Reported from inside the Honda Center. Disney closed D23 2026 with Horizons: A Carousel of Progress, a two-hour showcase that fixed a 20-year-old grievance, reordered its Disneyland priorities, and put a sentence on stage that explains the whole strategy. Here is every announcement, and what I think it means.
Jump to: The opening number · Carousel of Progress · Disneyland classics return · Space Mountain · Spaceship Earth · The Yeti · Marvel worldwide · Tropical Americas · Coco and Lion King · Piston Peak · Disney Cruise Line · Monstropolis · Villains Land · Tomorrowland · Figment · The questions left open · My takeaway
The energy was different on Saturday.
You could feel it on the D23 show floor at the Anaheim Convention Center all day long, where the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion had been drawing crowds since doors opened. People were trading predictions. People were arguing about what Disney would and would not say. The morale was as high as I have ever felt at a fan event. All of it pointed at one place: the Honda Center, that night.
Here is the thing nobody was saying out loud. Disney had stacked the deck against itself. Two years ago at D23 2024, the company announced almost everything, Monstropolis, Villains Land, the whole slate. That is a brutal act to follow. When you have already told the crowd about the big swings, what exactly do you do for an encore?
Disney had already emptied its studio slate onto this same stage the night before, when the Entertainment Showcase ran here, and everyone in the building knew it. To their credit, they walked out and tried anyway. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the whole thing, and by the end of the night I think they pulled it off in a way almost nobody predicted.
The second I walked in, I was handed a commemorative ticket. Small thing. Cost them almost nothing. But it set the tone for the entire evening, and I want to be honest, I loved it. It told you the company knew what this night meant to the people in those seats.
The Opening Number Told You Everything
Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a full comedy musical number about Audio-Animatronics figures.
According to Disney Parks Blog, the number was built around Neil daydreaming about a new goal in life, becoming a Disney Parks Audio-Animatronics figure. He told the crowd, “I bet everybody here has that one special Disney role meant just for them.” Tig Notaro appeared as Abraham Lincoln, and later as the Yeti. Megan Hilty played Madame Leota. Jack McBrayer turned up as the Caretaker. Skylar Astin and Darren Criss showed up as both pirates and hitchhiking ghosts. The song name-checked it’s a small world, DJ Rex from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
It was funny. It was clever. And it was the first signal of something I could not stop noticing all night.
More Projects at Once Than at Any Point in Their History
Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum came out and told the crowd the company is working on more projects at the same time than at any point in its history. New attractions. New lands. New shows. New ships for Disney Cruise Line.
I believe him. Look at what is actually in motion right now: every domestic park is under construction, the international parks are all in some stage of transformation, and they are introducing an entirely new class of cruise ship. That is not a line for a stage. That is just where the company is.
The Imagineering Story Comes Back
They kicked things off by announcing that filmmaker Leslie Iwerks is returning for a second season of The Imagineering Story, in production now, with the first episodes hitting Disney+ next year. Bruce Vaughn, President and Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, brought Disney Legends Tony Baxter, Wing Chao, Robert Coltrin, Bob Gurr, Joe Rohde, and Kim Irvine onstage with him.
Now, I will be straight with you. This is not in-park news, so it did not get me out of my seat. But Imagineering is the heart of every in-park experience, and getting another season that shows how these attractions actually come to life is genuinely great. I cannot wait to watch it.
Carousel of Progress Gets Its Next Act
Then they got to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, and Disney announced that Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston are joining the cast as the new mom and dad.
I do not have strong opinions on the casting itself. Both are going to be excellent, that is not a hard call. What I cared about was the first look at the new scenes.
One of the new scenes is set in the 1980s, and the art they showed is loaded. Classic wood countertops. And look closer, because I think this scene is set in October. There is a ghost and a bat in the window. The fridge is covered in Halloween decorations. On the right side it looks like they are handing out trick-or-treat candy. If I am reading that right, act two of Carousel of Progress is a Halloween scene, and that is a fun, specific choice.
Here is my one disappointment of the night. For an attraction this close to done, with a moment this big on stage, I expected more. They kept plenty close to the vest. I understand why, and it is fine, but I wanted the whole picture.
Disneyland Gets Its Classics Back
Then came the news that got the loudest reaction of the early show. “Remember… Dreams Come True” returns to Disneyland park in February 2027.
The original World of Color is coming back too.
And in summer 2027, the “Magic Happens” parade dances back down Main Street, U.S.A. Three crowd favorites, all returning, all within one year.
Space Mountain Goes Back to the Beginning
Then the show went international, and this is where I got genuinely excited.
Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland Paris is making way for Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune, a reimagined experience inspired by the Jules Verne story that shaped the attraction in the first place. Per Disney, it returns to its iconic name with its original musical score.
I am a massive Hyperspace Mountain fan. But I have heard nothing but incredible things about the original Paris Space Mountain for years, and I have never gotten to ride it. I have ridden Hyperspace in Paris. Now it sounds like I need to book another trip, because the original coming back with its own score is the best news I heard all weekend.
Over at Tokyo Disneyland, Space Mountain: Earthrise will launch guests into the cosmos with a view of Earth that Disney says is unlike anything in a Disney attraction, as part of a reimagined Tomorrowland. Disney has not shared more yet, but it looked impressive.
Spaceship Earth Is the Boldest Swing of the Night
Then they moved to Spaceship Earth, and I want to sit on this one for a second.
Disney is changing the storyline. Per Disney Parks Blog, for the first time in nearly two decades, the attraction is getting updates that expand its story from human communication to the broader theme of human connection, carrying it into the internet age and beyond. Imagineer Ali Rubinstein and Mark Rober joined Neil on stage to talk it through.
Think about what that actually means. This is the attraction that anchors all of EPCOT. This is not a scene refresh or an Audio-Animatronics upgrade. They are changing the core premise of the ride. That is a bold decision, and honestly I am surprised they went this direction. I am very interested to see where Spaceship Earth shakes out.
The Yeti, and the Moment I Understood the Whole Night
Then Thomas Mazloum interrupted Neil mid-sentence to say this: “We’re bringing the Yeti back to life inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!”
The building came apart. And then Disney did something I did not expect. They leaned all the way into the joke. They talked about Disco Yeti by name, the nickname fans gave the figure because of the strobe lighting that has covered for it all these years. Then Gloria Gaynor walked out and performed “I Will Survive” as a send-off.
Stop and think about that. Disney put the Queen of Disco on stage to say goodbye to a bug in their own attraction.
That is the moment the night clicked for me. Disney was not afraid to poke fun at itself. It was relaxed. It was confident. A company that is nervous does not make jokes about its most famous broken thing. A company that is comfortable in its own skin does, and then it fixes it.
And it told me something bigger: they are listening. Bringing up the Yeti as a headline announcement is a deep-cut fandom move. You only make that call if you are paying real attention to what the community actually talks about.
Marvel Is Expanding on Three Continents at Once
This was the stretch that proved Mazloum’s point about scale.
At Disney California Adventure park, Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab both open in 2028, doubling the size of Avengers Campus. Per Disney, Infinity Defense puts riders in front of massive physical sets blended with huge media scenes, and familiar on-screen heroes are reprising their roles. Stark Flight Lab is a cutting-edge training experience inspired by Stark Industries. Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, and Brie Larson all reprise their film roles.
Hong Kong Disneyland is getting a new Avengers Pavilion rising over the Stark Expo skyline, taking guests into Avengers Research Testing Labs alongside Peter Parker, with a new Quinjet landing platform.
And Shanghai Disney Resort is getting the first Disney Parks land dedicated entirely to Spider-Man, with a new coaster, Spider-Bots, and projects from the Worldwide Engineering Brigade.
Three parks, three continents, one franchise, all in motion at the same time. That is the part people will underrate.
Tropical Americas Comes Into Focus
Imagineers Michael Hundgen and Chris Beatty took the stage for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, coming to Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Harrison Ford himself sent a message to open the segment, and Disney revealed he is the model for the attraction’s Audio-Animatronics figure. The ride takes guests into an ancient Maya temple alongside Indy, with revolutionary Audio-Animatronics figures, an original storyline, legendary creatures, supernatural dangers, and a massive serpent drawn from Maya mythology.
Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation and the writer-director of Encanto, came out for the other headliner: Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto.
Guests are invited into Casita on Antonio’s gift day. They explore rooms created exclusively for the attraction, surrounded by Antonio’s animals, music, and the magic of the film. From my seat: there is no height requirement, which matters more than people realize for a park that needs family capacity.
The land’s carousel got a name too: El Carrusel de los Animalitos, featuring 22 characters. Los Lobos performed “La Llorona” live to close the segment.
Coco Heads West, and Paris Gets The Lion King
The Coco attraction coming to Disney California Adventure park got new concept art showing guests floating through the Land of the Dead. From the stage: the attraction is set one year after the events of the original film.
Disneyland Paris is getting a Lion King attraction built on the original animated film, part of the ongoing transformation at Disney Adventure World. I went deeper on everything Disney confirmed about that attraction in a separate report, because the detail deserved its own space.
Piston Peak Is Going to Be Beautiful, and That Matters
Now the one I came for.
Michael Hundgen and Imagineer Jason Grandt introduced Cars Ridge Run Rally. Grandt framed it as a hunt for “the wildest racer in the wheelderness,” racing for the “fastest lap in the west.” Per Disney, the course runs through the rugged beauty of America’s national parks. That includes a climb up Piston Peak itself, to an icy, snow-covered summit. Grandt said he is especially excited to experience that frosty summit at night. After the top, racers plummet into a camelback descent and navigate a geyser field. They circle the Old Tankfull geyser, then sprint to a finish line where Lightning McQueen and Mater call the race live on Racing Sports Network.
The technology is the part people should be paying attention to. Disney says Cars Ridge Run Rally debuts a completely new ride vehicle, designed not to simulate an off-road car but to be one.
Disney had already confirmed both Piston Peak rides earlier that night. The second attraction is Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along, inspired by the Diva of Demolition from Cars 3. Hundgen said Miss Fritter will be a huge school-bus-sized Audio-Animatronics figure hosting a stampeding bash at her wildest demolition derby yet.
Here is my honest take. A lot of people were upset about Rivers of America going away, and I understood that. But I saw the 225-square-foot model on the show floor, and then I saw this concept art, and I think those fans can sleep soundly now. Piston Peak is beautiful. It is grand in scale. The waterfalls, the ridges, the geysers, the snow-capped peak, this is a gorgeous piece of park.
And frankly, I am not surprised. Look at how good Cars Land is at Disney California Adventure park. Disney has a long track record of bringing this franchise to life at the highest level. The future of Magic Kingdom Park still looks beautiful without that water feature, and I am okay with that trade.
Tokyo’s Wreck-It Ralph Figure Stunned Me
Disney showed a first look at the Wreck-It Ralph Audio-Animatronics figure for Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue at Tokyo Disneyland, and I was genuinely stunned. It is a phenomenal figure. My only complaint is a selfish one. I wish this were coming stateside. Seeing it on that stage was still a highlight.
The Cruise Line Keeps Expanding
Claire Weiss, Portfolio Executive Creative Director, revealed that the Disney Believe, sailing in late 2027 as the fourth Wish-class ship, will have Moana as its Grand Hall statue, joined by Pua and Hei Hei. The ship draws on Encanto, Frozen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Moana, and The Little Mermaid.
Then the bigger news. Disney Cruise Line is debuting an entirely new class of ships in 2029, three of them, positioned in size between the classic ships and the newer vessels. Weiss said they sit “right in the middle” of the classes, which opens up itineraries the current fleet cannot serve.
Monstropolis Is Doing Something Disney Usually Would Not
Monstropolis looked outstanding, and it is closer than people think. Per Disney, while work continues on the door coaster, parts of Monstropolis open to guests in 2027.
Disney Legend Randy Newman wrote “Welcome to Monstropolis,” his first song ever composed for a Disney theme park, and it doubles as the name of the new show at the Glob Theater, hosted by Mike and Sulley. There is Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, named for Fear Tech’s six-legged mascot. There is the Monsters University Alumni Club with the Scarer’s Club inside it. There is the Scareporium for merchandise.
And there is Harryhausen’s, the site of Mike and Celia’s most famous date, where the sushi chef comes to life as a new Audio-Animatronics figure whipping up creations with all those tentacles.
What I love here is the door coaster itself. A coaster that simulates being a door in the Monsters, Inc. factory is exactly true to the source material, and the vertical movement they are going for is aggressive in a way Disney usually avoids. I am genuinely curious how younger kids take to it. I think it is awesome that they are swinging this hard.
Villains Land Finally Has Its Story
The Magic Mirror materialized on stage to introduce Thomas Mazloum, and then Bruce Vaughn and Executive Creative Director Caroline May took over. They confirmed the name is officially Villains Land, chosen so it sits naturally alongside Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
The story is original, not a retelling. In the forest of Villains Land there is a Wishing Well torn asunder. Someone once made a wish here so evil it corrupted the stone. It broke the structure open and spread poisoned magic through the forest. One by one the villains came to claim what was left of that power. They shaped the land into lairs that reflect who they are. Disney compared the size and scale to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
The coaster puts you face to face with Maleficent as you race through enchanted briar around her mountaintop fortress. Imagineering teased that it includes elements they have never attempted on a similar attraction.
The second headliner is a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror, who lives in the catacombs beneath the Evil Queen’s palace. He transports you into his Mirror Realm, where villains are conjured through a combination of special effects and physical sets.
Glenn Close then walked out as Cruella de Vil, and Beck performed. It was a genuinely great stretch of show.
Tomorrowland, and the Question I Cannot Stop Asking
Then Mazloum closed with Disneyland. Tomorrowland is being reimagined.
Disney’s own words: “Yesterday’s tomorrow, today!” Per Disney Parks Blog, the transformation will honor the legacy of the original land while reimagining its future. Disney says it will preserve what guests cherish most, and add new attractions, more open spaces, and new places to dream about the future. The stated goal is restoring the spirit of optimism that inspired Walt to create “a vista into a world of wondrous ideas” in 1955. Imagineers are only beginning to dream it up, and Disney says more will come in the years ahead.
I want more. I am sitting on the edge of my seat here.
Every fan wants the PeopleMover back. Let me go further, and I know this is the selfish take: I am fine losing both Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and Autopia if what replaces them is a brand new original Tomorrowland attraction nobody has seen before.
That tagline tells me where their heads are. “Yesterday’s tomorrow, today” reads like a futuristic mid-century modern place. A city, or maybe a park, with walking areas and greenery and plants. It is a new take on Tomorrowland, but it is a more timeless one, and I think that is the right instinct. Honestly, I almost wish they could call it “Yesterday’s Tomorrowland,” though I know that undercuts the whole point.
And if the PeopleMover comes back, that is the biggest piece of fan service I have ever seen in my life.
One Little Spark Closed the Building
Then they brought the house down.
Dreamfinder and Figment are returning to EPCOT together. Mazloum told the crowd: “We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment! I’m so happy to share this news tonight. We know how important this is to you. We’ve heard you, and this is one more way we’re putting you in the center of everything we do.”
Read that line again. “We’ve heard you.”
The Questions Disney Left Open
A showcase is as notable for what it withholds. Five things I walked out still wanting:
Spaceship Earth has no timeline. Disney confirmed the storyline change and nothing else. No schedule, no refurbishment window, no word on whether the ride stays open through the work.
No Tomorrowland specifics. Disney was explicit that Imagineers are only beginning to dream it up, and that plans are not formalized. No attraction list, no dates, and critically, no word on the PeopleMover.
No Carousel of Progress full picture. Disney showed the 1980s scene and named two cast additions for an attraction due late spring 2027. The rest of the show is still under wraps.
Villains Land has no year attached. Both attractions got real story detail, the coaster and the Mirror Realm dark ride, but Disney did not attach a schedule to either.
No word on where Pandora sits now. Tomorrowland moving up the Disneyland queue has obvious implications for the Avatar project announced in 2023. Disney did not address the sequencing on stage.
I would rather have the honest gaps than manufactured dates. But those are the five questions I will be asking Imagineering the next time I get the chance.
My Takeaway: The Fans Are Driving
Here is what I walked out of the Honda Center believing.
The fans are dictating the direction of Disney right now. Not loosely. Directly. The Yeti gets fixed because fans would not let it go. Dreamfinder comes back because fans asked for years. Paris Space Mountain returns to its original score because fans never stopped saying the original was better. Tomorrowland jumps the queue because fans made it clear what they wanted first. The company put that sentiment on stage in plain language.
I will be honest that this is a slippery slope. A company that only gives the audience what it already asked for eventually stops surprising anyone, and surprise is the whole product here. But as a fan, I cannot be upset about a company that listens to feedback and then actually acts on it.
What it really felt like is that the line between Imagineering and the fandom has gotten thin. Almost like there are fans sitting in the room where these calls get made. Maybe that is exactly where this is going. Maybe Imagineers being fans first is not a talking point anymore, it is just the truth, and what showed up on that stage is the proof.
It is no surprise that this is happening under a CEO who came up through the parks. Josh D’Amaro knows this audience because he has stood in it.
I have covered a lot of these presentations. I have never walked out of one feeling this aligned with the company putting it on. The future of Disney looks bright, and for the first time in a while, it looks like it is being built alongside the people who love it, not just aimed at them.
Discover more from Theme Park Shark
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
