What’s the New Disney Expansion Timeline?

Now that we know the first batch of attractions coming to Disney theme parks, the obvious question arises.

What’s the new Disney expansion timeline? That’s an open-ended question, and there’s zero chance that we answer it accurately today.

Still, we possess enough current information and knowledge of Disney history to piece together a (tattered) roadmap.

Here Are the Puzzle Pieces

Let’s begin with what we know about theme park announcements and recent Disney behavior.

Here are the confirmed attractions coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World:

• Avatar Land/Ride
• Avengers Infinity Defense
• Cars Thrill Ride
• Cars Family Ride
• Coco Ride
• Encanto Ride
• Encanto Carousel
• Indiana Jones Ride
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Monstropolis/Monsters Roller Coaster
• Stark Flight Lab
• Test Track 3.0
• Villains Land Attraction 1
• Villains Land Attraction 2
• Walt Disney – A Magical Life

When you evaluate the list like this, you realize just how much Disney just confirmed.

And I didn’t include shows, parades, or international attractions!

Also, I’ve left off Tiana’s Bayou Adventure because Disney revealed the date on that one. It’ll arrive on November 15^th, 2024.

So, there’s no mystery involved with that attraction. Our goal is to deduce what Disney has in mind for 2025 and (well) beyond.

We’ve got a few pieces of intel thanks to Disney, plus some knowledge of past behavior.

As expected, Disney has maintained CEO Bob Iger’s preferred approach to theme park development.

Rather than build an entire theme park, Disney will add new attractions and themed lands modularly.

Instead of a single moment like the upcoming opening of Universal’s Epic Universe, Disney will offer several each year.

This tactic provides Disney’s marketing team with the means to advertise some annual highlights.

Destination attractions and themed lands drive attendance. So, the strategy makes perfect sense.

Unlike me, Disney is disciplined enough not to open all its presents on Christmas Eve.

The other factor is that some projects will take longer.

For example, Pandora – The World of Avatar involved six years of work. Once Imagineers broke ground, it was “only” 40 months, though.

None of these will be a rush job.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. What’s the Timeline?

We know some other vital factors here, the first of which is that Disney is operating under some governmental contracts.

DisneylandForward and the recent Central Florida Tourism Oversight District agreement provide unintentional timelines.

Also, previous Disney earnings call statements provide additional insight, as it’d be an SEC violation for executives to lie.

So, we can take Disney at its word on certain aspects, like the desire to “turbocharge” the parks on the back end.

Disney promised explosive growth over a decade yet cautioned that most of it would occur during the last five years.

Even if we count 2024, which I am for the purposes of this discussion, the soonest we would count to that future date is 2029.

Realistically, Disney probably meant 2030-2033, although fan demand and recent financial strengths may have accelerated the timeline.

Some Disney executives have indicated that expansion will occur in waves, which also fits with the roadmap in place.

The attractions we’re discussing are merely the first batch. By the time this is over, you’ll hardly recognize Disneyland and Disney World.

This isn’t the first time for such dramatic change, either. Please remember that New Fantasyland and Radiator Springs are just 12 years old.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Pandora – The World of Avatar are even newer, and Test Track 2.0 has already come and gone!

Thus, I’m choosing to believe that virtually everything here will open during the first half of the new Disney Decade.

Ergo, I (currently) believe all these attractions will open by 2028 except for possibly Villains Land.

The Road Map for 2025

Disney has projected flat theme park growth for the next few quarters, and part of the reason why is the lack of expansion.

Next year, Disneyland Resort will celebrate its 70^th anniversary, which will help some, but it’ll be modest compared to last year.

After all, Disneyland Resort functioned as the spiritual center of Disney’s centennial celebration in 2023. Nothing could compare to that.

At Walt Disney World, we know for certain that Test Track 3.0 will open in 2025, at least as much as we can be sure about these things.

After 2020, I assume nothing is an absolute lock when it comes to construction.

Still, some new attractions won’t require much by way of construction.

For instance, we know something that’s coming to Disneyland Park in 2025.

Walt Disney – A Magical Life will debut then, and it shouldn’t be a challenging integration with the current show.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln remains shockingly basic in nature because it was an idea that coalesced in the early 1960s.

Really, all Disney needs to do here is perfect the Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic, which I suspect Imagineers have already nearly done.

Disney wouldn’t announce this unless everyone had total confidence that it’ll be flawless on opening day.

Otherwise, fans would complain about the heresy of it…and rightfully so.

The other 2025 possibility – but not certainty – is the update to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

Disney will create an entirely new story that will run under the Unreal Engine that drives many video games.

Smugglers Run already employs that tech, which partially explains why Disney loves its new partnership with Epic Games.

Still, creating a new Star Wars theme park ride story with The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda isn’t something Disney should rush.

So, this one could take until 2026.

The Road Map for 2026

Everything I’m saying today should come with an asterisk.

Nothing is set in stone, as Disney is still internally debating many aspects of the various expansion projects.

Right now, I’m not 100 percent confident that anything significant will open in 2026. In fact, I think it’s unlikely at Walt Disney World.

At Disney California Adventure, two attractions strike me as possibilities, but neither one is likely, in my opinion.

Disney pointedly stated that construction on the Coco boat ride will begin in 2026.

Thus, I’m dubious that it’ll open to the public until 2027. However, Disney might rush this one a bit.

Presuming that the building of choice is currently unoccupied, a conversion should only take 12-24 months.

That brings us to an essential point about everything under discussion here. There’s a world of difference between re-theming an existing space and starting from scratch on an entirely new building.

Similarly, an already-developed piece of land is night and day easier to add something than plain dirt.

If you’ve ever built a house (or business), you understand the distinction.

If Coco goes in a current building, it’ll require new interior design and possibly some re-routed wiring and air-conditioning.

Conversely, a new spot would require power lines, outdoor construction crews, and oh so much more.

That’s why, as much as people rightfully despise the idea, Disney re-theming Muppets Courtyard into Monstropolis makes sense.

Such a transformation would happen more quickly than if Disney tears down part of Animation Courtyard or starts from scratch elsewhere.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, Disney IS spending $42 billion on expansion…but the company still wants to stretch every dollar.

Thus, I don’t believe Coco or Monstropolis will open in 2026, but I also don’t rule it out.   

The Road Map for 2027

Here’s where Disney will start reaping the rewards of its 2024 D23 announcements.

At Disney California Adventure, a three-year timeline strikes me as plausible for the Avatar themed land.

As I said a couple of days ago, the time from breaking ground on Pandora – The World of Avatar to its completion was 40 months.

The prevailing belief is that the Anaheim version will be more modest in nature due to the spatial limitations.

I fully believe Disney could do this in less than three years if everything goes right.

However, I’m making one vital assumption here: Disney doesn’t need to start from scratch with new land.

If Disney must redesign foot traffic or the like, that could add a LOT of time to the process.

I believe 2027 will be a big year at DCA, as I also think that’s when the Avengers Campus expansion will debut.

I could have included Stark Flight Lab in 2026 if there was already a building for it.

Theoretically, that ride shouldn’t require much effort since the images show a localized environment.

The delay comes from Disney having to reclaim the needed space for the expansion.

Still, I believe that a three-year timeline should prove ample for the enhanced Avengers Campus with double the attractions.

We also know one for sure, as Disney will begin working in earnest on the Tropical Americas in a few months.

Park officials flatly stated that the project would open in 2027.

So, we’ll take Disney at its word here. They’ve never run late, right?

The Road Map for 2028 and Beyond

I’ve gone back and forth on where to slot Monstropolis, but I’m leaning toward Disney doing the smart thing here.

During the parks panel, Josh D’Amaro made a business decision on the fly. He chose not to reveal the closure of Rivers of America.

Instead, Disney waited until Monday morning to drop the bombshell/confirm the obvious.

Similarly, a recent report suggests that Muppets Courtyard was dead.

In that unfortunate scenario, Monstropolis probably could have opened in 2027, possibly even 2026.

Instead, I believe Disney is targeting one of the two other likeliest locations at the park. Each of those would require a LOT more work.

That’s precisely why Disney had settled on Muppets Courtyard until somebody heroic there thankfully thought it through.

Instead, I think we’re looking at 2028 for this themed land, and that might also be the best-case scenario for the Magic Kingdom stuff.

Before starting on Villains Land, Disney must build out the area that lies beyond Big Thunder Mountain. It’ll take a while.

Then, park officials must meticulously construct a themed land that will dazzle even the most critical Disney “fans.”

Similarly, the new Cars area at Frontierland requires Disney to fill in a river and pave over it. That’s…a process.

Then, there’s the ordeal of creating an East Coast version of Cars that is at least on par with Radiator Springs. It’s a big ask.

So, I suspect we’ll be looking at construction walls throughout Magic Kingdom for the next five years.

Anyway, that’s my current roadmap for Disney theme park expansion. Obviously, this is something to track for the next half-decade.

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