7 new Disney Parks attractions unveiled at D23 2024 that I’m most excited for

Plus, the first arrivals from Disney’s partnership with Epic Games

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

From Robert Downey Jr. returning as Iron Man (no, he won’t be wearingthis Iron Man-style exoskeleton) for a thrilling attraction to a coaster themed after the flying doors inMonsters Inc., Disney Parks worldwide are getting a bunch of new rides and even lands.

Now, rather than just teasing the future, much of the focus on Disney’s Experience showcase atD23 2024(outside of the unveiling of one of thebest Star Wars rides as a high-tech toy) was on active or soon-to-be projects with development underway and, for some, construction starting soon.

The panel itself was lengthy and filled with songs and numbers for the biggest developments at its parks and resorts, which bucked the trend of focusing on global expansion plans and instead put a spotlight on parks in the United States. That’s right: Disney World is getting several new attractions and lands. Find out more about these below.

A suspended coaster in a new Monsters Inc. land

Hollywood Studios at Disney World is already home toGalaxy’s Edge, akaStar Warsland, and has Andy’s backyard fromToy Story, but it’s now getting aMonsters, Inc.land, which will be home to the first-ever suspended coaster in a Disney theme park.

Teased with much fanfare, it’s a coaster that lets you ride through the door vault at Monsters. Inc headquarters. It doesn’t look disappointing from the first released concept art, which shows two seats suspended with laugh or scare canisters on the top. So basically, holding onto a door – in a safe manner – as you zoom past others. It should be fun. Work on the land will kick off next year.

A similarly fast-moving attraction in Disney World’s Epcot will officially reopen in 2025 – ‘Test Track 3.0’ by Chevrolet will still launch you at fast speeds on an outdoor course but will have new ride scenes focused on in-vehicle technology, customization, and personalization. It’s summarized as “highlighting the past, present, and future,” focusing on celebrating vehicles.

Avengers Campus is getting a major expansion, and quite the guest star

Deadpool and Wolverineare already finding a new home at Avengers Campus at Disneyland, but D23 also teased a massive expansion to this land. Two new attractions are set for construction, and one of them will feature a familiar face.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

‘Stark Flight Lab’ will have you spinning at all sorts of heights from a robotarmas you test superhero skills on a simulated flight. Of course,Tony Starkwill be featured, and Robert Downey Jr. will be reprising the role; he has also tested the ride with Disney CEO Bob Iger. This should be quite the adventure, though, from riding on a track to a robot arm performing flips and twirls.

Second, and likely coming a bit sooner, is ‘Avengers Infinity Defense’, which will have you sit in a custom ride vehicle that will let you jump between worlds like Wakanda, Asgard, and New York City alongside classicMarvelheroes and eventually meet KingThanos. Disney also announced several Marvel attractions for global parks, including Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland.

An Encanto themed-ride and Indiana Jones will land at Animal Kingdom

Encanto,one of thebest Disney Plus movies, will finally get its first-ever attraction at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. You’ll be seated on a journey that takes you through the famous house from the film – the Casita – and follow along as Antonio gets his special gift with other characters from the Madrigal family.

This will be part of a new ‘Topical Americas’ land replacing the current Dinoland at the park. Alongside the Encanto Casita, Animal Kingdom will get an all-newIndiana Jones-themed ride to let you join “Indy” in exploring a recently discovered Maya temple. It should be a bumpy, thrilling ride that might have snakes.

The new ‘Tropical Americas’ land will begin construction this fall (think September to November 2024), and it should open in 2027.

Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is getting an entirely new land

Hollywood Studios is gettingMonsters Inc., and Animal Kingdom is getting the first ride themed afterEncanto, but Magic Kingdom is getting several enhancements, including an entirely new land focused on Villains. The Evil Queen, Ursula, Hades, Captain Hook, and the Magic Mirror are just a few of the evil-doers who are set to feature.

Dubbed ‘Villains at Magic Kingdom’ currently, Josh D’Amaro, Disney Experiences Chairman, teased that the park will get two flagship attractions, dining and shopping, on a massive scale. Aside from that tease, we only have some spooky concept art that looks very immersive. No set exact date for an opening was given, but preparation at the park is said to be underway.

Separate from this, ‘Frontierland’, which is home to the recently opened Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and other coasters, will get a new section themed after the filmCars. That’ll offer two new attractions, the first of which will be a thrilling race across the frontier, and the second will be more family-focused, both likely featuring a lot of Lightning McQueen and Mater. Construction kicks off in early 2025.

While Disney is known for nighttime entertainment that comes to life through projection, fireworks, plenty of LEDs, and sometimes drones, there is a new evening parade set to start in the summer (June, July, or August) of 2025 called ‘Disney Starlight’. It’s inspired by the ‘Main Street Electrical Parade’ and promises to use the latest technology to run through a story with characters fromFrozen, Peter Pan, andEncanto, among others.

Separate from the physical experiences, such as attractions or evening shows, we also got more details onDisney’s massive partnership with Epic Games. The main event is still being teased as a connected universe with Disney,Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar characters all under one roof in a converging, immersive world where you can play, create, and watch all sorts of content. It’s still “a few years away,” but for now, more Disney characters are arriving inFortniteas skins and playable characters.

Villains like Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Cruella de Vil are the first Disney Animation cast to arrive, andThe Incrediblesfrom Pixar is set for this fall. Next week, more Star Wars characters will be appearing, including Moff Gideon, and on August 16, 2024, thenext Marvel eventwill bring Doctor Doom toFortnite.

You might also like

Jacob Krol is the US Managing Editor, News for TechRadar. He’s been writing about technology since he was 14 when he started his own tech blog. Since then Jacob has worked for a plethora of publications including CNN Underscored, TheStreet, Parade, Men’s Journal, Mashable, CNET, and CNBC among others.

He specializes in covering companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google and going hands-on with mobile devices, smart home gadgets, TVs, and wearables. In his spare time, you can find Jacob listening to Bruce Springsteen, building a Lego set, or binge-watching the latest from Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars.

Lego will let you build Sir Ernest Shackleton’s iconic lost ship, the Endurance, in its next Icons set

Singapore Criterium live stream 2024: How to watch FREE UCI cycling online

3 reasons why PIA fell in our best VPN rankings