Disney World Plans Major New Attractions, Revamping Parks

Walt Disney World Resort isn’t slowing down its construction plans anytime soon.

Known as “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” millions of Disney Park Guests make their way to Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT each and every year. There’s plenty to enjoy no matter what time of year you’re visiting Disney World.

EPCOT hosts four festivals each year, which include: EPCOT International Festival of Arts, EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, and EPCOT International Festival of Holidays. In addition, Magic Kingdom hosts a couple of After-Hours events of its own each year, which include Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party during the fall and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in November and December.

While many Disney World Guests come to enjoy these special opportunities at specific times of the year, Disney is working on much more than just its special events and new offerings for the festivals and events. Disney is constantly looking to add new attractions and experiences for Guests to enjoy.

In just the last couple of years, Disney has added two new roller coasters to its theme parks. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind officially opened in May of 2022 at EPCOT. The new attraction, which is described as a story coaster, is an exciting adventure where each experience can be a little different than the last. Following Cosmic Rewind, Magic Kingdom Park finally opened TRON Lightcycle / Run in Tomorrowland after years of construction. Both of these new attractions are still only available through Virtual Queue or Individual Lightning Lane purchases, at least for now.

Here’s a look at five of the biggest new attractions that will be heading to Walt Disney World Resort in the future.

1. Expansion coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

One of the most anticipated expansions coming to Walt Disney World Resort is happening at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Disney has shut down certain areas of DinoLand, U.S.A. already, and the expectation is that the entire area will likely close down permanently at some point in the future.

While many Disney Adults have hoped to see the attraction DINOSAUR stay a part of the theme park, it’s looking less likely that the attraction will make it. It’s in “bad shape,” according to Guests who have ridden it lately, and many insiders have noted that they believe the entire land will close down for a big retheme.

So, what’s the retheme?

While Disney has teased some ideas, there ultimately has not been any confirmation on what might come to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

While Zootopia has seemed like the logical fit, and Disney even teased the animated film potentially taking over the area in the future, the most popular trending idea has been a split between Moana and Coco. With Disney in the midst of creating a live-action Moana film, it would make sense to think that the company is going “all in” on the IP, and we know for a fact that Disney is trying to mix Coco into its theme parks, more so than just giving the movie a scene in Mickey’s PhilHar Magic Concert. If the two IPs split the area, the expectation would be that Coco would take over the building that currently houses DINOSAUR, and that Moana would take over the “other side” of DinoLand, U.S.A. that isn’t in front of the attraction.

Of course, this has yet to be confirmed by Disney, and we will have to wait until later this year– perhaps Destination D23 in September– before we get an answer or update.

2. An entirely new land coming to EPCOT

There’s a new land coming to EPCOT, and when it’s finished, it’s going to be huge.

Disney has been working hard to bring a new era to EPCOT. While the theme park used to be divided into two sections, it’s now gone to four: World Nature, World Showcase, World Discovery, and World Celebration. Of course, Guests have yet to be able to see what World Celebration will look like.

The new area, which will reportedly feature Dreamers Point and a statue of Walt Disney himself, has been under construction for the past several years. Since before the pandemic, construction walls have been up around the center-front portion of the theme park, and it doesn’t seem that they’ll be coming down anytime soon.

The most recent photos surrounding World Celebration show that there’s still much work to do. Some insiders have said that the new area could open in late 2023, but that has not been confirmed by Disney. As a matter of fact, Disney has removed “Dreamers Point” from its website for the time being, meaning that this area might have a different name before it’s all said and done. Of course, that’s just speculation.

Either way, the area being removed from the Walt Disney World Resort website certainly doesn’t bode well for fans who were hoping that we’d see the area open soon. And, for now, we’ll have to wait and see what this land ultimately looks like when it opens.

3. Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana

We shouldn’t forget that there’s another construction project happening simultaneously at EPCOT, either.

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, is expected to open in late 2023. The new attraction isn’t a ride, so it shouldn’t be confused with the expansion that could be coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The attraction, rather, will be a walkthrough experience. During the experience, you’ll stroll along a self-guided outdoor trail where you can play and interact with water as it travels from the sky to the oceans and back again. Along the way, learn about the importance of water and discover its playful personality—just as Moana did on her heroic voyage.

We can already see the giant Te Fiti display that is going up for the attraction, but we’ll have to wait to find out the specific date for when it will open. This also could be a date announced at Destination D23 in September, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Disney had an announcement before then.

4. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom

Splash Mountain is gone, and Disney has already made significant changes to the ride as construction is underway.

Walt Disney World Resort permanently closed down Splash Mountain back in January to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The new attraction, themed to Walt Disney Animated Studios’ The Princess and the Frog (2009), is set to open in late 2024.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will take Guests on a musical adventure inspired by the beloved story and characters from the animated film. Picking up where the movie left off, riders will join Princess Tiana, Naveen, and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration where everyone is welcome. Along the way, Disney Park Guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story.

The ride is expected to have hundreds of animatronics, unique music, and will return many of the original cast to voice their characters.

When it opens in 2024, there have actually been rumors that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure could lead to an entire retheme of Frontierland. Some expect that that area could be renamed “New Orleans Square” and that Frontierland could either be completely removed, or placed where Big Thunder Mountain starts, with expansion on the way.

5. What’s “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain?”

Of course, the biggest expansion still in the works for Walt Disney World Resort is none other than “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain.”

Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro teased a major expansion coming to Magic Kingdom Park last September when he asked Disney’s biggest fans to “dream with him” for just a few minutes. The expansion, called “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” explores the idea of adding more intellectual properties to Magic Kingdom in the area behind the classic attraction Big Thunder Mountain.

Disney teased three major ideas for what could come to this area: Encanto, Coco, and Disney Villains.

If we are to believe that Disney may be moving forward with Coco in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it would make sense that the next big expansion to happen in Magic Kingdom– after Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens– would be an Encanto addition. The movie was an absolute hit, and there have already been talks of a sequel.

Though we’ll likely have to wait to hear an official announcement– and Disney’s fight with the state of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis could put this project on hold– it’s still expected that we’ll get a major expansion at some point in that area. If that’s the case, this will be the largest expansion in history to happen at Magic Kingdom and would certainly be yet another feather in the cap of Disney as it continues its quest to have an even larger footprint in theme parks & resorts, despite being the largest in the industry already.

What do you think of these expansions happening at Walt Disney World Resort? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!