Disney closed out D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event with a theme park showcase that belonged, almost entirely, to Florida. "Horizons: A Carousel of Progress" ran Saturday, August 15 at the Honda Center with Neil Patrick Harris hosting and Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum steering the executive segments — and by the time the lights came up, all four Walt Disney World parks had walked away with something.

But it's worth setting expectations early: 2026 was a details year, not a blockbuster year. Nearly everything revealed was a name, a story beat, a ride system, or a piece of concept art attached to a project Disney had already told us about. Only one project got a firm opening timeframe. Here's the full rundown, park by park, with what we actually learned and what Disney conspicuously did not say.

The Short Version

• Magic Kingdom: Villains Land got its official name and two headliner attractions; Piston Peak got both Cars ride names.
• EPCOT: Spaceship Earth is being reimagined again — and in the night's biggest surprise, Dreamfinder is coming back alongside Figment.
• Hollywood Studios: Monstropolis is the only project with a timeframe — parts open in 2027, though the coaster won't be among them.
• Animal Kingdom: Tropical Americas' Indiana Jones and Encanto rides were fully detailed, and the Expedition Everest Yeti is finally getting fixed.
• No opening dates for Villains Land, Piston Peak, Tropical Americas, Spaceship Earth, or the Yeti.

Magic Kingdom

Villains Land Is Officially "Villains Land"

The land everyone has been calling "Villains Land" is, in fact, Villains Land. It will sit beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at a scale Imagineering compared to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

The story is original — not a retelling of any one film. A corrupted Wishing Well sits at the heart of a foreboding forest, and its poisoned magic has drawn Disney's classic villains to build their lairs around it. Bruce Vaughn (President and CCO of Walt Disney Imagineering) and Walt Disney World Executive Creative Director Caroline May presented, describing the architectural language as "Conjured Architecture" — Art Nouveau and Modernisme, developed out of research trips to Paris and Barcelona.

The headliner is a Maleficent roller coaster. Guests race through enchanted briars around Maleficent's mountaintop fortress, and Imagineers teased "elements they've never attempted before" — which is the kind of line that will keep the coaster-enthusiast corner of the internet busy until the next update.

The second attraction is a Magic Mirror dark ride. The Magic Mirror — yes, the one from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — pulls guests into his "Mirror Realm," where villains are conjured around you through a mix of special effects and physical set pieces. Dining and shopping round out the land.

Villains Land is such an exciting addition to the Magic Kingdom, because it allows us to expand the park's storytelling in a way that feels both fresh and true to its legacy and fairytale roots.

— Caroline May, Executive Creative Director, Walt Disney World

Opening date: None announced. Glenn Close reportedly appeared as Cruella de Vil to celebrate the land, and outlets including GMA have named Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella and Dr. Facilier as part of the roster — though Disney's own blog post did not enumerate the full villain lineup, so treat the wider cast list as unconfirmed.

Piston Peak National Park: Both Cars Rides Get Names

Frontierland's Cars expansion — built on the former Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and Liberty Square Riverboat footprint, which closed July 7, 2025 — is part of what Disney is calling the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history. Michael Hundgen (VP Creative, Walt Disney World) and Imagineer Jason Grandt revealed both attraction names.

Cars Ridge Run Rally is the headliner: an off-road rally race through national park scenery that climbs snow-capped Piston Peak, drops through a camelback, tears across a geyser field, and circles the "Old Tankfull" geyser to a finish line hosted by Lightning McQueen and Mater on the "Racing Sports Network."

The genuinely new piece here is the ride vehicle, which physically drives over the terrain rather than following a track profile. As Hundgen put it, guests will "feel every bump, drop, and rock because this vehicle's tires and suspension are truly driving over and reacting to them."

Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along is the family-geared second attraction, starring the "Diva of Demolition" school bus from Cars 3 as a huge, school-bus-sized Audio-Animatronic hosting her own demolition derby.

For anyone still mourning the Rivers of America: a 225-square-foot model of the land on the D23 show floor included four hidden homages to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. Construction is fully underway, but no opening date was given.

Carousel of Progress Gets Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress closed July 6, 2026 and reopens late spring 2027 — one of the few dated items of the night, and one that had been previously announced. D23 filled in the cast: Jamie Lee Curtis as Sarah and Bryan Cranston as John.

The four acts shift to the 1960s (the 1969 moon landing), the 1980s (Halloween night, 1985), the new millennium (New Year's Eve 1999), and a possible future rendered in retro-futurist style. The show will also add Florida's first Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic figure, in an intro scene based on the 1964 "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair" special.

EPCOT

Spaceship Earth Is Being Reimagined — Again

Spaceship Earth will keep its ride system and its sphere — the story inside is what changes. Image: Disney

Spaceship Earth is getting its first update since the 2007 overhaul that brought in Judi Dench's narration and Bruce Broughton's score. The theme broadens from "human communication" to "human connection," with Imagineering promising to carry the ride into the internet age and beyond. The sphere and the ride system stay.

Imagineer Ali Rubinstein presented alongside YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober. Worth remembering, though: this is the second time Disney has announced a Spaceship Earth overhaul at D23. The early-2020s "Our Shared Story" version was indefinitely delayed during the pandemic and never happened. This time there's no closing date, no timeline, and no concept art of new scenes — so temper accordingly.

Dreamfinder Is Coming Back

This was the "one more thing." In the closing moments of the showcase, Thomas Mazloum announced that a reimagined Journey Into Imagination at the Imagination! Pavilion will reunite Figment with Dreamfinder, who hasn't appeared in the attraction since 1998. Neil Patrick Harris walked out dressed as him. The room, predictably, lost it.

We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment! 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.

— Thomas Mazloum, Chairman, Disney Experiences

That is, for now, the entire announcement. No name, no concept art, no timeline, no closing date — this is very early development, and Disney released no art alongside it. Treat it as a directional commitment rather than a project with a shovel in the ground.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Monstropolis Opens in 2027 — But Not the Coaster

Monstropolis replaces the former Muppets Courtyard and Grand Avenue, expanding into backstage and parking areas. Image: Disney

Monstropolis is the only Walt Disney World project that left D23 with a timeframe: parts of the land open in 2027. The catch is that the headlining "door vault" suspended coaster — which lifts riders 40 feet in four seconds before launching them into the vault — will not open with the rest of the land and stays under construction.

The story picks up after Monsters, Inc., with the city now running on laughter. Guests visit on H.U.M.A.N. Day — "Humans Understanding Monsters Are Nice" — coordinated by the new Department of Human Relations. Michael Hundgen and WDI VP Chris Beatty presented the land, a collaboration between Imagineering and Pixar.

The Glob Theater will host "Welcome to Monstropolis," a new show fronted by Mike and Sulley. Image: Disney

The Glob Theater gets a new show, "Welcome to Monstropolis," hosted by Mike and Sulley. Per Disney, the title song is the first Randy Newman has ever composed for a Disney theme park — a nice footnote for a composer whose work is inseparable from Pixar.

Harryhausen's Restaurant, which will feature a new sushi-chef Audio-Animatronic. Image: Disney

Dining and retail were detailed in unusual depth: Harryhausen's Restaurant (with a sushi-chef Audio-Animatronic and what Disney calls "a menu unlike anything else we offer at Walt Disney World"), Archie's Scare Pig Pizza, the Monsters University Alumni Club with a Scarer's Club tribute, and the Scareporium shop.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent

The Tropical Americas headliner finally has a name. Image: Disney

The Tropical Americas headliner — replacing DinoLand U.S.A. and DINOSAUR — is Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, and it comes with a first: Harrison Ford is the facial model for the Indiana Jones Audio-Animatronic, a first for any Disney attraction worldwide. Ford confirmed it himself in a recorded video message.

The story is set in the 1950s. Indy explores a Maya temple near a cenote where a passageway to the Maya Underworld is guarded by the Tsukán, a massive hand-sculpted serpent creature. Riders get pulled through a portal into the Underworld and escape bats, scorpions, fire and snakes before a final confrontation with the Tsukán.

The Tsukán, the serpent guardian of the Maya Underworld and the ride's climactic encounter. Image: Disney

Imagineering worked with archaeologists, anthropologists and Maya experts on the land's cultural authenticity, drawing heavily on research trips to the Copán site in Honduras. No opening date was announced — earlier reporting had pegged Tropical Americas for 2027, but Disney did not reconfirm that on stage.

Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto

The land's second attraction takes place on Antonio's gift day, when he receives his ability to talk to animals. Guests enter Casita and board ride vehicles assembled from furniture by the house itself — vehicles that react like characters rather than sitting inert. The journey ends in Antonio's rainforest room with more than 50 animals, and there's no height requirement.

Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel), Jessica Darrow (Luisa) and Diane Guerrero (Isabella) all return. Jared Bush — CCO of Walt Disney Animation and Encanto's writer/director — presented on stage. Imagineering partnered with Disney's Animals, Science and Environment team to make the animals accurate to Colombia.

El Carrusel de los Animalitos

Tropical Americas also gets a family carousel, El Carrusel de los Animalitos, with 22 hand-carved animals pulled from Disney and Pixar stories — Scuttle, Squirt, Pua, Pascal, Simba, Eeyore, Kuzco and Heimlich among them. Disney also confirmed a Maya-inspired play area and a large hacienda quick-service restaurant that will be among the biggest quick-service locations at Walt Disney World.

The Yeti Is Finally Getting Fixed

Expedition Everest opened April 7, 2006 with a 25-foot Yeti driven by 19 actuators atop a 46-foot steel tower. Within months it was switched to a static "B-mode" and became the strobe-lit "Disco Yeti" — a running joke for nearly two decades. Mazloum announced it is being restored to full movement, and Gloria Gaynor performed "I Will Survive" to mark the occasion.

We're bringing the Yeti back to life inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

— Thomas Mazloum, Chairman, Disney Experiences

As with Spaceship Earth, this is a commitment without a calendar: no timeline, no closure window, no completion date.

Beyond the Parks

Disney Believe — the fourth Wish-class ship, homeported at Port Canaveral and sailing in late 2027 — got a partial reveal: the Moana-themed Grand Hall, Tinker Bell filigree on the bow, and Buzz and Woody on the stern. The full reveal is set for a separate livestream on October 7, 2026. Portfolio Executive Creative Director Claire Weiss described it as a ship that "celebrates belief in magic, family, the power of nature, and belief in yourself."

Disney also confirmed an entirely new class of Disney Cruise Line ships — sized between the classic and Wish-class ships — joining the fleet starting in 2029, and a second season of The Imagineering Story from Leslie Iwerks, documenting the current wave of park expansions.

What Didn't Happen

Just as telling as the reveals is the list of heavily anticipated Walt Disney World items that never surfaced:

• Space Mountain. A Magic Kingdom retrack or reimagining was widely rumored and did not happen. Space Mountain reveals did come — for Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland, not Florida.
• Haunted Mansion. The rumored lounge or parlor behind the Mansion went unmentioned.
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. Widely predicted to be replaced now that Monstropolis is coming. Nothing.
• The 55th anniversary. Walt Disney World turns 55 on October 1, 2026 — six weeks after D23 — and Disney announced no branding, merchandise, or new nighttime spectacular. New nighttime entertainment reveals were Disneyland-only.
• Opening dates for Villains Land, Piston Peak and Tropical Americas.
• Disney Springs, the water parks, and resort hotels. Nothing at all. (The Lakeshore Lodge news — summer 2027, 967 accommodations — came out earlier in 2026, not at D23.)

The Bottom Line

Walt Disney World left D23 2026 with the deepest slate of any Disney resort — four parks, seven-plus projects, and a genuinely surprising Dreamfinder return. What it did not leave with is a calendar. Monstropolis in 2027 (minus its coaster) and Carousel of Progress in late spring 2027 are the only dates on the board.

That's not necessarily a red flag — Villains Land and Piston Peak are both in active construction, and Disney has historically held dates back until it's confident. But for the two announcements that drew the loudest cheers, the Yeti and Dreamfinder, there is currently nothing but a promise. Given that the last Spaceship Earth overhaul announced at D23 quietly died, that's worth filing away.