D23 Announcements for Walt Disney World: Villains Land, Cars Land, Encanto & More!

**Updated June 11, 2025

✨ Big News from D23: What’s Coming to Walt Disney World

Disney dropped a ton of announcements at the most recent D23 Expo—and if you’re a Walt D23 Announcements for Walt Disney World: Villains Land, Cars Land, Encanto & MoreDisney World fan, there’s a lot to be excited about! From brand-new lands to long-awaited ride updates, here’s everything we know so far:

🏰 Magic Kingdom: Massive Expansion on the Horizon

Let’s start with the park that got the biggest share of attention…

💀 Villains Land

Yes, it’s finally happening! Disney confirmed that a Villains-themed land is coming to Magic Kingdom. The new land will feature two brand-new attractions, plus themed dining and shopping. While there’s no official timeline yet, ground has reportedly already been broken—which means this project is more than just a dream.

🚗 Frontierland Transformation: Cars Land

Magic Kingdom is also getting its own take on Cars Land—but not a copy of the California Adventure version. Editied to add: As of July 7, 2026 Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Bell Steamboat at the Magic Kingdom will be closed to make way for this new exciting addition. This will be a reimagined land with new storylines and experiences, including:

• A terrain-racing ride where guests speed through rugged landscapes.

• A family-friendly attraction perfect for younger racers.

.

Between Villains Land and Cars Land, this is shaping up to be the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history

✨ Disney Starlight Parade (2025)

Magic Kingdom is also getting a brand-new nighttime parade!Disney Starlight will debut in Summer 2025, featuring floats inspired by:

• Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy

• Peter Pan

• Encanto

• Frozen…and more!

At a previous D23 a Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge was announced with no timeline. We now know this will be coming in 2025.

🏴‍☠️ Pirates Lounge (2025)

Originally announced at a previous D23, the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge has now been confirmed for 2025. Details are still under wraps, but expect swashbuckling vibes and immersive theming.

🎬 Hollywood Studios: Monster Mayhem & Mandalorian Magic

👾 Monstropolis is Coming!

Surprise! A Monsters, Inc.-themed land is in development. Disney teased a wild new attraction that lets guests zoom through the door vault with Sulley, Mike, and Boo. (We don’t know where it’s going in the park just yet—but it’s happening.) ***Updated to add that as of June 7, 2025 - The Muppets Courtyard and Muppets*Vision 3D closed to make way for Monstropolis.

🚀 Smugglers Run Upgrade

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will get a new adventure featuring Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) and Grogu! No word yet on when the update rolls out, but Star Wars fans—this one’s for you.

Animal Kingdom

🌳 Animal Kingdom: From Dinosaurs to Tropical Americas

🦊 Zootopia Show (Winter 2025)

“It’s Tough to Be a Bug” is officially being replaced with a Zootopia-themed show under the Tree of Life. This was teased during the previous D23 as a “Blue Sky” idea—but now it’s confirmed and opening in Winter 2025.

🌴 Tropical Americas: A Bold New Land

Say goodbye to Dinoland USA and hello to the Tropical Americas, a vibrant land inspired by the cultures and environments of Central and South America. Construction begins soon, but DINOSAUR will remain open through 2025 during the phased rollout.

Here’s what’s coming:

• Indiana Jones Adventure Replacing DINOSAUR, this new attraction will feature the same ride system but an all-new storyline. Guests will follow Indy into an ancient Mayan temple to uncover a mythical beast.

  
  

Encanto Ride inside CasitaYes, we’ll finally step inside Casita! The ride will tour magical rooms, ending with Antonio’s gift ceremony. Expect to see familiar faces—Mirabel, Bruno (shhh!), and more.

• Animal Carousel A beautifully themed carousel filled with animals from across the Americas will anchor the central village: Pueblo Esperanza (Village of Hope), featuring Spanish-style architecture and lush surroundings.

  
  

🧚 Pixie Dust Pro Tip: Want to see how these changes will affect your next trip? Check out our Animal Kingdom attraction guide for updated info and planning tips.

Disneyland

Jumping over to the OG park on the west coast, the 70th anniversary is quickly approaching for this original park. The anniversary celebration was announced but no details were given.

Walt Disney animatronic 

- The main man himself will be getting his own animatronic and show coming to the Main Street Opera House. The show will be Walt reflecting on his life and discussing the great big beautiful tomorrow. After some time this show will be moved to, and alternating with, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be opening to guests on November 15th 2024!

California Adventure

Avatar Land!

While this land had been previously announced no details were given. We learned that it will not be a copy of the land in Animal Kingdom, rather a whole new land reimagined to a different area of Pandora, including lands seen in Pandora The Way of Water and area that will be in new film, Pandora Fire and Ash. 

The land will include an innovative new attraction that will be an excursion to see the natural wonders of Pandora. Updated to add: Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will be closing in early 2026 to make way for this new attraction.

Coco 

Coco will also get its first attraction! Guests will journey with Miguel to the land of the dead. This attraction will feature the latest audio animatronic technology. Ground will be breaking on this attraction in 2026.

Avengers Campus 

An expansion was announced with two new attractions:

• Avengers Infinity Defense - we knew about this attraction but only that it would feature all of the Avengers as they take on King Thanos. Now we know the ride will take guests alongside the Avengers as they defend this world, and others from King Thanos who stole portal jumping tech and is wreaking havoc across the universe. Guests will get to visit familiar locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City for the final showdown with King Thanos. Construction on this ride will begin next year.

• Stark Flight Lab - we also got a look at an all new attraction where guests will get to test flight technology at the Stark workshop. There will be multiple flight paths so not every ride will be the same. Also, as a fun added bonus, Robert Downy Jr. will be reprising his role as Iron Man for the attraction! Construction is slated to start soon.

Additional Annoucements

At the International Parks the most exciting news was for Paris Disneyland where two new nighttimes shows were announced, one in Disneyland Paris and one in the newly renamed Disney Adventure World. Also in Disney Adventure World will be a new Frozen land, set to open in 2026, and a Lion King land.

Then in the Asian parks, Tokyo Disney is getting a new nighttime show, Reach for the Stars, debuting September 20th of this year, and both Hong Kong and Shangahi are getting Spider Man attractions, though the types of attractions will be quite different with one being a thrill ride and the other appears to be more virtual based.

There were also a couple announcements for Disney Cruise Line, the most exciting was that they will be expanding the fleet by four more ships between 2027 and 2030.

Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation?  Click here for our planning guide. Need tips for planning a Walt Disney World Vacation with someone with a disability?  Check out the disability section of our blog here.  Need help navigating the parks using DAS?  Click here. No longer qualify for DAS and need help figuring out now to approach a day at the parks? Click here for our ideas on how to flip your thinking and still have a good experience at Disney.