After finally wrapping up its yearlong 70th anniversary celebrations, Disneyland is looking ahead to the future. Disney is building three new rides at its California parks and revealed new details about them during its D23 Fan Convention in August.

And over at Walt Disney World in Florida, four new lands are being constructed, themed around villains, Pixar characters and more.

Here’s everything you need to know about what’s coming to Disneyland and Disney World, from offerings arriving at the end of this year to those planned beyond 2026.

Avengers Campus is doubling in size, with two new rides 

Avengers Campus already has two rides: Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Soon, this will double as Disney builds two more Marvel attractions at California Adventure. 

The first new ride, Infinity Defense, saw Disney Imagineers “invent some new” tricks, said executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering Brent Strong at D23. “It’s going to feel like you’re hurtling through worlds.” In Avengers Infinity Defense, you’ll assemble alongside the Avengers to battle King Thanos  in a multiverse-spanning adventure featuring Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man.

In the second ride, Stark Flight Lab, you’ll help test Tony Stark’s latest tech. It’ll star Captain America, Iron Man and Captain Marvel, who will see you go through flight instruction as you train like an Avenger. 

Both rides are opening in 2028. The route between Cars Land, and Avengers Campus will be reopening very soon.

Villains Land at Disney World

Disney’s first villains-themed area will celebrate all the classic baddies from Disney films, and it’s coming to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida. The entrance to Villains Land will have a “broken, twisted wishing well,” said president and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering Bruce Vaughn at D23.

The land will have two attractions: a roller coaster that takes guests through Maleficent’s fortress; and a dark boat ride through the other side of the glass of the magic mirror.

Imagineers have drawn design inspiration from architecture in Paris and Barcelona — including Antoni Gaudí’s buildings in the latter — to design Villains Land.

Villains Land, first teased during D23 2022, will be located on the other side of Big Thunder Mountain at the top left edge of the current Magic Kingdom map, extending towards the Haunted Mansion.

Monstropolis is coming to Hollywood Studios in 2027

Replacing the old Muppets area of Hollywood Studios is Monstropolis — home of the Monsters, Inc. movies, shorts and Disney Plus streaming series. It will feature Disney’s first suspended roller coaster inside the city’s laugh/scream factory. The coaster will lift you 40 feet in the air in 4 seconds when you board, before it shoots you through the doors. 

There will also be a new signature show hosted by Mike and Sulley, with concept art featuring characters from Monsters University; an Elite Scarers Club; the Scareporium store; and Harryhausen’s restaurant, featuring an animatronic octopus sushi chef.

With MuppetVision 3D closing last year to make way for Monstropolis, the Muppets characters were moved to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. That overlay didn’t take long to complete — Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closed after its last day of operation on March 1, and the Muppets-themed version opened on May 26.

CNET’s Bridget Carey toured the Monsters area while it was under construction. You can watch her full video about the new land below.

First peek at Piston Peak

The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom have been closed and removed from the online map, as Disney works to construct a new land themed after Pixar’s Cars movies. Cars Land, which was added to Disney’s California Adventure back in 2012, remains extremely popular in the west, so it was only a matter of time before it was added to the eastern outpost.

In an expansion of Frontierland — which also includes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — Route 66 will draw inspiration from the Rocky Mountains and the “American Frontier and its national parks.”

There will be two attractions:

• Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along will feature a huge, school bus-sized animatronic of the character from Cars 3, who is hosting a demolition derby for guests to ride.
• Cars Ridge Run Rally is a rally car race ride, where you’ll be competing for the fastest ride in the wilderness. The cars will travel along a bouncy track that travels over the mountains, through the geysers and into a sprint finish.

While construction has begun and Disney even showed off a full-scale miniature of Piston Peak at D23 in August, showing exactly how the land and rides will look, we don’t expect Piston Peak to open until at least 2027 or 2028.

A Coco ride is coming to California Adventure

Construction is well underway at California Adventure on a new dark ride themed to the beloved Pixar movie Coco and populated with Audio-Animatronics. Imagineers are working with Pixar to ensure the ride fits with both the original film and the newly announced Coco 2, which will follow Miguel as a teenager.

The Coco ride will be located near Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens in an area currently used primarily as backstage space for cast members. Its story takes place a year after the first movie, as Miguel looks back on his journey inside a new museum dedicated to Héctor Rivera. You’ll travel by boat through Miguel’s memories and into the land of the dead.

Tropical Americas Land at Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand USA area is no more, with the area on the Disney World map now a blank sea of grass as Disney slowly builds out the new Tropical Americas Land. 

Construction began in fall 2024, with TriceraTop Spin and the midway area closing in January 2025. The Dinosaur ride remained open until February 2026, when it closed to be transformed into Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. The attraction’s storyline is set in the 1950s inside an ancient Maya temple protected by a giant mythical creature. You’ll be sucked through a portal into the underworld.

The Pueblo Esperanza area will be themed to resemble a South American village, with an Encanto-themed attraction called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto. The ride vehicles will resemble furniture from Casita and take you upstairs into Antonio’s room, which transforms into a rainforest after he receives his magical gift. More than 50 animals will appear throughout the attraction.

Tropical Americas is slated to open in 2027 and will also include a huge quick-service dining location, a fountain and a carousel. El Carrusel de los Animalitos will feature 22 unique, hand-carved animals from across the Disney universe, including Pua the pig from Moana, Nigel the pelican from Finding Nemo, the capybara from Encanto and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.

Soarin’ Across America, coast to coast

At Disney’s California Adventure and Disney World’s Epcot, the Soarin’ Around the World attraction got a US-themed makeover this summer, and I got a first look on its opening day in Anaheim. Soarin’ Across America is part of Disney’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

It features the sights, sounds and smells of American landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline, the New England coastline, the Washington Monument, the Louisiana bayou, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and even the launch of Artemis II.

See Bluey at Disneyland and Disney World

Bluey and her family are now hosting a stage show and themed area at the original Disney park. Debuting in March, Bluey’s Best Day Ever is located at the Fantasyland Theatre next to Mickey’s Toontown, which has been transformed into Bluey’s school classroom and grounds, including a gnome village and fairy garden. 

Bluey and her sister, Bingo, appear several times each day, along with actors and musicians, to “bring to life the popular music and games emblematic of beloved Bluey episodes.” Those games include “keepy uppy” and the “grannies,” as well as appearances by Chattermax and Unicorse.

There are also puzzles, games and photo ops throughout the Bluey area, and Disneyland is serving up Bluey-themed foods at Troubadour Tavern.

The hugely popular Australian cartoon about a family of dogs is a worldwide hit, and Disney is slated to release a Bluey movie in 2027. (In the meantime, you can watch Bluey episodes and minisodes on Disney Plus.)

Disney World is also hosting Bluey and Bingo meet-and-greets and a show at the Conservation Station in Animal Kingdom.

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Old characters, new Mandalorian missions

The Star Wars-themed land at Disneyland has expanded its timeline to include Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo. The original trio arrived on Batuu on April 29 and now interact with guests and other characters. To help integrate them into the existing land, Galaxy’s Edge also has new props, merchandise, graphics and music featuring John Williams’ legendary score.

“Black Spire Outpost will roll back in time several decades, thoughtfully introducing beloved characters from across the Star Wars timeline,” the Disney Parks Blog announced in April. “Each era will be brought to life with the same care and attention to detail that the land was originally designed with, masterfully weaving together stories from across time and space in one location.”

Darth Vader has also joined the fun, and you can still see Ahsoka Tano, The Mandalorian, Grogu, Rey, Chewbacca and R2-D2. 

Disneyland (and Hollywood Studios at Disney World) has also added Mandalorian and Grogu missions to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, tying in with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in cinemas. The new missions launched on May 22.

Disneyland expansion

More than five years after unveiling plans for the expansion, Disneyland is expected to spend a couple of years completing the project, which will extend the park beyond its current boundaries, past Downtown Disney and into nearby parking lots. It’ll also transform “a portion of the current Hollywood Backlot area,” leading to the closure of the Monsters Inc. attraction permanently in 2027.

A new esplanade entry “experience” will replace the current walkway entry at the east side of Disneyland, as well as a new parking structure and pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard. Construction on this begins this fall.

The biggest part of the expansion will be adding an Avatar-themed land, based on the second film, The Way of Water, as well as the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will include a dark boat ride much like Pirates of the Caribbean, “taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora.” Disney has no dates or details yet on when it’ll be complete, and mentions of the Avatar area were notably absent at D23 in August.

Corinne Reichert/CNET

Disney Cruise Line: New ships

Disney has been all in on launching cruise ships over the last few years, including the Disney Wish in 2022, the Disney Treasure in 2024 and the Disney Destiny in 2025.

The Disney Adventure sailed on its maiden voyage from Singapore on March 10, the first of four new ships set to embark soon. Disney’s next cruise liner, the Disney Believe, was unveiled by new CEO Josh D’Amaro on March 18. The Believe will set sail next year with Tinker Bell on the bow, Woody and Buzz Lightyear on the stern and Moana as the Grand Hall icon.

A new class of ships — larger than the classic ships but smaller than the Wish-class vessels — is also coming in 2029.

Everything else new at Disneyland and Disney World in 2026

Here’s what else is new or coming soon to the theme parks:

• A 3D-printed boat was added to the Jungle Cruise ride in January.
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom has new ride vehicles with video monitors and two handheld blasters with always-on lasers in two different colors (so you can finally see which laser is yours). It also received a new opening scene starring Buddy the friendly robot, and static Z targets light up when you hit them. The ride reopened on April 8.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened on May 3 at Magic Kingdom after a lengthy refurbishment.
• Disney World’s water park Blizzard Beach reopened on Feb. 15, and Typhoon Lagoon reopened on May 12.
• Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom is being repainted in its original theme colors: gray, cream, blue and gold.
• As of July, you can now book a wedding at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. Weddings are hosted at the courtyard right outside the mansion’s front doors, and the area can seat up to 25 guests. However, it doesn’t include thematic midnight ceremonies — you can only host your wedding there in the early morning before park opening. Other new Disneyland wedding venues include the Magnolia Park Gazebo (outside Tiana’s Palace), Magnolia Park Terrace (outside the new Haunted Mansion queue) and Fantasy Faire Garden (opposite the castle).
• Following the release of the Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland, Disney announced that a similar animatronic will be added to Disney World’s Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom in a new introductory scene to the ride.
• The Carousel of Progress itself will be fully udpated and modernized, with a new storyline that begins in the 1960s and goes all the way up to the current day. It’ll star the voices of Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston, and will be launched in late spring 2027.
• If you have an iPhone with iOS 27, you’ll be able to use your Apple Wallet for Disney World tickets, reservations and events.
• Tomorrowland is being totally overhauled at Disneyland and will be reimagined “with the optimism you all have been longing for,” Disney Experiences chair Thomas Mazloum said at D23 in August.
• Dreams Come True is returning to Disneyland in February, along with the original World of Color and the Magic Happens parade.
• Spaceship Earth at Epcot will be brought “into the present day and beyond.”
• Imagineers are finally replacing Disco Yeti on Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with a new animatronic.
• Epcot’s beloved Figment and Dreamfinder animatronics are being remade with a new Journey Into Imagination.
• Disney has launched in beta its own AI tool to help you book your vacations at Disney World.

Corinne Reichert

Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

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