What Disney Has Planned for Its Expansion Decade

During the 1990s, Disney’s then-CEO, Michael Eisner, happily coined a phrase.

The executive defined his company’s extreme growth phase as the Disney Decade.

Fast forward more than 30 years, and Eisner’s successor, Bob Iger, is doing something similar.

While Iger won’t be around to oversee much of it, he has planned another Disney Decade.

This era will witness the introduction of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of new Disney creations.

Everyone’s excited about it, and Disney is going all out to make its theme parks even better than ever.

Here’s what Disney has planned for its expansion decade.

The Magic of Disney Animation/The Walt Disney Studios

I wrote a companion piece that explains Disney’s modular approach to theme park expansion.

During Iger’s tenure, Disney has introduced three or four new attractions and experiences each year.

The company does this to offer annual guests something new to try each year.

Anyone who stays away from Walt Disney World for five years returns to an entirely reinvented park.

That statement will prove particularly true over the next few years.

In 2026 alone, Disney is reinventing the following attractions:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Frozen Ever After
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets
• Soarin’ Across America

That’s six popular rides, all of which will look much different by the end of this summer.

The Soarin’ ride overlay is probably a limited-time experience, but the other changes are permanent.

Some of them, such as Frozen Ever After, are minor, while others like Rock ‘n’ Roller are dramatic.

Then, we have the odd case of the former Animation Courtyard, which Disney is reimagining.

This area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will become The Walt Disney Studios.

Given the name, you can expect more of a Disney entertainment focus.

That statement applies to The Magic of Disney Animation, which will return in 2026.

I say return because this area previously had a building called The Magic of Disney Animation.

Beyond the name, the new version will share no similarities with the original, though.

This is Disney building a series of play areas and character sports for kids at the former Star Wars Launch Bay.

As with the ride enhancements, Disney is spending resources to make quality-of-life improvements here.

The Tropical Americas

I mention this because it’s an understated but vital part of the Disney Expansion era.

While Disney is taking big swings in some spots, it’s also remembering to make modest improvements as well.

You’ll discover one of those big swings at the Tropical Americas, which should arrive in 2027.

Imagineers are currently reclaiming the space from DinoLand USA and using it better.

The Tropical Americas will introduce a new Encanto-themed village named Pueblo Esperanza.

When you visit here, you can enter Casa Madrigal by way of a dark ride.

You can imagine how popular that experience will be with kids!

Disney hasn’t forgotten the adults, though, as it’s adding an Indiana Jones thrill ride here.

That’s the conceit of the Tropical Americas. You’re exploring a different part of the world.

Imagineers have described it as the northern part of South America, and the attractions will reflect that.

So, you can expect Indy to embark on a quest in this area, one different from Indiana Jones Adventure.

That’s something else to emphasize about the Disney Expansion era. Intellectual property will underscore virtually all of these new experiences.

Monstropolis

To wit, Disney is re-theming Muppets Courtyard into Monstropolis, which is exactly what you think it is.

Disney will transform and expand this space into a Monsters, Inc. themed land.

The central selling point of this location will be the lift roller coaster inspired by the Door Chase scene from the movie.

Here’s that scene:

And here’s the vertical lift apparatus for the upcoming roller coaster:

Fans are understandably excited about a new coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but that’s not all!

Disney is also spending more than $22 million to reinvent Muppet*Vision 3D’s theater into..The Glob!

This is the part of theme park expansion that isn’t being considered enough.

When Disney reinvents a themed  land, EVERYTHING looks different to enhance the new story.

At Monstropolis, that means adding The Glob.

Disney Lakeshore Lodge

I’m mentioning Disney Lakeshore Lodge as part of Disney’s expansion for three reasons. The first is that this project was one Disney announced before the pandemic.

Then, the sudden loss in capital expenditures forced a closure. So, I admire that Disney has brought it back.

Also, I mentioned in the other section the various hotel projects that Disney had built.

So, I need to acknowledge that we’re getting a new Magic Kingdom area hotel in 2027.

Finally, Lakeshore Lodge matters because it represents another type of expansion Disney needs.

The parks are adding more experiences so that Disney can boost attendance.

Those guests need to sleep somewhere, and Disney World hotels already operate around 90 percent occupancy.

Thus, I sincerely doubt Lakeshore Lodge is the only new Disney World resort we get during the Expansion Decade.

This hotel will be the first of the next generation of Disney World resorts, though.

Somehow, Disney’s Riviera Resort already feels like it’s from a prior generation since it was pre-pandemic.

Don’t get me wrong. I adore it and was just engaging in a text chain lovefest about it five minutes ago.

Still, the 2010s were a different time for Disney.

Piston Peak at Frontierland

Disney recently did the unthinkable by draining the waters at the Rivers of America.

Yes, those are now the Dry Lands of America at Magic Kingdom, an intentional real estate move.

Park officials correctly determined that Disney could make better use of that land.

The first attempt to expand this area will be Piston Peak at Frontierland.

That’s right, folks! Frontierland isn’t dead at Magic Kingdom; it’s not even dying!

Disney has chosen to reinvigorate the land by adding a Cars area including two new rides.

One of them, a thrill ride, will provide guests with an off-road adventure across Piston Peak.

The other will work as more of a family friend that displays the wondrous scenery of this new area.

The Cars attractions at Disney California Adventure, while modest in nature, perform very well.

Well, I’m not counting Radiator Springs Racers in that, as it’s obviously the current alpha.

Magic Kingdom’s Cars thrill ride won’t duplicate it but rather provide an entirely new experience.

So, everyone should be excited about the introduction of Cars at Frontierland.

Villains Land

Finally, we have the expansion project that we know the least about.

Disney has spent the past year moving dirt so that it can build an entirely new themed land.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will actually look a bit different when it reopens. Disney removed its track and rebuilt it just for this purpose.

In case you’ve forgotten, Villains Land is the proverbial What Lies Beyond Big Thunder… project.

Now, it’s finally happening, albeit slowly. Imagineers have indicated that they’re the most excited about this project.

However, we’ll be lucky to get it during the 2020s, and we don’t even know the confirmed rides yet.

Rumors suggest we’re getting two Villains-based attractions, one of which is a thrill ride.

Since the project remains so far away, Disney hasn’t revealed the specifics yet, though.

Still, the mere fact that Imagineers are this enthusiastic is reason enough for you and me to feel the same way.

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(Photo by Mariah Wild/Disney Parks via Getty Images)