15 major Disney Parks announcements from Destination D 2018
New details surrounding highly-anticipated experiences coming soon to Disney Parks were revealed at D23’s Destination D 2018 event at Disney World.
Bob Chapek, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, announced the names of signature attractions coming to Disney World, new entertainment shows that will debut during the next three years and updates on upcoming new resorts.
Here are 15 major announcements:
Disneyland
1. On Jan. 18, 2019, “Mickey’s Mix Magic” will light up the night at Disneyland with new music, projections and lasers that set the scene for an epic dance party that takes over almost the entire park.
2. On Jan. 25, 2019, Mickey’s Soundsational Parade returns to the resort, featuring an all-new float with Mickey leading the celebration down Main Street, U.S.A.
Walt Disney World
3. From Jan. 18 to Sept. 30, 2019, Mickey & Minnie’s Surprise Celebration at Magic Kingdom will feature new food, merchandise and entertainment, including a new dance party with Mickey, Minnie and friends, and a chance to meet Mickey and Minnie together in their new birthday outfits.
4. We now know the names of the two attractions coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland (opening summer 2019) and Hollywood Studios at Disney World (fall 2019). On board Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, you are given a mission by Chewbacca and Hondo Ohnaka and must take the Falcon on an adventure. Guests take control in one of three unique and critical roles.
5. The second attraction is called Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. In this attraction, guests join an epic battle between the First Order and the Resistance – including a face-off with Kylo Ren.
6. The new Star Wars land will have interactive components that will work with the Play Disney Parks app. Through the app guests will be able to become galactic travelers and live their own Star Wars stories.
7. The music for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will feature original themes created especially for the land by Academy Award-winning composer John Williams, who created the music for Star Wars.
8. The new Star Wars resort coming to Walt Disney World Resort will be a multi-day, fully immersive adventure that will take guests aboard a luxury starship with all the features expected of a first-class hotel, including dining, recreation, and accommodations, all authentic to the Star Wars universe. When you arrive at the hotel you are taken via “space shuttle” to the new hotel where you see views of space and are then shuttled to Batuu, where you will find Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This hotel is scheduled to open in 2021.
9. A new cinematic nighttime show is coming to Hollywood Studios on May 1, 2019, as part of the 30th anniversary of the theme park. The show will be called Wonderful World of Animation and will use state-of-the-art technology to take guests on a magical journey through more than 90 years of Disney animation, all beginning with Mickey.
10. The new Ratatouille attraction already announced for the France Pavillion in Epcot will be called Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. This ride is expected to open in 2020.
11. A new “Beauty and the Beast” sing-along will be coming to the France Pavilion, created by Don Hahn, producer of the animated and live-action “Beauty and the Beast” films. No date has been announced for this new show.
12. The O Canada! 360-degree show will be updated. No date announced.
13. With Illuminations ending in the summer of 2019, an all-new show will debut in 2020 celebrating Disney music with massive floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics, and lasers.
14. Before the new show debuts, an interim show called Epcot Forever will begin in fall 2019. The show will have feature classic Epcot tunes. “The show begins with a spark of imagination that quickly grows into an epic spectacle of fireworks, music, lighting, lasers, and choreographed, special effects kites,” according to Disney.
