Sep 17, 20226 min read

D23 Expo 2022 - Parks Announcements

It's that time again... the Christmas that only comes every other year. Yes, folks, it was the D23 Expo last weekend. We always look forward to this event, labeled as the Ultimate Disney Fan Event because this is when many of the future plans and projects for the next two years are unveiled.

The expo, named after D for Disney and 23 for 1923, the year Walt founded the company, is an opportunity for Disney to unveil plans, concept art, and models not only related to development in all Disney theme parks, but also about the cruise line, and media like television and movies. Our round up here will be focused on parks related announcements for Walt Disney World and Disneyland California, with some honorable mentions from the Cruise Line as well.

This post is image heavy and full of concept art which is all credited to Disney and D23.com.

New Character Experiences

Our first major category falls under the new characters and character experiences you will find in some of the parks.

At Disneyland California, the Mandalorian and Grogu will soon begin appearing in Galaxy's Edge. Hulk will also begin making appearances in a "Project Exo" exoskeleton at Disney California Adventure's Avengers Campus.

Meanwhile, at EPCOT, Figment will finally be a permanent character with a meet and greet. And at the Haunted Mansion in Disney World, the Hatbox Ghost, a favorite from the Disneyland version, will be installed.

Fireworks Overhauls

If you've followed discussions of Disney fans everywhere, you might have heard an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the newest fireworks shows at Walt Disney World, Enchantment at the Magic Kingdom, an HarmoniUS at EPCOT. Both play similar music with similar homages to the same movies and fans have commented that it's felt a bit too commercial. Which may be why part of the announcements involved new shows in place of these, after just a year of running each show. We don't know if that's the quickest turn around ever, but it's pretty quick change. It is yet to be seen whether Disney got the message.

One of the "new" shows is actually and oldy and goody! Yes, Happily Ever After will return to Disney's Magic Kingdom! Meanwhile, at EPCOT, the new show does not yet have a name, but Disney has announced that they will replace HarmoniUS with a different show for the 100th Anniversary of Disney in 2023.

Meanwhile, at Disneyland, new fireworks will premier next year called "Wondrous Journeys". And over at Disney's California Adventure, World of Color will get a revamp to "World of Color - One" which will include Coco and Encanto.

Let's Talk about Bruno...

Speaking of Encanto, and Coco, these are rising stars in the Disney Parks world. The next "announcement" might not even be that, but it's what Disney Imagineers have been in the early stages of discussing according to what happened at D23. "Early stages of discussing" and "early stages of sharing this with the world", though, seem to be two different things, and we hope they are and that these concepts come to life! Imagineers hope to update the Magic Kingdom, again.

We have no timeline or even plans Disney is willing to say are concrete as they specifically said any concept art could change over time, but the idea is that themed lands for Coco, Encanto, and the Disney Villains can be added to the Magic Kingdom.

Yes, apparently there is space for expansion behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and these three lands, or areas, might fit there. Concept art seems to indicate the lands might replace Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. We're not even sure whether to call them lands as they might just be areas, like the Tangled area and the Little Mermaid areas in New Fantasyland.

If you look closely at the concept art, you can see the town from Coco and the Casita Madrigal beyond the spires of Big Thunder Mountain, and looming in the distance beyond the casita, a shadowing villainous land.

Speaking of Themed Lands

It seems a few lands across the two park complexes might be getting rethemes.

At Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, Dinoland U.S.A may be facing a retheme to a Zootopia (or maybe Moana?) themed land. This sounded like a very tentative discussion, but given it was brought up at all seems to indicate something will happen. It's unclear whether the land will be Zootopia or Moana (or both) themed (or even two different lands, perhaps using the space behind the Theater in the Wild). Concept art was shared. We don't see Zootopia in this art, but we see a lot of Moana (unless that's Zootopia way in the background?). It'll be interesting to see where this goes, if it goes anywhere at all.

If we had to guess, we think we're seeing this Moana themed lagoon right about where Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama is now. We don't know what the spires toward the back are (Zootopia?) but that seems to be where Dinosaur currently is.

But wait! There's more! Over in California, Pacific Wharf (that awkward chunk of land between CarsLand and Paradise Pier, will be rethemed to San Fansokyo from Big Hero 6.

And Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland resort will become Pixar Pier Hotel, featuring a new Finding Nemo themed splash pad.

Here's some concept art of San Fansokyo:

New Attractions and Decorations

Our final parks related category is attractions, and what we're going to refer to as "decorations".

In the "decorations" category, the statue of Walt that will grace EPCOT was finally revealed. Called "The Dreamer" it will place Walt more prominently in EPCOT while also making Walt more accessible by being a statue that can actually be approached (unlike Partners at the Magic Kingdom).

We love Walt and we get all schmoopy when a statue is done right, and we have to say we just love the smile on this one. So excited to see this installed at EPCOT!

Also in EPCOT news, a date was announced for the Moana, Journey of Water "attraction"/ walkthrough area. The biggest news here is that it will feature Te-Fiti. Here's the model:

Moving on to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, a date was announced for the long anticipated Tron Lightcycle Run ride. In perhaps the only disappointing news of the expo, it now will not open until Spring of 2023 (This is pushed back from Fall of 2022).

Meanwhile, work will begin soon on Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the re-versioning of Splash Mountain, and guests are already well aware of this and flocking to the original before that version ends forever. Given that the Bayou Adventure isn't expected until 2024, it's likely Splash will remain open at least until the end of this year, and perhaps into 2023 before closing for renovation. In addition to a model at D23, there is new concept art.

Perhaps the most exciting news in the form of attractions was that a new attraction is coming to Avenger's Campus at Disney's California Adventure. This attraction will be based on the Multiverse concept and will feature King Thanos. Yes, King.

King Thanos is a version of the character who won at the end of Endgame. In this attraction, guests will travel through Marvel's multiple universes and team up with different versions of the Avengers to defeat King Thanos. No date has been set yet for the construction or opening of this attraction.

Cruise Line News

We have new concept art and a name for Disney's upcoming Cruise Line ship. When the Wish was announced, we knew there would be three ships of this type that would join the fleet, the Wish being the first. The next, coming in 2024, will be named the Disney Treasure. Treasure will embrace the sense of adventure and discovery behind so many great stories, and promises to put guests at the center of their own adventure. It takes its inspiration from Asia, Africa, and the mythical place of Agrabah, setting for Aladdin. The lobby will be in deep and rich colors and will feature a centerpiece of Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Magic Carpet.

We hope to hear more about this new ship including what onboard activities and dining there will be in the coming months.

Additionally, Disney announced that the Disney Wonder, one of the original ships, will now travel to Australia and New Zealand, a first for Disney Cruise Line.

More information about Lighthouse Point, the new Disney Cruise Line private destination has been released. Disney cruise line currently brings guests to Castaway Cay, an island off the coast of Florida, as a private beach destination. For a couple years now, we've known that a second location is joining the line-up. Lighthouse Point is the southernmost tip of the Bahamian island of Eleuthera. This destination was conceived by Joe Rohde, who has since retired, but is known for his work on Aulani and Disney's Animal Kingdom. He was captivated by this island's beauty, and wished for a destination that showcased both the nature and the culture of the Bahamas.

Now, new concept art has been released showcasing plans for bright buildings with plenty of veranda space.

We love D23 and getting excited about what is next for the Disney Parks and Cruise Line! What are you most excited about? For us, it's the little things like "Happily Ever After" returning, and Grogu coming to Galaxy's Edge! (I want them to sell blue macarons so I can feed them to him!!!) Tell us which of these announcements excites you by coming on over to our Facebook page where you can follow us to see when new articles are posted each week. Until next time...