The next decade is going to be huge for Disney theme parks. Earlier this year, Disney announced that it would invest $60 billion into its locations across the globe – leading to 10 years of new additions, upgrades, closures, and changes.

For now, Disney has stayed relatively coy about what this could entail. As of December 2023, the only confirmed projects are as follows. Disney World is replacing Splash Mountain with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, reworking its Country Bear Jamboree and Test Track, and swapping out It’s Tough to be a Bug! for a Zootopia (2016) show.

Meanwhile, Disneyland is also getting its own version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and some kind of experience based on Avatar (2009). Disneyland Paris will debut its own land inspired by Frozen (2013), as well as refurbish a large portion of Walt Disney Studios Park, while Tokyo Disney Resort (which Disney technically doesn’t own) will open Fantasy Springs in June and debut a newly refreshed Tomorrowland in 2027. But what else could happen in the meantime?

Disney Park predictions

Considering how slow Disney’s construction process has been over the past few years, we don’t expect any of what we predict below to come to fruition by the end of the year. However, these are some of the things we think Disney could possibly announce in 2024.

New theme park

Diving in with a big one…  Everyone knows that Universal Orlando Resort will open its “Disney killer” theme park, Epic Universe, in 2025. The biggest surprise is that Disney has announced little – if not anything – to compete with a third neighboring rival. When Universal started building Islands of Adventure in the 1990s, Disney reciprocated with Animal Kingdom. Back when Universal Studios Florida was announced, Michael Eisner rushed Disney’s own rival, Hollywood Studios (then Disney-MGM Studios).

Come 2025, Disney realistically has nothing capable of besting Epic Universe when it comes to deciding where to go on vacation. While many people visit both resorts in one trip, another day spent at Universal is likely one day it siphons away from Disney – which means one day less of revenue for The Walt Disney Company.

Related: Universal May Have Given Away Epic Universe’s Opening Date

There’s been plenty of talk about the possibility of a fifth gate at Walt Disney World Resort. Technically, Disney has room to do it – and more than enough IP. The issue with building another Disney park in Orlando is more the fact that Disney has plenty of work to do on its existing theme parks before jumping into another. Combined with the staffing shortages that are still impacting Florida’s theme parks post-pandemic, we personally think a fifth Florida is a long shot right now.

What seems more realistic is a new park at either Disneyland Paris or Disneyland Resort. Disneyland Paris is contractually obliged to open a third theme park by 2036 and is said to receive $15 billion over the next decade. That’s in addition to the billions already injected into Walt Disney Studios Park’s much-needed glow-up. The resort, in general, needs some TLC, and Disney seems intent on giving it, which is why this is our number one bet for a new park.

As for Disneyland, it was previously thought that the resort was too landlocked to add a third gate. However, in November, Josh D’Amaro – Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts – revealed that there is, in fact, enough room to build another park in Anaheim. Paris seems like a surer bet, but heavy investment in California is still a possibility.

The extinction of DinoLand U.S.A.

It’s been a long time coming. DinoLand U.S.A. has been dying a slow and painful death since Primeval Whirl was torn out of the land in 2020. Today, its only real appeal is Dinosaur – but even that is showing more than a few signs of wear and tear.

We all know that Disney plans on replacing Animal Kingdom’s most maligned land. While previous Blue Sky plans suggested Zootopia or Moana (2016) areas may take its place, D’Amaro revealed at Destination D23 that Walt Disney Imagineering is currently debating developing a Tropical Americas land inspired by the worlds of Encanto (2021) and the Indiana Jones franchise.

Related: Do You Know the Best Time To Plan A Disney Vacation?

As of September 2023, these plans weren’t set in stone. There’s no hard and fast deadline for Disney to choose a replacement for the Dino Institute. However, we’re willing to bet that Animal Kingdom is Disney’s next ‘project park’ now that it’s (finally) wrapped up work on EPCOT, and DinoLand seems like the obvious place to start. Whether it’s Encanto, Indiana Jones, or something else entirely (personally, we’re hoping for something more aligned with the park’s core message of conservation), 2024 may be the year DinoLand goes extinct.

No more Jollywood Nights

This is a very specific prediction, but we feel pretty confident in predicting that Jollywood Nights might be a one-off for 2023.

While Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a festive tradition for many guests, Jollywood Nights has struggled to create the same dedicated fanbase. Its first night was a bonafide disaster, and although the first night of anything is essentially a test run – and although Disney has made concerted efforts to improve the experience, such as throwing in more characters – the party’s biggest issue remains that there just isn’t much to do.

Unlike MVMCP, there’s no parade, no free snacks, no holiday ride overlays. In short, you’re paying for shorter lines and a few unique shows. Considering that it’s only a fraction cheaper than MVMCP at $155 to $175 per ticket, you may as well have just paid to go to Magic Kingdom in the first place.

There’s always the possibility that Disney will plus the party for 2024. In fact, we hope that’s the approach Disney takes. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if Jollywood Nights is written off as a failed experiment for Hollywood Studios.

A new ‘Frozen’ land

Let’s be real: Disney is never letting Elsa and Anna go (and we’re not complaining). Hong Kong Disneyland debuted World of Frozen in November, complete with a replica of Elsa’s Ice Palace and a new Frozen-themed attraction, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs. Tokyo DisneySea will include a Frozen area when it opens its new land, Fantasy Springs, in June 2024. Disneyland Paris is also getting a Frozen land in 2025.

That makes Frozen a mainstay in three Disney theme parks within the next two years. None of those parks, however, are in the U.S. Josh D’Amaro has implied that this could change should the City of Anaheim open up more land for Disneyland to expand (also known as the DisneylandForward proposal), with Frozen included in the potential lineup of IP to take that space.

Whether it’s Disneyland or Disney World, it seems inevitable that one of Disney’s home parks will freeze over soon. With both Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 in development, the cross-promotion of a new film and a new land seems like too good an opportunity for Disney to miss.

The return of nighttime parades

Okay, maybe this is wishful thinking, but 2024 seems as good a time as ever to restore the nighttime parade to Disney Parks.

Related: Disney Permanently Scraps California Theme Park Plan

Tokyo Disneyland is currently the only Disney theme park with a dedicated nighttime parade (Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights). Disneyland Paris is reviving the Main Street Electrical Parade in 2024 but in drone form. But what about Disneyland and Disney World?

Main Street Electrical Parade returns for its “last ever run” every two years or so. It was last seen at Disneyland in 2022, which makes 2024 the perfect time for it to crop back up. Fans have previously cast doubt on whether we’ll see nighttime parades brought back full-time, especially at Disney World which has been nighttime parade-free since 2016 (with the exception of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and MVMCP).

However, if Disney World’s attendance continues to drop in 2024, a nighttime parade would be one of the easiest ways to pull in more guests without going to the effort of building a new attraction. Bob, do your thing.

What Disney Parks predictions do you have for 2024? Let us know in the comments!