D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is almost here, and while there will be plenty happening throughout the weekend, I already know where I’ll be Saturday night: inside the Honda Center for Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase.
This is always the presentation that gets my attention. It’s where we get a look at what Disney Parks and Experiences will become over the next several years. And this year, Disney certainly isn’t starting with an empty slate. In fact, take a look at the expansion roadmap Disney recently shared with investors.
That is a lot of Disney being built around the world. Villains, Monsters Inc., Tropical Americas, Cars, Coco, Avengers, Avatar, Marvel, Spider-Man, Lion King, Lakeshore Lodge and an entirely new Disney destination in Abu Dhabi are already on the board.
So my Horizons wish list isn’t simply, “Announce more stuff.” I want Disney to fill in the blanks. Give us names. Give us dates. Show us concept art. Tell us how these lands fit together and what we’ll actually experience when they open.
Of course, this is D23. I also want one announcement that nobody sees coming. With that in mind, here are the things I’ll be hoping to hear from the Honda Center.
1. Tell Us What Villains Land Really Is
Let’s start with the project that may have more unanswered questions than anything else on Disney’s roadmap. We all call it Villains Land, but Disney continues to refer to it as a Villains-themed area. That certainly sounds like a working title to me. So, first question: what is this place actually called?
Then let’s get into the attractions. We’ve seen enough artwork to know Disney has big ambitions here. I want a real look at the roller coaster, details about the dark ride and a better understanding of that restaurant lurking in the concept art. More importantly, I want to understand the story that ties the entire land together.
And there’s another angle I keep thinking about. What happens to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party when Magic Kingdom suddenly has an entire land filled with Disney Villains?
That could completely change the feel of the event. Characters, entertainment, overlays, special experiences — there are so many possibilities. Villains Land is already exciting, but during Halloween it could become something completely different.
There is a lot Disney can tell us here.
2. Is It Finally Monstropolis?
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Monsters, Inc. is moving in, and this one is already taking shape. Disney has used Monstropolis as a name before, and honestly, I hope that’s where we’re headed. It fits. Let’s make it official.
The door coaster is obviously the headline attraction, and I’m ready for a much deeper look at it. But I’m equally interested in how the rest of the land comes together. What does the street look like? What other characters and locations will we encounter? How much of the movie’s world will actually surround us?
Then there’s the question Disney fans have been asking since the Muppets announcement: what exactly is replacing Muppet*Vision 3D?
We know the area is becoming part of the Monsters, Inc. project. What we don’t know is what happens inside that theater. That feels like exactly the kind of detail Horizons should finally answer.
And strangely enough, what happens at Hollywood Studios could create a huge opportunity several miles away at Magic Kingdom.
3. Could Monsters, Inc. Finally Unlock Tomorrowland?
If Hollywood Studios is getting a major Monsters, Inc. destination, does Magic Kingdom really need Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor forever? Maybe not.
And that gets interesting when you look at the rest of Tomorrowland. The former Stitch’s Great Escape space has been sitting there for years. Disney has recently announced updates for Carousel of Progress. Put those pieces together, and there may finally be an opportunity to do something much larger than swapping out one attraction.
Tomorrowland needs a vision again.
I don’t want Disney to replace Laugh Floor with another attraction and call the job finished. I’d love to see Imagineering look at the land as a whole. How should Tomorrowland feel ten or twenty years from now? What belongs there? What doesn’t? If Horizons announced the beginning of a real Tomorrowland transformation, that would instantly become one of my favorite announcements of the night.
4. Let Galaxy’s Edge Have Some Fun
Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World remains one of the most impressive environments Disney has ever built. But I still think Disney is unnecessarily limiting what that land can be.
Disneyland has already started breaking the original timeline rules. Walt Disney World should follow. Let Darth Vader walk through Black Spire Outpost. Bring in stormtroopers. Let characters from different generations of Star Wars coexist. Most guests aren’t standing there worried about whether a character perfectly fits the land’s original timeline. They want to experience Star Wars.
And while we’re fixing things, please give Galaxy’s Edge some music, implement the same John Williams soundtrack that has been installed at Disneyland. John Williams gave Star Wars one of the greatest soundtracks in movie history. Walking through this incredible Star Wars environment without hearing more of that music still feels like a missed opportunity.
Disney doesn’t need to build another billion-dollar attraction to make Galaxy’s Edge feel more alive. Sometimes the smaller changes matter.
5. We Know Piston Peak and Tropical Americas Are Coming — Now Give Us the Details
Not everything on my list needs to be a surprise. Some of the projects I’m most excited about are already under construction.
At Magic Kingdom, the Cars-themed Piston Peak project is going to dramatically change the area around Frontierland. At Animal Kingdom, Tropical Americas is moving along with Encanto and a new Indiana Jones adventure.
We know the big ideas. Now I want Disney to take us another level deeper.
Show us more of the attractions. Give us updated concept art. Walk us through the environments. Tell us more about the restaurants and smaller details that will make these places feel alive.
And maybe it’s time for some dates. Could Tropical Americas be looking at late 2027? When does Piston Peak follow? I don’t need Disney to promise an exact Tuesday three years from now, but an opening season or year would make these projects suddenly feel much more real.
6. Epcot Still Has Unfinished Business
Epcot may be the park where my wish list drifts furthest away from projects Disney has already announced.
Before the pandemic, Disney had plans for a major reimagining of Spaceship Earth. Those plans disappeared as priorities changed, but I’ve never stopped wondering whether that project eventually comes back.
Then there’s the Imagination pavilion.
Figment remains one of Epcot’s most popular characters, yet Journey Into Imagination desperately needs attention. Disney clearly understands how much fans love Figment — you only have to look at the merchandise. Now give him an attraction worthy of that affection.
And while we’re dreaming, I wouldn’t complain about something new around World Showcase either. Brazil? Spain? Sure. That rumor may be old enough to qualify for its own pavilion at this point. I don’t expect it, but if Josh D’Amaro wants to surprise me, I’ll listen.
7. Bluey Has Arrived — Now Where Does She Live?
Bluey is no longer something Disney needs to test.
The characters are hugely popular, and Disney has already started incorporating Bluey into its parks and experiences. So my question is simple: what is the permanent plan?
I’d love to see Bluey get a real home at Walt Disney World and Disneyland rather than simply appear through temporary experiences.
Animal Kingdom is particularly interesting to me. Tropical Americas is already transforming one portion of the park, but does that have to be the end of Animal Kingdom’s expansion? And that leads into another question I keep coming back to: Zootopia.
Disney has invested heavily in the franchise internationally, while Animal Kingdom already has a Zootopia presence. Is there still something bigger in its future? Maybe not, but it feels like a door that isn’t completely closed.
8. Marvel’s Parks Story Is Getting Much Bigger
Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure is already expanding with Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. I expect Horizons to give us more details, and hopefully a clearer idea of when we can actually experience them.
But the more interesting story may be what happens when you zoom out.
Hong Kong Disneyland has another Marvel attraction coming. Shanghai Disney Resort has an entire Spider-Man-themed land on Disney’s expansion roadmap.
Suddenly this isn’t an Avengers Campus story. It’s a global Marvel Parks story.
I’d love to see Disney connect those dots during Horizons. How will these experiences differ? What does a Spider-Man land in Shanghai look like compared with Avengers Campus in California? Where is Disney taking Marvel as a theme-park franchise?
There’s a much bigger story there than any single attraction.
9. Disneyland Has Some Big Questions to Answer
There’s a lot happening at Disneyland Resort, which also means there are a lot of unanswered questions.
The Coco attraction appears to be moving nicely, and I’m ready for another look at the project. Show us more artwork, more of the surrounding area and how the attraction will fit into Disney California Adventure.
Then there’s Avatar.
Disney keeps including the Avatar experience in its official expansion plans, but compared with several other projects, we’ve seen relatively little. What exactly are we building? Where does it go? What type of attraction anchors it?
Horizons feels like the time to stop calling it an “Avatar experience” and show us what it really is.
Beyond all of that sits DisneylandForward.
That project has always represented something larger than one ride or one land. I’m hoping Horizons finally gives us an announcement that demonstrates the true scale of what Disney intends to do with that opportunity.
Something big.
10. Abu Dhabi Could Steal the Show
Then there is the project with perhaps the biggest blank canvas of all: Disneyland Abu Dhabi. Disney has announced a completely new destination, and yet we still know relatively little about what guests will eventually find there. That makes Horizons incredibly interesting.
Show us the icon. Show us the first land. Tell us about one major attraction. Give us something that helps answer the biggest question of all: what makes this Disney destination different?
Disney has an opportunity to design this resort without decades of existing infrastructure around it. That opens possibilities we haven’t seen with a Disney destination in a very long time.
A substantial Abu Dhabi reveal could easily be one of the biggest stories coming out of D23.
Oh Wait… There’s More
And this is where my Top 10 falls apart, because I’m not finished.
Disney Believe is coming, and I want to know much more about Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship. Which Disney stories will define it? What restaurants and bars are coming? What are the Broadway-style productions? What happens in the Grand Hall, and which character gets that centerpiece statue?
I don’t necessarily need another new ship announcement. I’d rather Disney make Believe feel real.
Disney Vacation Club is another question. Disney Lakeshore Lodge is already on Disney’s current roadmap, so eventually the conversation becomes: what comes after it? Disney is rarely finished building DVC resorts.
Then there’s Disney Adventure World in Paris.
After visiting Disneyland Paris this summer, I’m paying much closer attention to that transformation. World of Frozen is an enormous step, and the Lion King area will add another major destination. But I still look at Cars Road Trip and see an opportunity.
What comes after Lion King? Keep going.
One More Thing…
And maybe that is the biggest thing I want from Horizons. Disney already has plenty to build. Look again at that earnings slide. There is enough work there to keep Imagineering busy for years. So I don’t need Josh D’Amaro to stand on the Honda Center stage and announce another 15 blue-sky projects. Give me substance on what we already know.
Tell me the real name of Villains Land. Show me the Monstropolis attractions. Give me opening windows for Tropical Americas and Piston Peak. Explain Avatar. Show me Abu Dhabi. Tell me where Marvel is headed.
But after all of that…
Give me one thing nobody is talking about.
No rumor that has been circulating for six months. No concept art somebody spotted in the background of a permit. No announcement everyone already expects. Just one genuine D23 surprise.
One moment when the entire Honda Center reacts at once and everyone looks at the person sitting beside them thinking the same thing:
Wait… what?
That’s what I’m hoping for Saturday night. And I’ll be there to see what Disney has up its sleeve. Stay tuned to SamsDisneyDiary for more.
