As Walt Disney once predicted, Disneyland will “never be completed.” It will continue growing “as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Disney’s original theme park in Anaheim, California, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, and there’s a lot of new rides, experiences and shows on the horizon — both at Disneyland and at its 53-year-old counterpart in Florida, Walt Disney World.
From new rides and new lands to huge park expansions, here’s everything new coming to Disney Parks and the Disney Cruise Line in 2025 and beyond.
Disneyland’s 70th anniversary
Concept art of how Sleeping Beauty Castle will look at Disneyland during the 70th celebration.
Kicking off in mid-May is Disneyland’s 70th birthday celebration. The original Disney park opened on July 17, 1955, but the birthday celebration begins two months early, on May 16, and continues for more than a year, running through summer 2026.
“Celebrate happy” is the theme, and new events will include a Mickey and Friends cavalcade (including Duffy and ShellieMay); a projection show at It’s a Small World called “Tapestry of Happiness” (as well as Miguel and Dante being added to the ride!) and a projection show at Carthay Circle; new outfits for Mickey and friends; and the World of Color Happiness show. The new World of Color show will be hosted by Joy from Inside Out, with the other Emotions manifesting movie moments from Pixar and Disney films including The Incredibles, Turning Red, A Goofy Movie, Encanto and Tangled.
The esplanade between Disneyland and California Adventure will be getting a 50-foot sculpture of Sleeping Beauty Castle, with more decorations sprinkled throughout Downtown Disney and Main Street USA, as well as inside Disney’s hotels. There will even be 70th anniversary decor included in the Toy Story Midway Mania ride.
The Avengers Infinity Defense ride
Disney’s California Adventure, already home to the Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy attractions in the Avengers Campus area of the park, will be getting two more Marvel attractions.
During SXSW over the weekend, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Imagineering chief creative officer Bruce Vaughn and Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., revealed more details about these two new rides. Avengers Infinity Defense will see you assemble alongside the Avengers battling King Thanos, featuring appearances by Black Panther, Ant-Man and Hulk. 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 explains on its Parks Blog. “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 begins this year on the Avengers Campus additions.
A first look at the Pixar Cars rally race
Disney’s first suspended roller coaster will take you on a ride through the Monsters Inc. factory.
Another new addition coming to Disney World at its Hollywood Studios theme park is a Monsters Inc.-themed area, to replace the current Muppets area (with the Muppets to replace Aerosmith theming in the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster).
Revealed by the voice of Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), the land will let you stroll through Monstropolis from the Pixar movies and shorts. A new ride will also take you through the Monsters Inc. laugh factory aboard one of the doors to the human world — aka a suspended roller coaster.
“The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley,” D’Amaro said at D23 in August. “You’ll go into the factory and experience the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney park. 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.”
Docter and Hundgen were also on-hand to talk about the new Monsters Inc. ride during SXSW, which “will feature the first-ever suspended coaster at a Disney Park, and the first-ever vertical lift.” The loading area will see you board the ride vehicle and then “hoisted into the air.” Here’s the TikTok showing the design concept for the Monsters Inc. ride.
Your last day to enjoy MuppetVision 3D is June 7. It’ll close permanently on June 8. Work on the Monsters Inc. land will then begin later in 2025. There’s no closing date yet for the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
California Adventure is getting a Coco attraction
An aerial shot of the Avatar-themed area coming to Disneyland Resort.
The world of Pandora is expanding from Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando to California Adventure in Anaheim. The area in California will take its design inspiration from the second Avatar film, The Way of Water, as well as the upcoming Avatar sequels.
It’ll likely be part of the enormous Disneyland expansion coming to the theme parks that will push the boundaries past Downtown Disney and into the nearby parking lots. While Disney was short on details and dates, the Avatar experience will be “dynamic, intense and emotional,” with a dark boat ride much like Pirates of the Caribbean “taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora.”
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Villains Land
Watch this: Disney Parks Announcements at D23
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