Disneyland Announcements from D23, 2024
- Angelica Lynn
- Aug 11, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 13, 2024
Disneyland and California Adventure Announcements from the D23 Parks Panel, 2024
There was a lot of fanfare and excitement leading up to the Parks Panel at this year’s D23 Expo, and for good reason! There were some major announcements (and some not-so-major ones) and personally, some of these I absolutely cannot wait to see! I’m going to cover the news for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks in this post.
So, let’s jump right in and go over a recap of what was announced for California Adventure and Disneyland during the 2024 D23 Parks Panel!
The panel was hosted by none other than the remarkable Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences for the Walt Disney Company. I could see his own excitement about each of these announcements as he talked about them, which made me anticipate them even more.
The whole panel was filled with musical experiences in between announcements, which some guests seem to really enjoy (me, me, me!) and some just thought of as “filler” due to a lack of new Disney Parks news. Personally, I enjoyed them, especially the first number when John Stamos sang “When You Wish Upon a Star”!
I was immediately transported back in my mind to that episode of Full House when Uncle Jesse sang that song in Walt Disney World. I remember watching that episode as a kid in the 90's and just feeling the Disney magic coursing through my veins, giving me goosebumps and solidifying why I became an avid Disney-lover.
Yes, I know; I’m getting old…
Ok, but you’re not here to walk with me down Memory Lane. You’re reading this to find out about the biggest new attractions coming to Disneyland and California Adventure, right? Here’s a list of some of the most major announcements from D23!
What's Coming to Disneyland?
Disneyland’s 70th Celebration
Ok, I know it's not technically an attraction, but it's going to be pretty darn cool! The logo for Disneyland’s 70th Celebration was revealed during the panel, and it is beautiful! We know that the 70th Celebration will be happening in 2025, and it’s said that it will rival the 50th and 60th Celebrations. Now, those were pretty epic in my opinion, so I am absolutely tickled pink to see what they’re going to come up with for the 70th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort!
While we don’t have specific dates yet, we do know that the 60th Celebration lasted from May 22, 2015, through September 5, 2016. We also know that the 50th Celebration began on May 5, 2005, and ended on September 30, 2006. From these past dates, I’m going to speculate that Disneyland’s 70th Celebration will begin in May 2025 and continue through sometime in September 2026.
I expect this celebration to bring a lot of guests to the parks, so let’s plan ahead and start setting up your trip as early as possible to avoid higher prices and lock in reservations! Remember, my planning services and park expertise is always offered to you at no cost when I manage your vacation. I’m paid by travel suppliers, NOT the travelers. So, when you book your trips with me, you always get the best organization, trip planning, tips, extras, and price monitoring, without paying extra!
Walt Disney – A Magical Life
I am beyond excited for this one. During the D23 panel, Josh announced plans for a new show featuring our beloved Walt Disney, himself. Using similar technology as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (a historical attraction masterpiece in its own right), Imagineers are creating this live show featuring a fully animatronic version of Walt Disney.
Guests will have the opportunity to experience what it was like to be around this icon and hear his story. If my guess is worth anything, I’m betting there will be a lot of teary-eyed guests viewing this show, including me! I’ll be sure to bring enough tissues for the rest of the theater when I go, fear not.
This show is set to take place in the Main Street Opera House, which I panicked about at first because I am not OK with the idea of replacing one of Walt’s most amazing accomplishments, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. But Josh D'Amaro very quickly announced that this show will be in rotation with the Great Moments show and will not be replacing it.
As a die-hard Disney fan, I love the idea that guests will get to experience this glimpse into the life of the man who created so much magic for us all to enjoy. I believe this attraction will give younger generations a beautiful insight of how it all began and offer older generations the chance to be reminded of the legacy of Walt Disney. The new Walt Disney – A Magical Life attraction is said to debut in Disneyland in 2025.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
This was kind of an odd announcement, as it was briefly tossed into a somewhat strange musical number that was a little hard to hear! But I did manage to hear that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be opening this year on November 15, 2024, in Disneyland. Since we’ve only been hearing “Fall 2024” for months on end, I’m sure there are a lot of people reading who are going to be glad we have an opening date decided now!
While I personally loved the characters and style of Splash Mountain and was sad to see it all disappear, I am looking forward to seeing this newly imagined attraction featuring Princess Tiana. I hope they do the ride justice, and I really want to see some of the original Splash Mountain characters and/or props hidden inside the ride!
What's Coming to California Adventure?
Avatar Coming to Disney California Adventure
Yes, it’s true! The stunning, mystical world of Pandora will be coming to Disney California Adventure! Concept art shows an attraction that travels through many different areas of Pandora and looks as though it will be a boat ride. The new Avatar ride is described as an “excursion” through the magical world of Pandora.
Details on this attraction were pretty slim during the D23 announcement, but we do know that the ride itself will be inspired by The Way of Water film and will take guests to a whole new location on Pandora. It was also said that this new Avatar ride in California Adventure will showcase not only past Avatar movies, but also the upcoming Fire and Ash film as well as “future movies”!
Debut date – TBD
Coco Ride Coming to Disney California Adventure
Breaking ground in 2026 is a new Coco themed ride, coming to Disney California Adventure! I am a huge fan of Coco. My little girl and I love dancing to the music each time we watch it together. An attraction themed for Coco is long overdue, in my opinion and I cannot wait to experience it.
Josh D’Amaro said during the Parks Panel that this new Coco ride will be largely centered around music, as it should be! The concept art showed a boat ride. Based on these little bits of information, I got kind of an “It’s a Small World” vibe, which if it’s done right, could turn out to be a really amazing attraction. We still have quite a while before we can experience this one, but I’m looking forward to this musically immersive Coco ride coming to California Adventure!
New Rides at Avengers Campus
Yes rides; plural! Another big announcement from D23 was the addition of two new attractions to the Avengers Campus in California Adventure. We were told that these two attractions will double the size of the current Avengers Campus!
The first attraction is Avengers Infinity Defense. The second ride coming to Avengers Campus is Stark Flight Lab. Again, we didn’t get a ton of details about these attractions, but we were told that guests will be transported to worlds such as Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City. The Stark Flight Lab ride will also feature Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. From watching the snippets, I got the impression that this ride may be sort of like an Avengers-themed version of Star Tours, with the ride vehicle on steroids. That’s just my opinion though!
Construction on these new rides at California Adventure will begin in 2025.
That's a wrap on the new major D23 announcements for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure! Stay tuned for more park news and updates, and don't forget to plan your trips with a travel agent to get the best deals and have a stress-free Disney vacation organized for you and your family!
