D23 is always full of exciting announcements for all things Disney, and this year’s presentation shows the Parks division has a lot in store for Disneyland.
In January 2023, Disneyland Resort will kick off its Disney100 anniversary celebration with different celebrations that will appear for a limited time throughout the year. Among those celebrations, you will experience two new night-time spectaculars to end your nights at the California parks. “Wondrous Journeys” will be the spectacular appearing at Disneyland Park and you can witness “World of Colour – One” at Disney California Adventure. A popular parade also makes its return to Disneyland as “Magic Happens” makes its comeback this spring.
The world of Marvel continues to expand in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure. This time, Disneyland will expand into the multiverse with the addition of a third attraction, which will pit you and your favourite Marvel heroes against the villains of the multiverse, including the newly-designed King Thanos.
Visitors to Avengers Campus will also encounter a larger than life hero for a limited time starting next week. The Hulk, dressed in his Quantum Suit towers above the typical human-sized characters as he is the debut character of Disney’s Project EXO, a new technology using exoskeletons puppeteered by the person in the suit, allowing for Disney’s bigger characters to appear at full size.
Another big character appearance is coming to Disneyland, this time in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The Mandalorian, alongside an animatronic Grogu that appears in a bag at Mando’s side, will be found on the streets of Batuu starting mid-November. Boba Fett and Fennec Shand from The Book of Boba Fett can already be found walking the grounds.
A huge reimagining of Pacific Wharf in California Adventure is also underway. Imagineers are developing a whole new area where the Wharf will be converted into the setting for Big Hero 6, San Fransokyo, complete with new dining and shopping options in a setting where east meets west, technology meets tradition and fans will get to encounter Baymax.
Another major reimagining comes at the hotel level when Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel is set to become Pixar Place Hotel. The redesigned hotel will find you immersed in Pixar’s imaginative artistry combined into a contemporary environment. The hotel will also feature a Southern California favourite in the culinary world, Great Maple, who will be serving up American classics for all three meals of the day.
Other updates included an updated Downtown Disney District, where more than a dozen new locations will be introduced, the much anticipated announcement of the return of the runDisney races in 2024 and concept designs for upcoming attractions Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and a transformation of Mickey’s Toontown, both opening in Early 2023. Runaway Railway, a trackless attraction featured in Disney Hollywood Studios, will be adjusted to fit into the Toontown story and new features of Mickey’s Toontown, such as the El CapiTOON Theatre and its exhibit featuring “props” from some of the classic Disney Cartoons, including “Steamboat Willy.” New details on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a reimagining of Splash Mountain, have come to light.
Disney let us in on the story of Disneyland’s new attraction, where Tiana’s restaurant is open and riders need to travel to the Bayou to help her get a key ingredient to make her party during Carnival Season to become a huge success. The original cast all provide the voices for the ride and updated technologies should make for a whole new look and feel compared to the original Splash Mountain Aesthetic.
