ANAHEIM, CA – Disney fans are finally getting what they’ve been asking for.  

After years of petitioning the parks to bring back the kind of nostalgic, original experiences guests grew up with in the 20th century, Disney gave a resounding yes in its star-studded Disney Experiences showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.  

With each revelation, the live audience at Anaheim’s Honda Center erupted in boisterous cheers and thunderous applause. Less ardent fans watching the event at home on Disney+ may not have understood the fervor, especially compared to 2024’s announcements, which included whole lands and first-of-a-kind experiences leaning into Disney’s popular intellectual property.  

However, Disney’s new Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum told USA TODAY, “We’re really making sure we’re listening to all constituents and we’re paying equally as much attention in developing a new land like the villains that didn’t exist yet, and pay as much attention also to our existing guests and what is important to them.” 

Here are four of the biggest announcements for longtime fans. 

1. Tomorrowland reimagining 

Disneyland plans to reimagine its Tomorrowland to reflect the optimism it was known for when it first opened.  

Details are still under wraps, but the reimagining will include new attractions and more open spaces.  

2. Dreamfinder returning

Dreamfinder, a beloved original character from the early years of EPCOT’s Journey to Imagination, is coming back.  

He was cut out of the attraction when it was reimagined in the late 1990s, and fans have spent years asking for his return. 

Disney plans to reunite Dreamfinder and Figment in a new take on the classic attraction. 

3. Spaceship Earth update 

Spaceship Earth, the attraction inside EPCOT’s iconic geosphere, is getting a fresh update. 

Instead of focusing on human communication, its new story will center on human connection, but Disney says it will remain true to its original spirit.  

4. New Expedition Everest Yeti 

Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is getting a new yeti.

The attraction’s current yeti, nicknamed Disco Yeti, was supposed to move, but early on, its movement was replaced by strobe lighting effects instead. 

Relatively few fans ever got to experience the yeti as originally intended, and its restoration has been a running request among fans. 

“I think people will be unbelievably excited about our focus on Tomorrowland here on the West Coast, but I think they will be equally as appreciative (about) something as simple as the Yeti,” Mazloum said. 

Other D23 announcements

• Monstropolis will open in 2027 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition to its previously announced door coaster, the new land will feature a theater show called Welcome to Monstropolis with a new song of the same name by Randy Newman.
• The new Villains land coming to Magic Kingdom will actually be called Villains Land. It will be as large at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It will feature two attractions: a roller coaster set in a briar around Malefiecent’s fortress and a catacombs-centered ride that will transport guests to mirror realm where they’ll face various villains.
• The Cars-inspired attractions coming to Piston Peak at Magic Kingdom will be called Cars Ridge Run Rally and Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along. The latter will boast a bus-sized audio-animatronic.
• Bryan Cranston and Jamie Lee Curtis will voice the parents in the reimagined Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It will debut in late Spring 2027.
• The new Encanto attraction coming to the Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto. It will be set inside Casita. Jess Darrow, Diane Guerrero and Stephanie Beatriz will reprise their voice roles from the film. There will be no height requirement for the attraction.
• For the first time at a Disney park, Harrison Ford will be the model for the audio-animatronic in the new Indiana Jones attraction coming to the Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It will be called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent.
• Twenty-two unique hand-carved animals will be featured in the new carousel at the new Tropical Americas land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
• Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab will open in 2028 at Disney California Adventure. Robert Downey, Jr. and Anthony Mackie are among the familiar faces who will reprise their roles for the new Avengers Campus attractions.
• The new Coco attraction coming to Disney California Adventure will transport guests to the land of the dead. It will have no height requirement so all ages can ride it together.
• Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain will return to its original look, Space Mountain – De la Terre a la Lune Hyperspace Mountain will close in late 2027.
• Disney’s first Lion King attraction will retell Simba’s story at Disneyland Paris’ Disney Adventure World.
• Sugar Rush Sweet Rescue will be the name of the new Wreck-It Ralph attraction coming to Tokyo Disney Resort. It will open in Spring 2027.
• The reimagined Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland will be called Space Mountain Earthrise.
• Stark Expo at Hong Kong Disneyland will take guests across realms.
• Spiderbots will play a central role in the new roller coaster at the new Spider-Man land coming to Shanghai Disneyland.