The final day of the D23 Expo was a day full of options! As with all the day, there were lots of opportunities to experience different things from The Walt Disney Company. Obviously, there were the main panels to be experienced. But there were also other presentations, games, and experiences happening throughout the Anaheim Convention Center. On top of that, there was the daily D23 Expo Street Party happening throughout the day to add just another bit of Disney magic!
For many Disney fans though, the day was all about the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Panel. Some began lining up the night before to experience the announcements from Bob Chapek, who leads this division for The Walt Disney Company. There was quite a bit of news to come out of this panel. Some of it was expected, others not. Here is a brief rundown of what was announced:
Disneyland Resort
- Marvel-themed land at Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris will be called Avengers Campus.
- Will include Spider-Man web-slinging attraction.
- Dr. Strange sanctum experience.
- A fun dining location themed around Pym particles and called Pym Test Kitchen.
- Phase Two will include an e-ticket Quinjet attraction that goes to Wakanda.
- Guests will be able to meet Ant-Man and The Wasp, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Super Heroes from Wakanda and Asgard, and Iron Man.
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be in the El Capitoon Theatre in Mickey’s ToonTown and open in 2022. (It will open in 2020 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort.
- New Parade, Magic Happens will arrive in the spring of 2020 at Disneyland. It will feature a song written by Todrick Hall. It will include characters from Moana, Coco, Sleeping Beauty, and more. The parade will be led by Mickey Mouse and pals.
Walt Disney World Resort
- Epcot has a new logo and new worlds being added. They include:
- World Showcase
- A new Mary Poppins attraction will be arriving at the UK Pavilion. With this, the area will also include Cherry Tree Lane.
- Epcot Forever nighttime spectacular will begin this October and run for one year.
- HarmoniUS will be the permanent nighttime spectacular and the largest ever created for a Disney Park.
- Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 will arrive in January 2020.
- Wondrous China will soon be arriving with a complete 360 digital film.
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and La Crêperie de Paris will open at the France Pavilion in the summer of 2020.
- Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along will join Impressions de France in January 2020 as well in January of 2020.
- World Celebration
- Spaceship Earth will remain the Icon of Epcot but it will be getting some enhancements. This includes a new focus on the history of storytelling and also new narration. The focus will be on how storytelling brings people together.
- A new celebration pavilion that will be three levels high will be built here. It will include an expo level in the middle and a park on top that will offer stunning views of the nighttime entertainment at Epcot.
- A new garden area called Dreamers Point will be built here. It will include a new statue of the ultimate dreamer, Walt Disney. The statue will have him sitting and dreaming.
- World Nature
- Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana” will be built in this new land that covers the areas currently called The Land and The Seas. It will allow guests to meet and play with magical, living water.
- Awesome Planet, the new film coming to The Land will be arriving in January 2020.
- World Discovery
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will offer a galactic experience as they blast off with the Guardians of the Galaxy… starting backward! This family-friendly coaster will also rotate 360 degrees throughout the ride.
- The Mission: SPACE pavilion is being expanded with a new restaurant called Space 220. That is because the elevator that transports guests 220 miles above the surface of the Earth to where the restaurant floats.
- The new PLAY! pavilion will be opening in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021. “In this interactive metropolis, guests will discover a city bursting with games, activities, and experiences that connect them with friends, family, and beloved Disney characters like never before.”
- Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration will include all four of the parks. It will span all four parks with new attractions, merchandise, food, and experiences.
- Ahead of the 50th anniversary, Disney Genie will roll out. This will be the ultimate trip planner that will make planning easy yet also be flexible! This app could completely change how people do their Walt Disney World Resort vacations.
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will also open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2020.
- New Cirque du Soleil show coming to Disney Springs that celebrates Disney Animation. Previews begin in March 2020 with official opening night on April 17, 2020.
- Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge will celebrate the wonders of nature and artistry of Walt Disney. It will also include A-frame houses to stay in and a Princess in the Frog restaurant.
Disney Cruise Line
- The next Disney Cruise Line ship will be called the Disney Wish. Rapunzel will be the character on the stern of this ship. It will be delivered to Disney in 2021 and begin taking on guests in 2022.
- Disney Cruise Line will also have a new destination on the island of Eleuthera at a place called Lighthouse Point. It will celebrate the natural beauty and culture of the island when it is complete and ready for guests.
Shanghai Disney Resort
- New Zootopia themed land is being built for the Shanghai Disney Resort. It will include major attractions, merchandise locations, dining locations, and immersive entertainment once it opens.
Hong Kong Disneyland
- Name of the rebuilt castle will be Castle of Magical Dreams and celebrate the stories of 13 Disney princesses and heroines.
- New Frozen area will include two attractions. Frozen Ever After will come to this area along with a new Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs coaster.
Target
- Disney will be collaborating with Target to bring miniature Disney Store experiences to communities that don’t have a Disney Store. 25 Targets nationwide will offer this starting on October 4. 40 more stores will offer this sometime in 2020.
On top of all of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products announcements that were made, another panel that was a highlight of the day was the Disney Character Voices, Inc: 30th Anniversary Celebration. This panel was a fantastic way to end the weekend as it celebrated the voices that bring favorite Disney characters to life. A highlight of the panel was definitely hearing the voices of Mickey Mouse, Goofy/Pluto, and Donald Duck (Bret Iwan, Bill Farmer, Tony Anselmo) perform with legendary voice actors Corey Burton and Jim Cummings. The panel also included several heroic female voices too that included the current and former voice of Miguel from Pixar’s Coco, voices of Disney princesses, Officer Judy Hopps, and Moana as well. The event concluded with Auli’i Cravalho singing How Far I’ll Go from Moana. The event was truly magical and one that will be remembered by those in attendance for a very long time!
The entire weekend of the D23 Expo had a lot going on! There were panels to see, shows to watch, signatures to receive, friends to meet, merchandise to buy, pavilions to experience, and new Disney experiences to be had (Disney+ anyone?). Overall, there was always something to be done be everyone. With so many people wanting to do so much, it obviously was hard to see and do everything one would want to do. But that’s ok, there was always something else to see or do. All of it was a lot of fun!
We hope you have enjoyed our daily coverage of the D23 Expo! There is still a lot more coming throughout the coming week. Make sure to continue to visit DAPS MAGIC for more about the 2019 D23 Expo or go straight to dapsmagic.com/d23expo if you want to see all the posts, videos, and more covering this ultimate Disney fan event.
What were you most excited about from day three of the D23 Expo? Share your thoughts and comments below! We’d love to hear from you!