Walt Disney World is a massive vacation destination that millions of people visit every year. In order to get people coming back year after year, Disney World has to keep reinventing itself with different attractions and experiences, so there is always something new on the horizon. From massive, just built attractions to small incremental improvements that make the familiar feel fresh, no two trips to the park are ever quite the same.
If you’re looking at planning your next Disney World vacation, or just keeping tabs on everything that has been announced for the future, here’s a rundown of the new Walt Disney World rides and attractions for this year and beyond.
Alexa In Disney World Hotel Rooms (November 29, 2022 - Future)
At this point, between phones and home devices, it seems like we have virtual assistants helping us with all sorts of things. Soon, you’ll be able to access your own virtual assistant in your Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort hotel rooms by saying “Hey Disney.” From there you'll be able to get details about scheduling at the parks or other information you may need. You can also play trivia games and hear jokes. The Hey Disney system began a limited rollout at the Polynesian Resort at the end of November and will expand in phases in the months to follow.
New Characters - Various Parks (Throughout 2023)
Disney characters in the park are a big part of what makes everything inside the gates feel alive, and several new characters are set to make debuts in different locations in 2023. Moana recently made her debut at Disney's Animal Kingdom. At the end of May, to coincide with the release of the live-action version of The Little Mermaid, an Ariel inspired by Halle Bailey's portrayal will debut at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Mirabel from Encanto is then set to make her Magic Kingdom debut in the fall. Mickey Mouse and his friends are being given a special location for meetups in Communicore Hall in Epcot (more on that below). And finally, Figment is set to appear in the Imagination Pavilion, though a time frame for when that will happen is still unknown.
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival (July 27 - November 18, 2023)
Epcot is the home of the endless festivals, but there is none more popular than the International Food & Wine Festival. Epcot is the park to visit if you want to eat well any time of year, but during about a quarter of the year, it's an even better place to visit with numerous new locations offering delicious food and drink. The Eat to the Beat concert series will also return, with the associated dining package, though the exact schedule of acts has not yet been revealed.
World Celebration - Epcot (Late 2023)
Epcot has been undergoing a massive renovation of about half the theme park for the last few years, and while we’ve seen some elements of that update, like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, completed, a lot of it is not expected to be finished until the end of 2023. World Celebration is a new pavilion within Epcot which is designed to be the central hub of the park’s annual festivals. It's set to include a new Communicore Plaza for live performances and Communicore Hall for special food offerings and other exhibitions.
Dreamer’s Point - Epcot (TBA 2023)
While there were a series of recent rumors that implied that Walt Disney World might be looking to distance itself from the man that started it all, Walt Disney himself, one of the reasons that seemed unlikely was that we knew a brand new statue of Walt was set to come to Epcot. While the theme park isn’t much like Walt’s original plan for Epcot, it is still a tribute to that dream, making the statue of Walt, in a location to be called Dreamer's Point, a welcome addition to the park.
Moana: Journey Of Water - Epcot (Late 2023)
While Tron: Lightcycle Run promises to be the most exciting new attraction opening in 2023, there will be another new attraction coming that same year that is looking to be quite interesting. Moana: Journey of Water will be some sort of walk through attraction that will take guests through the journey that water takes through the world. It's been said it will give guests some ability to control water the way Moana does. Exactly how this will all work is largely unclear, but it certainly sounds like fun.
New Epcot 100 Years Of Wonder Fireworks (TBA 2023)
Epcot announced it would be replacing Harmonious in 2023, the show that only started in late 2021, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. Epcot Forever was announced to begin in April 2023, but we already know that the show is just acting as a buffer between Harmonious and some other, bigger, show set to launch late in 2023. That show will celebrate the Walt Disney Company's 100 Years of Wonder. Only concept art of the new show has been revealed so far so we have only the briefest hint of what is to come.
The Cake Bake Shop - Disney's BoardWalk (TBA 2023)
There's no shortage of sweet treats on offer at Walt Disney World, but Gwendolyn Rogers' Cake Bake Shop promises to offer truly unique cookies, french macaroons, and more when it opens its new location at Disney's BoardWalk in 2023. Even if you're not staying there, this may be enough of a reason to pay the BoardWalk a visit.
Summer House on the Lake - Disney Springs (TBA 2023)
Walt Disney World can transport guests almost anywhere through an attraction but in 2023 guests will be able to visit the Summer House on the Lake to be transported to California in the summer, any time of year. Disney Springs will make the third location for the restaurant and it promises to bring California cuisine to Orlando through both unique offerings and restaurant favorites.
Hatbox Ghost In The Haunted Mansion - Magic Kingdom (TBA 2023)
While both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom have versions of the classic Haunted Mansion, they are not perfectly identical. Both versions have elements you won’t find at the other, but in 2023 the Disney World mansion will become a bit more like the one at Disneyland when it adds the Hatbox Ghost to the ride. The character, which sees his head transported between his neck and a hatbox he's holding, was an opening day attraction at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion that was pulled when it was decided the effect didn’t really work. In 2015, a new version of the Hatbox Ghost arrived at Disneyland, and eight years later he will make his Magic Kingdom debut.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure - Magic Kingdom (Late 2024)
One of the most high-profile updates coming to Walt Disney World is the complete retheme of Splash Mountain. The ride previously based on Disney’s controversial film Song of the South will be completely redesigned with a new story set to be a sequel to The Princess and the Frog. The new ride will send guests through a salt mine on an adventure to aid Tiana and her newest business venture. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to open both at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in late 2024. Splash Mountain closed at Magic Kingdom on January 23, 2023, so that work on the new ride can begin.
Disney’s Polynesian Village (TBA 2024)
Just like Walt Disney World theme parks are always getting updated, the same is true of Disney World resort hotels. Disney’s Polynesian Village was one of two resorts to open on day one at Walt Disney World in 1971, and in 2024 it will see the opening of a brand new hotel tower for Disney Vacation Club members. This new project does mean the end for Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. It's final performance came prior to the pandemic closure as it never reopened with the rest of the resort.
Play Pavilion - Epcot (TBA)
The Wonders of Life pavilion previously held attractions like Cranium Command and Body Wars, but it closed in 2007. Since then, the location has been used sparingly, but in 2019 it was announced that a new interactive Play pavilion would take its place. Originally expected to open in 2021, the global pandemic stopped those plans. Little had been said about the Play pavilion since, and in January 2023 it was announced that plans for the Play pavilion would be "re-evaluated" while that doesn't mean the pavilion is completely dead, it does seem likely that even if what we eventually get here has the same name, it will be something quite different than what was originally announced.
Everything changes at Walt Disney World, and that certainly can include the plans for those changes as well. The further out these items are the greater the odds that delays could happen or projects could change entirely, but right now this is what we’re expecting to see as Walt Disney World moves forward past its 50th anniversary and into the foreseeable future.
