Disney theme parks worldwide are expanding with large new areas based on popular intellectual property (IP). Continuing the precedent set by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando in 2010, most major new attractions of the modern era are fully built-out lands rather than individual new rides. Disney theme park visitors have much to look forward to in this regard as they literally step into beloved film settings.
Seven new theme park lands are currently under construction at Disney theme parks, bringing to real life the worlds of favorite stories from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. Let’s check in on construction progress for all of them. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disneyland reaching a major milestone toward its future plans and a new restaurant announced for Disney World.
READ MORE – These 10 Disney Rides Are Far Better Than The Ones They Replaced
Villains Land
Villains Land, based on the classic antagonists of Walt Disney Animation Studios films, is coming to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
When Disney announced this project at D23 2024, the arena erupted in cheers from fans. Guests are very excited about this.
Disney World Ride Closure ALERTS, Major Park Changes, Secrets Revealed
Get alerts on closures, park changes, exclusive discounts, and free printables. Trusted by 100,000+ Disney fans & planners.
Disney hasn’t announced specifics about Villains Land’s rides or even which bad guys will be most prominently featured, but the one piece of concept art released so far clearly shows Maleficent in dragon form and seems to also include a roller coaster track. Take a look at what else may be in store for Villains Land in our separate coverage.
Villains Land will be located adjacent to Piston Peak National Park, another project we’ll discuss shortly. The parcel comprises real estate that formerly belonged to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, as well as previously undeveloped woods north of Magic Kingdom.
Take a gander at the huge collective construction site of Villains Land and Piston Peak National Park! Together, Villains Land and Piston Peak represent the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history.
The future Villains Land has been cleared of any signs of what came before. As the project in our list today that is farthest away from opening, there are fewer noticeable things to point out about the Villain Land construction site, and the project hasn’t gone vertical yet, but rest assured, site prep is ongoing and, of course, Imagineers are hard at work behind the scenes.
Disney has not announced an opening timeframe for Villains Land. Mickey Visit predicts Villains Land will open in 2030.
Avatar Land
A new land based on James Cameron’s Avatar film saga is coming to Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort.
This is not a copy of Pandora – The World of Avatar from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Instead, this is a new concept based on 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water and 2025’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, the second and third films in the series, respectively.
A boat ride is expected to be the centerpiece of this land. It will contain thrilling moments, such as an encounter with the huge Tulkun whale-like creature, and tranquil moments, such as a gentle drift through a bioluminescent forest.
The new Avatar land will replace Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! and the current Disneyland Resort transportation hub. Construction has not started, and the Mike & Sulley ride remains open until early 2027.
The location for the Avatar land within Disney California Adventure presents multiple challenges for Disney, and several major construction projects need to happen elsewhere before work on Avatar begins in earnest. See our latest report on all of these steps, which are slowly but surely starting.
Disney has not announced an opening timeframe for the new Avatar land. Mickey Visit predicts it will open in 2030 or 2031.
Piston Peak National Park
Piston Peak National Park is coming to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World as a new area within Frontierland. This mini-land will be based on Pixar’s Cars, but it’s not a duplicate of Cars Land from Disney California Adventure. Rather than building Radiator Springs again, Imagineers are creating a new story drawing inspiration from national parks across the United States.
Convincingly pulling this off will require much more landscaping and rockwork than will be present in Tropical Americas and Monstropolis. Concept art for Piston Peak National Park depicts large masses of natural-looking woods and even a new mountain.
To prepare for Piston Peak National Park and another project, which we’ll discuss momentarily, Disney permanently closed Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America in July 2025. The entire island and waterway have been completely destroyed since then.
The construction site is currently mostly dirt. Workers have begun to build what might be a retaining wall to support the huge land masses that will one day dominate this space.
Piston Peak National Park will have one thrill ride and one family-friendly ride. See our deep dive into what we know about these attractions so far here.
Disney has not announced an opening timeframe for Piston Peak National Park. Mickey Visit predicts Piston Peak National Park will open in 2029.
Pride Rock
A new land based on The Lion King is coming to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris.
The main attraction here will be an indoor/outdoor log flume ride in the style of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Splash Mountain. Indoor scenes will feature Audio-Animatronics figures telling the story of Simba growing up to be king of Pride Rock. The journey will culminate in a thrilling outdoor drop down a flume.
Imagineers are taking extra care to develop the landscaping in this new area to visually match The Lion King, but also thrive in the Parisian climate.
The new Lion King land will be the next large-scale addition to Disney Adventure World, following the recent opening of World of Frozen, as the park seeks to redefine its identity.
Disney built a test version of the ride’s final drop backstage at Disney Adventure World, which we spotted from inside the park.
Disney has not announced an opening timeframe for the new Lion King land. Depending on the pace of construction, we think a 2028 or 2029 opening could be realistic.
Monstropolis
Monstropolis is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World as a new land based on Monsters, Inc.
During our recent hardhat tour of the construction site, we learned about the land’s backstory and how Imagineers are creating the details for the land beyond what audiences saw in the movie.
Monstropolis will repurpose buildings from defunct attractions while also physically expanding the park with new spaces.
The main attraction of Monstropolis will be an indoor suspended roller coaster depicting a chase through the door vault from the film. This will be located in a new building being constructed on what was previously a portion of the cast member parking lot. It seems that Disney will build the roller coaster first, then enclose the building around the track.
Supports and steel are rising at the future Monsters, Inc. factory. It all looks like crisscrossed beams now, but in a few years, riders will be zipping through these passageways. The actual track pieces have not been set into place yet.
The rest of Monstropolis replaces the area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios previously known as Muppets Courtyard, which permanently closed in May 2025. Muppet*Vision 3D will become The Glob, home to an indoor theater attraction. Mama Melrose Ristorante Italiano will become Harryhausen’s, a sushi restaurant from Monsters, Inc. The PizzeRizzo building will also remain in Monstropolis, and we expect it will be transformed into a new quick service restaurant.
Disney has not announced an opening timeframe for Monstropolis. Mickey Visit predicts Monstropolis will open in summer 2028.
Spider-Man Land
A new Spider-Man land is coming to Shanghai Disneyland. The marquee attraction is a new roller coaster that features similar 360-degree motion technology as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT.
Unlike Cosmic Rewind, though, the Spider-Man coaster will be mostly outdoors. While the ride will have at least one indoor scene, much of the track will be exposed outside. This is somewhat controversial among Disney fans, as most large-scale Disney coasters are concealed.
Disney is in the process of installing the Spider-Man roller coaster track onsite.
The land will also contain shopping and dining experiences, which Disney has yet to announce.
Disney has not revealed an opening timeframe for the new Spider-Man land, but based on current progress, a 2027 opening seems possible.
Tropical Americas
Tropical Americas is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World as a new land that combines multiple Disney franchises to tell a new story. Construction work is moving fast throughout the site.
Tropical Americas replaces DinoLand, U.S.A., which permanently closed in February 2026. Some of DinoLand’s facilities are being repurposed into new experiences to match the theming of Tropical Americas, while other attractions are being built from the ground up.
Walt Disney Imagineering created the fictional village of Pueblo Esperanza to serve as the setting for the Tropical Americas land. As guests step into Tropical Americas from Discovery Island, they’ll be greeted by a clock tower and a town square. The shell of this clock tower is now in place.
The former DINOSAUR ride is being transformed into a new Indiana Jones attraction. Using the same Jeep vehicles from DINOSAUR and traversing a thrilling, action-packed ride path, the journey will feel inherently similar to Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, but this will tell a new story, completely different from that classic attraction.
Most of the work for the Indiana Jones ride is happening inside the already-constructed and concealed building, but there are still developments happening outside to check in on. Construction workers are in the process of forming a Mayan temple that will mark the entrance into the ride’s queue. Once it’s finished, it will look like a ruinous structure that’s been there for centuries.
READ MORE – Rides Disney Almost Built But Didn’t (And Why They Never Happened)
A new ride based on Encanto will reside in a building being constructed from the ground up rather than repurposing a DinoLand entity. This new building is huge, and Disney constructed it quickly over the past few months.
At the entrance to the ride building, work has begun on the exterior foundation of what will eventually become the facade of Casita, the Madrigal family’s home in the film.
The buildings formerly known as Restaurantosaurus and the Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures gift shop will remain, rethemed as a new dining location and store, respectively. Restaurantosaurus is pictured above.
A carousel will also be part of Tropical Americas. The foundation for the ride’s centerpiece mechanics and the outline for the shelter covering the ride are both in place.
Tropical Americas will open in 2027 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Don’t Miss the Latest Disney News
Don’t miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.
