D23 is nearly upon us, which means we’ll soon be getting new information on what new attractions we can expect at Disney Parks around the world at the parks panel on Sunday, August 25th. The time has come to make some predictions about what will be announced this year. There have been far fewer rumors coming out than in 2017, which will make things more difficult. I’ll be going through all of the resorts in the order that they opened and giving my predictions for each park within them.
Disneyland Resort
With the 4th resort being canceled I think we’ll get some announcements as to what Disney plans on doing with the west side of the Downtown Disney Area. I think we’ll see the former ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe buildings totally demolished to make way for some new restaurants and shops.
Disneyland Park
I don’t think we’ll get too much in the way of new announcements for Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom with Mickey & Minnie’s runaway railway already announced to be coming to Toontown in 2022. But I do think the new permanent fireworks show will be unveiled for Disneyland.
Disney’s California Adventure
I think we’ll be getting a steady stream of Marvel land news coming from the panel for DCA. We’ll get some concept art of the overview of the land and some details on the attractions. My bet is that they’ll announce an Avengers roller coaster but hold any details on a potential Spiderman ride due to the recent disagreements over the movie rights.
Walt Disney World Resort
The improvements for the 50th Anniversary Celebration will be announced formally.
Magic Kingdom
I believe Magic Kingdom will finally be getting a nighttime parade since the Main Street Electrical Parade left in 2016. It will be an original parade, not the return of MSEP again. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Peter Pan’s flight will also be getting the touch-ups their West Coast Counterparts received for Disneyland’s 60th anniversary. Finally, Happily Ever After will be getting some sort of tag or improvement for the 50th.
Epcot
We’ll get some more details on the Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster opening in 2021, and some more information on the permanent fireworks show coming after Epcot Forever. I think names for both of these will be announced. More importantly, we’ll be getting some details on the future of the spine of Epcot and what we can expect from that. Finally, I think a new pavilion will be coming to World Showcase. The country will be Brazil.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This is a tough one since rumors have been swirling that Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster will get a new theme. However, since Epcot is going to be receiving so much attention in the next few years, I think D23 will be very quiet for the park and RnR and Tower of Terror will be safe for at least a few years. I do think we might receive some more info on when Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
With Pandora opening in 2017 I doubt we’ll see much for DAK this weekend. Maybe a new show or two.
Tokyo Disney Resort
More details on the new hotel will be given.
Tokyo Disneyland Park
We’ve already gotten a ton of announcements for this park, so not much new stuff will be revealed. I think some sort of interactive meet and greet like Enchanted Tales with Belle will be announced for the new Beauty and the Beast area.
Tokyo DisneySea
I think a new Peter Pan attraction using the Flight of Passage ride system will be announced to go into the new area. We’ll also be getting some more details on the rest of this land.
Disneyland Paris Resort
The Disneyland Hotel will be getting a refurb.
Disneyland Paris
No major announcements for the original park this year. The focus will instead be on the second gate.
Walt Disney Studios
This park is receiving a major expansion over the next few years and I think we’ll be getting a lot of information on it at D23. I think the new Marvel Attractions will both unveiled as well as the new Frozen ride. Also, there might be a new nighttime spectacular similar to World of Color for the new lake that is being built.
Hong Kong Disneyland
More details about the remaining Marvel additions to the park. We’ll likely get an update about the new castle that is coming, and I think they’ll announce an opening date for it. We’ll also get more information on the Frozen land that’s on the way as well. My prediction is that Disney will announce the plot of the Frozen roller coaster and maybe announce a character dining experience for the area.
Shanghai Disneyland
The Zootopia land has already been announced, so maybe we’ll get an announcement as to what type of ride(s) we can expect from it? I’m going to say we get a trackless dark ride similar to the Ratatouille ride in Paris or the new Beauty and Beast ride going to Tokyo.
Disney Cruise Line
I think the three new ships announced in 2017 will have their names unveiled. They will stick to the current naming trend and be Imagine, Discovery, and Believe.
So those are my predictions. This year was pretty tough since so many new things have already been announced either at the last D23 or in recent months. This makes me think this panel will mainly be getting updates about those announcements. I’m still excited to find out! Stay tuned for our D23 recap after the expo ends!
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