At three of the four Walt Disney World theme parks in Florida, construction walls surround the perimeter of huge plots of land marked for expansion. Some of these sites still look like active construction zones, while others are much further along, with traces of storytelling beginning to materialize. Plans are also in motion for huge additions to Disneyland in California.
We have the latest construction progress on eight new and reimagined rides coming to Disney World theme parks. These include two roller coasters and significant overhauls of two longstanding classics. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including 5 hard-to-get Disney World dining reservations and the trailer for Hallmark's Disney World Christmas movie.
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Walt Disney World is Expanding
The new rides coming to Disney World exist in the worlds of some of Disney's most beloved stories, like Indiana Jones, as well as new favorites, like Encanto. They span many different types of ride systems, with something in mind for every member of the family.
The rides coming to Disney World fall into two categories. The first are attractions that contribute to the theme parks' growth as part of large-scale expansions. The second are rides that reinvest in an existing experience, recycling its infrastructure to create something new. See our coverage of how Disney decides the difference between these two approaches.
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Most of the rides below fall into the growth category, but there are a few reinvestments. We've seen a lot of the latter category recently with major makeovers for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Rock ‘n' Roller Coaster, all of which are now reopened following big changes and Disney's effort to “leave it better than they found it.”
Let's dive into eight new rides coming to Disney World and their current status on the road to opening.
Overhaul of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom will undergo an extensive reimagining in the coming months. The 20-minute stage production with a rotating auditorium shows the progress of household technology decade over decade, starring an Audio-Animatronics cast.
The ride first opened at the New York World's Fair in 1964, debuted at Magic Kingdom in 1975, and was updated to its current form in 1993. The upcoming changes include revising every scene to reflect more recent decades and introducing an Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney in its opening sequence.
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The circa-1993 version of Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress retires on July 5, 2026, and the new version of the ride will debut sometime in 2027.
Encanto Ride
A new Encanto ride is coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom as part of a new land called Tropical Americas. The family-friendly indoor attraction will take place on the day Antonio Madrigal receives his gift of talking to animals.
Tropical Americas replaces DinoLand, U.S.A., which closed in February 2026. Disney constructed a new building from the ground up for the Encanto ride on the former spot of the Primeval Whirl roller coaster, as well as a chunk of what used to be backstage space.
The Encanto ride building is now fully built and enclosed as Disney gets to work on the interior of the attraction, as well as theming the exterior as the Madrigals' Casita and the colorful hills that surround their home.
Indiana Jones Thrill Ride
An Indiana Jones thrill ride repurposing a former guest favorite attraction is coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom as part of the new Tropical Americas land.
Recycling the Jeep vehicles and ride path from the now-closed DINOSAUR attraction, this new experience will involve riders joining Indiana Jones on a voyage into a Mayan temple. This is not a duplicate of Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, but it inherently shares many similarities, including the ride system.
From the jump, this attraction was much further along than other rides on our list today because its building and all of the infrastructure were already in place. Since DINOSAUR's closure in February 2026, Disney has been busy converting the interior space into the revamped attraction in ways that remain a mystery for the time being.
As for the exterior, steel framing is now visibly in the shape of what will one day be a large temple as guests approach the attraction and enter its queue.
Tropical Americas Carousel
A new carousel is coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom as part of the new Tropical Americas land.
Because the two headliner attractions of Tropical Americas are based on different franchises, Encanto and Indiana Jones, Walt Disney Imagineers created an original story to tie the narrative of this new themed land together.
The Tropical Americas land will take place in a fictional village named Pueblo Esperanza. So the story goes, Pueblo Esperanza's local woodcarver built a merry-go-round with steeds fashioned after his favorite animal characters from Disney stories like The Jungle Book and The Lion King.
The frames to support the carousel's shelter are currently in place at the Tropical Americas construction site. In the coming months, the base of the ride system will start to take shape. Beams are also in place to support what might become a shelter over the attraction's queue.
Monstropolis Roller Coaster
An indoor suspended roller coaster is coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios as part of Monstropolis, a new land based on Monsters, Inc.
The coaster will take riders zipping through the Monsters, Inc. door factory, just like the thrilling chase scene at the climax of the movie.
Construction crews have spent the past year preparing the foundation for the Monsters, Inc. coaster on what was formerly part of Hollywood Studios' cast member parking lot. Following this extensive prep work, the first piece of coaster track was recently installed among the labyrinth of beams in the photo above.
Monstropolis will also include an indoor theater show and new restaurants that repurpose the facilities of the former Muppets Courtyard. We got a sneak peek when touring the construction site with Imagineers.
Piston Peak National Park “Off-Roading” Ride
A new thrill ride mimicking the feeling of off-roading is coming to Magic Kingdom as part of Piston Peak National Park, a new subsection of Frontierland based on Pixar's Cars.
Open-air, four-person vehicles will traverse mountainous terrain and forested landscaping in a race hosted by Lightning McQueen and Mater. Importantly, though, McQueen and Mater are far from home in this story. Rather than recreating Radiator Springs from the Cars films, Piston Peak will celebrate the beauty of U.S. national parks. This is not a copy of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure.
Piston Peak will take up a large parcel of space formerly belonging to a portion of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, which closed in 2025. Construction crews have removed all traces of those now-defunct attractions and are hard at work building a retaining wall to support the extensive landscaping that Piston Peak will require to pull off its national park feel.
Piston Peak National Park Family-Friendly Ride
A family-friendly ride is coming to Magic Kingdom as part of the Piston Peak National Park project.
Disney hasn't shared details on what kind of ride system to expect from this experience, only that it will be inspired by Pixar's Cars and geared toward younger guests to balance out the more thrilling “off-road” ride also coming to Piston Peak and described above.
Villains Land Rides
Villains Land is coming to Magic Kingdom as an entirely new land in the classic theme park. It's inspired by the classic antagonists of Walt Disney Animation Studios films. The only confirmed villain so far is Maleficent, who appears in dragon form in the one piece of concept art Disney has shared for the project.
Disney hasn't formally revealed specific rides for Villains Land, but the concept art above shows a roller coaster track themed as the thorned brambles of Maleficent's fortress from Sleeping Beauty.
Villains Land is the most distant in the future of any item on our list today. Located adjacent to Piston Peak National Park, Villains Land will replace the remaining real estate that previously belonged to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, as well as expand Magic Kingdom north of that space into formerly undeveloped land.
For now, all the land is cleared, but Villains Land itself has yet to go vertical.
We expect to hear updates on all of these upcoming rides during the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event coming up soon.
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