A timeline of changes occurring at Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line [2026 and beyond]

Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Cruise Line will be experiencing some big changes in the coming years! At the 2024 Disney D23 Fan Event, Disney Experience Chairman Josh D’Amaro made the announcement new rides, lands, and cruise ships which is currently in the works and slated to debut in the next few years.

But when exactly will these new additions be available to guests? We have several opening and season dates to be set in the near futurebut if you look beyond the next 12 months, things start to get a little bleak. Use the following schedule to help plan your next Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise line vacation.

Each resort’s timeline is broken down by year or season, depending on how well the details are known, with confirmed projects that we know will take place during that time period as well as “TBD” projects that we know are underway but don’t have a confirmed timeline as of this writing. I will try it an educated guess for an undetermined period of time, but of course this is a GUESS and NOT an actual timeline!

READ MORE: TECHNOLOGY IS FRONT AND CENTER AT DISNEY PARKS IN 2026

Walt Disney World

February 2026

• Frozen Forever reopened at EPCOT featuring upgraded Audio-Animatronic figures

Spring 2026

• Big Thunder Mountain Railway reopened at Magic Kingdom with improved effects and a new storyline.
• Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear spin reopens at Magic Kingdom with new vehicles, blasters, targets, scoring system, and show scenes.

Summer 2026

• Din Djarin aka That The Mandalorian, and Grogu added with special new missions Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The journey update also features new responsibilities for the Engineer position.

• Soaring Across America debut at EPCOT in due course Memorial Day Weekend in celebration of America 250.
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets reopening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)

• Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! debuts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)
• The Magic of Disney Animation opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (date TBD)

READ MORE: SEASON GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY’S WORLD IN 2026

2027

• Date TBD: Tropical American land is open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
  • When finished, the land will be displayed three new attractions: A Indiana Jones Journey (replaces DINOSAUR), anCharm-themed travel, and a carousel. The land will also feature new dining, shopping and more.
  • The phased closure of DinoLand USA begins in January 2025. DINOSAUR and the rest of DinoLand USA will close permanently on February 1, 2026.

READ MORE: DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM WILL OPEN A TROPICAL AMERICAN THEMED LAND IN 2027

No timeline announced for late 2025:

TBD: Cinderella Castle transitions to a new color scheme. It was announced in 2025 that Cinderella Castle would adopt a new color scheme, returning to its original design. This could happen around 2026, but no exact date or schedule has been shared as of this writing.

TBD: Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics appear in Carousel of Progress. In 2025 it was also announced that several major changes would come to the Carousel of Progress in Magic Kingdom, including an updated ending scene and the addition of a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic to the show’s opening. This would likely require a long downtime for the attraction, so my guess is this could happen sometime in 2027, perhaps during the Magic Kingdom’s 55th anniversary season (the park turns 55 on October 1, 2026).

TBD: Opening timeline for Monstropolis, the Monsters Inc. landed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Construction begins in June 2025 with the closing of Muppets Courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D. I don’t expect completion of Monstropolis to occur until at least 2028 or 2029.

TBD: Piston Peak National Park opening timeline, that is Car-themed re-imagined Frontierland sections. Construction begins in 2025, so, like Monsters Inc. at Hollywood Studios, I estimate completion will be closer to 2028 or 2029.

TBD: An opening timeline for the Villain region coming to the Magic Kingdom. My guess is that this land is the project that is farthest from completion compared to the large projects announced in December 2025. This means that the project will probably not be completed until at least 2029 or even 2030 (possibly some time after Car-themed land completed). I hope to hear more details about this land at the next D23 Fan Event in 2026.

Disneyland Resort

Summer 2026

• Memorial Day Weekend 2026: The Mandalorian and Grogu’s mission was added to the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park. This is the same update that occurred at Walt Disney World.
• July 2, 2026: Soarin’ Across America debuted at Disney California Adventure in celebration of America 250.

• August 9, 2026: The 70th Anniversary celebration concludes at Disneyland Resort.

READ MORE: NEW VERSION OF SOARIN’ COMES TO DISNEY WORLD AND DISNEYLAND IN 2026

Fall 2026

• Work begins on an all-new parking structure and transportation hub. According to Disney, “Multi-year construction of this new arrival experience is scheduled to begin in fall 2026.” A timeline for completion has not been announced as of this writing.

• Work continues on the first ride is themed after a Pixar film Coconut, come to Disney California Adventure. Backstage work on the new attraction begins in the fall of 2025, but construction has not yet reached the stage area as of this writing.

No Timeline Specified (likely 2027 onwards)

• TBD: Opening date for Coconut drive at Disney California Adventure. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in 2026 but is ramping up slightly to backstage work in the fall of 2025. I originally thought the ride would be finished around 2028, but it’s possible we could see it open as early as 2027 thanks to the earlier construction schedule. I would still hedge my bets that we’re looking at 2028 and it would be a very happy surprise if it’s sooner than that.
• TBD: Construction timeline or opening timeline for Avatars experience come to Disney California Adventure. In anticipation of this new experience, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue will close in early 2026. Disney stated in the summer of 2025 that “The project is still in the early stages of development, and additional details will be shared later, including construction timeframe.” My hunch is that this project may not be completed until closer to 2030.

READ MORE: A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST D23 ULTIMATE FAN EVENT MAIN ANNOUNCEMENTS

Disney Cruise Line

March 2026

• Disney Adventure begins its maiden voyage on March 10, 2026. The Disney Adventure was the eighth ship to join the fleet, acquired by Disney mid-construction. Disney Adventure will be the first Disney Cruise Line ship to have a home port in Asia (Singapore) and will initially offer daily itineraries at sea throughout Southeast Asia.

2027 and Beyond

• Dates TBD 2027-2031: Four additional ships join the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
  • Few details were provided at the time these four ships were announced, including whether they would be part of a new class of ships, what their names would be, etc. These four ships are scheduled to be delivered and make their maiden voyages in August. 2027, 2029, 2030 and 2031.
  • The first of the four new ships will be the fourth Wish class ship, joining Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny. The other three ships will be new class ships for Disney Cruise Line.
• 2029 (Date TBD): An unnamed cruise ship begins its maiden voyage in Japan.
  • This will be a first The Disney Cruise Line ship will be ferried back to Japan. The ship is partnered with Oriental Land Company (OLC), the entity that owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort.

As I stated before, if I had any speculation as to when a project with no announced timetable would happen, that’s exactly what it is: speculation. Until we hear official news from Disney itself, all we can do is guess (and be excited to find out) the timeline of these changes. Be sure to check back in the coming months and years as we enter what is sure to happen an exciting multi-year phase of growth and development at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line.

That’s all part of it $60 billion investment at theme parks and cruise ships announced by Disney CEO Bob Iger, and with the approval of DisneylandForward at the Disneyland Resort, there could be more announcements to come.

READ MORE: HOW TO SAVE ON YOUR NEXT DISNEY WORLD VACATION

A Timeline of Changes Taking Place at Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line [2026 and Beyond] originally published in The World of Spark.

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