “Coco” is coming to Disney California Adventure in the future.

The attraction will be filled with the characters — and music! — you know and love from the beloved movie as you join Miguel on a trip to the land of the dead. This marks the first-ever “Coco” ride in a Disney park!

Walt Disney Imagineering will draw inspiration for the attraction from beloved classics, like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. “We’re bringing our skeletal cast of characters to life in a big way through the latest Audio-Animatronics technology,” Josh told the crowd. “These figures will appear in ways you’ll have to see to believe.”

Get ready to celebrate everything you know and love about the movie, and music, with work beginning on the attraction in 2026!

TIANA’S BAYOU ADVENTURE AT DISNEYLAND
- Opening November 15, 2024

The Happiest Place on Earth will open its attraction inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film “The Princess and the Frog” on Nov. 15, 2024 (at the start of the Holiday season at Disneyland Resort)! And not only that but Critter Country will be appropriately renamed Bayou Country when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens. Gather up your friends and family, a celebration is coming!

NEW ADVENTURES IN STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE
- Jumping to Lightspeed in 2026

When the upcoming “The Mandalorian and Grogu” movie blasts off in theaters in 2026, it will also touch down at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. A brand-new story featuring Mando and his youngling is coming to Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

During Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Star Wars creative executive Dave Filoni joined Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro onstage to discuss the upcoming addition to the attraction in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. As Dave explained, the Lucasfilm team uses Epic’s Unreal Engine to create some of the virtual sets for “The Mandalorian.” Now, with the expanded partnership between Disney and Epic Games, Epic’s Unreal Engine will help bring to life the latest adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

“The intersection of storytelling and innovation has always been central to Lucasfilm and we’re excited to see where this collaboration will take us next,” Dave told the crowd. “Just imagine it: you’ll be able to fly alongside Mando and Grogu on thrilling, and dangerous, missions.”

Are you ready to book your Disney vacation? Let Kyle Vacations, an affiliate of Academy Travel, handle all the details for you! Click here to choose your Disney destination, fill out our quick and easy form, and your personalized, free travel advisor will be in touch soon! Follow us @kylevacations on Instagram for updates and insider tips on what not to miss. Get excited; the countdown to your magical vacation is ON!