Disney has just given families a first look at what’s coming to its parks and cruise ships over the next few years and there’s a lot to get excited about.
Over the weekend, Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum and TV host Neil Patrick Harris revealed a wave of new details covering Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Disney Cruise Line.
Here’s what you need to know before planning your next Disney holiday, from new rides and parades opening over the next couple of years to major refurbishments and brand-new ships that are still a little further down the line.
Cars Ridge Run Rally at Magic Kingdom
New Walt Disney World attractions for family holidays
Magic Kingdom’s long-awaited villains expansion now has an official name, Villains Land. It will include two headline attractions: a coaster that sends riders racing through Maleficent’s briar-covered fortress and a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror, taking guests into his Mirror Realm to meet an array of Disney villains.
Frontierland’s Cars-themed area, Piston Peak, gained two confirmed rides. Cars Ridge Run Rally is a racing attraction featuring a vehicle built to actually bump and jolt over the terrain, climbing to a snow-covered mountain peak and finishing with a geyser-field dash. Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along, inspired by Cars 3, sees the school-bus-sized animatronic host a demolition derby bash.
Over at Animal Kingdom, Tropical Americas is shaping up as one to watch for younger families. Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent will take riders beneath an ancient temple, with Harrison Ford himself serving as the model for the new animatronic Indy.
Nearby, Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto invites families into the world of Encanto with returning voice cast Stephanie Beatriz, Jessica Darrow and Diane Guerrero and a new carousel, El Carrusel de los Animalitos, features 22 hand-carved animals from Disney and Pixar films.
Expedition Everest’s yeti is returning to life after years dormant and Hollywood Studios’ Monstropolis will open in part next year with a new theatre show hosted by Mike and Sulley, plus a Randy Newman-composed theme song.
At EPCOT, Spaceship Earth is getting its first major update in almost 20 years and Dreamfinder and Figment are returning for a new journey into imagination. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress will also gain a new 1980s scene, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston voicing Mum and Dad.
– READ MORE: The best Disney parks and cruise experiences for families in 2026 –
Coco Attraction Coming to at Disney California Adventure Park
Disneyland Paris new rides and parade for families
Families heading to Disneyland Paris have plenty to look forward to. A brand-new daytime parade, the park’s first since 2017, arrives in 2028, led by Mickey Mouse and featuring characters from Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Coco.
Space Mountain is also getting a nostalgic refresh. Once Hyperspace Mountain closes at the end of 2027, it will reopen as Space Mountain, De la Terre à la Lune, returning to its original 1995 steampunk, moon-mission theme with a remastered score and new effects.
Over at Disney Adventure World, the first-ever Lion King attraction is under construction, with new concept art revealing a confrontation scene between Simba and Scar, brought to life by the first-ever Audio-Animatronics figure of the villain. The wider Lion King land will span more than 30,000 square metres once complete. In the meantime, Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings, inspired by Up, opens next year.
Disney Believe Stern
Disney Cruise Line new ships for family holidays at sea
At sea, the Disney Believe joins the fleet in late 2027 as the fourth Wish-class ship, with a Moana-themed Grand Hall, Woody and Buzz Lightyear at the stern and a hand-painted Tinker Bell design on the bow. Its onboard experiences will draw on Encanto, Frozen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Moana and The Little Mermaid.
Disney also confirmed a brand-new class of ship arriving from 2029, sized between its classic and newer vessels. Three ships are planned, though full details are yet to be revealed.
– READ MORE: Walt Disney World brings back free dining & drinks for 2027 –
Welcome to Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
What does this mean for your next Disney holiday?
None of these additions lands for a while yet, some as far out as 2028 and 2029 but they’re worth bookmarking if you’re planning ahead. Families with young children may want to prioritise Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto or the new carousel at Animal Kingdom, while older kids and Star Wars fans might want to ride Hyperspace Mountain before it closes for refurbishment at the end of 2027.
For those cruising, the Disney Believe’s 2027 launch and Disneyland Paris’s new parade in 2028 both make strong anchors for a future family trip.
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