There’s a ton on the horizon in the next 5 years at Walt Disney World with new lands and attractions themed to Villains, Cars, Monsters, Indiana Jones, Encanto, and more. There are also reimagined rides, new entertainment, dining, and more. This shares construction and opening timelines for all of the major projects announced at the 2024 D23 Expo that are coming to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom starting in 2025.
The good news is that Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro emphasized this in his opening remarks to the Parks Panel at the 2024 D23 Expo: “Everything we’re going to share with you is in active development. Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving. I just want to be clear about this: We are doing everything you’re going to hear tonight. This isn’t Blue Sky—we’re going to do all of this.” Phew.
Those were magic words that we all needed to hear. D’Amaro and head Imagineer Bruce Vaughn were very clear about this, and showed off nearer term projects that’ll come online in 2025. They also shared construction timelines for almost every single project, so we have fairly concrete ideas of when work will start for each of these new lands, attractions, etc. However, there’s still some confusion…
Josh D’Amaro said during the Parks Panel that the time horizon is not remote–everything discussed will “start to come to life over the next five years.” At first blush, this suggests opening dates no later than 2029. It’s a simple math problem, right? 2024+5=2029. In addition, media was separately advised the announced projects would all open within the next 5 years, which would mean by 2029. Given that, it seems like an open and closed case, right?
Eh, I’m not convinced. That verbiage that D’Amaro used during the Parks Panel leaves a bit more wiggle room. Projects that start to come to life in the next 5 years is not the same as construction that will finish by 2029. And there’s already one big example of additions beyond that time horizon–the cruise ships that’ll come online in 2030 and 2031.
Moreover, the lack of a definitive statement that these projects will all open by 2029 is mildly concerning. It’s one thing to tell media that, it’s another entirely to say it during a public presentation. Disney is fairly savvy about this stuff, and it’s often the case that info is seeded to media but never relayed by Disney. (This happened recently with DAS and Lightning Lane changes. What Disney said in those cases was true, but they didn’t want to make direct public statements for whatever reason.)
From my perspective, there are two distinct questions: whether all of these projects can open by 2029 and whether Walt Disney World wants to open everything by 2029? I’ve seen a lot of fans focus on the first while ignoring the second. Honestly, I think the second question is the far bigger one.
The reason there’s so much skepticism is because Walt Disney World’s recent track record isn’t exactly sterling. The Giant EPCOT Dirt Pit became a punchline on this blog, and it’s both hilarious and sad that it took the company longer to build CommuniCore Hall than the original EPCOT Center (the entire park). It’s a similar story with TRON Lightcycle Run, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Moana’s Journey of Water, or–insert any project from the last few years that isn’t Disney Vacation Club.
We’ve long been critical of the fans who use the COVID closure as a convenient excuse for these lengthy construction timelines. There’s no reason that many of those projects had to take as long as they did. The amount of time construction was paused, while moving full-steam ahead throughout Florida, is flat-out inexcusable. In particular, Disney should be embarrassed by how long EPCOT was a sea of construction walls, a blatant violation of the Four Keys.
But it’s also silly to pretend that COVID was a non-factor. It was a big factor! There’s no sense in engaging in revisionist history (in either direction) to make a point. When the parks were first closed, analyst projections suggested that it would take 5 years for travel and tourism to begin to recover, and that a return to 2019 normal might never happen. Even over a year after reopening, Disney’s parks division was hemorrhaging about a billion dollars per quarter. It was a bloodbath!
Once things did normalize and “revenge travel” was clearly a huge phenomenon that would result in gangbusters business for Walt Disney World, a new problem arose: other construction projects, supply chain disruptions, and worker shortages. Universal’s Epic Universe sucked up a lot of resources in Central Florida, and that was far from the only complex construction project.
To this day, delays persist for reasons out of Disney’s control. (A good example is Cake Bake Shop, which has become another punchline. Neither Disney nor the owner of that wants to see it continually pushed back–there’s zero benefit in doing so. It’s out of their collective hands.)
Point being, when work begins in earnest on all of these projects at Walt Disney World in 2025, do you know what won’t be nearly as big of a factor? Epic Universe construction, pandemic-era delays and disruptions, and construction worker shortages. This isn’t to say all work at Universal Orlando and other projects around Central Florida will end, but they won’t consume resources to nearly the same degree.
The dynamic will be more like normal years pre-2019, when Walt Disney World construction was arguably too slow (at least for us impatient fans), but still nothing like 2020 to 2024. What exactly does that mean? Here are a few projects for mileposting:
- Pandora – World of Avatar: Announced 2011, Construction 2013, Opened 2017
- Toy Story Land: Announced 2015, Construction 2016, Opened 2018
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Announced 2015, Construction 2016, Opened 2019
- Disney Skyliner: Announced 2017, Construction 2017, Opened 2019
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: Announced 2017, Construction 2017, Opened 2020
How we long for those halcyon days when construction began a couple of months after D23 announcements and projects–even major ones–opened 2-3 years later. I remember grumbling about ‘work being purposefully spread out over multiple fiscal years’ at the time, but I would happily return to that era.
And maybe we will! In light of the above timelines, there’s no reason to believe all of the projects on this list can’t be finished by 2029 if Walt Disney World so desires. Most will begin in 2025, which leaves 4 years to finish them. That’s a lot of time, even in an era where delays are increasingly common.
This is why the better question, from our perspective, is whether Walt Disney World will want to open all of these additions by 2029?
One of the other things we’ve seen in the post-reopening period is Walt Disney World purposefully staggering new attractions and experiences for maximum impact. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure could’ve opened a full year before it did. Cosmic Rewind and TRON were likewise deliberately slow-rolled. (I have no clue what happened with CommuniCore, beyond the obvious.)
My big concern is that the earliest new land to open will be Tropical Americas in 2027. After that, I have a hard time believing that Walt Disney World will want to open more than one new land per year. In that case, it once again becomes a math problem: there are 3 other new lands and only 2 years before 2030.
Anyway, here are the construction and opening timelines for everything on the horizon at Walt Disney World…
OPENS IN WINTER 2025 – Zootopia: Better Zoogether has guests visiting the different biomes you only glimpse in the film, traveling along with Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and other characters. This is a replacement for “It’s Tough to Be a Bug,” the 3D show inside the Tree of Life. That attraction is expected to close at some point in early 2025.
- Construction Begins: Early 2025 (Maybe?)
- Opening: Winter 2025
There’s some confusion about whether Walt Disney World will debut this in a few months or over a year from now. Typically, Disney means January through early March (pre-Spring Break) when referring to winter. December is almost always referred to as the “holidays” or “late” from a seasons perspective. So we’d assume this is the next new addition on the horizon, but on the other hand, there have been no substantive updates or teases, suggesting maybe it’s still over a year away.
Relax with friends and family at two themed lounges coming to Walt Disney World inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean and Spaceship Earth.
- Construction Began: 2024
- Opening: 2025
Construction has already started on the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern outside the attraction in the exit area gift shop. It could conceivably be done by any point next year, especially if it’s following the Oga’s Cantina model. It’s a similar story for the Spaceship Earth lounge, which is simply replacing the corporate sponsor area vacated by Siemens.
When the sun sets in the Magic Kingdom, a new parade will waltz down Main Street! Get ready to witness “Disney Starlight.” This all-new parade will continue the nighttime spectacular legacy started by the Main Street Electrical Parade, using the latest technology to tell new stories about the characters you love. All of this is brought to life by the magic of the Blue Fairy, in addition to beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios films “Peter Pan,” “Encanto,” “Frozen,” and more.
- Construction Began: 2024
- Opening: Summer 2025
“Construction” probably isn’t the right word for a parade, but we first heard about Disney Starlight (albeit not by that name) months ago. Even at that time, substantive work was already being done–suggesting that this wasn’t just a pitch or in early development.
It does not seem like this will be a race against the clock to complete, meaning that it’s much more likely to open around Memorial Day than mid-summer. If Walt Disney World were smart, they’d debut Disney Starlight–and whatever the summer celebration is going to be–during shoulder season after Easter to help spread out crowds. Although a splashy kickoff Memorial Day weekend would be fun!
Explore the past, present, and future of automation with a newly-rethemed Test Track, which Disney confirmed will open next year (as widely expected). Additionally, new details were shared about the pre-show, queue exhibits, and show scenes.
- Construction Began: 2024
- Opening: 2025
This is an ambitious project with an aggressive timeline and ample resources, but it still could take around a full year to finish. It’s likely that Imagineering started with a desired finish date for Test Track 3.0 in Summer 2025 and worked backwards from there to determine when the current incarnation of the attraction needed to close. To that point, I would hazard a guess that the target opening date for Test Track 3.0 is around Memorial Day 2025, also as part of a summer kickoff celebration.
That doesn’t mean it will open then–it could occur earlier or even later. There’s always the possibility of work being completed ahead of schedule or delays occurring. But my educated guess is that we’re looking at a late spring or early summer opening. Spring Break 2025 being the absolute earliest and July 4th being the latest.
Mando and Grogu have a new adventure on the horizon coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Join the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda on brand-new adventures coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in celebration of the new Star Wars film “The Mandalorian and Grogu” coming to theaters in 2026.
- Work Begins: 2026
- Opening: 2026
The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is (currently) set to be released on May 22, 2026. This new mission for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will likely debut around then, probably slightly before as a promotional push for the film. We do not expect any material changes to the queue or pre-show, meaning a lengthy closure should not be necessary. Hopefully, it’ll happen overnight like the new scenes in Star Tours.
Tropical Americas will come to Disney’s Animal Kingdom featuring Indiana Jones and the magical casita from Encanto. (We have separate posts for the Encanto Magical Madrigal Casita Dark Ride and Indiana Jones Adventure.)
- Construction Begins: Fall 2024
- Opening: 2027
According to Walt Disney World, construction on the land is set to begin in Fall 2024 and will open in 2027, “but don’t worry, you’ll still have plenty of time to experience Dinosaur again (and get that dino).”
Given that statement, we’re making a couple of assumptions. The first is that Dinosaur is not closing until sometime in 2025. Since that ride reimagining is not being fast-tracked, we’re also assuming the land won’t open in phases. (Probably a smart move–didn’t go well for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.)
If this land is opening all at once instead of in phases, there’s more work to be done on Encanto–a brand new build–than there is on Indiana Jones Adventure, which will reuse the existing ride system from Dinosaur. This also means that Dinosaur could conceivably remain open through Spring Break 2025 to help absorb those crowds. Obviously, all of this is unconfirmed–and the longer DINOSAUR is closed, the more time Imagineering has to do justice to an ambitious reimagining. So we’d love to see it close earlier.
It’s laughter they’re after when Sulley, Mike, and the rest of the crew from Pixar Animation Studios’ “Monsters, Inc.” move into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and let humans inside the factory for the first time.
- Construction Begins: 2025
- Opening: 2028 (Maybe?)
Walt Disney World still hasn’t announced where this will be located, which suggests to us that an official decision has not yet been made. (If it 100% were Animation Courtyard, they would’ve announced that by now–since no one cares.) Even though we think it’s likely to be Animation Courtyard, we remain fearful that it’ll end up replacing Grand Avenue and MuppetVision 3D.
In any case, a decision will have to be made soon, and once it is made, demolition will need to begin. Disney has already indicated work will start in 2025. Even if that’s just demolition for the first year, there’s still plenty of time to have this open by 2028. It’s the simplest project of the major new lands. Having Monstropolis open in 2028 maintains Disney’s annual opening cadence, so it seems like a straightforward conclusion.
Start your engines, fan favorite stories and characters from Pixar’s “Cars” race into Magic Kingdom with two new attractions and fun for the whole family.
- Construction Begins: 2025
- Opening: 2029 (Maybe?)
Subsequent to D23, Walt Disney World revealed that the Cars area will actually replace the Rivers of America, meaning that Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat will permanently close. While work on the Cars land starts in early 2025, this does not mean that the Rivers of America will close then. Rather, that’s when work on the laydown yards behind the park will begin, and that prepwork itself is likely a fairly involved project that will take multiple months.
As far as closing timelines go for the Rivers of America, all Walt Disney World has announced is this: “Ahead of work revving into high gear next year, guests will have plenty of time to experience the charm and nostalgia of Frontierland as it is today.” Our guess is that this means those closures won’t occur until after Easter 2025.
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Magic Kingdom tries to get through Summer 2025 before closing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. Disney Starlight Parade is going to be hugely popular upon debut and will need ample viewing space during its opening summer along the promenade in Frontierland. Construction walls up on one side of the walkway would reduce viewing capacity.
Regardless, filling in the Rivers of America and then building Cars land on top of that is a very ambitious project. Fans will bemoan the lengthy timeline, but this debuting in 2029 actually seems fairly aggressive given the scale and scope of work.
This is no happily ever after. Get ready to see a darker side of your favorite fairytales when the Villains cast a spell over Magic Kingdom. Villains Land will be home to two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale.
- Construction Begins: “Soon”
- Opening: 2030 (Maybe?)
The safe bet is that Villains Land will debut in 2030 or 2031. Not because it’ll necessarily take that long to build, but because it appears to be phase 2 of the Magic Kingdom expansion, coming online after Cars land. And that land could be delayed into 2030 given how things go with the staging sites, filling in the Rivers of America, and construction on the land itself.
Then there’s the issue of phase 2s, which infamously do not happen. Regardless of how you feel about the current economy, there are decent odds of a recession between now and 2030. And although the concept art looks great, I’m concerned that they haven’t settled on what this land will actually feature. If there’s one project that has me worried with a Pandora-like timeline, it’s Villains Land.
Personally, I think that Villains Land is a fantastic idea and one that will be huge for Magic Kingdom. If I were in charge, I’d absolutely be fast-tracking this addition and try to open it simultaneous with Cars land for a truly blockbuster expansion of Magic Kingdom and relaunch of the park on par with Disney California Adventure 2.0, which debuted with both Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. Apples to oranges comparison, but there’s nothing stopping Walt Disney World from opening both in 2029 except appetite to do so. Villains Land is a largely on new land, so it could commence construction before the Cars land.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you expect all of these upcoming Walt Disney World projects to open by 2029? Think any of them will slip into 2030-2031, or possibly be cancelled completely? What has you most and least excited? Anything you’re hoping does not end up coming to fruition? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
