Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Cruise Line are in for some big changes in the coming years! At the 2024 D23 Disney Fan Event, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro unveiled new rides, lands, and cruise ships that are currently in the works and are slated to debut over the next several years.
But exactly when will these new additions be available for guests? We have some opening dates and seasons set in stone in the immediate future, but when you look beyond the next 12 months, things start to get a little murky. Use the following timelines to help plan your next Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise line vacations.
Each resort’s timeline is broken up by year or season, depending on how fine-tuned the known details are, with confirmed projects we know will take place during those time periods as well as “TBD” projects that we know are happening but yet to have a confirmed timeline as of this writing. I’ll take a stab at an educated guess for those undetermined timelines, but of course these are GUESSES and NOT actual timelines!
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Walt Disney World
February 2026
- Frozen Ever After reopens at EPCOT featuring enhanced Audio-Animatronic figures
Spring 2026
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens at Magic Kingdom with enhanced effects and a new storyline.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin reopens at Magic Kingdom with new ride vehicles, blasters, targets, scoring system, and show scene.
Summer 2026
- Din Djarin, a.k.a. The Mandalorian, and Grogu are added with a special new mission on Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The ride updates also features new responsibilities for the Engineer position.
- Soarin’ Across America debuts at EPCOT in time for Memorial Day Weekend in celebration of America 250.
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets reopens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)
- Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! debuts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)
- The Magic of Disney Animation opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)
READ MORE: A SEASONAL GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY WORLD IN 2026
2027
- Date TBD: Tropical Americas land opens at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
- When complete, the land will feature three new attractions: an Indiana Jones ride (taking the place of DINOSAUR), anEncanto-themed ride, and a carousel. The land will also feature new dining, shopping, and more.
- A phased closure of DinoLand U.S.A. began in January 2025. DINOSAUR and the remainder of DinoLand U.S.A. will permanently close on February 1, 2026.
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No announced timeline as of late 2025:
TBD: Transition of Cinderella Castle into new color scheme. It was announced in 2025 that Cinderella Castle would adopt a new color scheme, harkening back to its original design. This could happen sometime in 2026, but no hard date or timeline has been shared as of this writing.
TBD: Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic coming to Carousel of Progress. It was also announced in 2025 that some major changes were in store for Carousel of Progress in Magic Kingdom, including an updated finale scene and the addition of a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic to the show’s opening. This could involve a lengthy downtime for the attraction, so my guess is that it could happen sometime in 2027, perhaps during Magic Kingdom’s 55th anniversary season (the park turns 55 on October 1, 2026).
TBD: Opening timeline for Monstropolis, the Monsters Inc. land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Construction began in June 2025 with the closure of Muppets Courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D. I would not expect completion of Monstropolis to take place until at least 2028 or 2029.
TBD: Opening timeline for Piston Peak National Park, the Cars-themed re-imagined section of Frontierland. Construction began in 2025, so, like Monsters Inc. at Hollywood Studios, I would expect completion to be closer to 2028 or 2029.
TBD: Opening timeline for the Villains land coming to Magic Kingdom. My guess is this land is the furthest away from completion among the major projects announced as of December 2025. That could mean it may not be completed until at least 2029 or even 2030 (likely sometime after the Cars-themed land is complete). I would expect to hear more details about this land at the next D23 Fan Event in 2026.
Disneyland Resort
Summer 2026
- Memorial Day Weekend 2026: Mandalorian and Grogu Mission is added to Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland Park. These are the same updates as the ones happening at Walt Disney World.
- July 2, 2026: Soarin’ Across America debuts in Disney California Adventure in celebration of America 250.
- August 9, 2026: 70th Anniversary Celebration concludes at Disneyland Resort.
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Fall 2026
- Work begins on an all-new parking structure and transportation hub. According to Disney, “The multi-year construction of this new arrival experience is slated to begin in fall of 2026.” A completion timeline has not been announced as of this writing.
- Work continues on the first ever ride themed to the Pixar film Coco, coming to Disney California Adventure. Backstage work on this new attraction began in the fall of 2025, but construction has yet to make its way to onstage areas as of this writing.
No Determined Timeline (likely 2027 and beyond)
- TBD: Opening date for Coco ride at Disney California Adventure. Construction was originally slated to begin in 2026 but that moved up slightly to fall 2025 backstage work. Originally I thought this ride would be completed sometime in 2028, but it’s possible we could see it open as early as 2027 thanks to the earlier construction schedule. I would still hedge my bets that we’re looking at 2028 and it will be a very happy surprise if it’s sooner than that.
- TBD: Construction timeline or opening timeline for Avatar experience coming to Disney California Adventure. In anticipation of this new experience, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue will close in early 2026. Disney stated in the summer of 2025 that “This project is still in the early stages of development, and additional details will be shared later, including construction timeframes.” My hunch is that this project may not be complete until closer to 2030.
READ MORE: LOOK BACK AT THE MAJOR STRING OF ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE LAST D23 ULTIMATE FAN EVENT
Disney Cruise Line
March 2026
- Disney Adventure embarks on its maiden voyage on March 10, 2026. The Disney Adventure is the eighth ship to join the fleet, acquired by Disney mid-construction. The Disney Adventure will be the first Disney Cruise Line ship to have a home port in Asia (Singapore) and will initially offer days-at-sea-only itineraries throughout Southeast Asia.
2027 and Beyond
- Date(s) TBD 2027-2031: Four additional vessels join the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
- Little details were given at the time these four ships were announced, including if they would be part of a new class of ships, what their names would be, etc. These four ships are scheduled to be delivered and have their maiden voyages in 2027, 2029, 2030 and 2031.
- The first of the four new vessels will be a fourth Wish-class ship, joining the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny. The other three vessels will be a brand-new class of ship for Disney Cruise Line.
- 2029 (Date TBD): Unnamed cruise ship embarks on its maiden voyage in Japan.
- This will be the first Disney Cruise Line ship to be home ported in Japan. This ship is in partnership with Oriental Land Company (OLC), the entity that owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort.
As I stated earlier, if I had any speculation for when projects without announced timelines would occur, those are exactly that: speculation. Until we hear official word from Disney themselves, all we can do is guess (and get excited for) the timeline of these changes. Be sure to check back in the coming months and years as we enter into what is sure to be an exciting multi-year phase of growth and development at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Cruise Line.
It’s all a part of that $60 billion investment in theme parks and cruises announced by Disney CEO Bob Iger, and with DisneylandForward approved at Disneyland Resort, there may be even more announcements coming down the pike.
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Timeline of Changes Coming to Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line [2026 and Beyond] was originally published on The World of Spark.
