Rankings of ALL Disney World Announcements & Destination D23 Report Card
Destination D23 was held at the Contemporary Resort over the weekend, and Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro shared a lot of news during his presentation, “A Celebration of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” This ‘report card’ ranks all of the announcements for Walt Disney World, and grades the keynote as a whole.
To be blunt, I think I watched a different presentation than many Walt Disney World fans. If you thought the announcements were lame or weak for the Florida parks, this might be the wrong post for you. At least, if your mind is completely made up and you have no interest in counterpoints or differing perspectives.
Honestly, I was taken aback at all of the negativity towards D’Amaro’s Destination D23 presentation, including among some of my friends who were right there in the room next to me. It felt like an “am I so out of touch?” moment for me. Like Principal Skinner, I also think it’s the children/everyone else who is wrong, and will make my case for that here…
To quickly recap before we get going, our 2023 Destination D23 Announcement Predictions for Walt Disney World were the following:
- Sneak Peek at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Audio Animatronics
- Moana’s Journey of Water Opening Date
- EPCOT Overhaul Updates
- Emotional Entertainment
- Dino-Rama Replacement
That’s it for Walt Disney World.
With the exception of ‘Emotional Entertainment,’ everything on that list happened. (Luminous: Symphony of Us is not enough to count for the entertainment prediction. The material part of that was a Summer Nightastic style season of entertainment with new, returning, or reimagined spectaculars. That did not occur.)
Our prior Destination D23 Wish List did contain a lot more (including a reimagining of Journey Into Imagination for like the 7th consecutive D23 event), but it also noted that it was “overtly optimistic–if even 25% of this ends up coming to fruition, I’ll be very happy.” The batting average for that is tough to calculate, since several things that weren’t on my radar ended up getting announced, even if most of what I was hoping would happen didn’t.
In large part, our expectations were tempered because Destination D23 is not the same as the D23 Expo. It started out as a history-oriented event (called D23’s Destination D) that was absolutely awesome for geeks like us and had maybe 1-2 newsy items per year. It wasn’t until 2018 that it really became the off-year Expo, and even then, the biggest news was the names of the attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Everything else was updates, opening seasons, or returning/limited time entertainment. That’s literally it.
To further put things into perspective, Josh D’Amaro ‘announced’ that “churros are back” at the last Destination D23. The bulk of the presentation was oriented around a return to normalcy, with only a few nuggets of news about the international parks, Disney Wish, Cosmic Rewind, and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Fast-forward two years, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is now on the precipice of closing rather than opening, and fans were optimistic about a bigger slate of announcements. And there was at least some basis in reality for that. Plenty was discussed at the D23 Expo without actual confirmation, and both D’Amaro and CEO Bob Iger have been teasing for months that billions of dollars of investments are on the horizon. Given all of that, it’s perfectly reasonable that fan expectations were higher than normal for a Destination D23 event.
Against that backdrop, let’s rank all of the Walt Disney World news, followed by a summary and grade for Josh D’Amaro’s presentation as a whole…
N/A. Moana’s Journey of Water Opening Date – This one was an inevitability, and something would’ve had to have gone horribly wrong if it wasn’t revealed. Our prediction called for an opening date in the second half of October 2023. That ended up being accurate, with the earliest possible second-half opening as possible: October 16, 2023.
N/A. Figment Meet & Greet Opening Date – Ending with Figment was the obvious crowd-pleasing move, low-hanging fruit epitomized. I would’ve preferred the Figment Finale be official confirmation of a Journey into Imagination reimagining, but I’m not surprised that it didn’t happen. As for Figment, debuting his meet & greet before September 22 and giving D23 Members a sneak peek at the character was a nice touch.
N/A. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Sneak Peek – This is a tough one. On the one hand, I think it would’ve been smart to spend way more time on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The Audio Animatronics exhibition at the event was extremely underwhelming; I figured it was going to showcase AAs from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the new Frozen attractions. I think that Disney hasn’t done a great job at generating hype for TBA, in large part because they squandered a lot of the opportunity by focusing on stuff ancillary to the attraction.
On the other hand, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ended up being sidelined during Destination D23 because there were a ton of other–arguably better–things to discuss. So it’s tough to be “disappointed” by the lack of emphasis on this when what was focused on was more interesting to me. I just think Disney really needs to recalibrate their messaging on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Show us more nextgen Audio Animatronics!
12. Hatbox Ghost Materializing – Although an update was expected, this gets ranked in last place (rather than N/A) because it was worse than anticipated. For one thing, Hatbox Ghost isn’t just missing the start of spook season, he isn’t being installed until after Halloween–sometime in November (no date given).
For another thing, I just feel bad for Imagineer Daniel Joseph, who was tasked with getting up there and delivering a line about Hatbox Ghost being an unhappy haunt. We’ve attended a couple of geeky D23 presentations by Joseph in the past, and can assure you that he is one of us.
I appreciate the original motivation for bringing Hatbox Ghost to Walt Disney World as an olive branch to give the fans something we want. But at this point, the company has given Florida fans several other olive branches…maybe we’re good on them?
11. Ahsoka in Star Tours – Ahsoka will become part of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris in Spring 2024.
This almost goes unranked for me. We got burnt out on Star Wars and MCU a while ago, so we haven’t seen Ahsoka on Disney+ (embarrassingly, I thought the show was animated until like 3 weeks ago). Some people seem to really love it, while others passionately hate it…so about par for the course with all things Star Wars these days. Nevertheless, new Star Tours destinations is a good thing and I’m impressed that they continue to update the attraction even post-Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
10. World Celebration Debut Date – Addition by subtraction, baby! Or something along those lines. I was dreading yet another D23 event that hypes up the “endless possibilities” of EPCOT and whatever other word soup they’d have ChatGPT generate. And unfortunately, that did happen during a later panel at Destination D.
Mercifully, this nonsense was mostly withheld from the D’Amaro keynote. Just a quick passing reference to the World Celebration opening in December and thus wrapping up the multi-year transformation of EPCOT. I don’t even think he said the word “CommuniCore,” which I view as a good thing. This has gotta be the most underwhelming and anticlimactic 4-year project in the history of Walt Disney World. Drawing more attention to it would’ve been a bad idea.
9. Asha from Wish – How many times have I complained about Walt Disney World being slow to bring new characters to the parks or declining the marketing budgets for Disney+ shows or movies? It seems like the message is finally being heard. (Well, except with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.) From an objective perspective in terms of what this symbolizes, it’s bigger news than it might otherwise appear on its face.
Personally, I couldn’t care less about meeting a face character. And honestly, I’m more than a little bitter that Asha is appearing in person while Valentino is snubbed. But I’m also holding out hope that Disneyland gets the big marketing budget for Wish, and brings back the “running of the goats” (Google it) as a tribute to the true star of the new movie. All joking aside, I’m really excited for Wish and hope it lives up to the 100-year legacy of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
8. Luminous: Symphony of Us – We got a name for the new nighttime spectacular at EPCOT and an official debut date of December 5, 2023.
At the risk of being intolerably optimistic, I like that Walt Disney World gave us absolutely no other details about Luminous: Symphony of Us. I would argue that they overshared when it came to both Harmonious and Enchantment. Look where that got us! Obviously, that wasn’t a direct result of hype…but the massive disappointment I felt when watching both for the first time certainly was not helped by the sense of anticipation.
It’s possible that this is what Walt Disney World learning a lesson looks like. Now, the why of that is unclear. The inveterate optimist in me says it’s because they know is going to be a winner with guests; they want the ‘wow’ and organic/viral marketing of people seeing Luminous IRL for the first time and posting it all over social media.
The more pessimistic possibility is that everything is coming together at the very last minute and the creative still isn’t firm for Luminous. I think there’s probably a little truth to both. But either way, this is the savvy move for Luminous: Symphony of Us, especially after overhyping Harmonious failed.
7. Beyond Big Thunder Non-News – There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the return of Bruce Vaughn to lead Imagineering. During the D’Amaro presentation, I was reminded of another: his stage presence. No offense to the other Imagineers who were up there at this or other Destination D23 panels, but so many other Imagineers are either talented creatives who are visibly uncomfortable on stage, or speak fluent PR gobbledygook.
Nothing of substance was said about the Beyond Big Thunder expansion in Magic Kingdom, but Vaughn both contextualized it and said what a lot of fans were thinking in lightly chiding D’Amaro for how this was handled at last year’s D23 Expo. (Obviously, this was scripted and rehearsed, but the sense of self-awareness was nice to see.)
It’s pretty clear they’re nowhere near ready to announce the Beyond Big Thunder expansion, so I was pleased that they did not daydream about what characters and film franchises it could include. However, I was happy to see that it was at least acknowledged with the above, plus a mention of its scope and scale. This means it is happening, but the specifics aren’t settled and the timeline is distant. Obviously, an official announcement would’ve been best, but what we got threaded the needle of ‘reasonable and appropriate’ for me. To each their own on that, though.
6. Soarin’ Over California Returns – This ranks pretty highly on the merits alone. The OG Soarin’ is better than Soarin’ Over CGI, and I’m really happy that other Disney fans will be able to experience it again for the first time since 2016…or even ever. (We’ve done it many times during its limited engagements at Disney California Adventure, and will happily ride again at EPCOT.)
More than that, it ranks highly for what it symbolizes. It’s one thing for Disneyland to bring back something on a seasonal basis–that happens all the time every single year. It’s another entirely for the flagship vacation destination to do it.
Over the years, I’ve lost count of how many times someone from within Walt Disney World has “explained” to me why they couldn’t possibly have seasonal overlays or limited-time offerings like Disneyland. For the last decade, my rebuttal has been that it’s a lame excuse that maybe would’ve passed muster years ago, but not anymore as the Central Florida population continues to explode and Disney Vacation Club membership grows. Beyond that, most first-time tourists won’t know what they’re missing and might very well end up preferring the thing that locals love. (Case in point, Haunted Mansion Holiday.)
Seeing Soarin’ Over California return to EPCOT for a limited run was thus a huge surprise, even if it has happened numerous times at Disneyland. It’s pretty unprecedented for a still new(ish) attraction to be replaced by an overlay–and at the last minute after tourists have already booked trips. It’s impossible to say whether this reflects a paradigm shift, but it’s a good sign that, taken with other news, leaves me incredibly optimistic.
5. Zootopia Tree of Life Show – I like It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Or rather, the idea of it. I actually don’t watch it that often–pretty much just when I need to kill time at Animal Kingdom (e.g. I’m done with the park but it’s still too early to Hop to EPCOT).
That cuts to part of why this is so surprising–that Walt Disney World would announce significant investments in not one, but two stage shows at Destination D. The other reason is that this effectively takes Zootopia out of play for Animal Kingdom, which is huge news and very much fine by me. (Sentiment I may come to regret when it’s time for expansion at DHS and Zootopia: Hot Pursuit is taken off the table!)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean Tavern – This is another piece of news along those same lines. Although our post about this Pirates of the Caribbean lounge likened it to Oga’s Cantina, there’s one critical distinction: demographics. The “Star Wars Bar” appeals to a huge segment of the general public–pretty much anyone who has ever dreamed of visiting Mos Eisley Cantina (a lot of people).
A lounge based on Pirates of the Caribbean is much more niche, aimed squarely at diehard Walt Disney World fans. This is Disney showing once again that it views the theme parks as their own intellectual property, and views Walt Disney World fans as a distinct demo to whom it’s worth catering. If this were just about that sweet, sweet food & beverage revenue, Disney could’ve announced a bar themed to Kingdom of Planet of the Apes as a tie-in to next year’s sure-to-be-awesome movie.
3. Country Bear Musical Jamboree Reimagining – Yes, that’s right, this ranks #3 for me–and comes very close to claiming #2. I know a lot of Country Bear Jamboree fans are big mad about this, and I can empathize to a degree with that snap emotional response. If that continues to be the perspective after further consideration, they’re missing the forest for the trees.
This is already becoming a long post, so I should probably circle back to this topic with another editorial, as more background about this reimagining is starting to trickle out. (I suspect there’s more to come, too!) The bottom line is that this new is also similar to the Soarin’ and Pirates of the Caribbean lounge announcements, even if it feels like a gut punch at first.
Suffice to say, this was the best outcome of the actual possible plans for CBJ and by a wide margin. Not your or my wish list, but what the Walt Disney Company actually would have spent money to do with this space in the year 2023. I could rant for thousands of words about this–and probably will–but for now, I’ll just say that some CBJ fans are a bit out of touch. It is more than a small miracle that the Country Bears are sticking around at all. I’m not saying you have to like it, but you do have to inhabit reality.
2. Test Track 3.0 – I loved Test Track 2.0 when it debuted, and thought it was a significant update and improvement to the original Test Track. But time has done it no favors. Not only has it aged poorly and now draws unfavorable comparisons to TRON Lightcycle Run, but there’s absolutely nothing memorable about the attraction. Even I have to admit that the original Test Track had much more nostalgic appeal!
From that perspective, Test Track 3.0 is probably the news with the least downside and most upside. To the extent that an update to an exciting E-Ticket can be, it’s probably the sleeper hit of the entire Destination D23. Pretty much everything that anyone loves about Test Track (the thrills) will be staying, so there’s very little risk of this reimagining “messing up” what people like about the current ride.
Not only that, but Test Track gets an update inspired by World of Motion! That’s exciting news that is, once again, aimed squarely at longtime Walt Disney World fans. While it remains to be seen exactly what that means, it’s cause for optimism. Test Track 3.0 is a low-floor, high-ceiling kind of project…and one being paid for by someone else, so it’s not even coming at the expense of another (higher priority) Walt Disney World project! Win-win!
1. Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom – This is what Disney listening to you looks like! After last year’s tease of Moana and Zootopia, there was a lot of negative feedback. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that maybe that was purposeful, with Parks & Resorts and Imagineering wanting or needing some “ammunition” to nix the Zootopia land plans.
This is another one that’s probably deserving of its own post. In part because I “missed” the conversation that happened in the comments and I think there’s a lot that is deserving of rebuttal, clarification, or just further discussion. In part because I’ve heard more since the announcement, and it bodes well for the Encanto and Indiana Jones concepts that are supposedly just “under consideration.”
In the meantime, I’ll say that just like Country Bear ‘Musical’ Jamboree, the Tropical Americas is the best outcome of the actual possible plans for Dino-Rama. It’s not what I would’ve greenlit if I were in charge (that’d be an actually awesome dinosaur land), but it’s the best case scenario of the plausible pitches. (I would’ve been down with an Oceania area centered around Moana, but not in addition to Journey of Water. They should’ve master planned that better from the beginning.)
I don’t know how anyone can listen to all of the above announcements and come away disappointed. Any single piece of news from the top 4 alone would’ve been the top story–far and away–at any past Destination D23. I’ve been attending or covering the Florida-based D23 event since Walt Disney World’s 40th Anniversary in 2011, and I think the argument could be made that the news from this one Destination D23 surpasses all of the previous ones combined.
My biggest complaint with Destination D23 is that they did not focus more on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, or actually show us Audio Animatronics in person. In the grand scheme of things, that’s a pretty minor quibble given all of the ground that was covered (and it’s really just more about getting their priorities back on track with TBA).
It’s not just the substance of the announcements–although that is pretty strong. It’s what was said and unsaid, how it was approached, and the subtext of the news. For me, all of that is even more significant. Possibly bigger than it should be, but I have good reason for this perspective.
I’ll admit that I’m still bitter about Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. That once in a lifetime milestone should have been a celebration of the Vacation Kingdom of the World, but felt more like a marketing campaign for the Disney+ streaming service. For a lifelong fan, the lack of emphasis on history and the rich legacy of Walt Disney World was incredibly disappointing.
The last year-plus has felt like Disney recognizing and tacitly admitting that they messed up. Not just that, but undertaking measures to fix those mistakes. They added the Walt Disney pre-show to Enchantment towards the end of its run, scrapped Harmonious, brought back Happily Ever After, introduced Hatbox Ghost, and reintroduced Figment.
All of those announcements were made at last year’s D23 Expo, and reflected meaningful change in thinking and willingness to be more responsive to guests. As we pointed out at the time, it was an important philosophical change for the Florida parks–a big win that probably went unnoticed by many of the same fans who also complained about the underwhelming 50th.
In the time since then–well really, in the time since Chapek’s ouster–we’ve also seen the same with Iger and D’Amaro both directly address guest satisfaction. The beginning of the year brought 3 Big Changes at Walt Disney World to Improve Guest Experience & Value. A few months later came the announcement of 5 Major Improvements for 2024 at Walt Disney World. Those are good starts, and even acknowledging there’s a problem is more than we’ve seen in the past.
The 2023 Destination D23 announcements further reinforced that there’s an internal drive to be responsive to Walt Disney World fans. Think about how many of these announcements wouldn’t even register with a casual audience if they were shared on Good Morning America or whatever. A redone ride based on World of Motion? A Barker Bird? “Beloved” bear Audio Animatronics who sing? Bringing back an old version of a ride…based on California…to Florida?! A gigantic purple dragon returning as the grand finale!!!
The whole presentation might be borderline incoherent if you’re just a regular consumer of mainstream pop culture–and Disney Parks are increasingly covered in that fashion. But if you’re a diehard fan? The substance of this Destination D23 presentation was absolutely tailor made for you. Both in substance and style.
To that point, the topics that weren’t covered or that were given minimal attention was fascinating. Very little about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, CommuniCore Hall, Luminous: Symphony of Us, etc., doesn’t mean that those things aren’t going to happen–they very much are! It just means there was a calculated design not to make them the emphasis, and probably for good reason. Same goes with very little of substance for Disneyland–it doesn’t mean that a summer of entertainment won’t be announced, it just means this wasn’t the venue or audience for it.
Ultimately, I left Destination D23 feeling much the same way that I did after last year’s D23 Expo: with a renewed sense of optimism about the future of Walt Disney World. It’s seemingly an unpopular opinion at this point, but I still feel that Josh D’Amaro listens, cares, and gets fans–and what makes us love Walt Disney World. I think this slate of announcements vindicates that viewpoint, as this was a lot of “we’re listening” fan-centric news.
With that said, I can also appreciate the frustrations that exist. Many of you want to turn back the clock to 2019, undoing all of the damage of the Chapek era. Or you want to see Disney come out swinging, with a blockbuster response to Universal’s Epic Universe. To a certain extent, I agree with that sentiment. The company knows that major investment in Walt Disney World is good business and something that needs to be done, yet they’re still slow-rolling it. But I also get that Parks & Resorts doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and there are (unfortunately) other reasons why all of that $17 billion of investment in Walt Disney World can’t and won’t be announced all at once.
Regardless, I feel good about both the near-term and long-term future. There’s still a ton left on my wish list, but the announcements that were made were all at least positive or neutral news, and when is the last time that has happened at one of these events?! My overall grade for the D’Amaro presentation would be an A- or B+ for Walt Disney World news, with it varying depending upon how you construe the Encanto and Indiana Jones component of the Tropical Americas announcements–as concrete or still being under consideration.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your reactions to the various announcements for Walt Disney World at the 2023 Destination D23? What has you most and least excited? Were any of these announcements downright bad or negative news, in your view? 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!
For all the bad press Disney gets, I have a short story to tell.
My brother passed away suddenly forcing me to fly to Central Florida. Afterwards, my husband said go to WDW for the day, relax, enjoy, it’s your happy place.
So I checked into AoA, and at the desk the cast member saw I was upset. She immediately asked me my plans, I told her I was going to Disney Springs, a park tickets simply wasn’t in my budget for the day. She then went behind the desk, and gave me a one day park hopper, a gift bag, and three lighting lanes.
I was overwhelmed with gratitude. What a kind gesture, and the day at Disney really did help me.
I’m excited about the Tropical Americas. There is so much potential with Indiana Jones and Encanto. Plus, it will still allow the meet and greets with the DuckTales characters because they traveled all over.
But where is Kuzco?! Wouldn’t a “Wrong Lever Kronk” or the Meat Hut be awesome?
Tropical America is the very best concept in my opinion for Animal Kingdom. That was my hope from the very beginning of Dinoland replacement rumors. I’m 100% in. A Moana attraction should now go in EPCOT as an extension of Journey of Water (between The Land and Nemo and Friends). Zootopia should go into Hollywood Studios.Marcus
any chance Disney will announce any more discounts for after Christmas as their new dining discount is blacked out from Dec 26th to Jan 8th and is pretty much only for midweek stays. we were hoping for a new discount to come out of the d23 convention but unfortunately there has not. I’m excited for all the new additions to the parks but would have loved for them to have talked about making the parks and resorts a little more family affordable.
I thought the WDW announcements were good because they came up with some smaller announcements that actually can be completed in the next few years, in addition to announcing the long term plans to expand in Animal Kingdom. Instead of making announcements for a bunch of things that we can’t see for more than five years down the road – and probably wouldn’t see for longer, since it makes more sense to have something new every year than a lot of things new every five years – we now have some new non-parade attractions to look forward to over the next few years. Quite frankly, I think it would be silly to announce a new nighttime parade for the Magic Kingdom more than six months early, especially if it’s a pre-existing parade; Summer Nightastic was announced earlier the same year it started. (Announcing things way too soon is why my major ranking difference with Tom is Beyond Big Thunder. Google Maps makes it clear it’s probably easier to expand there than Past Pete’s Silly Sideshow, but a previous pre-pre-pre-Blue Sky announcement means that we’re going to hear the same nothing for several years lest some fans panic and think that they’ll never expand the MK.).
That’s a very fair assessment and, to be clear, I think it’s unlikely that we’re stepping foot in whatever is ‘Beyond Big Thunder’ before 2030.
I do still think entertainment announcements for the next couple of years are coming–definitely for Disneyland and hopefully for Walt Disney World. This may not have been the venue for them with everything else to cover, though.
We’re super excited for Tropical Americas – AK needs some love. It’s a great park that could be even better with a little more attention and resources. As for Zootopia now, if they don’t want to invest in a new standalone attraction maybe that could be the new overlay for the Aerosmith Rockin’ Roller Coaster?
An overlay of RnRC with something else seems inevitable in the next decade. I’m still of the belief that Walt Disney World won’t want to use any IP that skews young due to the height requirement, though.
The Marvel properties that are available for WDW to use make the most sense, even if I’d like it to be something else.
best news would be the firing of iger, kennedy and the rest of the disastrous team
Question for you Tom. Do you think Disney will ever do an expansion in any of the parks that is not based on an existing film/franchise? I love the ideas of a tropical Americas section of animal kingdom, but I do not see why there needs to be an existing entertainment affiliation for it to work. Are the days of Pirates, haunted mansion, jungle cruise, etc, rides that tell their own, new story, in the past (not that those rides will ever close, but we won’t see the like made again)?
“Ever” is a really long time, so it’d be foolish to guess about what’ll happen in 2040 or further down the road.
I will say that I think we’re already trending in that direction. There are more theme park fans today than there were a decade ago, and many “franchises” that originated in the parks are now immensely popular. You don’t get more of those without gambling on original concepts, though.
I’m skeptical that we’ll get anything like Expedition Everest again, but I could see more attractions like Country Bear Jamboree, Journey into Imagination, or Mystic Manor. The critical distinction among them is that the latter trio all has unique characters with personality, whereas Everest does not. I think it would probably need some kind of ‘hook’ like that to justify being built.
Tom, I think you’re right on mostly all the way around! Great post.
I do disagree with you on the POTC Tavern though. Pirates are a SUBSTANTIAL subculture—there are festivals all over the southeast dedicated to them. There’s even Talk Like a Pirate day (September 19th! Coming soon!).
I think adding to Disney’s Pirate Universe may be more popular than you’re giving credit for.
ARRRRRRRRRR!!!
Also, do you know how much pirate corn costs?
I don’t think we necessarily “disagree” about the PotC lounge–I think the PotC lounge will be very popular, but I’m still surprised and impressed that Disney is making it an extension of the attraction rather than some movie IP synergy.
Excellent explanation of a LOT of new things to look forward to. And they all seem pretty positive. As a member of the original Mickey Mouse Club age demographic (with Annette, Bobby, Jimmy, Roy, etc. etc.) attention paid to DISNEY IP (including the new stuff) excites me a lot more than Star Wars, MCU, and other OTS material they bought. Thanks for this, Tom, I’ll be at WDW for a couple weeks in a couple weeks. I always keep my eyes peeled for you and one of these days we’ll have to talk Disney and photos (yours, great – mine, improving).
A different Chris here. I feel like overall the announcements are generally pretty good for the parks although I have one worry on the not announced (spaceship earth).
Animal Kingdom needs something again to make me do more then one day there even when I have 10 days I feel like I can skip it for a universal or sea world day. The bears need love to be able to stay around and the tavern will be great. I also love that Avengers is still coming to California.
I feel that was perhaps the biggest unannounced was Spaceship Earth. It seems agreed that its due a major refurb at minimum and the pandemic seemed to scrap the last renovation but nothings been announced for it. That is a bit concerning especially as an omninover it helps eat up crowds in other parts of Epcot even if I still love it and think in many ways it is Epcot to me. I know it will be a shame for it to be down for a while bit it’s better then breaking for hours on end or sacrificing show quality.
I agree and I’m really excited. It seems like these new projects and geared toward enchantment rather than thrills. GotG, Tron–all about the thrills and, well, I’m ready for something different. I prefer enchantment, and these announcements fit the bill. To those who are once again disappointed about Imagination, I say a change will eventually come. But for now, enjoy the the dancing fountains, the background music, and the aesthetics of the pavilion. It’s still one of the best areas to chill and escape gen pop for a while. Once the ride is updated, I predict a lot of those aesthetics will be gone.
Tom for what it’s worth, I wholeheartedly agree with your take on these recent announcements. This feels like the first time in a long long time where Disney has made a handful of decisions with the hard core fan in mind. Decisions that aren’t bringing a new (insert IP name here) land coming to an area of a park in which it makes no thematic sense. As much as I love Pandora, Galaxies Edge, Toy Story Land, Cars Land, Avenger’s Campus, and all of the other wonderful attractions that we’ve gotten in the last decade or so, it feels like THIS slate of announcements is tailor made for the hard core fan (me), a demographic that hasn’t really been catered to in seemingly so long.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked with my Disney friends about how “cool it would be” if they built a South America or Jungle land in Animal kingdom, or how “awesome it would be” to be able to ride the (vastly superior) Soarin’ over California again, or how hilarious and awesome shows like Country Bears are, but how they will (we thought) inevitably die at the hands of more “popular” IPs. Or heck we’ve even talked about how Disney’s park IPs can be awesome and popular on they’re own and how Disney should invest more in them, which is why it brings me so much joy to hear of the Pirates Tavern coming to MK!
Anyways, these announcements aren’t exactly the perfect case scenario for people like me, but it is nice to see that Disney is paying more attention to us, and I would go as far as to say, paying us more respect and admiration.
Agreed. I feel like the turning point, from my Disneyland-centered perspective, was the announcement of the reimagining of the Tarzan Treehouse into the Swiss Family Robinson-inspired, S.E.A-related Adventureland Treehouse. I was so taken by happy surprise that it wasn’t going from Tarzan straight into another current IP (Encanto was rumored). It felt like the first attraction, reimagined or new, in many years that wasn’t IP-driven. I know Swiss Family Robinson is IP, but – that was the original design of the treehouse, the movie is 60 years old, and it is a loose inspiration for the new design.
A harbinger of positive things to come, I think. Even the concept art for the Tropical Americas expansion looks like it won’t be dominated by the IPs and will instead incorporate them into the larger land theme. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but that IP-balancing seems a lot more plausible today than it would have 5 years ago.
Overall, I agree with you, Tom. Could have been better, but it could have been SO much worse. While I love the classics, the updates are necessary, even Walt said the parks would change. I can accept the current announcements. I am even a little excited about some of them! The only thing I REALLY wish they would have addressed, but did not, was the changes coming to Genie+ in 2024.
Aside from the ‘restore normalcy’ event of 2021, events like this historically have not dealt with logistics or vacation package details. D’Amaro didn’t even highlight any of the positive changes that they’ve already announced for this year and 2024–it’s just not the venue for it.
With all of that said, what little I’ve heard about Genie+ advance booking suggests they don’t have a concrete plan for it yet, and the backend mechanics are still uncertain. To be clear, I don’t have any concrete inside info…but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that does not launch in January 2024.
So well-said, I agree wholeheartedly. It’s interesting that you and my other favorite Disney journalist, Tom Corless, both share largely the same positive response to these announcements and the overall direction of things (especially since Corless is always inaccurately described as hating everything). I’m also baffled by all the negativity in certain fan circles. These are good developments!
And the Avengers DCA ride is re-confirmed on top of it!
Aside from first names, Corless and I are similar in that we’re both from the same generation of WDW fans, have been around the community for a while, and each know ‘how the sausage is made’ to varying degrees. We’ve seen really bad.
Some fans won’t be happy unless Disney announces a 5th gate to compete with Epic Universe. That just isn’t going to happen, and I’d be surprised if it does at all in my lifetime.
I can be dissapointed because, once again, Imagination will not be reworked, and maybe I’m behind the times but IMO Figment isn’t a character who should greet as a person-sized attraction but rather on Dreamfinder’s shoulder as he dis long ago.
I absolutely agree that we are long, long overdue (at least a decade!) for a new version of Journey into Imagination. That is literally my #1 ‘wish list’ item from Walt Disney World, and I think it’s shortsighted that they haven’t announced it at one of the last two D23 Expos.
With that said, I also think that a slate of announcements can be generally good-to-great without including that. It’s far from the only thing the parks could use.
It’s hard to imagine, with the current Figment momentum and other recent positive instances of the company leaning into its history, that there’s not an announcement within the next ~5 years of a Journey reimagining that leans heavily towards the spirit/concept of the original attraction.
@Cory – That’s my view. This is also one case where I’m honestly glad nothing was greenlit earlier. If an overhaul of Journey into Imagination came 5-7 years ago, it almost certainly would’ve been Wreck It Ralph or Inside Out. It still could end up being some movie IP, but there’s a significantly larger possibility that it’s Figment and Dreamfinder…and with a healthy budget.
That was never going to happen while Chapek was Parks Chairman.
Its interesting you wanted to hear more of an update about TBA, as did I. But other bloggers are adamant that D23 shouldn’t contain any information that was previously announced, which doesn’t make sense to me. D23 should be a “state of Disney” event, not “only new things you haven’t heard about” event.
So long to DinoLand! I haven’t even wandered back there in a decade or more since my kid was too old for the playground. A tropical America section sounds like a perfect continuation of Walt’s famous 1941 visit to South America. In a time when it seems the country is getting more and more xenophobic, it’s even more important to expose Americans to “new countries” that they may not visit in their lifetimes.
Overall I thought this D23 had an appropriate amount of new announcements considering the ongoing political climate that discourages investment in Florida.
Up until this year, Destination D23 was almost exclusively about history and updates. Very few actual announcements, at all.
The idea that it’s ‘announcements or bust’ is absurd.
A few things:
1. Tropical Americas is perfect for DAK. I left a long comment on your first post on this news, basically saying:
A. It’s the right thing and Zootopia/Moana never was
B. Oceania is pretty much a “mini-land” in Epcot now with Moana adjacent to Nemo/Seas (and I doubt Disney wants to build more aquariums in DAK).
C. Hoping Tropical Americas includes new animal exhibits/trails, not just IP!
D. DinoLand area seems space-constrained. (Will a huge Encanto Casita ride fit? What about other IP like Up or Coco?). Will the new land provide enough new net capacity to change the “half-day park” dynamic?
E. I wish Tropical Americas had been pegged for the huge expansion pad in the NW corner of the park (and what will eventually go there…?).
2. Nothing about this new Tree of Life show precludes a Zootopia land and “Hot Pursuit” ride at DHS – my rationale being that Zootopia 2 is in production and Disney doesn’t make theatrical sequels unless they REALLY want to double-down on IP. Buzz Lightyear is in MK and we still got Toy Story Land at DHS.
3. Unless we’re flooded with new info in the next 11 months, I would think there will be a lot of pressure on Disney to announce SPECIFICS at D23 next year. 3+ years of teasing Beyond Big Thunder, DAK expansion, and Avengers campus E-Ticket won’t cut it with fans/media/investors.
Good thoughts. I mostly agree with all of this, but will save my response for the inevitable DAK expansion follow-up post.
I’m hoping they figure out a way to improve the existing Dinosaur ride and let it stay- a time traveler in tropical Americas totally works. We LOVE that ride. Maybe they can just update the existing animatronics.
My daughter literally cried actual tears when she heard it might be done. I know the Indy ride is supposed to be awesome, but Dr Grant Seeker needs to stay too!
I’d love for it to be Indiana Jones Adventure: Time Travel Dinosaurs Edition. That’d truly be the best of both worlds, and I don’t care what storytelling contrivances are necessary to make it happen.
With that said, and as much as I love Dr. Seeker, the pre-show has gotta go. I know it’ll be hard for a lot of fans, but Indiana Jones Adventure is so superior from start to finish that people will get over it. The reimagining can’t be a half-measure, it’s gotta be the full IJA experience, but with a unique twist for Walt Disney World (just like how the TDS and DLR versions are different).
I’m so disappointed about losing Dino-rama. We were there this morning and little one won a stuffed Mickey that is embroidered with AK. When they’re this little they think it’s fun and are so excited. That magic only lasts a few years while they’re young.
I’m in the camp of not only undoing all the damage Chapek did but Iger as well.
I was wondering why more rides weren’t broken down this week, vs every time before (we go a lot) so I guess the head guys being present made a difference.
AK needs more rides. Zootopia makes more sense in AK cause it is the Zoo of Disney. Seems like Disney is still missing the mark.
I am not a fan of Dinoland as a whole, but I have to say that the Boneyard has always been one of the highlights of our AK days for my two kids. They could absolutely spend HOURS playing, exploring, and digging. I really hope it survives with maybe just some small tweaks. I think one of the big DHS losses for families with small children was the elimination of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. I realize what replaced is better in totality, but we really missed that playground once it was gone.
@Michelle, I agree completely! I’m relieved that my children’s younger years managed to crossover with the Boneyard, Affection Section, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and the Dumbo and Norwegian Viking playgrounds. My kids are young teens now, but I feel for the parents of little ones who desperately need the chance to just play and blow off steam in the parks. I feel like the immediate response to Universal’s Epic Universe doesn’t have to be a 5th gate, or even flashy new rides, (especially in light of the fact that it’s way too late for Disney to deliver against any of that). Disney could focus on deepening their pull on the grandparents and families-with-young-kids demographics, who are not well served by Universal’s offerings. I’m of the opinion that the following changes could have a major impact in creating/restoring brand loyalty and keeping people interested in more Disney days than Universal days:
1. Restore all pre-pandemic resort benefits.
2. Focus on “surprise and delight” moments, similar to the Year of a Million Dreams
3. Generously schedule streetmosphere performances, Epcot’s World Showcase performers, and character cavalcades.
4. Deliver an epic nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom
5. Update/replace live stage shows at DHS
6. Provide interactive play spaces/experiences for little kids, who won’t be as entertained or engaged by Universal’s Parks
7. Put something cool and original back into the Magic Eye Theatre
I wanted to say a version of this, which is that I hope the Tropical Americas will retain a playground or space for little kids to play. We’re going to Disneyland rather than WDW next year with our toddler because they have Toontown and other themed places to blow off steam. It’s really missing at WDW today. I don’t like Dinoland but that aspect of the land is needed.