The Broken Yeti Gets Fixed, Plus a Wave of New Disney Rides

Disney used its D23 fan event on Saturday night to line up a decade of new Disney rides, and tucked into the presentation was a repair job fans have complained about for close to 20 years. The Yeti at Expedition Everest — the animatronic that has stood frozen under a strobe light since not long after the Animal Kingdom coaster opened in 2006 — is getting its full motion back.

That one slide sets the tone for the whole night. The showcase, titled Horizons: A Carousel of Progress and hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, leaned heavily on things Disney had previously taken away: a beloved Epcot character retired decades ago, a parade shelved during the pandemic, a Paris ride that lost its original identity. Thomas Mazloum, chairman of Disney Experiences, kept circling back to the fans.

For anyone actually planning a trip, though, the practical news is thinner than the headline count suggests. Disney named dozens of projects and attached firm dates to only a handful. The two biggest additions at Magic Kingdom — a Cars land and a Villains land — still have no opening year, two years after they were first announced.

The Old Debts Disney Just Settled

The Dreamfinder is coming back. The character was dropped from Epcot's Journey Into Imagination decades ago and has lived on mostly in fan petitions; he'll return alongside Figment in a reworked version of the ride. Spaceship Earth gets its first real story update in roughly 20 years. Disneyland's Magic Happens parade returns. In Paris, Hyperspace Mountain closes in 2027 so Space Mountain can go back to its Jules Verne roots.

As we continue expanding and evolving Disney Experiences around the world, our fans remain at the heart of everything we do.

That framing is doing real work. Restorations are cheaper than new construction, they generate the same online reaction, and they land years sooner. Notice how many of the loudest moments Saturday were fixes rather than firsts.

Where the New Disney Rides Are Actually Going

Geographically, the spending is spread across all six resorts. Here's what matters most for U.S. visitors.

Magic Kingdom: Cars and Villains Behind Big Thunder

The Cars-themed area now has a name and two attractions: Ridge Run Rally and Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along, set inside Piston Peak National Park. Next door, Villains Land is officially Villains Land, with a Maleficent coaster and a dark ride through the Evil Queen's catacombs. Imagineers compared its scale to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Both sit on the ground that used to hold Rivers of America.

Animal Kingdom: Indiana Jones and Encanto in 2027

Tropical Americas is the nearest big opening, targeted for late 2027. Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent is set in 1950, before the events of the later films, with Harrison Ford serving as the model for the Audio-Animatronic. Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto puts riders inside the Madrigal casita with more than 50 animal figures and no height requirement — a rare thing for a headliner.

Disneyland: Tomorrowland Before the 75th

Disneyland's Tomorrowland is getting a full renewal in the run-up to the park's 75th anniversary in 2030. A new Carousel of Progress arrives in late spring 2027 with Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston voicing the family, and the Remember Dreams Come True spectacular returns in February 2027. Across the esplanade, California Adventure gets a Coco boat ride and an Avengers Campus expansion in 2028.

A New Ship in 2027, a Different One in 2029

Disney Cruise Line named its fourth Wish-class ship the Disney Believe, sailing in late 2027, with Tinker Bell on the bow, Woody and Buzz on the stern and a Moana statue in the Grand Hall. More interesting for logistics: a smaller, previously unannounced class debuts in 2029, sized to reach ports the big ships can't. Departures from the Port of San Diego are doubling, and the Disney Wish heads to Europe in summer 2027.

Why So Many Projects Have No Opening Date

Disney committed in 2023 to roughly double capital spending on its experiences division to about $60 billion over 10 years, with roughly 70% going to new attractions and ships. That money moves in sequence, not all at once. Piston Peak and Villains Land were announced at D23 in 2024; Disney has since said the underlying infrastructure work should wrap by 2028, which is why outside observers put the actual rides at 2029 or later.

What to Watch If You're Booking a Disney Trip

2027 is the year worth circling. Confirmed for that window: Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom in late 2027, the first phase of Monstropolis at Hollywood Studios, the new Carousel of Progress in late spring, Remember Dreams Come True in February, and the Disney Believe's maiden voyage. Everything undated is a construction-wall visit for now. If a project you're excited about has no year attached, book around what's already dated and treat the rest as a reason to come back.