D23 Showcase Puts Walt Disney World Front and Center: Yeti Revival, Monstropolis in 2027, and a New Journey Into Imagination
The Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 delivered a run of Walt Disney World announcements, including the return of a fully animated Yeti inside Expedition Everest, a 2027 opening window for parts of Monstropolis, and a complete reimagining of Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Dreamfinder. Daytime panels added film and streaming news, and the event closes with the Disney Legends ceremony.
The Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, held at a sold-out Honda Center during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, turned into a very good night for Walt Disney World fans. Host Neil Patrick Harris and a parade of Disney Experiences leaders confirmed that the Yeti inside Expedition Everest will move again, that parts of Monstropolis at Disney's Hollywood Studios will open to guests in 2027, and that Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT will be completely reimagined with Figment and the returning Dreamfinder.
Key Details
- Event: Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, D23 2026, Honda Center in Anaheim
- Host: Neil Patrick Harris, with performances by Sheryl Crow, Beck, Los Lobos, and Gloria Gaynor
- Expedition Everest: The Yeti Audio-Animatronic will be brought back to life at Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Monstropolis: Parts of the Monsters, Inc. land open to guests at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2027
- EPCOT: Journey Into Imagination gets a complete reimagining featuring Figment and Dreamfinder; Spaceship Earth gets its first update in nearly 20 years
- Also in progress: Tropical Americas, the Cars-themed Piston Peak area, and Villains Land at Walt Disney World
A sold-out arena and a night built around the parks
The showcase capped the second day of D23, which drew fans to the largest show floor in the event's history at the Anaheim Convention Center before the evening presentation. Harris opened the night with a tribute to Disney Audio-Animatronics, and the program mixed updates on projects first announced at D23 2024 with live performances from Grammy winners including Sheryl Crow, Beck, Los Lobos, and Gloria Gaynor, who serenaded the Yeti with "I Will Survive."
"As we continue expanding and evolving Disney Experiences around the world, our fans remain at the heart of everything we do," said Thomas Mazloum, Chairman of Disney Experiences for The Walt Disney Company. "Events like this allow us to celebrate the incredible connection fans have with Disney while sharing our vision for the future and the stories, adventures, and memories we're creating next."
The Walt Disney World announcements
The loudest cheer of the night may have gone to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Mazloum announced that the Yeti inside Expedition Everest, which has stood frozen in "disco mode" with a strobe effect for most of the ride's life, will be brought back to life as a functioning Audio-Animatronic figure.
The evening also delivered progress reports on the four transformative projects already reshaping the Florida resort. Imagineers shared updates on Tropical Americas at Disney's Animal Kingdom, including the official ride names Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto and Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, and on Monstropolis at Disney's Hollywood Studios, where parts of the Monsters, Inc. city will open to guests in 2027 while work continues on the land's door coaster. The Cars-themed Piston Peak area and Villains Land, both bound for Magic Kingdom, were part of the update reel as well.
Looking further out, Mazloum revealed that Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT will receive a complete reimagining built around Figment, with Dreamfinder returning to the attraction for the first time since 1998, the announcement Harris himself had lobbied for on stage. EPCOT's icon got attention too: Spaceship Earth will be updated for the first time in nearly 20 years, shifting its story from human communication to the broader theme of human connection.
News from the other resorts
Walt Disney World shared the stage with announcements for Disney's other destinations, including a reimagined Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park in California, a Coco attraction and an Avengers Campus expansion at Disneyland Resort, a Lion King area in Paris, new Marvel experiences in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and a reimagined Space Mountain in Tokyo. For Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line fans, those served mostly as context for how much of Disney's global investment is flowing into Florida and the fleet right now.
Daytime news from the convention center
Before the arena show, the Anaheim Convention Center hosted the D23 Mousequerade costume contest presented by AT&T and panels spanning Disney history and upcoming films and series. Announcements included a seventh season of Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends, a Disney Princess Experience immersive adventure now in development from Disney Theatrical Group, and a first screening of LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, an animated special debuting on Disney+ September 2, 2026.
What comes next
D23 wraps with a final day of programming, shopping, and fan experiences at the convention center, plus the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony at the Honda Center, hosted by Ryan Seacrest. This year's class includes Bob Iger, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Jonas Brothers, Jerry Bruckheimer, Chris Berman, Susan Egan, Eric Goldberg, Kim Irvine, and Alan Tudyk.
What this means for Walt Disney World guests
Between the Yeti revival, a firm 2027 window for Monstropolis, Tropical Americas construction, and reimaginings coming to two EPCOT attractions, Walt Disney World walked away from this showcase with the deepest project slate of any Disney resort, carrying the biggest share of Disney's parks investment into the late 2020s. Expect a steady stream of construction milestones, opening windows, and booking details over the next 18 months. Guests planning trips for 2027 and beyond now have concrete targets to build around, and GenieGrove has full standalone coverage of each announcement.
