Disneyland teases new lands, rides and nighttime spectaculars at D23 Expo
Disney used the D23 Expo in Anaheim to tease faithful fans with a taste of what’s coming to the Disneyland resort over the next few years — from a trio of nighttime spectaculars to a Marvel superhero E-ticket attraction to a reimagined land based on San Fransokyo in “Big Hero 6.”
Disney Parks and Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro unveiled a host of new attractions and opening timelines for Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the three Disney resort hotels during a D23 Expo panel on Sunday, Sept. 11.
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Nighttime Spectaculars
For Disneyland fans, the highlight of the D23 theme parks panel was the announcement of a trio of nighttime spectaculars for the Disney company’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2023.
Starting in late January, the new “Wondrous Journeys” fireworks show will play at Disneyland while the revamped “World of Color — One” water show will take over DCA’s Paradise Bay.
The “Wondrous Journeys” fireworks and projection show will feature the new “It’s Wondrous” theme song and scenes from all 60 Walt Disney Animation Studios films.
The Magic Happens parade — which debuted in late February 2020 with daytime and nighttime performances — will return to Disneyland after running for only a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the park for more than a year.
Magic Happens featured a new musical score by an “American Idol” alum, nine new floats and more than 90 performers, including two dozen Disney and Pixar characters.
Platinum decor will begin rolling into the Disneyland resort in late January in celebration of the centennial anniversary.
Avengers Campus
A Marvel Multiverse E-ticket attraction based on a new ride system planned for DCA’s Avengers Campus will be completely different from a Quinjet attraction announced with much fanfare during the 2019 D23 Expo.
Walt Disney Imagineering went “back to the drawing board” to develop an “entirely new concept” for the latest version of the Avengers attraction where Marvel superheroes will battle the King Thanos villain, according to D’Amaro.
D23 attendees got the first look at a massive 10-foot-tall Hulk meet-and-greet character that will be coming to DCA’s Avengers Campus next week.
The big green superhero wore an Avengers space suit and helmet as he lumbered around the D23 stage and exchanged banter with D’Amaro. It remains to be seen if the Hulk character will roam around Avengers Campus and talk with visitors or simply pose for photos in a stationary position from a distance.
The mega-sized Hulk character is part of Project Exo, which has been in development for several years at Imagineering.
The goal of Project Exo: To create a full-body exoskeleton system that allows super-sized characters from the Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar universes to walk around Disney theme parks and interact with visitors.
SEE ALSO: Disneyland’s Avengers Campus expansion is back on track, along with new E-ticket attraction
Pacific Wharf
The biggest surprise of the D23 theme park panel — at least as far as the Disneyland Resort was concerned — was the announcement DCA’s Pacific Wharf food court area will be transformed with a “Big Hero 6” San Fransokyo theme.
San Fransokyo — a portmanteau on San Francisco and Tokyo — served as the central location in the 2014 Disney animated film drawing upon inspirations from both cities to create the fictional metropolis.
The transformation will require Imagineering to turn the Monterey Bay-themed land into an architectural cross between the San Francisco Bay and Tokyo Bay areas.
Concept art shows a towering version of San Fransokyo’s Shinto shrine-inspired Golden Gate bridge spanning the waterway bordering the Pacific Wharf area. The “Big Hero 6” Torii Gate Bridge recalls the scaled-down version of the Golden Gate Bridge that once marked the DCA’s entryway until an extensive renovation of the park a decade ago.
Visitors will be able to pose for photos with Baymax, the inflatable healthcare robot from the film.
Reimagining the Pacific Wharf food court — which remains largely unchanged since DCA opened in 2001 — will infuse the land with more Disney storytelling and characters while also serving as a base for DCA’s annual Lunar New Year food festival.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Lucasfilm producer and director Jon Favreau joined D’Amaro on stage to give D23 attendees a first look at the Mandalorian and Grogu meet-and-greet characters that will be coming to Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in mid-November.
The Baby Yoda audio-animatronic character resting in a shoulder bag on Mando’s hip moved his head and made baby-like babble noises.
“We’ve been working on this thing for years,” Favreau said. “This was something that’s been a real labor of love.”
Mickey’s Toontown
A pair of Mickey’s Toontown scale models in the Disney theme parks pavilion at D23 revealed new details about the ongoing facelift of the cartoon-styled land at Disneyland.
Cafe Daisy will take over space once dedicated to the land’s quick service food stands — Pluto’s Dog House, Daisy’s Diner and Clarabelle’s ice cream. The Daisy Duck-themed sidewalk eatery will serve “dinner classics.” Next door, the Good Boy Grocers Market themed to Mickey’s dog Pluto will sell grab-and-go drinks and snacks.
On the other side of Toontown, Goofy’s House and Donald Duck’s Boat will be rethemed as children’s play areas.
The former Gadget’s Go Coaster will be rethemed as Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Gadget Coaster based on characters from 2022 “Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers” live action/animated film, according to the scale model.
SEE ALSO: Disneyland unveils scale models of Mickey’s Toontown makeover at D23 Expo
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
A scale model of Splash Mountain in the Disney theme parks pavilion at D23 revealed more details about the planned Princess Tiana makeover of the Disneyland landmark opening in late 2024.
The new backstory for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure finds the restaurateur-turned-princess opening Tiana’s Foods community co-op inside the aging salt mine within the former Splash Mountain with growers planting crops along the waterway that flows around the famed mountain peak.
The revamped attraction will feature the original voice actors from the 2009 Disney animated film – including Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis the Alligator) and Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie).
Eudora’s Chic Boutique retail store will open at Disneyland in New Orleans Square on Sept. 20 with a portion of the new shop dedicated to Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets. The Tiana-themed store is named for the seamstress mother of the animated Disney princess.
SEE ALSO: Disneyland reveals more Tiana’s Bayou Adventure details at D23 Expo
Disneyland Hotels
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel will be renamed Pixar Place Hotel once a Pixar makeover is complete.
“This hotel is going to be super fun,” D’Amaro said. “It will feel like you walked right into a Pixar art gallery.”
The rethemed hotel will feature a Finding Nemo splash pad and water play area.
The Disney Vacation Club timeshare expansion under construction at the resort will be known as The Villas at the Disneyland Hotel.
Downtown Disney
A new Porto’s Bakery & Eatery serving Cuban sweets and treats is headed to Downtown Disney as part of the outdoor shopping center’s latest renovation.
The Southern California institution — which already has a Buena Park location near Knott’s Berry Farm — rocketed to foodie phenom status in 2016 when it nabbed the top spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.
SEE ALSO: Downtown Disney to undergo multi-year renovation starting in January
Disney Cosplay
In addition to all the announcements, the return of the D23 Expo to the Anaheim Convention Center also meant the exhibition floor and the streets around the Disneyland resort were teeming with thousands of fans dressed in cosplay costumes of their favorite Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel characters.