2023 Destination D23 Announcement Predictions for Disney World, Disneyland & Beyond
The big Parks & Resorts presentation by Chairman Josh D’Amaro at the 2023 Destination D23 is exactly one week away, with announcements expected for Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This post predicts what’ll be revealed–separating out our own wishful thinking with what’s actually likely in terms of new entertainment, attractions, overhauls and opening dates.
Before all of that, we’ll start with the arguments for and against a big slate of news at Destination D23. Fans are divided on this, and understandably so. Many have had their enthusiasm for all things Walt Disney World and Disneyland tempered over the course of the last few years due to cutbacks, price increases, project cancellations, and the generally slow pace of everything. Then there was last year’s D23 Expo, which featured several ‘announcements’ that were really more like blue sky brainstorming.
Usually, D23 Expo is the flagship event where all of the announcements are made, and Destination D23 is the more history-focused conference for diehard theme park fans where updates are offered on projects in progress. There’s a compelling case for optimism for the long-term future of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. However, there is also a compelling case for pessimism in the near-term. It remains to be seen how that tension will be resolved when it comes to Destination D23 announcements, but let’s discuss reasons for an ambitious slates of announcements as well as more restraint…
A big slate of announcements at the 2023 Destination D23 would actually make some degree of sense. With the opening of TRON Lightcycle Run and the Giant EPCOT Dirt Pit being filled in, the last big development cycle has now more or less wrapped up and is no longer contributing to CapEx numbers for the most part. With no major construction currently happening in either coast for the first time in over a decade, it will soon be time to start the next development phase.
On top of that, the travel industry is proving surprisingly resilient. Even as pent-up demand is exhausting itself, Disney’s theme park business continues to outperform, and investors have begun to take notice of its success. This coupled with Wall Street souring on streaming means Disney may finally start to bet bigger on its theme parks. (All lessons learned back in 2009, proving yet again that history repeats itself!)
This is actually part of why that seemingly-random blue sky discussion occurred on stage at the last D23 Expo. Like a child with a short attention span, Wall Street had just started to lose interest in streaming prior to that, and begun asking more questions about the future of Disney’s theme parks. With nothing greenlit or funded, talking about possibilities was the best Disney could do. It’s been a year since then, so presumably, there’s been time to move projects through development, firm up specifics, and get board approval where necessary.
From the perspective of many Walt Disney World fans, there’s also the elephant in the room that creates a sense of urgency for announcements at Destination D23: Universal’s Epic Universe, the third theme park being built in Central Florida by Comcast.
At this point, it’s already clear that Disney won’t have any “answer” to Epic Universe when it opens in Summer 2025. They simply aren’t capable of building anything that quickly, so it’s already too late. About the best they can probably do is delay Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to 2025 or lean heavily on entertainment to attempt to counter Epic Universe.
Or perhaps Disney has concluded that the only way to “win” is to not play the game. No new ride or land is going to meaningfully compete with a brand-new theme park. Sitting out this round of the theme park wars, conceding the spotlight for a year, and claiming a rising tide lifts all boats might be the best hand that Disney can play. No Disney fan wants to hear this, but might be the smarter move than trying to steal Epic Universe’s thunder.
There’s a lot that could be written about Walt Disney World and Universal’s competition for Central Florida tourism dollars, most of which is beyond the scope of this Destination D23 predictions post. I’ll just say that claims that Universal is going to “eat Disney’s lunch” are ,not even remotely grounded in reality. Average guests (infrequent visitors or first-timers) don’t experience destinations on the sole basis of what’s brand new.
However, I’ll also add that it doesn’t much matter whether that claim is true or simply wishful schadenfreude. Universal has been quietly building out its resort complex over the last decade, turning it into a bona fide destination, rather than a diversion from Disney. Epic Universe is the last piece of that puzzle, and that third theme park will siphon away stays from Disney. As a hotel business that also operates theme parks, Walt Disney World cannot be comfortable losing overnight guests to Universal. Even a 10% reduction would be a big blow.
Will that have any bearing on announcements at Destination D23? Probably not. I’m just mentioning it because Universal vs. Disney comes up a lot, as does the “need” for an answer to Epic Universe. At this point, though, it’s already clear Disney won’t have an immediate or direct answer, so the question is what sense of urgency to create one down the road current exists within the company? (Probably not much, they’re cocky.)
If it’s simply about creating fan hype as an “answer” (which is fairly meaningless in the real world when people are planning trips), Disney could just as soon wait to make an announcement until the next D23 Expo. In fact, that might be the superior strategy, as the news would be ‘fresher’ than when people are making plans for 2025 and beyond.
Speaking of things that I actually don’t think have much of a bearing on Disney’s announcements at Destination D23, there’s also the standoff with the state. This is another thing that comes up a lot in fan circles, with the typical argument being that the company won’t announce anything for Walt Disney World until the feud with Governor DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has ended.
I’m not convinced of this. I do think it’s true that earlier this year, when CEO Bob Iger announced the company’s plan to invest a staggering $17 billion on Walt Disney World over the next decade, he purposefully timed those words to sway public opinion in favor of Disney. I also believe that Disney was perfectly happy to let reporting about Disney cancelling the Lake Nona Imagineering Campus and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Closure draw nonexistent connections to the standoff with the state.
However, that was months ago at a phase in this ‘battle’ that was largely playing out in the media and for the benefit of the public. It was the first real counteroffensive since Iger took the helm, and the hope was–presumably–to win over voters and cause the state to back down as a result. That phase has run its course.
Governor DeSantis has largely moved on to other ‘issues’ during his campaigning, and Iger hasn’t said anything noteworthy about the fight with Florida in months. Sure, there are still smaller players who are bitterly engaged in culture wars, but that’ll always be the case. Anyone who was ever going to have a strong opinion about this subject has already made up their mind, and isn’t going to be persuaded otherwise at this point. This matter has moved from the court of public opinion to courts of law.
In real courts, Disney investing or withholding investments in the state of Florida has zero bearing on their legal arguments. Public posturing and optics don’t much matter anymore. So unless you believe that Disney isn’t going to do anything in Florida until all the cases conclude–or that Disney will purposefully sabotage itself out of spite–there’s no longer any reason to postpone announcements on the basis of the feud.
With all of that said, I am not convinced that Josh D’Amaro will get up on stage at Destination D23 and lay out a 10-year plan that amounts to $17 billion of investment in Walt Disney World in the next decade. While I actually am bullish that will happen because of Wall Street’s newfound (more like rediscovered) enthusiasm for theme parks, it still seems premature.
The big reason is that Disney quite simply has too much debt and not enough liquidity to front-load spending. Although this is already starting to improve, streaming is still hemorrhaging money (no longer $1 billion per quarter–progress!), and the future of both Hulu and ESPN are still unknown. On top of that, there’s now the standoff with Spectrum and the Hollywood unions. I personally don’t believe either of those things have much bearing on theme park announcements, but the totality of all this does add up.
But that’s an argument against Disney sticking shovel in soil today, and immediately starting up significant CapEx at Walt Disney World. As we’ve seen many times, it doesn’t work that way. There’s no reason Disney’s Board of Directors can’t forecast out when Disney+ will attain profitability, how much Hulu will cost, how much they can make on an ESPN partnership, and then approve future spending on Parks & Resorts along that timeline.
Stated more bluntly, Josh D’Amaro can get up on stage at Destination D23 and announce a bunch of start that won’t commence construction until 2025. If that’s the case, why not simply wait until the 2024 D23 Expo to make a splashy announcement on the bigger stage? Well, that’s certainly a possibility. But so too is announcing now to show Wall Street some signs of life and perhaps reverse the slumping stock price.
In short, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what’ll be revealed at Destination D23, with reasons for more aggressive announcements and compelling counterpoints for the normal slate of updates. With all of that in mind, here are my actual predictions for what gets revealed at the event next weekend…
TBA AAs
Don’t you just love the wonderful world of Disney acronyms?
The centerpiece exhibit at Destination D23 is “60 Years of Disney’s Audio-Animatronics Technology.” According to the description, this will showcase the evolution of the art and its related technology through a diverse showcase of rare figural assets, photography, and vintage ephemera and documentation all in the name of celebrating key moments from Walt’s earliest inspirations and development to modern-day marvels.
It’s a safe bet that this will feature Audio-Animatronics from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. At least, I really hope that’s what happens. Thus far, I think Disney has done an atrocious job of generating enthusiasm for this upcoming attraction. The marketing, or whatever you want to call it, has felt unassured and defensive, focusing on things that aren’t even in the ride as if it’s necessary to justify its existence with things about which 99% of actual guests do not care.
Up until now, Disney has buried the lede when it comes to the Audio-Animatronics in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This would be a great opportunity to shift the focus and get fans actually excited for this E-Ticket attraction that is, supposedly, coming next year. Given Imagineering’s recent strides with AAs, this could be a really exciting exhibit, and one that kickstarts the hype cycle for TBA.
Tiana’s Palace Restaurant coming to Walt Disney World also seems like an inevitable announcement during D’Amaro’s presentation sharing more details about the Princess and the Frog expansion specifics in Magic Kingdom.
(It’s also possible/probable that the exhibit will feature the impressive AAs for the upcoming additions in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. However, I wonder just how much Disney will want to highlight nextgen AA technology that 99% of U.S. fans will never see.)
Moana’s Journey of Water Opening Date & Details
Disney just announced that the Saturday evening event for Destination D23 attendees will be “An Evening at EPCOT with D23” at the conclusion of the day’s final presentation, “EPCOT: Always in a State of Becoming.”
Given that (wide) Cast Member previews just started in earnest in the last couple of days, with photos and videos flooding social media, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the presentation reveals the opening date for Moana’s Journey of Water followed by a “but since we love our D23 members, we’re going to give our most loyal fans a private sneak peek tonight!!!” (Crowd goes wild.)
As for a prediction on the official opening date, I’ll go with the second half of October 2023. Cast Member previews are currently scheduled until the kickoff of Disney100, at which point Annual Passholder and Disney Vacation Club Member previews are likely in late September and parts of October 2023.
This attraction is ready to roll, and could have opened over the summer. Our guess is that the delay is largely a matter of crowd control at this point. There’s really nowhere for a standby line to go, so it’s possible/probable that Walt Disney World will wait until fall break is over before opening that attraction in order to avoid congestion in the walkway or being forced to use a virtual queue. Burning off some demand with affinity previews and then debuting it officially after Columbus Day makes sense from that perspective.
EPCOT Overhaul Updates
The overhaul of EPCOT will wrap up sometime this year or next. Given recent aerial construction photos, I’m skeptical that any surprises remain in the Giant EPCOT Dirt Pit™️. It’s mostly just trees, planters, and stuff about which we already know. If I were Disney, I’d probably be a bit apprehensive about hyping up all of that–for many fans, this is going to be the most anticlimactic 4-year project ever.
But they probably will hype it up, anyway. The company will play to the crowd and emphasize Dreamers Point and the statue of Walt Disney, naturally. We’ll probably get backstory about how this ties into his original vision for an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or how there are nods to the history of EPCOT Center. Yawn.
The bigger wildcards here are whether he hear about the Play Pavilion, which has been paused, and other future additions around the front of EPCOT. Although it’s #1 on my wish list, I’m betting against another Journey into Imagination overhaul. I’d also bet against Play Pavilion or Mary Poppins. I think both of those things are dead.
Instead, I’ll go with updates and maybe a few minor details about CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, concept art for the Figment meet & greet (and an official opening date), and things of that nature. My bigger/bolder prediction is that a (new) reimagining of Spaceship Earth is revealed. That attraction needs an extensive refurbishment sooner or later; they might as well update the show scenes during the downtime.
International Updates
It’s a certainty that there will be status reports and new concept art for projects at international parks that are already underway. These include the Walt Disney Studios Park expansion at Disneyland Paris, Arendelle at Hong Kong Disneyland, Zootopia at Shanghai Disneyland, and Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea.
Even though Disney usually glosses over the Japan parks since it doesn’t own them, it wouldn’t surprise me to see actual attention given to Fantasy Springs since it’s far and away the most ambitious project and it opens next year. The WDSP also should be highlighted given its long-term, transformational significance for Disneyland Paris.
If I were to ‘bet’ on anything, specifically, it’d be an opening date for the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. We already know that’ll debut in November 2023, so the time is right for a specific date. Not only that, but Disney has been drawing more attention to HKDL lately, and it’s more likely that the partners in China and Japan will want to control the timing of their opening date announcements.
Buried Treasure
Disney Cruise Line is going to reveal its next ship, the Disney Treasure, on September 5, 2023. That’s really odd timing given that Destination D23 is only a few days later, but it’s likely that DCL wants its own spotlight. The whole cruise ecosystem is its own beast that’s different from theme parks, and Disney Cruise Line probably wants to generate actual bookings from the reveal.
Nevertheless, it’s possible that DCL will hold back a nugget or two in order to have a one-two hype punch next week. In this case, something that uniquely appeals to diehard Walt Disney World fans would make sense. It’s also possible that D’Amaro simply reiterates what was shared during the Treasure reveal or offers an update on Lighthouse Point.
Emotional Entertainment
One of the safer bets is that the D’Amaro panel will feature an emotional entertainment montage highlighting recent and returning nighttime spectaculars, parades, and so forth. Entertainment has truly been one of the biggest bright spots over the last year, and D’Amaro deserves to take a bit of a ‘victory lap’ with the reimagined Fantasmic, Wondrous Journeys, Magic Happens, Momentous, Rogers: The Musical, Happily Ever After, etc.
Frankly, I don’t think fans have appreciated just how good the recent run of entertainment has been, especially after the abysmal 50th Anniversary offerings. So celebrate that and draw attention to it. Remind fans that entertainment is a big part of the magic, etc. After that, look forward to what’s next in 2024.
In our previous Destination D23 Wish List, I already laid out the case for “Summer Nightastic 2.0.” While I don’t think it’ll be called that, the idea is turning 2024 into a summer/season of spectaculars, anchored around new and reimagined entertainment at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This isn’t just my wish–it’s what I really think is going to happen. With attendance starting to slow as revenge travel dies down, Disney will need a promotional push for the first half of 2024.
The solution will likely be entertainment–it’s the only thing that can conceivably happen on this tight of a timeline. After years of rumors and wishful thinking, my prediction is that 2024 will finally be the year that both Paint the Night and Main Street Electrical Parade return (one for each coast). It’s been a while, but they’re both sitting in storage in Southern California, and Paint the Night has a still relatively new float.
One thing that’s a given is the return of Fantasmic at Disneyland in 2024, and my prediction is that we hear vague details about enhancements that are coming in addition to the fire repairs. Paint the Night finally returning over at Disney California Adventure would be nice counterprogramming to a reimagined Fantasmic. That’s probably just scratching the surface, as there’s a lot of potential for new and returning entertainment at Disneyland Resort.
At Walt Disney World, there are also a lot of potential possibilities. One is that as-yet unannounced entertainment comes to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and/or Magic Kingdom. That could mean a parade, parades (plural), or a parade and a projections/fireworks show. Then there’s the new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT, which is supposed to debut this year…but will probably arrive in 2024 if it’s going to anchor an entertainment-centric ‘event.’
David Duffy being promoted to VP of Live Entertainment at Walt Disney World likely did not happen by coincidence. After years of neglect and stagnation on the entertainment front, here’s hoping that Florida is finally ready to invest big in spectaculars. If Duffy can work the same magic he did for the 30th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris, entertainment could prove to be a big draw for Walt Disney World during a time between big development cycles.
Disneyland Updates
Over at Disneyland, more details about the Downtown Disney expansion, Disneyland Hotel DVC, and Paradise/Pixar Pier Hotel seem likely. There’s also the Adventure Treehouse, which somehow still has not opened. When it comes to these things and Disneyland, it seems like there’s almost always a medium-tier announcement that comes out of left field. Obviously, I have no clue what that will be…or it wouldn’t be out of left field…but I’d expect that, too.
Although it made my wish list, I don’t expect to hear anything about the Avatar Experience. I also don’t expect to hear anything about the King Thanos Multiverse attraction in Avengers Campus. I hope to be wrong about both, but I’m guessing it’s still premature for the former and the latter is dead again.
I also do not expect to hear anything about DisneylandForward. Once again, I think many people have misread what that actually is. There is no there there–it’s essentially about zoning and land use. When fans say, “Disney will build X as part of DisneylandForward,” they are fundamentally misunderstanding the initiative. It’s not a project, it’s public approval to give Disney greater autonomy over what they can build…if they so choose.
Dino-Rama Replacement
Again, we already know that Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama is going extinct soon(ish). The unanswered questions are what it’ll be, when it’ll happen, and whether be a bona fide park expansion or a straightforward replacement of Dino-Rama. The rumors have swirled for years–even before last year’s D23 Expo–and have included everything from Indiana Jones to revisiting the Excavator roller coaster.
Then came that infamous blue sky daydreaming session on stage at the D23 Expo that discussed “potential expansion” opportunities and “early concept exploration” for Dinoland USA. One of those included detailed concept art for a Moana Mini-Land at Animal Kingdom that would replace Dino-Rama; another was for Zootopia Expansion at Animal Kingdom that would be built beyond Dino-Rama for the most part.
Although my wish list implored Disney to give dinosaurs a second chance, I doubt that’ll happen. Aside from the incredible Dinosaurs and a bunch of flops, Disney doesn’t have any dino-centric intellectual property. And something tells me they’re not building a land around a satirical television show from the early 90s, even if it’s the distinctly patriotic thing to do.
The big question is whether one or both of the Moana and Zootopia lands have been greenlit yet. A lot has happened since the last D23 Expo, with the most notable difference being that Josh D’Amaro has a new boss–Bob Iger (again). Imagineering has also seen changes at the top, and the power structure among those empowered to make Animal Kingdom expansion a reality has changed. What’s unknown is whether preferences and priorities have shifted. My guess is that we’ll get official confirmation of 1 of the 2 concepts, with a tease that it’s just one component of the expansion plans for Animal Kingdom, and more will be revealed at a later date.
An addition to Animal Kingdom just makes sense. This is now the Walt Disney World park furthest removed from its last big expansion, it’s the park people spend the fewest hours in per day, and Disney already demolished Primeval Whirl. The picnic space that replaced it is an upgrade over the ride (addition by subtraction, baby!), but it won’t remain empty forever. Disney needs to improve the ride roster and drawing power of Animal Kingdom, and that needs to happen 4 years ago. We’ll have to settle for 4 years from now, I guess.
That’s probably the most ‘remote’ and biggest announcement we’ll hear at the 2023 Destination D23 event. While this may seem like a conservative slate as compared to our wish list and what you may also be hoping happens–and it arguably is after the blue sky hype of last year’s D23 Expo–a presentation on par with the above would still make this the splashiest Destination D/D23 ever. This is usually the update event, so the above predictions are pretty much the middle ground between optimism and pessimism.
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Your Thoughts
Care to make it interesting by placing your own predictions about what will be announced at the 2023 Destination D23? Do you think it will be a time for big attraction announcements, or will mostly focus on details about projects that are already underway or that have happened already? Any surprise announcements you think might be possible? Obviously, none of us know what the future holds (unless you’re a Disney executive or Imagineer…in which case, please let us know what’s going to happen! 😉 ), but I think it’s fun to take some guesses and see who ‘wins’ just the same. We’ll revisit this post in a couple weeks and whoever got the most right will win…bragging rights!
Am I the only one hoping for some big movement on genie+ enhancement announcenents? They acknowledged they’re listening to customers and bigger changes are coming soon but crickets so far.
Great article, thank you! What do you think about the idea that at some point, expansion in the existing parks (versus updating/replacing current spaces) will no longer yield higher profits as there is only so much one will pay for a park ticket? Basically, what are the odds that Disney will swing big and spin off a concept like the villains area… “beyond Thunder Mountain”… into a separate gate? Especially since the inclusion of the area in Magic Kingdom certainly won’t be able to kick ticket prices up to, say, $300 (AKA the combined ticket price of two separate parks).
I agree that Disney is in need of a mic-drop moment and that they will give something big and concrete this time around. I know a 5th gate is delusional thinking but was wondering if and when you think this might be announced in the distant future.
Tom,
I believe that the $17B investment figure is misleading. Updating anything at Disney costs money, so even the addition by subtraction of Primeval Whirl could have been included in an ‘investment’ figure. Similarly, the re-theming of Splash Mountain costs money, but does not provide an additional ride. Refurbishing and/or updating existing hotels also costs money.
You also mentioned Disney’s ‘cash position’. They have to make a decision about purchasing the final portion of Hulu from Comcast (+/- $9B). This is a short-term issue that will matter to Wall Street, but it’s complicated by the added strain of Disney+, the changes in movie theater economics, and the ongoing strike. And I’m of the opinion the ‘creative’ side is where Chapek caused some real damage with his crony, Kareen Daniel, getting fired by Iger on his first day. There is every reason to believe that movies will underperform and subsequently offset any positive signs from Disney+. But the Catch-22 is that without a good pipeline, what’s going to keep people subscribed to Disney+?
So, I tend to agree that this is likely to be a ho-hum D23 experience for no other reason than this is a transition phase for Disney at the financial-level, and they cannot hide that by announcing an expansion that won’t be ready until 2028 (100 year anniversary of Steamboat Willie). Disney’s stock price is underperforming and announcing too much spending is likely to spook Wall Street more than Disney looking as if they are getting their fiscal house in order.
“…and announcing too much spending is likely to spook Wall Street more…”
This is a great point. Investors pay attention to what happens at these fan events (CNBC and Bloomberg cover them), and having the spending and debt a bit better under control before announcing anything makes sense–or at least discussing future CapEx plans on an earnings call, and reassuring Wall Street that, regardless of announcements, spending isn’t happening until X date.
I’ve been surprised by the number of fans who are still on the “What’s going to be Disney’s answer to Epic Universe?” train of thought. In addition to the timing issues Tom noted, didn’t they basically confirm that when the original Hogsmede launched Disney decided to let Universal have that year and not even try to compete? And that was just one land, so the “let’s just sit this one out” tactic makes the most sense to me
Disney’s line back when Hogsmeade debuted was that a “rising tide lifts all boats.” That was probably true then, as Universal had far fewer hotels, and even with WWoHP, was still a diversion. It was also back coming out of the Great Recession, and Disney wasn’t ready to invest big in the parks again. Potter was arguably what changed that, as Wall Street saw how big it was for Universal and figured there was still room for WDW to grow.
This is not to say that Disney should “compete” with Epic Universe in 2025 with new additions. I could see Disney needing or wanting to figure out how to lure people to its hotels. Starting to develop an internal plan for that now would be prudent.
Honestly, we are spoiled children. Disney recently has built amazing rides and attractions in WDW. Avatar: Flight of Passage, Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run. That represents billions of investment and some of them are the best rides ever! We all just got fancy new bikes and we already want new ones, spoiled as we are. Go to Universal if you think it’s better there, this way we have more room for ourselves to soak up the amazing atmosphere, the wonderfull ambiance and the unique vibrations of Disney World, something you won’t find in Universal, not in a 100 years. Thank you.
Reading this post made me feel a bit depressed. I’ve already dialed down my hopes but the predicted scenario feels like a kid waiting for Christmas when your formerly well-to-do parents are going through a rough patch financially. You know you might only get some candy and new socks this year, but trying to get excited about what kind of socks you’ll get just makes it feel worse. You also know you’ll probably get that fancy new bike in a few years when things turn around….but by then you might be too old for that bike.
By the same token, my kids are now aging into teenagers — and realistically, by the time anything truly significant is constructed in any of the US parks they won’t really be “children” anymore.
I know there are other more important things in life but it’s a bummer that Disney can’t figure out a way to get projects greenlighted and built in an economic climate that wants to reward any and every dollar invested in their theme parks.
If Disney somehow managed to introduce a panda enclosure at DAK, I think that that would create enough buzz and excitement for the forcible future, without the need to build a whole new land or attraction. But it’s unlikely to happen with the rarity of pandas in general.
Whatever happens at this year’s event, it can’t be more of a disappointment than last year’s.
Might we hear some timeline or schedule updates on the affordable housing initiative in WDW off of Avalon road?
Can’t wait to see this D23 event live in person!
My guess is no.
That’s a tricky subject. I don’t think Disney wants to draw too much attention to that–it raises some uncomfortable questions about cost of living in Central Florida–but they want to draw some attention to it, since it demonstrates that they are helping to solve a problem (albeit one that they helped create).
Also, I don’t think it’s the kind of thing that would excite the D23 audience.
I don’t know how much I would believe.. I no longer trust Iger. He’s no Chapek but there are a lot of questionable moves in his tenure. I’m decidedly in the Iger is for Iger camp and he’s not making smart common sense moves. Tom, you’ve been covering D23 events a long time. What is the percentage of promises that have been fulfilled during your reporting?
“What is the percentage of promises that have been fulfilled during your reporting?”
By promises, you mean announced projects that have been built? Prior to 2019, there were a handful of projects that didn’t come to fruition, but it was usually because something else (often better) was announced as a replacement. For example, we got Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead of a bunch of meet & greets, as was the original New Fantasyland plan.
There was a lot–probably close to 50%–announced at the 2019 D23 Expo that did not and will not happen. Almost all of that can be blamed on the pandemic, though. Then there’s the 2022 D23 Expo, which was just weird because the big things really weren’t actual announcements, but a blue sky session about possibilities for the next expansion pads in DAK and MK.
My hope/expectation is that, going forward, we get concrete announcements or nothing at all. The blue sky stuff was NOT well received at the last D23 Expo.
Thanks for the answer. it will be interesting. I look forward to your coverage.
They could….emphasis….COULD make an announcement for DAK. To me it’s even money and even if it is made, it’s good money that’s another “blue sky” announcement with no concrete details or even a target date. I’ve again seen speculation of a new country for WS….yeah….that ain’t happenin’….it’s just not. For Epcot the only likely announcements will be finishing of construction announcements. Here’s where we’ll get the concrete date information. We’ll probably get more information on the new nighttime show. As for MK and beyond Big Thunder….I bet that we don’t get more than “we’re still working on it…it’s in development” or maybe the whittling down to fewer concepts.
“As for MK and beyond Big Thunder….I bet that we don’t get more than ‘we’re still working on it…it’s in development’ or maybe the whittling down to fewer concepts.”
I hope they offer another update on that, even if only to say it’s in development. I personally don’t want more blue sky daydreaming on it–either they should announce something concrete or wait until they’re ready to do so.
As for another World Showcase country, as much as I’d love to see it, I have heard absolutely nothing credible since pre-closure. Brazil was incredibly close to happening at one point, but that’s been dead for years. If its concepts are ever resurrected, I’d imagine they’ll happen elsewhere. So yeah, I’d also bet against a new WS country.
We’ll find out whether 2024 or 2025 be the Year of Entertainment, and if it’s 2024 we’ll see some schedules adjusted to the right. It’s possible that the rate of which streaming losses has been mitigated justifies a minor construction start in 2024, so a tease of … Oceania in AK consisting of Finding Nemo and a Moana mini-land could be announced, which would still save lots of current and expansion Dinoland area to play with. If that’s too grand, at the risk of pulling a Beaver Tails I think cloning Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast should be okay if it opens after Sept 2025; by then it will be the turn of HS to get something new.
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see what the promotional push is for Spring/Summer 2024 if it’s not entertainment. I suppose they could just emphasize the recent additions + new fireworks at EPCOT, and then do another campaign for TBA in Oct/Nov/December…but that assumes it’ll be done by then, and I’m still skeptical.
The path of least resistance would be just to focus on entertainment next year and plan for a Spring/Summer 2025 push for TBA. It’s so weird that they committed to “Late 2024” for TBA years in advance, IMO.
Iger is turning Disney around but I doubt they make the announcement this week of something that won’t break ground until 2025 while they wait for the capital to be available. When they do it’ll be something to generate buzz but will still probably not be as exciting as most people hope. Something like turning the whole area into South America (to blend with Asia and Africa). A couple new animals and a small Encanto ride with casita replacing Chester and Hester. The E-ticket ride will be an Indiana Jones overlay of Dinosaur (same ride track/cheap conversion). Zootopia Land beyond may come further down the line but I’m guessing the c-suite folks will want to see the reaction in China before green lighting something that large.
“Iger is turning Disney around but I doubt they make the announcement this week of something that won’t break ground until 2025 while they wait for the capital to be available.”
I certainly wouldn’t bet against this on the basis of it being too far in advance. Several relatively recent WDW projects have had long gaps between announcement and groundbreaking, including TRON and Pandora.
Equally possibly is that they begin work in August or September 2024, to spread the CapEx into even more fiscal years.
I think Disney announcing investment in Disney World at this cultural moment could be a very smart PR move. There’s the narrative that Desantis is hurting Florida’s economy with this fight, and Disney could make the argument that they’re investing, creating jobs, supporting the central Florida economy in contrast to Desantis who’s being perceived to be hurting Florida’s economy, tourism, business climate, the credibility of their schools and universities etc. The higher ground argument that makes him look petulant to the state’s detriment.
I would hazard a guess that most minds are already made up one way or the other, and further PR isn’t going to move the needle one way or the other. To me at least, it doesn’t seem like either side benefits from the dispute getting more airtime. It has run its course.
Maybe some FL voters would appreciate Disney investing and creating jobs, though? It couldn’t possibly hurt.
I wouldn’t suggest putting out a statement or a press release drawing a link between investment and desantis, just letting the good work and the benefits speak for themselves while doing what they need to do in the courtrooms. I think there could be benefit to looking like the grownups in the room.
Hey Tom. Do you think there will be resort refurb updates? I’m personally interested in Bay Lake Tower and the scope of work to be done. The rooms desperately need an update but I really think a complete reimagining of the pool area would be welcomed by all.
That’s the type of thing I’d expect at the DVC condo association meeting, not at this. That’s a bit too niche even for Destination D23.
I expect no big announcements at all… The Animal Kingdom replacement is prime for a D23 announcement next year unfortunately. As a fan I’d love for that announcement to come now with D23 getting a WDW announcement about beyond Thunder Mountain. Also with a lot of international Park areas nearing completion this Destination 23 can use those for their presentations.
Sadly, I think there’s a good chance that you’re correct. While I *do* think an Animal Kingdom announcement is coming sooner rather than later, it’s definitely my lowest confidence prediction–maybe 55/45. I just don’t think it serves them to wait until D23 Expo in this particular case, which is why I think it’ll happen. Very well could be wrong about that, though!