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D23 Event 2026 Recap: New Rides, Lands, and What’s Coming to Disney Parks

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Chris Hassan
Updated: 
Edited by: Ryan Smith
D23 Event 2026 Recap: New Rides, Lands, and What’s Coming to Disney Parks
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The biggest weekend for Disney fans is here.

D23 kicked off on Friday in Anaheim, California, full of announcements and sneak peeks, including everything from a Bluey movie coming to the big screen, new Disney Cruise Line ships, and Villains Land progress at Magic Kingdom in Orlando.

Whether you’re a loyal D23 member or just curious about the new Tropical Americas land, here is (almost) everything announced so far at this year’s event.

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D23 2026 Recap

D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is running from August 14 to 16, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center and Honda Center in Anaheim, California. As always, it’s packed with fans, celebrities, Disney stars, and Legends.

The event lasts 3 full days, and for good reason. With a full schedule of announcements, shows, interviews, and more, The Walt Disney Company has lots of news to share.

Josh DAmaro D23 Image Credit Disney
Image Credit: Disney

From new movies — including “Coco 2,” “Frozen 3,” “Incredibles 3,” and “Zootopia 3” — to theme park news, including Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland and The Lion King ride at Disneyland Paris, and Disney Cruise Line news, there is a lot to look forward to. The Yeti is even coming back to life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

For travelers heading to theme parks in the U.S., here’s what you can expect.

Walt Disney World Resort

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of construction going on at Walt Disney World Resort right now, and Disney Imagineering is giving fans a closer look at what’s being built.

The “Imagineering: Horizons” pavilion is giving guests new views of many projects that are in progress, including the Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom.

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Image Credit: Disney

Disney announced that Act 2 of the ride will pick up in the 1980s and the mom and dad will be voiced by Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston.

Fans of “Encanto” will be excited to get a peek at Tropical Americas, which is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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Image Credit: Disney

The display highlighted maquettes of the new ride vehicles for Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto made from the Madrigals’ Casita, as well as Audio-Animatronics animal figures that will be featured throughout the ride. This area of the park will also be home to the new Indiana Jones attraction, Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent.

And, for those wondering when the broken Yeti inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be fixed … eventually.

Moving over to Magic Kingdom, fans finally got a closer look at what’s replacing Tom Sawyer Island: Piston Peak National Park.

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Image Credit: Disney

We already knew that the Cars-themed land would have 1 thrill ride attraction, and the name of that attraction will be Cars Ridge Run Rally. This bumpy ride will take guests up and down mountains, through America’s national parks, as they compete for the “fastest lap in the west.”

But Disney also unveiled a second, family-friendly Cars ride coming to Piston Peak, Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along, a family-friendly spin ride.

Staying at Magic Kingdom, the highly anticipated Villains area had its name revealed… Villains Land. The display area only showed the new “guardian trees” that will be part of the land, but the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase panel unveiled more details.

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Image Credit: Disney

This massive new land will be filled with dark magic, 2 major attractions, shops, and restaurants. We now know that there will be a Maleficent coaster as well as a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror.

Finally, for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests can check out the moodboard and some “monster-fied” critters that inspired the new neighborhood of Monstropolis.

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Image Credit: Disney

Plus, fans got a closer look at the Glob Theater and Harryhausen’s Restaurant that will serve up sushi and “delicious-looking Monster-worthy creations.”

Disney Imagineers also dropped the news that guests will be able to start exploring Monstropolis as early as next year.

And over at EPCOT, Spaceship Earth will be re-imagineered, and our favorite purple dragon, Figment, is getting reunited with Dreamfinder.

» Related: Disney World Lightning Lanes: Booking, Pricing, and Strategies [2026]

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Disneyland

On the other coast, Disneyland Resort has updates to share, including a new vehicle maquette for Stark Flight Lab and new renderings for the upcoming “Coco” attraction.

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Image Credit: Disney

Guests at D23 will be able to write down a special Disneyland memory, which will be transformed into soil that will be used in floral planters along the Disney California Adventure attraction queue.

And, finally, guests can breathe a collective sigh of relief, as a new rockwork and ride model of the upcoming “Avatar” land was unveiled — putting to rest rumors that the new land coming to Disney California Adventure was canceled.

Villains Land D23 screenshot Walt Disney Imagineering YouTube
Screenshot: Walt Disney Imagineering YouTube

However, no timeline has been announced, but there was an announcement about the transformation of Tomorrowland, which brought big cheers.

Final Thoughts

D23 2026 has made 2 things clear: Imagineers are busy, and expansion is underway. While expectations were certainly high, especially for those who paid to attend D23, there’s a lot for Disney fans to look forward to.

From the “Avatar” area at Disneyland to Piston Peak, Tropical Americas, and Villains Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney is making sure the parks have plenty of attractions for fans of all ages for years to come.

Chris Hassan's image

About Chris Hassan

Chris holds a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management and managed social media for all Marriott properties in South America, making him a perfect fit for UP and its social media channels. He has a passion for making content catered toward family travelers.

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