Suffice to say, there were a lot of announcements made at D23’s Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase. But were they all hits? I thought it would be fun to put all of the announcements into a tiered list, and share a little bit about what I’m excited for and what’s not quite as exciting.
S Tier
Everything in the S Tier has me excited – with a few caveats. Both Monsters Inc. and The Lion King have deserved these types of attractions for years, and The Lion King will bring a much needed water ride to Disneyland Paris. The surprise of a fourth Avengers Campus attraction finally making use of KUKA Arm technology for a full-blown attraction at a Disney park was much appreciated! Encanto and Villains Land are both promising additions making use of underutilized space in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.
A Tier
Most of the things in A Tier I am excited for, such as the Magic Kingdom finally getting a nighttime parade again and a-sure-to-be impressive Avatar boat ride for Disney California Adventure. The Cars attractions coming to Magic Kingdom are also likely to be really great, but they will have to really stick the landing with the news that it will replace Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America – drastically changing the landscape of the Magic Kingdom forever. Similarly, DINOSAUR is a personal favorite of mine, and while I’m sure Indiana Jones will be a solid replacement, I will miss DINOSAUR. While we don’t have too many details yet, the Spider-Man coaster coming to Shanghai Disneyland looks like it’ll be a hit! Lastly, a sleeper hit for me is the new lounge coming to Spaceship Earth in the former sponsor lounge. This will definitely be a place I’ll be hanging around a lot!
B Tier
Cruise Line, Cruise Line, Cruise Line! It’s surely exciting to see the expansion of the fleet, but there’s just so much coming, it’s hard to be excited for anything other than the imminent Disney Treasure at the moment. Hong Kong Disneyland is also getting a Spider-Man attraction, which could end up being a Tower of Terror type attraction, although, again, details are scarce. I place World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris this low as it’s going to take way longer than expected to open – not opening until 2026 – and unlike Hong Kong’s version, this will only have one attraction.
C Tier
These are all exciting announcements for sure – except for the Hercules musical coming to the Disney Destiny, honestly not too big a fan of that animated film. Some are surprisingly far off, like the previously announced Zootopia show replacing It’s Tough To Be a Bug, or The Mandalorian & Grogu additions to Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. I also would have liked to have gotten a bit more of a look at the new Test Track, seeing as it’s the only big thing opening at Walt Disney World next year.
D Tier
Lastly, for some reason, they spent a good 20 minutes of the presentation flaunting some Fortnite news barely related to the parks. I have not played Fortnite myself, so my excitement for this is appropriately low.
How do you rank all the Disney Parks announcements from D23? For more information on all the news, check out our round-up of all the announcements.