We are here at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, for Horizons: A Carousel of Progress, also known as D23’s Disney Experiences Showcase, and we’ll be covering all the big news from Disney Parks (Walt Disney World, Disneyland, International Parks!), Disney Cruise Line (Disney Believe!), and much more.
We’ll be updating this article live as the show goes on, which you can also watch on Disney+ right now!
Disneyland’s Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab to Star Actual MCU Stars, Including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man
The upcoming Avengers Infinity Defense at Avengers Campus at Disneyland’s Disney California Adventure will officially star some of the biggest names in the MCU, including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel.
Avengers Infinity Defense is set to open in 2028 and will see guests helping reassemble the Avengers to battle King Thanos. The journey will take us to locations like Asgard, Wakanda, New York City, and more.
Stark Flight Lab will also be bringing some star power, as it will feature Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, and Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. As a reminder, this attraction will set guests in two-person “gyro-kinetic pods” that will roll along a track before getting picked up by a giant robot arm. This will allow guests to feel as though they are flying like an Avenger like Iron Man.
Animal Kingdom’s Encanto Attraction Is Called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto
We learned a lot more about the Encanto attraction headed to the new Tropical Americas area of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, including that it will be called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto. In this attraction, guests are invited to celebrate Antonio’s new gift of the ability to speak to animals.
To help tell the story, the main voice actors from Encanto will be reprising their roles, including Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel), Jessica Darrow (Luisa), and Diane Guerrero (Isabella).
Harrison Ford to Be the Actual Model for Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent Attraction’s Audio-Animatronics Figure at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom
We learned a lot about the upcoming Indiana Jones attraction headed to the Tropical Americas area of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, including its name and that Harrison Ford will serve as the actual model of the attraction’s Audio-Animatronics figure. Yes, this will be the first time you’ll see his actual face on a Disney attraction anywhere in the world.
As for the name, it is officially called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. This attraction aims to take guests below an ancient temple ruin, “showcasing Maya culture and its profound connection to nature.”
Guests will work with Indy, who is exploring this temple that is near a once water-filled underground cave called a denote. Local legends claim this cave may lead to the Maya Underworld, but it issued to be unfortunately guarded by a terrifying serpentine creature known as a Tsukán. The ride kicks off when guests are sucked through a portal to the underworld, and they’ll need to escape “perilous dangers, like monstrous bats, larger-than-life scorpions, fire and flame, and, of course, snakes,” if they hope to survive.
Tsukán will come to life as a gigantic Audio-Animatronics figure, and you can check out below what it will look like. Oh, and did we mention it is being sculpted by hand to make it even more life-like?
Disneyland’s Coco Attraction Takes Place a Year After the Original and We’ll Relive Miguel’s Memories of the Land of the Dead
Following the big reveals from Coco 2 and the news that Coco will be a new world in Kingdom Hearts 4, we learned a bit more about the much-anticipated Coco attraction that’s headed to Disneyland’s Disney California Adventure.
The attraction’s stoyline takes place a year after the original film and we’ll first enter a “casa museo” that’s dedicated to Miguel’s great-great grandfather, Héctor Rivera. After that, we’ll join Miguel and go on a boat ride through his memories of the Land of the Dead. Oh, it will also have no height requirement.
The Lion King at Disneyland Paris’ Disney Adventure World to Feature Simba’s Final Confrontation with Scar
The Lion King is finally getting its first Disney Parks attraction at Disneyland Paris’ Disney Adventure World, and it will take us on a journey through the tale of the classic film, including the “not-so-happy times.”
Alongside a 120-foot-high Pride Rock that will send us soaring down a new flume system with a 52-foot drop, we’ll also be witnessing the final confrontation between Simba and Scar.
Carousel of Progress Casts Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy-Winning Actor Bryan Cranston
Alongside a glimpse of the new scenes set in the 1980s, it was revealed that Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston will be joining the cast as the new version of the attraction’s Mom and Dad, respectively.
This is all part of Carousel of Progress’ big new update that will send it forward by decades. In late spring 2027, the story will span from the 1960s to the far, far future, and Walt Disney, as an Audio-Animatronics figure, will welcome guests in an all-new introductory scene.
EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth Will Be Reimagined With a Focus on ‘Human Connection’
Everyone’s favorite geodesic sphere at EPCOT is getting reimagined for the first time in almost 20 years. While the current iteration focuses on the story of human communication, this new take will “focus on a broader theme that is still classically EPCOT – human connection.”
While the current Spaceship Earth takes guests from prehistoric times to the 21st century, the new one bring the attraction to the “internet age and beyond.”
The Yeti Audio-Animatronic Is Coming Back to Life at Animal Kingdom’s Expedition Everest
At the showcase, Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum revealed that the team is “bringing the Yeti back to life inside Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!” This is a big deal for Disney fans as the original Yeti Audio-Animatronics figure’s framing split just a few months after the attraction opened back in 2006.
This has caused the figure to live in its “B-Mode,” where it uses a strobe light effect to make it appear as though it was moving. This has lovingly earned the figure the moniker of “Disco Yeti,” and it looks like that version will soon be put to rest atop the treacherous mountain.
The Imagineering Season 2 Is Headed to Disney+ in Early 202
Leslie Iwerks’ The Imagineering Story is one of the most beloved documentaries on Disney+, and it was just revealed that we’d be getting a second season in early 2028. The first season focused on the origins of the Imagineers, and these new episodes will follow them as they “help shape one of the most ambitious periods in Disney Experiences history.”
Iwerks is also getting ready to release Disney Worldbuilders on August 20 on Disney+, and you can check out our interview with her and thoughts on her Disneyland Handcrafted documentary here.
The Avengers and Spider-Man Will Soon Also Call Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disney Resort Home
Internationally, Avengers Research Testing Labs is under construction at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. When finished, guests will interact with Stark Industries and other heroes like Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Don’t expect everything to go smooth however, as the threat of villains is always present.
Using “120+ feet of storytelling tech,” the story will unfold across such locations as Wakanda, Asgard, and more, and there will be plenty of heroes joining you along the way.
For a less thrilling but still awesome adventure, guests will then be able to head over to the Quinjet landing platform to encounter their favorite MCU characters.
Avengers Pavilion at Hong Kong Disneyland
At Shanghai Disney Resort, work continues on the fest-ever Spider-Man-theme land and thrill attraction. This section is home to the new Shanghai division of the Worldwide Engineering Brigade (W.E.B. for short!), and it will be where Peter Parker and his friends have created some Spider-Bots to not only help them with experiments, but also build a brand-new coaster.
What’s a truly special touch, local artists are being tapped to create more than 20 murals throughout this new land, adding a unique touch to an already intriguing and exciting space. As for how along the team is? The final piece of the attraction’s track has officially been installed!
Space Mountain Getting Big Upgrades at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris
Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountains are getting some major upgrades, and we learned a bit more about these projects at D23.
In Tokyo Disneyland, guests will soon be able to ride Space Mountain: Earthrise, which will let guests launch “into the cosmos and experience the wonder of Earth from a perspective unlike anything seen before in a Disney attraction.” This will be just one part of the park’s reimagined Tomorrowland.
In Disneyland Paris, Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune will be a reimagined experience that draws inspiration from the Jules Verne story that actually helped shape the original attraction. This updated ride will feature the attraction’s original musical score and a “refreshed experience.” The current version of the park’s Space Mountain will closes at the end of 2027 to make way for this new era.
Disneyland Resort to Bring Back Classic Entertainment (Two Nighttime Spectaculars and One Daytime Parade!)
For those looking to enter a time long gone, Disneyland is bringing back some beloved classic entertainment, including two nighttime spectaculars and one daytime parade.
The first nighttime spectacular is ‘Remember… Dreams Come True,’ which will debut in February 2027 and first appeared during Disneyland’s 50th anniversary. Julie Andrews provided the vocal introduction of this show, and it aims to once again illustrate the “power of wishes and dreams in favorite Disney stories.” Guests will also be able to look forward to new projections on Sleeping Beauty Castle, Rivers of America, the facade of it’s a small world, and Main Street, U.S.A.
The second classic nighttime spectacular returning is the original ‘World of Color’ at Disney California Adventure, which will once again feature a journey through such beloved animated classics like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story. It also features a special arrangement of the theme song from Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color TV show from the 1960s.
Lastly, the ‘Magic Happens’ daytime parade will come roaring back in summer 2027 to Disneyland. This parade will be led by Mickey Mouse and his friends, and also stars Cinderella, The Sword in the Stone, Coco, and surprises like pumpkins becoming carriages and swords being “plucked from a stone.”
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