Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum says fan pressure is the reason a long list of neglected classic attractions is finally being repaired, restored, and reimagined. In a Disney Parks Blog interview published August 18, Mazloum said of the returning characters, "I want them to know that we hear them."

That line is the thread running through the quieter half of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. The new lands got the headlines, but Disney also committed to fixing things fans have complained about for years, and in a few cases for nearly two decades. Here is every existing attraction and show Disney touched at D23 2026, what the company actually promised, and what it pointedly did not.

The Short Version

Seven existing attractions, lands, and shows are getting work:

• Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom: the Yeti Audio-Animatronic is being brought back to life
• Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT: Dreamfinder returns alongside Figment
• Spaceship Earth at EPCOT: its first update in nearly two decades
• Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom: back in late spring 2027 with new voices
• Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park: a full reimagining
• Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris: Hyperspace Mountain gives way to the original Jules Verne version
• Three fan-favorite shows at the Disneyland Resort return in 2027

Only four of those have any kind of date attached. More on that below.

"We Hear Them": What Mazloum Actually Said

Mazloum took over as Chairman of Disney Experiences earlier this year, and D23 2026 was his first D23 in the role. In his Disney Parks Blog interview, he framed the legacy fixes as a direct response to fans rather than as a business decision.

His key lines:

• "Our fans are at the center of everything we do."
• "I want them to know that we hear them, and, as a Disney fan myself, I can't wait to see these characters back in action."
• "Tomorrowland shows once more that we are listening, and that we care about our existing lands."
• "I'm most excited about our firsts, the things that we've never done before."

That Tomorrowland quote is the important one. Disney is not just saying it heard fans about one ride. It is describing a posture toward existing lands as a category, which is the complaint that has followed the parks division for years: plenty of money for new gates and new lands, not much for the things already standing.

The Expedition Everest Yeti Is Being Brought Back to Life

This is the one fans have been asking about the longest. On the Horizons stage at D23, Mazloum announced it plainly: "Yes, we're bringing the Yeti back to life!" Disney confirmed the news on the Disney Parks Blog under the headline "Expedition Everest's Yeti Will Roar to Life Again." Gloria Gaynor performed a tribute to the Yeti during the segment, which tells you how self-aware Disney was being about the whole thing.

Some background for anyone who has only ridden Everest recently. The ride opened in 2006 with what Imagineering billed as one of the most complex Audio-Animatronics it had ever built, a full-size Yeti that lunged at riders as they passed. The full motion has not run for most of the ride's life. Instead, the figure has stood still under a strobe light meant to suggest movement, a workaround fans long ago nicknamed "Disco Yeti." Disney has never publicly detailed why the original effect was shut off.

What Disney did not say: when. There is no timeline, no closure window, and no technical detail about how Imagineering plans to make the figure move again. That is the single biggest open question of the whole announcement.

Dreamfinder Is Returning to Journey Into Imagination

The loudest reaction of the showcase belonged to a character who has been gone since 1998. Disney announced that Figment and Dreamfinder are getting ready to embark on a new journey into imagination at EPCOT, and Mazloum told the room that Disney had heard fans, per the Disney Parks Blog.

Why it matters:

• Dreamfinder hosted the original Journey Into Imagination from 1983 to 1998 and has been a fan cause ever since
• The current version, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, opened in 2002 and has long been considered the weakest ride in the park
• Figment stays. He is being reunited with Dreamfinder, not replaced

Disney's own post says only that "there's so much more to come" about the project. No opening date, no closure date, and no concept art of the ride itself.

Spaceship Earth Gets Its First Update in Nearly 20 Years

Disney announced that Spaceship Earth will be updated for the first time in nearly two decades. In Disney's words, the attraction "will receive updates that expand its story from human communication to the broader theme of human connection, while retaining the optimism and wonder that have defined the attraction for generations," per the Disney Parks Blog. Disney says the goal is to bring the ride "into the internet age and beyond."

Two pieces of context worth knowing:

• Spaceship Earth opened with EPCOT in 1982 and last received a significant show overhaul in the late 2000s, when the descent and narration were reworked
• Disney announced a different Spaceship Earth reimagining back in 2019, then shelved it in 2020. This is a new plan, not that one revived

No closing date has been announced, and Disney has not said whether the descent scenes are changing.

Carousel of Progress Returns in Late Spring 2027

This is the legacy project with the firmest date. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is closed now and returns in late spring 2027.

What Disney confirmed:

• Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy winner Bryan Cranston join the show as Mom and Dad
• A newly updated 1980s scene
• The show's optimism and family framing stay intact

Disney also released concept art of Act II, which shows the family kitchen decked out for Halloween, right down to a jack-o'-lantern on the back door and a cat curled up on the rug. It is the clearest look yet at how far the new scenes will go beyond a simple set refresh.

Tomorrowland at Disneyland Is Being Reimagined

Disney announced a full reimagining of Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park. The company says the transformation will "honor the legacy of the original land while reimagining its future," and will "preserve what guests cherish most, while also introducing new experiences and possibilities for the next generation of fans," according to the Disney Parks Blog.

What Disney committed to:

• New attractions
• More open space
• New places for guests "to dream about the future"
• Restoring the spirit of optimism and innovation behind Walt Disney's 1955 description of the land as "a vista into a world of wondrous ideas"

No specific attractions were named and no timeline was given. Disney said only that it will "reveal more about the plans for the transformation of Tomorrowland in the years ahead." Read that phrasing carefully: years, plural.

Space Mountain in Paris Goes Back to Jules Verne

The most literal "we heard you" of the weekend happened overseas. Disney announced that Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain at Disneyland Paris "will make way for Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, a reimagined experience inspired by the beloved Jules Verne story that originally shaped the attraction."

Along with the original name, Disney says guests can look forward to:

• The attraction's original musical score
• A refreshed version of "the experience that made this version of Space Mountain a fan favorite"

The Jules Verne version opened in 1995 and was rethemed to Star Wars years later, and Paris fans have been asking for the original back ever since. Disney has not announced a closing date or a reopening date.

Three Fan-Favorite Shows Come Back in 2027

The same pattern showed up in entertainment, and this is the part of the D23 slate with real, bookable dates. Disney announced that at the Disneyland Resort:

• A refreshed "Remember... Dreams Come True" returns to Disneyland park beginning in February 2027
• An updated "World of Color" returns to Disney California Adventure starting in February 2027
• The "Magic Happens" parade returns to Main Street, U.S.A. in summer 2027

All three are returning favorites rather than new productions, which fits the theme of the weekend precisely.

What This Adds Up To

Taken one at a time, these are unrelated projects. Taken together, they are a strategy shift, and Disney is not being subtle about it.

Every one of these was a known fan complaint with a long paper trail:

• The Yeti had been stuck in strobe mode for roughly 20 years
• Dreamfinder had been gone for 28 years
• Spaceship Earth had gone nearly 20 years without a show update
• Hyperspace Mountain replaced an original that Paris fans never stopped asking for
• Carousel of Progress had been running a "present day" scene stuck decades in the past

None of these projects sells a new ticket on its own. That is exactly what makes the batch notable. For most of the last decade, capital went toward new lands and new gates while existing attractions aged in place. Mazloum's line about caring "about our existing lands" reads like an acknowledgment of that, and the D23 slate backs it up.

What We Still Don't Know

Enthusiasm aside, most of these announcements are thin on specifics. Here is the honest scorecard:

• Carousel of Progress: late spring 2027, closed now. The firmest attraction date
• Disneyland Resort entertainment: February 2027 and summer 2027. Actual dates
• Expedition Everest Yeti: no date, no closure window, no repair method disclosed
• Journey Into Imagination: no date, no closure window, no ride concept shown
• Spaceship Earth: no date, no closure window
• Space Mountain Paris: no closing date, no reopening date
• Tomorrowland: no date, no attractions named

Five of the seven are statements of intent rather than schedules. That is normal for D23, where Disney often reveals projects years ahead, but it is worth holding onto. The company shelved its last Spaceship Earth plan after announcing it on a D23 stage. Announcements are not construction.

We'll update this post as Disney releases closure dates, concept art, and opening windows for each project.