Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Bob Chapek unveiled details on what’s in the works at the Disney parks yesterday at D23.
Disney’s Avengers Campus is coming to Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Paris starting next year. Both campuses will feature the first Disney ride-through attraction starring Spider-Man, in which guests can sling webs to help Spider-Man collect Spider-Bots.
Disney will build the Avengers Headquarters at the theme park in California. The building will become the future entrance to a new e-ticket attraction where guests can fly with the Avengers on an adventure to Wakanda and beyond.
Guests will also encounter their favorite heroes throughout the campus, including Iron Man, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and familiar faces from Wakanda and Asgard. Guests may even catch a glimpse of the Avengers along the rooftops of the Avengers Headquarters.
The Avengers Campus will also feature the Pym Test Kitchen, where Pym Technologies uses new innovations to grow and shrink food.
A new hotel will open next summer at Disneyland Paris, called Disney’s Hotel New York — The Art of Marvel. The hotel will celebrate 80 years of Marvel art and artists, with more than 300 pieces on display. Guests can stay in one-of-a-kind themed suites featuring Spider-Man and other superheroes, and guests can even meet the characters in a dedicated space.
A Star Wars vacation experience is coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida with the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser ship, called the Halcyon. Guests can embark on a two-night adventure that includes special activities, dining, and a “spaceport” day on Batuu at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Every window features views into space.
Three new ships are joining the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Chapek announced the first of the three ships — the Disney Wish — which will set sail in January 2022. Guests can see Rapunzel imagery on the ship, representing her character’s wish to see the world. A new Disney port of call is coming to the Bahamas, located on the island of Eleuthera at a place called Lighthouse Point.
Dick Van Dyke joined Chapek onstage for a performance of “Step in Time” to announce the first Mary Poppins attraction at a Disney park, coming soon to Epcot. Composer Pinar Toprak performed her new anthem for Epcot on piano and singer Jordan Fisher surprised guests with a sneak peek of the musical score for Disneyland’s new Magic Happens parade, launching next spring.
Disney will unify Epcot with four neighborhoods:
1. The World Showcase
- The first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins is coming to Epcot in Cherry Tree Lane, which will join the United Kingdom pavilion as an entirely new neighborhood.
- Following the limited-time run of Epcot Forever, the new nighttime spectacular HarmonioUS will become the largest ever created for a Disney park, celebrating the music of Disney.
- The France pavilion will expand next summer with the attraction Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and a new restaurant called La Crêperie de Paris.
- A Beauty and the Beast sing-along attraction will also join the France pavilion this January.
- Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 will debut in the Canada pavilion with new scenes and a new story this January.
- In the China pavilion, Wondrous China will take guests on a journey across China, filmed and presented in a 360-degree digital format.
2. World Celebration
- Spaceship Earth will add new scenes, a new guide, and a new narration reflecting the universal nature of the human experience.
- Disney is adding a new three-level pavilion that will act as the home base for Epcot’s signature festivals
- World Celebration will also feature beautiful views at Dreamers Point, lush gardens, a wishing tree, an interactive new fountain, and a statue celebrating the legacy of Walt Disney.
3. World Nature
- Guests can meet and play with magical, living water at the lush exploration trail, called Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.
- The Land pavilion’s new film Awesome Planet will showcase the spectacular beauty, diversity, and dynamic story of our planet, launching in January.
4. World Discovery
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a thrilling, family-friendly attraction featuring a never-before-seen storytelling coaster that rotates to focus on the action.
- The Mission: SPACE pavilion will expand with the new restaurant Space 220, opening this winter with the celestial panorama of a space station, including daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles up.
- The PLAY! pavilion will open in time for the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. Guests can discover a city of games, activities, and experiences that connect them with friends, family, and Disney characters in this interactive metropolis.
Outside of Epcot, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is joining Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in 2020 and Disneyland in 2022. Chapek revealed a first look at the new area of Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland that will house the new attraction, which will take guests on a journey inside the wacky world of Disney Channel‘s Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts.
Hong Kong Disneyland’s castle will transform into the Castle of Magical Dreams with a daytime show, a nighttime spectacular, and a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Disney is also adding a Frozen world to Hong Kong, including a coaster called Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs and a family attraction called Frozen Ever After, inspired by the attraction in Epcot’s Norway pavilion at Walt Disney World. Plus, Shanghai Disney Resort is getting a Zootopia-themed land.
Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Imagineering, and legendary Disney animators are joining forces to create a new Cirque du Soleil show. Previews will begin March 20, 2020, leading up to the world premiere on April 17.
Chapek also shared more details about the previously announced Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge, a unique hotel and potential Disney Vacation Club resort that draws inspiration from the wonders of nature and imagery of Walt Disney.
Photo: Disney
