Every D23 2026 announcement that matters for Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line

By entgrove · August 18, 2026 · Updated September 29, 2026

Disney's Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase at D23 2026 touched every Walt Disney World park and the Disney Cruise Line fleet: a new Carousel of Progress cast, a Spaceship Earth update, the Yeti's return, named rides for Piston Peak and Tropical Americas, Villains Land, Monstropolis, the Disney Believe, and an all-new class of cruise ships in 2029. Only some of it carries a date. Here is what was announced, what it replaces, and what you can plan around now.

Monsters, Miguel, serpents, and Space Mountains: the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa ran through nearly every project Disney Experiences has in motion, with host Neil Patrick Harris, a lineup of special guests, and musical numbers along the way. For Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line fans it was the densest news night since D23 2024: two Disney Legends joining Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, the first Spaceship Earth update in nearly two decades, the Expedition Everest Yeti brought back to life, names and stories for both Tropical Americas attractions and both Piston Peak rides, an opening year for Monstropolis, and a first look at the Disney Believe alongside an entirely new class of ship for 2029. Here is every announcement that lands in Florida or on the water, plus a quick look at the rest.

Carousel of Progress gets Jamie Lee Curtis, Bryan Cranston, and a rebuilt 1980s scene

Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Emmy winner Bryan Cranston are joining Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress as the show's mom and dad, with a rebuilt 1980s scene, starting late spring 2027. It is the most significant refresh for the Tomorrowland classic in decades.

Some context on why this is more than a casting note. Carousel of Progress is the oldest attraction in Magic Kingdom that Walt Disney personally shepherded. It debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair, moved to Disneyland, and has been rotating in Tomorrowland since 1975. Its last meaningful rework landed in the mid-1990s, when the final scene was rebuilt around a voice-activated oven and a virtual reality headset that has since aged into a punchline. Recasting the parents with two actors of this profile, and rebuilding a scene rather than just re-recording it, is the strongest sign in years that Disney means to keep the show running rather than quietly retire it.

Piston Peak names both of its rides

In the Cars-themed Piston Peak area coming to Frontierland, Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along puts the demolition derby champion school bus from Cars 3 front and center as she hosts her wildest competition yet. The headliner next door is Cars Ridge Run Rally, which sends racers climbing mountain trails, cruising through snowy peaks, past erupting geysers, and bouncing back down toward the finish line while Lightning McQueen and Mater call the race from the sidelines.

Piston Peak is being built beyond Frontierland on the land that held the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, both of which closed in 2025. The national park framing is why the land can sit next to Big Thunder Mountain without the seam showing. Piston Peak National Park was already established in Planes: Fire and Rescue, and its lodge and geyser vocabulary sits close enough to Frontierland's that the transition works.

Villains Land claims its cursed forest

Villains Land got its most atmospheric description yet: a cursed forest, a broken Wishing Well, and Disney Villains who have claimed dark magic for themselves. Guests will race through Maleficent's enchanted briars on a thrilling coaster and venture into the Magic Mirror's mystical realm in a sprawling land Disney promises will be unlike anything ever created at Magic Kingdom.

Structurally that claim holds up. Magic Kingdom has never given the villains a land of their own, only a parade unit, a merchandise wall, and a handful of meet-and-greets. Villains Land is the second major expansion past the current berm alongside Piston Peak, and both came out of the D23 2024 announcement that the park would grow beyond its original footprint.

Spaceship Earth gets its first update in nearly 20 years

For the first time in nearly two decades, Spaceship Earth will receive updates that expand its story from human communication to the broader theme of human connection, while keeping the optimism that has defined the attraction for generations.

The version guests ride today dates to the 2007 and 2008 overhaul that added the touchscreen descent and Judi Dench's narration. A previously announced Spaceship Earth refresh was shelved in 2020, so this is that plan coming back to the table. Disney has not put a date on the work and has not said whether the ride will close to do it, which is the question that matters most for anyone booking an EPCOT trip. Spaceship Earth is the park's highest-capacity attraction and the ride guests fall back on when everything else has a wait.

Figment and Dreamfinder return to Imagination

In the show's closing moments, Disney confirmed that Figment and Dreamfinder are embarking on a new journey into imagination at EPCOT, reuniting the pavilion's original duo for the first time since 1998. Dreamfinder has not appeared in the Imagination pavilion since the original Journey Into Imagination closed that year, and his return alongside Figment has sat near the top of the EPCOT wish list ever since. Disney gave no date and did not say what form the new journey takes, so this is a confirmation of intent rather than an opening announcement.

Monstropolis opens its doors in 2027

The Monsters, Inc. land at Disney's Hollywood Studios now has an opening year of 2027. Guests will spend time with Mike and Sulley at a new theater show, visit locations lifted straight from the film including Harryhausen's, and grab a slice at Archie's Scare Pig Pizza.

Disney Legend Randy Newman, who scored the original film, is writing an original song to bring the city to life, his first written for a theme park. That detail carries more weight than it sounds like it should. A bespoke Newman composition is what Disney commissions for a land it expects to run for thirty years, not for a seasonal overlay. It also gives Hollywood Studios a second full land built around a Pixar property, after Toy Story Land.

The Expedition Everest Yeti will roar to life again

Disney's phrasing was about as blunt as a theme park announcement gets: "Yes, we're bringing the Yeti back to life!" That was all Disney needed to say about Expedition Everest, and the arena answered.

This is the one longtime guests have been asking about for the better part of twenty years. Expedition Everest opened in 2006 with what was then the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figure Disney had ever built, and it was sidelined within a couple of years. Since then the Yeti has been lit by a strobe in what fans nicknamed disco mode, a light effect suggesting motion that is not there. Getting it swinging again is a genuine engineering job rather than a refresh, and it is the kind of fix that rarely wins a marketing budget. Putting it on the D23 stage suggests the money is committed.

Indiana Jones and Encanto anchor Tropical Americas

Both attractions coming to Animal Kingdom's Tropical Americas now have names and stories. Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent will send guests on a daring expedition into an ancient Maya temple filled with legendary creatures, supernatural dangers, and a massive serpent inspired by Maya mythology.

Next door, Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto brings the Madrigal family to Animal Kingdom. Guests will step inside Casita on Antonio's special gift day and explore new rooms created exclusively for the attraction, spaces that do not exist in the film, filled with Antonio's animals and the music of Encanto. Disney is framing it as the family-friendly counterweight to the Indiana Jones ride, the same pairing logic Pandora used with Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey.

Tropical Americas is the land replacing DinoLand U.S.A., first announced at D23 2024. Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama has already been cleared, and DINOSAUR closed to make way for the Indiana Jones attraction. That ride building is being reused, which is why this project can move faster than a land built from scratch.

Disney Cruise Line: the Disney Believe and a whole new class of ships

The Disney Believe will set sail in 2027, and Disney showed the first look inside and out. Moana will greet guests in the Grand Hall, embodying the spirit of believing in yourself on all your sea adventures, while Tinker Bell adorns the bow and Buzz Lightyear and Woody get creative on the stern.

Bigger news for the fleet's long-term future: an all-new class of ships arrives beginning in 2029. Sized between Disney's classic ships and its newest vessels, the new class is designed to open the door to new destinations and experiences around the world. That middle-size framing is the interesting part. The Magic and the Wonder are the ships that can reach smaller ports the Wish-class vessels cannot, and they are also the oldest in the fleet. A purpose-built class in between reads as a plan to keep the itinerary range the classic ships provide without keeping the classic ships forever.

The Imagineering Story returns

A second season of The Imagineering Story is officially in production from Leslie Iwerks and will debut on Disney+ next year, with unprecedented access to Imagineers as these projects move from blue sky to reality. Given how much of that reality is being built in Florida, expect Walt Disney World to feature heavily.

Announced for Disney parks beyond Walt Disney World

The showcase's remaining headlines belong to Disney's other resorts, useful context for how wide this investment cycle runs. At Disneyland Resort, Remember... Dreams Come True and World of Color return in refreshed versions in February 2027, the Magic Happens parade is back for summer 2027, Tomorrowland will be reimagined, and Avengers Campus doubles in size in 2028 with Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab, plus a first-ever Coco ride at Disney California Adventure.

Internationally, Disneyland Paris restores Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune with its original name and score, Tokyo Disneyland gets Space Mountain: Earthrise and a Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue attraction, Hong Kong Disneyland adds an Avengers Pavilion, Shanghai Disney Resort builds the first land dedicated entirely to Spider-Man, and Disney Adventure World in Paris gains the first-ever Lion King attraction.

What this means for guests

Only a handful of these announcements give you something to plan around today. Walt Disney World now has dated commitments stacking up: Monstropolis and the Tropical Americas attractions in 2027, new Carousel of Progress scenes in late spring 2027, and the Disney Believe sailing the same year with a new cruise ship class behind it in 2029. Disney Cruise Line itineraries typically open well over a year ahead of a debut, which puts the booking pressure for the Believe in late 2026.

Everything else is confirmed as happening without a confirmed when: the Yeti, Spaceship Earth, Villains Land, Piston Peak, and the Figment and Dreamfinder return. That is still a real change from a year ago, when several of these were rumors. The Yeti in particular had been fan speculation since 2008 and is now a stated Disney commitment. If you are planning a Florida trip or a sailing for 2027 and beyond, these announcements are the framework, and GenieGrove will cover each project's dates, previews, and booking windows as Disney releases them.