We made the prediction last week that Disney was going to unveil 23 new changes at Disney Parks in the next few years at the D23 Expo this weekend. We could not have imagined how right we were, and how many different things would be announced. While we threw out a number like “23 things that could be announced”, we honestly did not have a hope that so many things would be announced. But just how many different things were announced? We’ll run them all down, and link the full stories so that you can read all about it. Keep in mind that we are counting all changes, so a new ride opening counts in this list, and so does a ride closing to make room for that new ride. Got it? It should be clear soon enough.
- Great Movie Ride Closing-The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is closing on August 13th to make room for a new attraction.
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway-The Great Movie ride is being replaced by the first ever Mickey Mouse ride
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- Toy Story Land Opening Date-The new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios finally has an opening date! It’s going to be hitting in Summer of 2018.
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- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge– The new land is officially called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. New concept art and details were revealed about just how immersive it’s going to be.
- Star Wars Opening Dates- While not exact opening dates, it was announced that Star Wars would open first in Disneyland, and would open later in the year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
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- Star Wars Hotel- Disney is completely changing just how you vacation with an all new hotel that will be Star Wars from the ground up. It’s not a hotel, it’s a starship and you’re going to be living in a Star Wars movie for a few days.
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- Ellen’s Energy Encounter Closing–The very long, and very old Ellen’s Energy Encounter will be closing on August 13th at Epcot to make room for a new attraction
- Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot–The Guardians of the Galaxy are coming to Epcot in a brand new ride that will take over for Ellen, the first Marvel based ride in Florida
- New China film–A new Circlevision movie is coming to the China Pavilion at Epcot, and it will use the latest Circlevision technology
- Ratatouille in France–A new Ratatouille ride will come to the France Pavilion at Epcot. it will be similar to the one at Disneyland Paris
- Mission Space-A brand new mission is coming to the Green side of Mission Space, and will take guests around the world…like Soarin only a little higher. That will open in August
- Space Restaurant-A new restaurant is coming right next to Mission Space. It will have guests dining in space at this table service restaurant. Am I alone in hoping they do a Sci-Fi day and bring The Restaurant at the End of the Universe to life just once?
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- Tron Coaster–An all new coaster similar to the one in Shanghai Disneyland will be coming to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It’s going to be right next to Space Mountain, and will not need to close any attractions!
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- New show theater-A brand new theater is coming to Magic Kingdom, right on Main Street. The new theater will bring new shows like Frozen Live and more!
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- Disney Skyliners-A new gondola, cable car system will be built to connect several of the parks, including Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and several hotels. This will alleviate some of the crowding issues with buses from the resorts and parks.
- New Minnie Van service-A Brand new service will allow guests to use Minnie Mouse styled vans to go from place to place in the Walt Disney World Resort. The details are kind of light right now, but it looks like it’s going to be a pay based service like Uber or Lyft.
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- New Cruise Ship- A few months ago Disney announced two new cruise ships for it’s Disney Cruise Line. Now a third has been added to the mix to make it a grand total of seven Cruise ships in the Disney Fleet
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- Riviera Resort for Disney Vacation Club–A new 300 room resort is coming to Walt Disney World, and will be right on the Skyliner line.
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- New Halloween Events at California Adventure- Cars Land will be getting a “HaulOWeen” celebration, and more goodies are coming for Halloween Time at California Adventure.
- Pixar Pier–Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure is making a huge transformation to Pixar Pier. It’s going to be pretty much the same, only decorated to look like neighborhoods out of Pixar films. There’s also going to be more Pixar characters in the area than ever before. There’s even going to be a huge new Pixar Festival
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- New Fireworks, return of parades at Disneyland- An all new Pixar based fireworks show will be coming to Disneyland in 2018. The Pixar Play Parade will be returning. Next door at Disney’s California Adventure, Paint the Night will return!
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- Marvel Land at Disneyland–No plans were given, but a new Marvel Land at Disney’s California Adventure is happening and will include new attractions with Spiderman and the Avengers.
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- Marvel Hotel at Disneyland Paris– The Hotel New York will be getting a huge new makeover and will be bringing Marvel characters to life with this swanky, iconic upgrade.
Stay tuned for more from Disney, and be sure to get social with us on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter @BehindThrills for the latest updates!
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