D23 wrapped up Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center after a magical weekend of exciting new announcements about everything Disney. In addition to releasing trailers to several new Disney movies you might have seen making the rounds on social media, they also announced an absolute avalanche of exciting new additions coming to the Disneyland Resort! We will break them down below with what facts we know now and what we hope to see!
The Walt Disney Company is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary in 2023. To mark this occasion the Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration will be taking place at Disney theme parks around the world, with "the heart of the celebration at the Disneyland Resort". The celebration will start late January 2023 and will have a platinum theme. Platinum Mickey ears and new platinum costumes for Mickey and Friends have already been announced, along with platinum décor throughout the parks. Over the next few months expect far more announcements including special food and beverage, merchandise, and experiences.
What has already been announced about this celebration is very exciting! Disney announced 2 new nighttime spectaculars coming to the Disneyland Resort and the return of the "Magic Happens" Parade. At Disney's California Adventure Park "World of Color – One" will showcase the legacy of the first 100 years of Disney's storytelling with its own special story. It will feature a new song, "Start a Wave". Over at Disneyland you will be able to view new fireworks show "Wondrous Journeys". This show will feature nods to all 60 Walt Disney Animation Studios films to date. It will also feature a new song, "It's Wondrous".
Also coming in early 2023 the long-awaited Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway will open in the newly remodeled Toontown. Disneyland's Toontown has been closed since earlier this year and will open alongside the new ride. Toontown is being reimagined to add in new experiences, more play, and more interactions for guests with small children. This new ride, already open at Disney World in Florida, will take guests into the wacky and unpredictable world of a Mickey Mouse short where anything can happen. With its state-of-the-art technology it transforms the cartoon world into an immersive multi-dimensional experience for guests.
At Disney's California Adventure Park, it was announced that the Pacific Wharf area will be reimagined into San Fransokyo from Disney's "Big Hero 6". The Pacific Wharf currently features a San Francisco Theme so the jump to San Fransokyo in this area makes sense. Guests will be able to meet Baymax, along with other new photo opportunities, and enjoy new places to eat and shop. While the new change is exciting, Disneyland fans will certainly be sad to see a classic area go. No date is announced for the change yet.
More information was released about the revamping being done to the Downtown Disney District, which is already underway. Disney released that there will be "more than a dozen" shopping and dining locations opening there in the future. While they were not specific with any dates, they did release some information on 2 of the upcoming locations, including a highly anticipated Porto's Bakery and Café being added to the District. A favorite of the area, this location is sure to be a must-visit upon it's opening. They also released a first look at Din Tai Fung, A Chinese restaurant where guests can enjoy "dishes served family style in a creative space". We look forward to the announcements of more locations soon!
Moving into 2024, more details were announced regarding Tiana's Bayou Adventure, opening late that year. This "Princess and the Frog" retheming of Splash Mountain in Disneyland will pick up right where the movie left off. Tiana is throwing a party at her restaurant for Carnival. Guests will journey through the bayou to help Tiana get the missing key ingredient for her restaurant while meeting friends along the way. The ride will bring back several of the original voices from the movie to do the voice acting on the ride including the actors portraying Tiana, Naveen, Louise, and Mama Odie.
It was announced that runDisney races will also be returning to the Disneyland Resort in 2024. It has been quite a while since a runDisney race was held in Anaheim, with the last one taking place in 2017. We still don't know the details of what races will occur or on what dates, but this certainly is exciting news for our runner Disney fans.
A highly anticipated 3rd attraction is officially coming to Avengers Campus at Disney's California Adventure Park. Not many details were released, nor did we get an opening timeframe, but this announcement is certainly exciting. What we do know is that the ride will be themed around the multiverse. CEO Bob Chapek teased that the Avenger's Campus would be going "deeper into the multiverse" during the announcement. Guests will be battling beside their favorite superheroes in this ride that is rumored to rival some of Disney's best attractions, Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland Park, and Flight of Passage at Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Disney World Resort. While it seems this one is still pretty far off there is much to be excited about for Marvel fans.
The last announcement we can share is also one that guests can enjoy the soonest. The Mandalorian and Grogu, or baby yoda, will be joining Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge this November! In just a few short months guests will be able to encounter this pair roaming Disneyland's newest land along with several other characters that can already be found there. Avengers Campus is also getting a visit from a new hero, see the Incredible Hulk in his Quantum Suit beginning next week.
What announcement are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.