Disney will publicly reveal the future of its theme park destinations worldwide during an upcoming special presentation at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Fans are highly anticipating this news, with big reveals expected for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. The company will also make announcements for its global parks and cruise ships, which we turn our attention toward today.
Big announcements are coming for new rides at international Disney theme parks and new Disney Cruise Line ships setting sail around the world. Below, we map out our predictions for what Disney will reveal. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including the full menu of Disney Springs’ new dining location and all the details on Disney World’s future Encanto ride.
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D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event
D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event returns to Anaheim, California, from August 14 to 16, 2026. This is Disney’s official convention, held every two years and filled with a massive schedule of announcements, history-based retrospectives, celebrity appearances, and fan activations.
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D23 splits its programming between two locations, with smaller presentations and show floor experiences taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center, and huge arena presentations happening at the Honda Center.
One of these arena presentations is the highly anticipated Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase on Saturday, August 15. Nicknamed the “parks panel” among fans, the Disney Experiences Showcase will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and will feature exclusive reveals of what’s next for Disney theme parks, resorts, and cruises.
We already explored our predictions for what may be announced during the parks panel for Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Announcements could include the return of the Fantasmic dragon at Disneyland, a timeline expansion for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World, and much more.
Click these links to see our full Disneyland predictions and Disney World predictions.
Today, we’re broadening the scope to predict what Disney will reveal during the D23 parks panel about Disney Cruise Line, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and the upcoming Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
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Avengers Tower of Terror
A new drop tower attraction is coming to Hong Kong Disneyland, in the park’s Tomorrowland area.
This new ride will adapt the ride system that Disney previously utilized in The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – BREAKOUT! However, since Hong Kong Disneyland never had its own version of either of those rides, Disney is building the new Avengers drop tower from the ground up rather than converting a former attraction into a new experience.
Previously revealed concept art depicted Spider-Man saving the “free-falling” elevator shaft from Doctor Octopus, aka Doc Ock, as well as Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Thor being part of the adventure.
Mickey Visit predicts the name of this new Avengers drop tower ride will be revealed at D23’s parks panel, along with additional story details. If Walt Disney Imagineering was able to procure the talents of any Marvel Cinematic Universe actors to reprise their roles for the ride, D23 would also be a perfect time to reveal those celebrities’ involvement.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi
In 2025, Disney announced that it’s partnering with resort company Miral Group to build a new theme park in Abu Dhabi, to be part of the Yas Island resort property, joining Miral’s existing theme parks there: Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld, and Waterworld.
Disney has promised the Abu Dhabi park will be the most technologically advanced Disney theme park on the planet. The company hasn’t shared specific details about the park’s attractions or lands yet, and we don’t expect those to be revealed at D23. However, Disney could mention the upcoming park in some way during the parks panel, potentially with new concept art or a more detailed look at concepts for its next-generation castle, pictured in the artwork above.
New Adventureland
In 2025, Tokyo Disney Resort’s owners, Oriental Land Company (OLC), shared the above artwork as an example of a “conceptual image of theme park area redesign” depicting an overhauled Adventureland at Tokyo Disneyland, to be completed by 2035.
At the time, OLC didn’t publicly confirm any specifics about the Adventureland overhaul, and stressed that the artwork was conceptual, not necessarily an exact depiction of what to expect from the transformation.
With over a year since that tease, we think OLC and Disney have likely settled on what the Adventureland reimagining will entail. All the same, a completion target of 2035 is a long runway, and there will be four additional D23s before then, so OLC may not be in any rush to reveal what’s coming.
If the artwork is any indication of what may be on the table, attractions inspired by Up, The Incredibles, or Moana could be announced.
Big Tomorrowland Updates
Two Tomorrowland attractions are undergoing huge transformations at Tokyo Disneyland.
The Tokyo Disneyland version of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, the family-friendly target-blasting dark ride, permanently closed in 2024. Disney is currently transforming the ride into a new experience based on Wreck-It Ralph. The reimagined ride will retain the same basic structure as its predecessor, but the story will involve riders helping Ralph and Vanellope blast glitches in the Sugar Rush video game’s coding.
Disney has only shared one piece of concept art for this ride. With the attraction opening in less than a year, there is seemingly a lot more to reveal about the experience. Mickey Visit predicts that Disney will announce the name of the Wreck-It Ralph ride at D23, and share additional concept art and story details.
If any Audio-Animatronics figures are part of the Wreck-It Ralph ride, we’d also expect a sneak peek of those to be shared at D23. However, it’s unclear how the characters will be portrayed in the attraction at this point.
Elsewhere in Tokyo’s Tomorrowland, Space Mountain closed in 2024 and was later completely demolished. Disney is building a new Space Mountain from scratch right next to where the former ride once stood. The new version opens in 2027.
Disney has already revealed some story-related details for Tokyo’s new Space Mountain, such as how it will share a message of humankind’s connection with our planet. However, details about the actual ride itself are pretty sparse. We predict Disney will share concrete information about what to expect from Tokyo’s new Space Mountain at D23.
Port Discovery Reveal
Disney and the Oriental Land Company (OLC), the owner of Tokyo Disney Resort, have plans to reimagine the Port Discovery area in Tokyo DisneySea.
OLC shared the above low-resolution image in 2025 as a “conceptual” example of a “redesign” to be rolled out by 2035.
No specific attractions have been formally announced for this project, but in fall 2026, the Aquatopia water-blasting attraction will permanently close, which may or may not be connected to any long-term plans Disney and OLC may have for Port Discovery.
We expect Disney to share more solidified concepts for what’s coming to Port Discovery at D23. What we might not hear is what else is closing to make room for potential new attractions. Typically during the D23 parks panel, Disney doesn’t specifically mention if any of its newly announced projects will replace any longstanding park favorites. Aside from Aquatopia, other current Port Discovery attractions include Nemo & Friends SeaRider and DisneySea Electric Railway.
Lion King Log Flume Name and Audio-Animatronics Characters
Disney’s first-ever ride based on The Lion King is coming to Disney Adventure World, the newly renamed theme park formerly known as Walt Disney Studios Park, at Disneyland Paris.
The ride will be a log flume attraction featuring indoor musical sequences with Audio-Animatronics figures retelling the story of The Lion King, culminating in an outdoor plunge down a waterfall. The attraction will adapt the format of Disney’s previous log flumes, Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Unlike Anaheim and Orlando, which converted their existing Splash Mountain rides into the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction, Paris is building its new log flume from the ground up, as Disneyland Paris never had a Splash Mountain.
We expect Disney to reveal the name of the new Lion King ride at the D23 parks panel, and we’re hoping they also share some behind-the-scenes footage of the Audio-Animatronics figures in progress at the Imagineering offices. Disney has been very forward about sharing its advances in Audio-Animatronics technology lately, and there’s a lot of potential with how those leaps could be applied to realistic figures of Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, or other Lion King characters. Would we see a life-size Simba ascend Pride Rock as our ride vehicle heads up the lift hill just before the final splash?
The Lion King log flume will be the centerpiece of an entire land, but not much is known about what else will be part of its surrounding area. Should guests expect a restaurant, a live show, a smaller additional ride, character experiences, or something else? Since construction on the land is already underway, we expect these details to be shared at D23 rather than be saved for later.
Spider-Man Land’s Coaster Name and Dining
A new Spider-Man roller coaster is coming to Shanghai Disneyland. The coaster itself is fully built, with all the track pieces in place. Disney is now proceeding to construct the show elements and the land that will surround the coaster.
Similar to Paris’s Lion King ride and area, Shanghai’s Spider-Man coaster will be the marquee attraction of a new land. Details about what else to expect in this new area of the park are unknown, so there are a lot of question marks Disney could fill in during the D23 parks panel. Since the coaster track’s installation is complete, the land may open sooner rather than later, meaning the project may end up being one of the most significant reveals of the D23 presentation.
Mickey Visit predicts Disney will reveal the Spider-Man land’s backstory, architectural style, name, restaurants, shops, and additional details all during the D23 parks panel.
Shanghai’s Fourth Hotel
Two new hotels are coming to Shanghai Disney Resort, doubling the number of overnight options for guests there. Disney already revealed the Shanghai Disney Enchanted Star Hotel, opening in late 2026 or early 2027.
The fourth hotel remains a mystery. We know it will be located “steps away” from the Shanghai Disneyland theme park entrance, but Disney hasn’t announced its name or theme. We could see these being shared at D23 as part of an overview of ongoing hotel projects.
Disney Cruise Line Wildcards
Disney has implied that 2026’s D23 parks panel will contain mostly updates on previous announcements rather than first-look reveals of top-secret projects. We think Disney Cruise Line, rather than the parks, has the largest potential to reveal totally new concepts at D23 rather than simply sharing updates on previously announced attractions.
This would also be consistent with Disney Cruise Line’s surge in popularity. Demand has been building, and Disney is meeting the moment. Disney has debuted more cruise ships in the last four years than it did in the previous 25 years! This increase in ships gives the company greater flexibility to make port in more locations, as seen in the San Diego deal struck earlier this year.
Disney Cruise Line has already said that its fleet will expand to 13 ships by 2031. This means five ships are in active development or construction, and we know next to nothing about almost all of them. The D23 arena would be a prime audience to hear the names or locations of some of these vessels first.
There could also be news for Disney’s eight existing ships, including new itineraries, new ports, new stage productions, or themed onboard programming, like the return of Star Wars Day at Sea.
Now let’s explore more specific predictions for Disney Cruise Line at D23.
Disney Believe Cruise Ship Details
Disney Believe is the name of Disney Cruise Line’s ninth ship, setting sail in 2027. It will be the next ship in the fleet’s Wish-class, following the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny.
Disney has already announced that the Disney Believe will include experiences based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, Moana, and Encanto. Which films will inspire which aspects of the ship remains to be seen, and could be announced at D23. For example, is Encanto the basis of a restaurant or a stage show? We also don’t yet know where the Disney Believe will make port.
Again, Disney Cruise Line has the opportunity for more first-look reveals of unknown entities than the theme parks do this time around at D23. For the Disney Believe to be the next ship to set sail, Disney has said surprisingly little about it, especially compared to how much had been announced by this point for previous Disney ships at a similar length of time before their maiden voyages.
New Class of Disney Cruise Line Ship
Disney Cruise Line has four classes, or categories, of ships. Ships in the same class were generally built around the same time, and share much of the same layout and styles of amenities.
The most recent Disney ships, the vessels that have debuted since 2022, belong to the Wish and Adventure classes. The Wish class consists of the Disney Wish, the Disney Treasure, the Disney Destiny, plus the upcoming Disney Believe and a future unnamed ship sailing from Tokyo. The Adventure class’s sole occupant is the Disney Adventure.
We suspect the Wish class will be retired after the Tokyo ship. Five ships of the same template is a lot, and repeat cruisers will be looking for something different in Disney’s future ships. As for the Adventure class, the Disney Adventure exists as a one-off design due to Disney having purchased it from a different company while construction was already underway rather than designing the ship itself. This means it’s unlikely that any future Disney ship will be patterned after the Adventure in the same way the Wish-class ships were all patterned after the Disney Wish.
Following the Tokyo ship’s launch in 2029, there are three more cruise ships Disney has committed to building by 2031. Mickey Visit predicts these will all belong to a new class of Disney Cruise Line ship.
Tokyo Cruise Ship Name
A new Disney Cruise Line ship will sail from Tokyo by early 2029. The ship will be in the Wish class, following the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny, and Disney Believe.
The Tokyo ship will be Disney’s first created in partnership with the Oriental Land Company (OLC), the owners of Tokyo Disney Resort. This presents an exciting component to the development of this future vessel. OLC is known for high quality and large budgets. With that in mind, how much will this ship adhere to the Wish template, and how much will OLC’s involvement upgrade that familiar formula?
We at least expect Disney will share the name of the Tokyo ship at the D23 parks panel. We hope Disney will also share more details about the scale and scope of the ship as it relates to OLC’s participation, but that might come later.
See our other coverage for our predictions of Disneyland announcements and Disney World reveals that may be part of the D23 parks panel 2026.
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