Day two here at D23 was full of a lot of ups and downs! This was the day Thatcher was most excited for because of all the Percy Jackson stuff but I won’t lie, it was not easy to get him into all of it. Day 2 ended with the Parks and Experiences panel and it did not disappoint! I have no doubt I am going to leave some things out but I’ll do my best to get it all in here.
Another Early Morning
Day 2 we decided to divide and conquer a little. I got up at 3:30am to get a virtual shopping queue for The Walt Disney Company Store (spoiler, we didn’t even go because we were so busy when our queue was called) and I sat on our balcony to write the Day 1 recap, not a bad view! After that I walked over to the convention center and sat on the cold concrete floor for a few hours before it all started. Talking to strangers is one of my favorite things and I met some really nice ones this morning that became my saving grace later in the day! First thing I did was check at Talent Central to see if they were going to do the meets the same way they had the day before and they said yes….they lied. But we will circle back to that later. Since that was going to be the same I went ahead and got in the standby queue for the 1964 World’s Fair panel on the archive stage and Jay and the boys came to join me!
A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
This was such a cool panel! They talked about all the Disney pavilions at the 1964-65 World’s Fair and the impact that it had on future Disney projects as well as ones they were currently working on at the time in Disneyland. There were really cool never before seen photos and videos shown, including a video clip of Richard Sherman playing the piano and singing the song he wrote for the Stark Expo in Iron Man for Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige. That was so cool to see and made me tear up a little bit. Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige were there for the panel and said it was one of the best moments of their lives. It was interesting to see how that World’s Fair affected the future of not just Disney but even Marvel. The Disney Imagineers really used it as an opportunity to test things out and they said it’s the reason things like haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean were not continued as walk through attractions but moving rides. I kind of hope they do a show on Disney+ about this there is so much more they could have shown and said I am sure!
Meeting Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Next on the agenda was to get in the standby queue at Talent Central to meet the cast of Percy Jackson & the Olympians! This was so crazy the day before for the Phineas and Ferb creators that I figured it would be the same but it was WORSE! Unfortunately they decided between the time I had checked at 9:30am and the time I came back from the panel at 11:30 to let an actual line form and it was almost halfway across the convention center by the time we got there! And we got there an hour before the meet was going to happen. I figured all was lost and told Thatcher he really might not get in there, he was so sad. But then I had a thought!
One of the lovely strangers I had met that morning on that cold concrete floor was also planning to do this meet with her daughter, maybe they had gotten there earlier? Well they HAD! And they were so sweet to let Thatcher go with them so he could do the meet and greet. Don’t worry, we weren’t those people who come join someone in line to cut in front of everyone, the kids went and us moms stayed out so it was still just two people going in. Thatcher was so happy he was dancing in the line! God put me in the right spot with the right people that morning, the Disney Magic was real!
Percy Jackson Panel
Next on the agenda was the Percy Jackson & the Olympians panel and I was not taking any chances here! We went straight to the standby queue after the meet and greet even though it was like 2 hours away. Haha! We saved our friends that helped us out a spot so they could go get their Little Mermaid Loungefly signed by Jodi Benson and ended up with great seats!
The panel included all 6 of the main characters from the show plus Poseidon and Dionysus and the creators of the show. Dionysus stole the show, he was absolutely hilarious! They talked about working together and played a game to see how well they knew one another. Percy Jackson even said they were all really nervous to come out because they had never really done anything like that before, it was very cute and they all seem to really enjoy one another. They joked about how the horses they used in the new season are more famous than they are. One was Pedro Paschals horse from the Last of Us, one was a horse Denzel Washington used, it was funny to hear them talk about the horses having better credentials than they do. We got a sneak peek at the next season of the show that includes Sandra Bernhard as one of the Gray Sisters and some epic looking chariot races. It was a really entertaining panel that ended with each person in the audience getting a D23 exclusive Camp Half Blood t-shirt with the casts signatures on the back…..Thatcher almost jumped right out of his seat!
Disney Parks & Experiences Panel
Ok buckle up everybody it’s about to get wild! I had said in last weeks blog leading up to this week that Disney really needed to bring it on this panel in order to make th fan base happy and well….they definitely DID! This panel was AMAZING! From the announcements to the entertainment it was 100% top notch. Josh D’Amaro came out swinging saying there would be NO Blue Sky announcements that everything they announced this night already had dirt being moved and work started in some capacity. That was important because we were all al little tired of hearing what you “might” do with no real plan. I have no doubt I am going to leave some things out here because there was just so much and my phone died before the end so I couldn’t take notes. Oops! But I am going to do my best! Let me just start out by saying that it was incredibly epic to have John Stamos come out and sing A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes while playing the piano just like the Full House episode!
Walt Disney World
I am just going to jump right in here and start with the stuff I personally was so excited to hear! First and foremost I want to point out that since the Fantasyland expansion and Batuu we really haven’t had a lot going on in our parks other than refurbed existing rides and maybe a one off new ride or attraction here and there so we were due! We are getting SOOO much stuff you guys!
Magic Kingdom is getting a new nighttime parade!!!! This parade will be lead by the Blue Fairy and feature scenes from all of our favorite Disney moments. I am BEYOND excited for this and I cannot wait to see it come to life!
Magic Kingdom is also getting a new Pirates Lounge which we kind of already knew about but it’s still exciting! Although I know you won’t be able to take drinks to go, it would be nice to be able to go in and get a drink somewhere without having to sit down and eat a full meal. Speaking of lounges…..EPCOT is also getting a new Spaceship Earth lounge!!! The concept art looks awesome and I am a little confused on where exactly it is going to be but I am excited for a lounge at the front of the park! Both of these lounges will open in 2025 along with Test Track reopening as well.
Magic Kingdom will also be getting a Cars section in Frontierland with two attractions. This will not be a copy and paste of Radiator Springs like you find in DCA but a new location for the characters that looks similar to Radiator Springs racers but is different. Again I am wondering where this is going to go since it was erased as a retheme or reimagining of a section of Frontierland, I’m good as long as we don’t lose any of the existing rides there but where could it go? Construction on this starts early 2025 so I guess we will know then.
Hollywood Studios will be getting a Monsters, Inc land complete with the door coaster of our dreams!! This is so exciting and Josh D’Amaro said this will be the first ever suspended roller coaster in Disney. He said it will be like the machine hoists your door up and then you go for a ride! Construction for this starts in 2025! This was a truly epic moment because Billy Crystal, Mike Wazowsky himself, came out to make this announcement and sing Wouldn’t Have Nothing for us. It was really magical!
There were more details revealed about the Animal Kingdom refurb and retheme of Dino Land and it all looks and sounds incredible! We ARE getting an Indiana Jones ride and it will not be a copy and paste of the ride in Disneyland. It will be a brand new ride and story of Indy finding an ancient Mayan temple that is said to be home to a mythical creature. We will also find the Casita from Encanto here fully alive and ready to take us on a ride! The furniture will be moving with you in it to take us on an adventure through the rooms in the house and ending up in Antonio’s room with all the animals for a wild ride! Josh D’Amaro announced that the official name of this Tropical Americas village will be Pueblo Esperanza and will debut in 2027 with all rides open! We were also told the new Zootopia show in the Tree of Life will open Winter of 2025. This announcement was closed out with a fabulous performance of Pressure from Encanto by the Plain White T’s!!
And last but certainly not least….Magic Kingdom is getting a VILLAINS LAND!!! Assuming behind Thunder Mountain and this concept art is ridiculous! This announcement was epic in every way. Josh D’amaro was wrapping things up and then the magic mirror came on the screen and reminded him he had a promise to fulfill and he said he wasn’t talking about that and walked off the stage. Magic Mirror said I guess you will have to be persuaded and then Rita Oro came out and did a bomb rendition of Trust In Me from Jungle Book and then we got the official announcement. The rim went absolutely wild!! The land will have two new major attractions, shopping and dining and more. This is what I was hoping for and more!!
Disneyland & Disney California Adventure
Not to be left out, Disneyland got some pretty exciting announcements too! Disneyland will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025 and will be celebrating in a big way with some new things coming. They are getting a brand new Pandora: World of Avatar land! This will be completely different from the one in Animal Kingdom and will be based on the 2nd movie and the forte movies. It will have brand new rides as well!
Disney California Adventure is getting a brand new Coco ride that was said to be like Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. They will also be doubling the size of Avengers Campus with two brand new rides! Avengers Infinity Defense and this looks like it will be a similar system as Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT. The other one seems like a completely brand new system and ride and they said you will work with a different hero depending on when you ride. It looks really cool and like I’m gonna have to come back to California!
On top of all of that they also announced that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open November 15th and that the Main Street Opera House is getting a new show called Walt Disney, A Magical Life. This is going to include an audio animatronic of Walt Disney telling the story of his life. This show will play in rotation along with Moments with Mr Lincoln. I Amy be a little bit jealous of this and hoping it come to WDW!
Everything Else
I won’t even play here, the domestic parks are what I was focused on and took the most notes on. I have a nice long bucket list that includes going to all the international parks but for now I don’t get too excited about what they are getting. Hahaha! But here are a few things! Disneyland Paris is getting a new nighttime show and World of Frozen is opening in 2026. Disney Adventure Bay will also be opening a new show in 2026 with a 360 degree viewing, laser, drones and water features. There will be a new Lion King attraction, Pride Lands and more.
Disney Cruise Line is adding 4 more ships to its fleet, we know those will be fantastic! There were also announcements about the partnership Disney has with Epic Games and what’s to come there including regular Disney characters coming to Fortnite along with the Incredibles! Disney is working with Epic Games to create a new way to play with your favorite characters and build new worlds. It sounds like my kids are going to be asking for this as soon as it comes out.
Conclusion
Like I said at the beginning, I am sure I left some things out, it was a crazy night with so much info and a dead phone before the end. But I think I got the big stuff for you! This was such a fabulous panel, and it was a SHOW! They had Shaboozey come out to sing Life is a Highway for the Cars announcement, Billy Crystal for the Monster’s Inc announcement, Rita Oro for Villains Land AND we even had a hilarious performance by Deadpool! He gave us his ideas for some new things that should come to Disney! The announcements were huge and the show itself was just amazing, I am so glad I was there! I hope this made you feel like you were there a little bit and thank you for reading along! Day 3 recap will post tomorrow as long as there are no technical difficulties in the morning! See ya real soon!