Disney has just revealed more information on when fans will get their next major look at the future of Disney Parks. There are currently several major projects underway across Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, and Disney’s global theme parks, alongside a period of significant growth for Disney Cruise Line.
Fans are eager for updates on existing projects, as well as any new announcements surrounding potential experiences, attractions, or destination enhancements. An upcoming showcase will provide Disney with an opportunity to connect with its most dedicated fans and offer a look at what could be next for Disney Parks. Let’s get into all the details of Disney’s plan for announcements on new rides and theme park additions next month. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including new menu items just added to Disney World and an upcoming weekend expected to cause crowd spikes at Disneyland.
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Details Revealed for The Disney Experiences Showcase
The D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is Disney’s major fan convention, which brings together Disney fans from around the world for exclusive presentations from the company, behind-the-scenes experiences, entertainment, and announcements across the company’s many brands. This event is often the main source of major Disney Parks news and announcements and takes place every two years in Anaheim, California, just down the road from Disneyland.
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We now have the full schedule for D23 2026. This includes the descriptions and times.
The Disney Experiences Showcase is one of the three major evening presentations that take place at the Honda Center. The other two main panels include the Disney Entertainment Showcase, which features announcements and updates from Disney’s film, television, and entertainment divisions, and the Disney Legends Award Ceremony, which honors and inducts new members into the Disney Legends program for their contributions to The Walt Disney Company.
The Disney Experiences Showcase is the main event for Disney theme park fans, as this is where Disney reveals their biggest announcements and updates from Walt Disney Imagineering. The showcase focuses on the future of Disney’s theme parks, resorts, and cruise line. The presentation often features top Disney leaders along with Imagineers to share updates, behind-the-scenes details, and a look forward into the future for the theme parks.
Disney has now announced the details for The Disney Experiences Showcase on Saturday, August 15, which is titled “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase.” The showcase will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris as guests are taken on a “journey into the stories shaping the future of Disney Experiences around the world.” The theme of the showcase is inspired by the Carousel of Progress, with Neil Patrick Harris guiding the show and leading the conversations with Imagineers, storytellers, artists, and innovators who are working on the newest Disney Experiences projects.
This year’s showcase will build on the ambitious projects announced in 2024, which will take fans “deeper into the creative vision behind what’s to come.” Fans can expect “behind-the-scenes looks, special performances, exciting announcements, and a few surprises” along the way.
The past two showcases have been hosted by then theme park head Josh D’Amaro. He has now been promoted to CEO and replaced by Thomas Mazloum. Unlike in previous years, the presentation will be led by a celebrity host. We have seen other divisions of the company take this approach in the past, including when Yvette Nicole Brown hosted the Disney Plus panel in 2019. This was the year the new service debuted. At the time we complimented Kevin Mayer, the head of the Disney Direct-to-Consumer group, for bringing in a host. Nicole Brown was a superb host there and was again a great host last year at Destination D23 for the studios panel. I am already prepared to give that same praise to Mazloum for Neil Patrick Harris.
Neil Patrick Harris is a known Disney super fan and a particular fan of the Haunted Mansion. During the 60th anniversary at Disneyland, he was the host and a video version of him appeared in the World of Color fountain show.
We do not expect to see the massive amount of new projects from this presentation that we got last time. We expect that it is a year to temper expectations because the projects that we have already heard about are projected to open as late as 2031. This year we can expect to hear more details on the big projects and hopefully also learn about new smaller additions that we are just as excited about. Over the past year we have seen Disney World find a lot of success with smaller projects to fill in the theme park offerings. I hope for more of these.
You can see our predictions on what might be announced for Walt Disney World here. Stay tuned for our look at expected Disneyland announcements soon.
At the 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, The Disney Experiences Showcase dropped multiple bombshell announcements, including the long-speculated and fan dream of a Villains-themed land coming to Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
That major news was also joined by other announcements of several major projects coming to Disney World, including a Cars-themed expansion in Frontierland to replace the Rivers of America area and the Tropical Americas land replacing DinoLand U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The news that Magic Kingdom’s upcoming expansion would replace the historic Rivers of America area was one of the most significant changes ever announced for that theme park. You can see our roundup of major announcements for new projects at Disney World announced at the 2024 Disney Experiences Showcase here.
For Disneyland, the 2024 Disney Experiences Showcase also revealed several new expansion projects for Disney California Adventure, including a new Avatar-themed land, a larger expansion of the Avengers Campus with new attractions, and a brand new Coco-themed dark ride. These announcements signaled major expansions primarily focused on Disney California Adventure. You can see our roundup of major announcements for new projects at Disneyland announced at the 2024 Disney Experiences Showcase here.
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Aside from the major projects still underway, many 2024 Disney Experiences Showcase projects are already available to guests. At Walt Disney World, this includes the Disney Starlight parade, the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge, the reimagined Test Track at EPCOT and “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. At Disneyland Resort, “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” opened in July 2025 as the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure. Both coasts also now offer the newly upgraded storyline reboot for the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
While the description for the 2026 Disney Experiences Showcase shares that we can expect a few surprises, most of the panel will center on “building on the ambitious projects announced in 2024.” This could include more details, concept art, and possible concrete timelines on those major expansions already announced for Disney Parks.
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