From Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to the Disney Treasure, there are plenty of projects in the works for Disney Experiences. 2024 will bring new attractions and offerings — including some that were supposed to open in 2023. Assuming we don’t see significant delays, here is everything new (as well as some significant returning things and closures) scheduled to come to Disney Parks in 2024.
Walt Disney World
Park Hopping & Park Passes
Major changes to Park Hopping and Park Passes are coming to Walt Disney World in January. On January 9, all-day Park Hopping will return. Any guests with a ticket that has the Park Hopper option will be able to visit any parks without waiting until 2:00 p.m. — as long as they have first visited the park for which they have a Park Pass.
That is if they even need a Park Pass because Park Pass requirements are also changing. Guests with date-based tickets will no longer need to make Park Passes. Annual Passholders and Cast Members will still need to make Park Passes sometimes, but there will also be “good-to-go” dates when they don’t need a Park Pass. Passholders and Cast Members will be able to view “good-to-go” days on their calendars beginning on January 11.
Walt Disney World updated their virtual queue guidelines to reflect these changes, stating, “Guests will be able to join one attraction virtual queue at any theme park where they have valid admission. Guests may hold one attraction virtual queue at a time.” Currently, TRON Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind use virtual queues.
Dining Plan
The Disney Dining Plan will return to Walt Disney World on January 9, 2024, after being suspended in 2020. There are two plans: Disney Dining Plan and Quick Service Dining Plan. Read more details and the full list of participating restaurants.
Disney Genie+ Service
Disney announced in May 2023 that they are planning an update that would allow guests to make Disney Genie+ and individual Lightning Lane selections before the day of their park visit. They stated they “are working on ways guests may do this for visits in 2024” so that guests can “spend less time planning in the park and more time enjoying your visit with friends and family.” More details have not been shared yet.
Magic Kingdom
The new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction will open at both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland in late 2024. The Magic Kingdom version may open first as construction began in Florida before California, but a more specific opening timeline has not been announced yet.
The ride is set a year after the events of “The Princess and the Frog.” Tiana founded the employee-owned food co-op Tiana’s Foods, based out of an old salt dome where employees grow crops. During the ride, Tiana and Louis venture into the bayou to find a key ingredient for their Mardi Gras celebration. Prince Naveen and Mama Odie will both appear.
Check out our most recent Tiana’s Bayou Adventure construction update from Magic Kingdom.
Disney announced at Destination D23 in September 2023 that the Country Bear Musical Jamboree would replace the current version of the Country Bear Jamboree at Magic Kingdom in 2024. The “Country Bear Musical Jamboree” will be inspired by musical revues of Nashville and will see the bears reimagine classic Disney songs into country music. The same old characters will appear in the new version of the attraction, although Liver Lips McGrowl will be updated due to the offensive nature of his name.
A new Pirates of the Caribbean tavern featuring the return of Peg-Leg Pete, a.k.a. the Barker Bird, is in the works for Magic Kingdom. The parrot character used to greet guests at the entrance of Pirates of the Caribbean in Magic Kingdom but was removed in 2006. No opening year was announced for the new tavern, but it could come in 2024.
Walt Disney Imagineering has teased a Magic Kingdom expansion for “beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” multiple times. We likely won’t see significant progress on this expansion in 2024 although Disney may make more announcements and could begin construction.
EPCOT
CommuniCore Hall and Plaza will finally open in 2024 as the final element of the years-long EPCOT reimagining. The rest of World Celebration opened in December 2023 but CommuniCore was delayed. The hall will house a permanent Mickey & Friends meet and greet space, gallery, mixology bar, and demo kitchen. Check our most recent CommuniCore Hall construction update.
Disney plans to reimagine Test Track with inspiration from World of Motion, the ride Test Track replaced. Disney did not announce further details or provide a timeframe for this reimagining but it’s possible the current iteration of Test Track could close in 2024.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
At Destination D23, Disney made several announcements regarding Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While they did not announce when these changes would take place, we could see closures in 2024 if construction begins.
A “Zootopia” 3-D show is in the works for the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to replace “It’s Tough to be a Bug.”
A Tropical Americas land featuring “Encanto” and Indiana Jones is set to replace DinoLand U.S.A. with DINOSAUR being rethemed to Indiana Jones.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
In 2024, Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris will add new destinations including some we’ve never seen before. Ahsoka Tano will be added to the ride in the spring.
Disney finally announced a replacement for “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The show closed with the rest of the park in March 2020 and never reopened. The new show is “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.” It will be inspired by the animated film and feature the songs “Kiss the Girl,” “Part of Your World,” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” will open in the “newly refreshed” Animation Courtyard theater in the fall of 2024.
Walt Disney World Resort Hotels
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Villas are undergoing a refurbishment that has been delayed but will hopefully be wrapped up in 2024. Work at the BoardWalk also includes the construction of the new Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers. The Cake Bake Shop was originally scheduled to open in 2023 but was delayed to 2024.
It’s the same story with Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs, which announced their first Walt Disney World location would open at Disney’s BoardWalk in 2023. The opening was later pushed to 2024. It will take over the BoardWalk To Go kiosk.
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is also undergoing a refurbishment culminating in a remodel of the resort lobby in 2024. Disney originally announced the update would be for the resort’s 35th anniversary, but this passed in July. Disney stated the lobby will “maintain the classic theming you know and love with some fresh new enhancements.”
A new Disney Vacation Club tower is under construction at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The tower is projected to open in 2024. We got our first look at room layouts this past September.
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort are being remodeled to become 350 DVC cabins. They will open in the summer of 2024. Check out concept art.
Disneyland Resort
Pixar Fest returns to Disneyland Resort from April 26 through August 4, 2024. The festival will include the new daytime parade “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!” at Disney California Adventure. “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” will return to Disneyland Park with new scenes.
In early January, Disneyland Resort will host the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, their first runDisney event since 2017. Registration sold out within 90 minutes of opening. A new Halloween Half Marathon Weekend will take place from September 5 through 8, 2024. Registration for Club runDisney members opens on February 6, and general registration will open on February 13.
Disneyland
Among returning Disneyland After Dark events will be the first-ever Disney Channel Nite, taking place on March 5 and 7, 2024.
The new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction will open at both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland in late 2024. The ride is set a year after the events of “The Princess and the Frog.” Tiana founded the employee-owned food co-op Tiana’s Foods, based out of an old salt dome where employees grow crops. During the ride, Tiana and Louis venture into the bayou to find a key ingredient for their Mardi Gras celebration. Prince Naveen and Mama Odie will both appear. Check out our most recent construction update.
In 2024, Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris will add new destinations including some we’ve never seen before. Ahsoka Tano will be added to the ride in the spring.
The Haunted Mansion will be closed for a long-term refurbishment beginning on January 22, 2024. The refurbishment project will include an expansion to the Haunted Mansion grounds with an expanded outdoor queue, new gardens, a fountain, a gazebo, a greenhouse, and a new retail shop themed to a carriage house. Rumors indicate the regular version of the attraction will not return until early 2025 but the new grounds could potentially open in the fall of 2024 with the Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Disney California Adventure
Though unlikely to open in 2024, Imagineering is planning a multiverse attraction featuring King Thanos for Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure. Concept art released in September 2023 shows the ride’s world-jumping vehicle.
Disneyland Paris
Disney Village & Hotels
Disney Village is in the midst of a reimagining and some more of the district’s new shopping concepts could open in 2024.
The Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Paris will reopen on January 25, 2024. The hotel’s reimagining has been described as a “royal transformation,” with inspiration coming from Disney Princesses. The hotel’s restaurants will debut new menus.
Disney Sequoia Lodge will be refurbished next and could potentially close in 2024, although an exact timeframe was not announced.
Disneyland Park
The Main Street Electrical Parade-inspired Disney Electrical Sky Parade drone show will premiere at Disneyland Park on January 8. The show is part of Disney Symphony of Colors, a celebration that will also include new character costumes, decorations, and the daytime parade/show A Million Splashes of Color, which will premiere on February 10.
In 2024, Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris will add new destinations including some we’ve never seen before. Ahsoka Tano will be added to the ride in the spring.
New “Frozen” and “Winnie the Pooh” scenes will be added to Le Pays des Contes de Fées, the Parisian version of the Storybook Land Canal Boats, in honor of the attraction’s 30th anniversary. It seems “Frozen” will replace the “Peter and the Wolf” scene and “Winnie the Pooh” will replace the “Hansel and Gretel” scene.
Queue and seating enhancements are planned for Casey’s Corner and Peter Pan’s Flight.
Walt Disney Studios Park
Exterior construction began a few months ago on Studio 1 and the Theater District in Walt Disney Studios Park as part of a major overhaul of the park. Exterior work will be completed in April 2024. Studio 1 will then close for interior construction and reopen in April 2025. Work on the entire Theater District will be completed around the same time, coinciding with the park’s major expansion including the Kingdom of Arrendale.
An “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired BMX show will open at Walt Disney Studios Park in the spring of 2024. The “modern and flamboyant” show will bring together various types of performers. Guests will have “the unique opportunity to influence the outcome” of the show. It is replacing the Moteurs… Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular, which permanently closed in 2020.
Queue enhancements are also planned for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland’s current version of Space Mountain will close permanently on July 31, 2024, at the end of a months-long celebration of the attraction called “Celebrating Space Mountain: The Final Ignition!” The new Space Mountain won’t open until 2027.
Disney Pal-Palooza begins on January 10, 2024, with Minnie’s Funderland. The second series of the event will begin on April 9 and run through June 30, focusing on a different character presenting their world of fun and excitement.
“Entrusted Fate,” the second installment of the “Disney Story Beyond” Haunted Mansion experience that expands on the attraction’s backstory, will take place from February 7 to April 30.
A new castle projection show is coming to Tokyo Disneyland, although we don’t know when.
Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea will see a massive expansion with Fantasy Springs, a new eighth port made up of Peter Pan’s Neverland, Rapunzel’s Forest, and Frozen Kingdom. It will open on June 6, 2024, and also include an in-park hotel. Each land of the port will have a boat ride, along with restaurants and shopping venues. Check out our last construction update.
Tokyo Disney Resort will host their first-ever Tokyo DisneySea Food & Wine Festival from April 1, 2024, through June 30.
Hong Kong Disney Resort
A 20th anniversary parade is in the works for Hong Kong Disneyland. Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12, 2005. A 20th anniversary celebration could begin early in 2024.
Hong Kong Disneyland has made no announcements about the Avengers Quinjet Experience in years, but the final Stark Expo attraction was supposed to open by 2024.
Shanghai Disney Resort
A third themed hotel is under construction at Shanghai Disney Resort but an opening date and further details have not been announced.
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, a new private Disney Cruise Line destination, will open in the summer of 2024. Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas and will include spots like Mabrika Cove, the Goombay Cultural Center, Triton’s Trumpet Stage, and Serenity Bay. Check out Lighthouse Point concept art.
Crews recently completed construction on the last block of the Disney Treasure. The new Disney Cruise Line ship will set sail on its maiden voyage on December 21, 2024. Read more about the new adventure-themed ship.
What Disney attraction, experience, or offering are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
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