Art & Culture

Honda Center – October 25, 2026 -- Disney used its Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 2024 to unveil nearly 50 announcements, including four new cruise ships, a Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening date of October 25, 2026, and new lands and rides across its parks. Many of the projects will start appearing over the next five years.

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said all of it is in active development: "Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving."

Four new ships will bring Disney Cruise Line to 13 vessels

The fleet expansion runs from 2027 to 2031. Disney also shared new details about the Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny.

Florida – October 25, 2026 -- Disney's Carousel of Progress is closed for now, and its overhauled version is set to debut in late spring 2027 with new voices for Mom and Dad, an Audio-Animatronics Walt Disney, and four new time periods.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston step in as Mom and Dad

Host Neil Patrick Harris announced the casting at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston will voice the family's mother and father. Harris also previewed one new scene, set in the 1980s.

United States – October 25, 2026 -- A second season of The Imagineering Story is officially in production and will debut on Disney+ in 2028, giving fans a new look at how Disney's theme park creators work. Filmmaker Leslie Iwerks and Walt Disney Imagineering President and Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn announced it at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa.

Season 2 follows Imagineers from concept to construction

The first season arrived in 2019 and chronicled decades of Disney history. Season 2 takes a different approach: it follows Imagineers as they shape what the source describes as one of the most ambitious periods in Disney Experiences history.

Vaughn said Iwerks has been present as projects moved from blue-sky concept to the "dirt is moving!" stage. She has been granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the creative process, so viewers can see not only what Imagineers are building but how they think.

United States – October 22, 2026 -- Magic Kingdom's Frontierland is getting a second Cars attraction, Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along, alongside an off-road racing ride called Cars Ridge Run Rally. Disney announced both at D23 2026, where Michael Hundgen, Vice President Creative for Walt Disney World, and Imagineer Jason Grandt shared the details on the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress stage.

Miss Fritter hosts a demolition derby at Piston Peak

Making its public debut, Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along is inspired by the "Diva of Demolition" from Cars 3. The ride features Miss Fritter as a school-bus-sized animatronic who hosts her "wildest demolition derby yet."

Walt Disney World – October 22, 2026 -- The Encanto attraction coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom is officially called Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto, and it will have no height requirement, so the whole family can ride. Disney revealed the name and new details at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, where Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation Studios and writer and director of Encanto, presented the project.

Antonio's gift day drives the story

Guests are invited to Casita to celebrate Antonio's new gift, the ability to communicate with animals. The attraction's message is that we are all part of the familia of living things, regardless of our special gifts or abilities.

Stephanie Beatriz, Jessica Darrow and Diane Guerrero return to voice Mirabel, Luisa and Isabella. Darrow called the film "a perfect film" for taking colors and excitement into a real-world experience.

California – October 22, 2026 -- Disney California Adventure is getting the first Coco ride at any Disney park, and it will have no height requirement, so the whole family can board together.

Walt Disney Imagineers shared new details at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event presented by Visa, on the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress stage. Ali Rubinstein, Senior Vice President of Global Creative & Development Studios, and Emily O'Brien, Portfolio Executive Creative Producer for Disneyland Resort and Tokyo Disney Resort, took the stage after Los Lobos performed La Llorona. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the showcase. The attraction was first announced at D23 2024.

The story picks up one year after the original film

The queue starts in Pixar Pier, next to Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. Guests enter a "casa museo" dedicated to the music of Héctor Rivera, Miguel's great-great grandfather.

Walt Disney World Resort – October 22, 2026 -- Disney's Animal Kingdom is getting a new Indiana Jones ride called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, and its animatronic hero will be modeled on Harrison Ford himself. Disney Imagineers Michael Hundgen and Chris Beatty announced the name and first story details at the D23 showcase "Horizons: A Carousel of Progress."

Harrison Ford becomes the first Disney attraction face

Ford opened the showcase with a video message. He said he is the actual model for the next Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronics figure, and he confirmed it is the first time his face will appear on a Disney attraction anywhere in the world. Hundgen and Beatty later displayed the digital model used to build the figure.

Walt Disney World – October 22, 2026 -- Magic Kingdom's villain-themed expansion now has an official name, Villains Land, and two headline attractions: a Maleficent coaster and a Magic Mirror dark ride. Disney revealed the details during the Disney Experiences showcase, Horizons: A Carousel of Progress, at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.

A Magic Mirror appeared onstage and introduced Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum. Walt Disney Imagineering's Bruce Vaughn, President & Chief Creative Officer, and Caroline May, Executive Creative Director, then took over the presentation.

Villains Land is named to match the rest of Magic Kingdom

Vaughn and May said they chose the name because several areas in the park, such as Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, already end in "land." The team compared the size and scale of the new area to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. It will include shops, restaurants and the two major attractions.

Anaheim – October 22, 2026 -- Two new Avengers attractions at Disney California Adventure will open in 2028, and Disney has now revealed the cast, storyline and ride mechanics behind them. The news came at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, where John Stamos briefly took over hosting duties from Neil Patrick Harris. He joined Imagineer Brent Strong and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige on the Horizons stage.

Avengers Campus is doubling in size and reconnecting with Cars Land

Construction is underway on the expansion, which will double the size of the land. Disney also said the land will soon reconnect with Cars Land. The two attractions, Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab, were first announced at D23 2024.

Jalisco, Mexico – October 22, 2026 -- From October 24 to November 15, 12 Jalisco municipalities will host more than 350 free Day of the Dead activities as part of the second Festival de las Almas, organized by the state's Tourism Secretariat and State Entertainment Agency.

The festival has doubled in size from six municipalities in 2025. Its theme is "one state, many identities, one shared memory." The program covers the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, the mountains, the Lake Chapala region, the agave valley, Los Altos, and the coast, and includes altars, exhibitions, parades, tours, and musical performances.

Six new municipalities join the lineup

San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Tequila, Sayula, Mazamitla, Lagos de Moreno, and Cocula are the newcomers. They join Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Chapala, Puerto Vallarta, and Zapotlanejo from the first edition.