What's Coming to Disney World and Disneyland? New Rides, Lands and Attractions in 2026
SOURCE:CNET|BY:Corinne Reichert
How close are we to new Avengers rides, Avatar theming and Cars and Monsters lands? Here's what to expect and when for Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Disneyland had a huge 2025 with its 70th anniversary, and 2026 will see the original Disney theme park continue to celebrate the milestone -- all this while building three new rides at California Adventure and a whole new Disneyland entrance and Avatar area.
Meanwhile, at Walt Disney World in Florida, four entirely new lands are being built right now, themed around villains, Pixar characters and more.
Disney isn't slowing down its expansion plans, with four more cruise liners also on the way.
Here's everything you need to know about Disneyland, Disney World and Disney Cruise Line and about what's coming in 2026 and beyond.
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A Bluey show at Disneyland
Concept art of the Bluey show coming to Disneyland in 2026.
Disney is describing the show as immersive, with the theater to be transformed into Bluey's school classroom and grounds, including a gnome village and fairy garden. Bluey and her sister, Bingo, will appear live on stage several times each day, along with actors and musicians, to "bring to life the popular music and games emblematic of beloved Bluey episodes." Those games will include Keepy Uppy and the Grannies, as well as appearances by Chattermax and Unicorse.
The Australian cartoon about a family of dogs is a worldwide hit, and Disney will release a Bluey movie in 2027. (In the meantime, you can watch Bluey episodes and minisodes on Disney Plus.) Disneyland will also be serving up Bluey-themed foods at Troubadour Tavern.
At both Disney's California Adventure and Disney World's Epcot, the Soarin' Around the World attraction is getting a US-themed makeover. Soarin' Across America will arrive on July 2, 2026, and will feature scenes, sounds and scents from more than a dozen cityscapes and scenic areas.
Disney released a trailer starring Patrick Warburton, the original Soarin' narrator and pilot, where he says we'll soon "sail across spacious skies" where we may see "amber waves of grain" and "purple mountain majesties." It's part of Disney's celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
Disneyland's 70th anniversary continues
Disneyland is continuing to celebrate its 70th anniversary this year, following its kick-off in May 2025. You'll have plenty of time to get there as its last day is Aug. 9, 2026 -- after which it'll transition back to Halloween on Aug. 21 and then the Holidays on Nov. 18 before fully returning to its natural state in early 2027.
While many of the 70th anniversary shows were paused for Halloween and the Holidays in 2025, they'll be making a comeback soon: The Paint the Night parade will be back on Jan. 30, the Celebrate Happy Cavalcade returns on Jan. 9 and the Wondrous Journeys fireworks and projection show on the castle are coming back on Jan. 8. Mickey and friends will also be back in their 70th celebration outfits on Jan. 8.
You can catch 70th anniversary-themed merchandise, food and drink items as well as a projection show at Carthay Circle and a 50-foot sculpture of Sleeping Beauty Castle on the esplanade between Disneyland and California Adventure; you can also find decorations sprinkled throughout Downtown Disney, Main Street USA, Disney's hotels and even inside the Toy Story Midway Mania ride.
Check out the 70th anniversary decorations throughout the Toy Story Midway Mania ride.
Artist Concept/Disneyland Resort
Discounted Disneyland tickets and a new Magic Key
California residents can currently get a three-day Park Hopper ticket for $249, a 50% discount. You can visit between Jan. 1 and May 21, 2026, using this ticket.
A new Kids' Summer Ticket is also being added, with a one-day Park Hopper ticket on sale for $50 per child, ages 3 through 9. You can purchase it from Jan. 21, 2026, and it can be used between May 22 and Sept. 7.
Disneyland is also adding (and removing) a Magic Key option: The Explore Key will replace the current Enchant Key. All California residents will be able to purchase it -- not only Southern California residents. It will allow access on weekdays in June and July, which are currently blocked out for Enchant Key holders.
The Explore Key goes on sale Jan. 13, 2026, at 9 a.m. PT. It costs $999, with a $99 down payment and 0% APR on repayments for 12 months. Disney said its "full value" can be unlocked in just four visits to the parks, thanks to Park Hopper admission, 25% off parking and Lightning Lane Multi Passes and 10% off merchandise and dining.
One year closer to Villains Land
While it won't be ready in time for 2026, construction is well underway for Disney's first villains-themed area. Villains Land, which will celebrate all the classic baddies from Disney films, is coming to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida.
Imagineers have been drawing inspiration from architectural structures in Paris and Barcelona -- like Gaudí's buildings in the latter city -- to design Villains Land, Disney revealed during Destination D23 in August 2025.
Concept art for the new Villains Land.
Disney
"Paris is a city full of classic Art Nouveau ... natural motifs and swirling designs there make nature appear to be 'cursed,' like magic has frozen it into place," Disney said on its Parks Blog. "Barcelona's art style is Modernisme, which has less natural patterns but gives the architecture an otherworldly, unnerving appearance."
Villains Land, first teased during D23 2022, will be positioned on the other side of Big Thunder Mountain at the top left edge of the current Magic Kingdom map and will stretch around to where the Haunted Mansion is.
Two major attractions are planned, along with dining and shopping. Still no word yet on when it'll open.
Tropical Americas Land construction: Dinosaur ride prepares to close
Concept art of Tropical Americas.
Disney
Animal Kingdom's DinoLand USA area is continuing to shut down in phases as Disney slowly builds out the new Tropical Americas Land. While construction began in the fall of 2024 and TriceraTop Spin and the midway area closed down almost a year ago on Jan. 13, 2025, the Dinosaur ride remains open until Feb. 1, 2026. Then it'll be transformed into a new Indiana Jones ride through a Maya temple (a relatively easy overlay, since Disneyland's Indiana Jones reportedly follows almost exactly the same ride track as Disney World's Dinosaur).
The Pueblo Esperanza area will be themed like a South American village, with an Encanto-themed attraction, where you get to explore Antonio's rainforest room inside the Casita, as well as a huge quick-service dining location, a fountain and a carousel.
Tropical Americas is planned to open in 2027.
Take a peek at Piston Peak
Piston Peak National Park: the setting for the new Cars-themed land at Magic Kingdom.
Disney Parks
The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Disney World's Magic Kingdom have been closed down and removed from the online map completely as Disney works to construct a new land themed after Pixar's Cars movies. Cars Land, which was added to Disney's California Adventure back in 2012, remains extremely popular in the west, so it was only a matter of time before it was added to the eastern outpost.
In an expansion of Frontierland -- which also includes Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- Route 66 will include a look inspired by the Rocky Mountain area and the "American Frontier and its national parks."
The Disney Parks Blog described the new area as "an awe-inspiring wilderness filled with towering trees, snowcapped mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, roaring rivers and impressive geysers." Disney Imagineers are "using a style of architecture called 'Parkitecture,' which was developed by the National Park Service to create structures that harmonize with the natural environment."
Concept art of the Cars rally race attraction coming to Disney World.
Disney
There will be two attractions, one of which is a rally race. Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and Imagineer Michael Hundgen spoke about the new ride vehicle for this, and you can see a TikTok of Imagineers testing out off-road vehicles in the Arizona desert to create what the ride will feel like. Each rally car will have its own personality, name and racing number, Docter said.
"These are all things Lightning McQueen and Mater haven't experienced before, like racing over rocky terrain, ascending to mountain peaks and dodging around geysers -- how do you take these real-world elements and put a Cars spin on it?" Disney Parks said in a previous blog post.
While construction has begun and Disney has even released a map showing what the land may look like (geysers shooting water, a running river, an off-road rally track, mountains, a visitor's lodge, a Ranger HQ and walking trails), we don't expect Piston Peak to open until at least 2027 or 2028.
Disneyland's yearslong expansion begins as Avatar 2 area is built
Concept art showing an aerial shot of the Avatar-themed area coming to Disneyland Resort.
Disney
Disneyland will finally kick off its expansion soon after unveiling plans almost five years ago. It's expected to take a couple of years to complete and will push the current boundaries of the parks past Downtown Disney and into the nearby parking lots. It'll also transform "a portion of the current Hollywood Backlot area," which will result in the Monsters Inc. attraction closing permanently in early 2026.
The biggest part of the expansion will be adding an Avatar-themed land, based on the second film, The Way of Water, as well as Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will include a dark boat ride much like Pirates of the Caribbean, "taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora."
It follows the success of the world of Pandora, based on the original Avatar film, in Disney World's Animal Kingdom. Disney has no dates or details yet on when it'll be complete.
Coming sooner than the Avatar land, however, is a new esplanade entry "experience" to replace the current walkway entry at the east side of Disneyland as well as a new parking structure and pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard. Construction on this begins in the fall.
Concept art of the new pedestrian bridge that will cross Harbor Boulevard.
Disney
Coco ride construction begins
It won't be launching this year, but construction is beginning backstage at California Adventure to build a new dark ride. It'll be themed for the beloved Pixar movie Coco and populated by audio-animatronics.
The Coco ride will be located in the area near Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens, in what is primarily backstage areas for cast members currently. It'll have characters and music from the movies as you travel through the land of the dead with Miguel.
Concept art for the new Coco ride.
Disney/Pixar
Monsters Inc. Land building continues; Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets coming soon
While the Monsters, Inc. ride is being removed from California Adventure, its animatronics and props will hopefully be repurposed in Disney World as an entire land themed around the Pixar movies is being built at Hollywood Studios.
"The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley," Disney Experiences Chair Josh D'Amaro said at D23 in 2024. "Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and hoist them up into the air to take them away? We're doing that too. And you're going along for the ride."
Concept art of the Monsters, Inc. suspender coaster.
Disney/Pixar
A TikTok shows the design concept for the Monsters Inc. ride.
MuppetVision 3D closed permanently on June 8, 2025, but we don't expect Monstropolis to be complete for another year or two.
"Thanks to new management under legendary Muppets tycoon and owner of The Muppet Theatre, J. P. Grosse, groovy vibes will take over the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Courtyard including a new psychedelic wrap on the giant guitar marquee," Disney said in August 2025.
Avengers rides in California Adventure
Avengers Campus already has two rides: Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Soon, this will double as Disney builds two more Marvel attractions at California Adventure.
Avengers Infinity Defense will see you assemble alongside the Avengers, battling King Thanos -- set in a multiverse -- featuring appearances by Black Panther, Ant-Man and Hulk.
Concept art of the Avengers Infinity Defense attraction coming to California Adventure.
Disney
Stark Flight Lab, the second ride, will see you help test Tony Stark's latest tech.
"In Stark Flight Lab, guests will sit in 'gyro-kinetic pods' and roll along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot arm," Disney said. "This robot arm will hoist you into the air where you'll make several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and some other Avengers."
Construction began in 2025, but no launch dates have been revealed yet.
More Disney Cruise Line ships
Disney has been all in on launching cruise ships over the last few years, including the Disney Wish in 2022, the Disney Treasure in 2024 and the Disney Destiny in 2025.
The Disney Adventure is next up in 2026, part of the next four ships embarking soon. The other ship names and destinations have yet to be revealed, but they'll set sail between 2027 and 2031.
Everything else
Here's what else is new and coming soon to the theme parks:
Animal Kingdom replaced the long-running show It's Tough to Be a Bug inside the Tree of Life with a Zootopia-themed show. Zootopia: Better Zoogether features Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and new character Heidi Howler and will take you through several different areas of the city as they celebrate a holiday. It recently opened in November, so you can experience it throughout 2026.
Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom will be repainted in its original theme colors: gray, cream, blue and gold. Painting reportedly begins in January 2026, with the moat to be drained.
Disneyland and Hollywood Studios are adding Mandalorian and Grogu missions to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ride in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, tying in with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in cinemas. The new missions will debut on May 22, 2026.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which closed at the Magic Kingdom in August, will get new ride vehicles with video monitors and two handheld blasters with always-on lasers that come in two different colors (so you can see which laser is yours). It's also getting a new scene at the start, starring Buddy the friendly robot, and static Z targets will now light up when you hit them. The ride reopens in spring 2026.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen in spring 2026 at Magic Kingdom after a long refurbishment. It will include "a journey through the spectacular natural phenomena of the Rainbow Caverns."