D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event dropped some BIG surprises and EPIC Disney news.
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event
On the second day of the event, August 10th, we heard a TON of news at the Horizons — D23 Experiences Showcase about upcoming theme park projects, new nighttime entertainment, new cruise line ships, new gaming, and so much more! Disney dropped a lot of awesome previews of each of the new projects and got us excited for the next few years of Disney experiences. Every announcement was confirmed to be in production, and none were “Blue Sky” ideas. Now, we’re getting a first look at all the Imagineering models for each of the major announcements!
Let’s go to the Imagineering Showcase, where Disney displayed some super-detailed models of upcoming projects! We’re starting with a look at Pueblo Esperanza coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
At #D23 we’re getting a look at a NEW model of Pueblo Esperanza coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/5jxbYrR1M6
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2024
We got a close-up of Casita from Encanto, which will be an all-new ride in the new land!
Hola, Casita! 👋 Check out the closer look at the outside of the new Encanto attraction coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! 🌺 #D23 pic.twitter.com/By2yBHEeOB
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2024
The Casita model is extremely detailed and looks amazing!
Casita
When we say this model is full of details, we aren’t kidding. Thanks to the SUPER-ZOOM capabilities of our cameras, we were able to really look closely at what Imagineers have in mind for this new attraction. On the roof, for example, we spotted this weather vane with a sun and snowflake, along with a cute little butterfly resting atop the pole.
Look at that weather vane!
Of course, the magic candle can also be seen in the Casita window. The candle is always lit and gives the house — and the people living inside it — magical abilities.
The candle!
Now, if you were to shrink down that Casita to scale and drop it in Pueblo Esperanza, this is what it would look like. Based on the model, it looks like this attraction will be tucked away towards the back of the land and will be surrounded by trees and plants.
Here’s what it looks like within the land
You can also see an overall look at the new land that will take place in the Tropical Americas. This new land will take over what is currently DinoLand, U.S.A.
Here’s another angle of Pueblo Esperanza! So many trees to help represent the tropical Americas! 🌴🌺
The entrance also looks like it pays homage to the celebration space in Encanto! pic.twitter.com/Aq3wC30OKJ
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2024
You can see an overview of the new land below.
Overview of Pueblo Esperanza
Disney also shared a look at the new carousel coming to the Topical Americas land. This carousel will be a fully functional wooden ride carved by a local wood carver from the village of Pueblo Esperanza! We even spotted a model of a wooden Kevin!
It’s Kevin!
Just look at the details on her saddle!
Beautiful!
We can’t get over all the colors used on not only the saddle flowers, but also on Kevin herself.
So many colors!
If we look closely, we can see that the Carousel animals in the concept art all seem to be animals from our favorite Disney and Pixar films, such as Timon, Pumbaa, Simba, Squirt, and more!
We recognize these friends!
On the model, you can get a good look at just where the carousel will be in comparison to the rest of the land.
Top of the carousel
We think this stepped pyramid-looking building will be the facade that holds the new Indiana Jones ride as well, which will replace DINOSAUR that is currently located in this area.
Indiana Jones
We don’t know about you, but to us, this area looks like it would be PERFECT for dining and shopping, of which we are ready to do PLENTY of in the Tropical Americas land.
Possible food?
It’s not totally clear what this little area will be, but to us, it looks like ancient ruins or something similar which would make sense for the Indiana Jones part of this land as well!
Hmmm
Next, we checked out the new Monsters, Inc Land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios! There will be the first-ever suspended roller coaster in a Disney park.
Interested in Disney’s FIRST-EVER suspended coaster coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Here’s a first look at the model! #D23 pic.twitter.com/H1xvpA7CEc
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 11, 2024
We can’t wait to ride on a door through the laugh factory!
‘Monsters, Inc’ roller coaster
Just look at how intricate this model is — it really does remind us of the door scenes from Monsters, Inc. We’ve been begging Disney to bring a rollercoaster inspired by this movie to life and we’re so excited to see it happening!
Monsters, Inc. coaster
Next, we’re heading to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris where World of Frozen and a new Lion King land will be built!
Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris
We can clearly see where the new Lion King land will be situated, which is very helpful for future planning. This part of the park is currently being built as World of Frozen is being worked on, so it’s not taking the place of anything existing right now.
It looks like it’ll be at the back left of the park!
We got a close up look at the model for the new Lion King land, and it looks amazing! There will even be a log flume ride, according to the model.
‘Lion King’ Land
But not just any log flume ride — this one appears to be able to fit THREE people across each row, which is different than many Disney log flume rides that currently exist.
It fits 3 people across!
We also love that there COULD be a Mufasa/adult Simba (they look pretty similar) animatronic or statue on top of Pride Rock, which will be able to be seen from all over the land.
Love it!
Upon first glance around the land, it appears that a lot of the area will be open to direct sunlight, which isn’t as big of a problem in Paris as it is in Florida, but it can still get hot!
A lot of areas in the sun
However, when we looked closer, we found that there are actually a lot of shaded/indoor spots that the design of the land appears to hide, in a way!
This whole area may be covered!
We’re also loving all the colorful details added in, even on such a tiny scale currently. It really shows how detailed this land will hopefully be!
So colorful!
We mean, can you believe THIS could be your view heading into the land in just a few short years? We can’t wait!
Incredible!
Let’s head over to Disney California Adventure where a new ‘Avatar’ destination will be getting built!
‘Avatar’ attraction at Disney California Adventure
This new destination will take you to new places on Pandora themed to the new movies Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire and Ash, and more future films.
The ‘Avatar’ model
What we really loved about this sneak peek was that we didn’t only see the model, but also some of the notes that have been taken about the new land!
Notes!
The model itself is stunning, we will be FLOORED if this rockwork and all its details are able to come to life in the way this concept art shows!
AMAZING
We really can see the focus of water in this land, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it may impact guest experience as well.
Lots of water
Finally, we got a closer look at the concept art for the new Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom! It looks villainous, indeed.
Villains Land
We can’t wait for all of these projects to become reality! Still to come on day 3 are more panels and the Disney Legends Ceremony. We’re hanging out all day, so keep following DFB for more news!
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How is there NOT a Lion King Land in the Animal Kingdom? It’s a no-brainer
Do you get the feeling that Disney is trying too hard to “keep up” with Universal and starting to make the parks look similar? Why is Disney making lands based on a single movie or movie series rather than the genre-based themes they currently have? Much harder to swap out rides and attractions that way. And the “family with young kids” vibe of the Magic Kingdom is slowly becoming more geared to teen and young adult audiences – again, a nod to Universal’s direction of development. I am frankly sick of Disney’s “expansion” news because it really is nothing of the sort – just changing out ride vehicles and costumes in a few areas of the parks.
This will ruin Magic Kingdom. Stop replacing and start Expanding !
Past experience tells us – it will look nothing like these sets when all is said and down. It will be a shadow of the concept.