D23 2024: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is just around the corner!

This huge Disney event will begin on August 9th in Anaheim, California, and will feature Disney executives, panels, entertainment, and TONS of announcements. At these big events, we typically expect some exciting news from the company. We may hear about new lands, new rides, new shows, new entertainment, and so much more. While this is what all of us Disney fans get excited about each year, it may be important to point out that not ALL these announcements always come true. Here’s a list of six announcements from past D23 events that we have yet to see come to life, and why some of it might need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Mary Poppins Ride in UK Pavilion

Back in 2019, a Mary Poppins attraction was announced for the UK pavilion in EPCOT. The experience was supposed to let you “step in time down Cherry Tree Land past Admiral Boom’s house, then enter Number 17, home of the Banks family.”

However, this attraction never came to fruition. In 2020, Disney postponed the Mary Poppins attraction indefinitely, and we haven’t heard any word of its return since. This would have been a really cool addition to the UK pavilion and given guests another attraction in the World Showcase, but unfortunately, it appears it won’t be happening, at least not anytime soon.

Reflections Hotel

Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge was a Deluxe resort set to be built at the old location of Disney’s River Country near Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. The name of the resort was announced at the 2018 D23 event, and we were all excited to get this beautiful hotel in currently unused space in Disney World.

However, since that announcement, we haven’t heard much about this resort and construction never started on it. BUT, we did see that a permit was renewed for the location of this hotel in 2023, so it’s possible that this hotel isn’t off the table, but has just been put on the back burner for the time being.

PLAY! Pavilion

The PLAY! Pavilion was announced to be added to EPCOT during its massive transformation. The plan was for it to take over the Wonders of Life Pavilion and become a “digital metropolis” that featured interactive experiences, games, entertainment, hands-on activities… AND favorite Disney characters, both virtual and real!

Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley had previously shared about the PLAY! Pavilion: “This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot. Built on the power of play, it introduces an immersive and interactive ‘city’ where you can explore, create, and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters. This is an experience worthy of our bold vision for Epcot — and another signature element of our transformation.”

The PLAY! Pavilion was previously even designated on the EPCOT map, but in January 2023 it was silently removed. Disney has not commented on the status of this pavilion or if ever will become a reality.

Villains Land in Magic Kingdom

At the 2022 D23 event, Disney had started talking about the potential plans to do a Magic Kingdom expansion. During that time the idea was still a “Blue Sky” idea (more on that later), and not confirmed. One of the ideas for the new land then was to do a Villains-themed land!

Now we know that an expansion is coming to Magic Kingdom beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but Disney has yet to confirm what the land will be. As excited as many of us were for a Disney Villains land, that idea has not been talked about much since the initial announcement. However, Disney did announce a new Heroes vs. Villains cruise ship — the Disney Destiny!

Moana Land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is getting a BIG overhaul of Dinoland U.S.A. The Dinosaur-themed land is going to become one themed for the Tropical Americas. However, before the Tropical Americas were confirmed, there was an idea for a Moana-themed land!

The original concept art for the Animal Kingdom re-theme showed Moana’s boat with the Heart of Tefiti symbol on it. This was the first idea that Disney proposed for the Dinoland makeover, but it did not become the end result.

Blue Sky Projects

Blue Sky projects or Blue Sky ideas are ideas that Disney and the Imagineers propose that may or may not ever become reality. Sometimes they turn into amazing new experiences, but often they get scrapped before they leave the drawing board. An example of this is Beastly Kingdom which was supposed to be added to Animal Kingdom, but the project was scrapped and now Pandora sits in the place instead.

A lot of the ideas that we’ve seen scrapped or no longer talked about such as the Moana and Villains lands were Blue Sky ideas. Disney ended up changing its mind or decided to go in a different direction. It’s all part of the creative process to bring us all new and innovative attractions and experiences. We’ll likely hear new Blue Sky ideas at the D23 event coming up, and that’s exciting because we get to see an inner working of the Imagineers and the company.

So even if we don’t see all the big announcements become a reality, it’s cool to see what new ideas Disney has for the parks! We could be in for a wild ride at the upcoming event.

Stay tuned to DFB for live coverage of D23 2024: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event!

Disney Will Make BIG Announcements in August and Fans Are Desperately Pleading for This To Be One of Them

What announcement are you hoping we hear at the D23 event? Let us know in the comments!