Summer is here, and Disneyland is continuing its year-long 70th anniversary, a celebration of the original Disney theme park opening its gates in 1955. Three new rides are also being built at the California Disney Parks, as well as a sprawling new Avatar area.
Over at Walt Disney World in Florida, four new lands are being constructed right now, themed around villains, Pixar characters and more, and CNET got a behind-the-scenes look at some of the new areas.
Here’s everything you need to know about Disneyland and Disney World — starting with offerings coming this summer and then exploring what’s arriving beyond 2026.
Concept art of the Monsters, Inc. suspender coaster.
Replacing the old Muppets area of Hollywood Studios, meanwhile, Monstropolis — home of the Monsters, Inc. movies, shorts and Disney Plus streaming series — will feature Disney’s first suspended roller coaster inside the city’s laugh/scream factory.
“The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley,” Disney Experiences Chair Josh D’Amaro said at D23 in 2024. “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.” This TikTok shows the design concept for the Monsters Inc. ride.
MuppetVision 3D closed permanently a year ago, on June 8, 2025, but we don’t expect Monstropolis to be complete for another year or two. Bridget also visited the Monsters area under construction, and you can watch her whole video on the new land below.
Disneyland’s Paint the Night parade.
Soarin’ Across America, coast to coast
At Disney’s California Adventure and Disney World’s Epcot, the Soarin’ Around the World attraction is getting a US-themed makeover. Soarin’ Across America will arrive on July 2, 2026, and will feature scenes, sounds and scents from more than a dozen cityscapes and scenic areas.
Disney released a trailer starring Patrick Warburton, the original Soarin’ narrator and pilot, in which he says we’ll soon “sail across spacious skies” and may see “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountain majesties.” It’s part of Disney’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Juneteenth at Disneyland
On June 19, Downtown Disney will host Disney on the Yard Presents Yardfest: Part of Celebrate Soulfully, which celebrates HBCUs, including performances by drum majors.
This event on Juneteenth kicks off the Celebrate Soulfully: Summer Vibes celebration, which goes from June 19 until July 19 to celebrate Black music, food, art and culture. Concerts will be held on certain days at Paradise Gardens in California Adventure, as well as “special character encounters and live variety acts” on Fridays and Saturdays, per Disney.
Bluey has arrived at Disneyland
Bluey and her family are now hosting a stage show and themed area at the original Disney park. Debuting in March, Bluey’s Best Day Ever is located at the Fantasyland Theatre next to Mickey’s Toontown, which has been transformed into Bluey’s school classroom and grounds, including a gnome village and fairy garden.
Bluey and her sister, Bingo, appear several times each day, along with actors and musicians, to “bring to life the popular music and games emblematic of beloved Bluey episodes.” Those games will include “keepy uppy” and the “grannies,” as well as appearances by Chattermax and Unicorse.
There are also puzzles, games and photo ops throughout the Bluey area, and Disneyland is serving up Bluey-themed foods at Troubadour Tavern.
The hugely popular Australian cartoon about a family of dogs is a worldwide hit, and Disney is slated to release a Bluey movie in 2027. (In the meantime, you can watch Bluey episodes and minisodes on Disney Plus.)
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Old characters, new Mandalorian missions
New characters have begun roaming around the Star Wars-themed lands in Disneyland, as the area “expands its timeline” to include Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo. The original trio of Star Wars main characters arrived in Batuu on April 29 and are now interacting with guests and other characters.
To help tie them in with the more modern Star Wars land, there are also new props, merch, graphics and music (featuring the legendary John Williams score) in Galaxy’s Edge.
“Black Spire Outpost will roll back in time several decades, thoughtfully introducing beloved characters from across the Star Wars timeline,” the Disney Parks Blog announced in April. “Each era will be brought to life with the same care and attention to detail that the land was originally designed with, masterfully weaving together stories from across time and space in one location.”
Darth Vader has also joined the fun, and you can still see Ahsoka Tano, The Mandalorian, Grogu, Rey, Chewbacca and R2-D2.
Over in Tomorrowland, Space Mountain has transformed into Hyperspace Mountain for a limited time.
Disneyland (and Hollywood Studios at Disney World) has also now added Mandalorian and Grogu missions to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, tying in with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in cinemas. The new missions launched on May 22.
Discounted summer Disney tickets
Disneyland now has a Kids’ Summer Ticket deal, with a one-day Park Hopper ticket costing $50 per child, ages 3 through 9. It can be used until Sept. 7.
Disneyland is also adding (and removing) a Magic Key option: The Explore Key will replace the Enchant Key. All California residents will be able to purchase it — not only Southern California residents. It will allow access on weekdays in June and July, which were blocked out for Enchant Key holders. The Explore Key costs $999, with a $99 down payment and 0% APR on repayments for 12 months. Disney said its “full value” can be unlocked in just four visits to the parks, thanks to Park Hopper admission, 25% off parking, Lightning Lane Multi-Passes and 10% off merchandise and dining.
Concept art showing an aerial shot of the Avatar-themed area coming to Disneyland Resort.
Disneyland is finally expanding after unveiling plans almost five years ago. The expansion is expected to take a couple of years to complete and will push the park’s current boundaries past Downtown Disney and into the nearby parking lots. It’ll also transform “a portion of the current Hollywood Backlot area,” leading to the closure of the Monsters Inc. attraction permanently in 2027.
The biggest part of the expansion will be adding an Avatar-themed land, based on the second film, The Way of Water, as well as Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will include a dark boat ride much like Pirates of the Caribbean, “taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora.”
It follows the success of the world of Pandora, based on the original Avatar film, in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. Disney has no dates or details yet on when it’ll be complete.
Coming sooner than the Avatar land, however, is a new esplanade entry “experience” to replace the current walkway entry at the east side of Disneyland, as well as a new parking structure and pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard. Construction on this begins in the fall.
Concept art for the new Coco ride.
Two more Avengers Campus rides
Avengers Campus already has two rides: Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Soon, this will double as Disney builds two more Marvel attractions at California Adventure.
“We’re doubling the size of the land with two new attractions,” a structural engineer said in a video posted to Walt Disney Imagineering’s Instagram account on Feb. 26. The engineer showed off how the Avengers Infinity Defense structure is looking now, including its columns, foundations and a catwalk that will “support projectors, speakers and other types of show elements.”
Avengers Infinity Defense will see you assemble alongside the Avengers, battling King Thanos — set in a multiverse — featuring appearances by Black Panther, Ant-Man and Hulk.
Concept art for the new Villains Land.
“Paris is a city full of classic Art Nouveau … natural motifs and swirling designs there make nature appear to be ‘cursed,’ like magic has frozen it into place,” Disney said on its Parks Blog. “Barcelona’s art style is Modernisme, which has less natural patterns but gives the architecture an otherworldly, unnerving appearance.”
Villains Land, first teased during D23 2022, will be positioned on the other side of Big Thunder Mountain at the top left edge of the current Magic Kingdom map and will stretch around to where the Haunted Mansion is.
Two major attractions are planned, along with dining and shopping. Still no word yet on when it’ll open.
First peek at Piston Peak
Concept art of the Cars rally race attraction coming to Disney World.
There will be two attractions, one of which is a rally race. Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and Imagineer Michael Hundgen spoke about the new ride vehicle for this, and you can see a TikTok of Imagineers testing out off-road vehicles in the Arizona desert to create what the ride will feel like. Each rally car will have its own personality, name and racing number, Docter said.
“These are all things Lightning McQueen and Mater haven’t experienced before, like racing over rocky terrain, ascending to mountain peaks and dodging around geysers — how do you take these real-world elements and put a Cars spin on it?” Disney Parks said in a previous blog post.
While construction has begun and Disney has even released a map showing what the land may look like (geysers shooting water, a running river, an off-road rally track, mountains, a visitor’s lodge, a Ranger HQ and walking trails), we don’t expect Piston Peak to open until at least 2027 or 2028.
Tropical Americas Land at Animal Kingdom
Watch this: Imagineers Share Secrets of Disney’s New Ride Technology
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Everything else new at Disneyland and Disney World in 2026
Here’s what else is new and coming soon to the theme parks:
- A 3D-printed boat was added to the Jungle Cruise ride in January.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom has new ride vehicles with video monitors and two handheld blasters featuring always-on lasers in two different colors (so you can finally see which laser is yours). It also got a new opening scene starring Buddy the friendly robot, and static Z targets light up when you hit them. The ride reopened on April 8.
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened on May 3 at Magic Kingdom after a lengthy refurbishment.
- Disney World’s water park Blizzard Beach reopened on Feb. 15, and Typhoon Lagoon reopened on May 12.
- Kids’ summer shows at Disneyland include Disney Friends Dance Party at Hollywood Land in Disney California Adventure, and Stitch’s Interplanetary Beach Party Blast at Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland.
- Bluey and Bingo meet-and-greets are happening at Disney World at the Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom as part of the Cool Kids’ Summer celebration, which goes until Sept. 8.
- Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom is being repainted in its original theme colors: gray, cream, blue and gold.
- From July, you’ll be able to book a wedding at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. Weddings will be hosted at the courtyard right outside the mansion’s front doors. The area can seat up to 25 guests. However, it doesn’t include thematic midnight ceremonies — you can only host your wedding there in the early morning before park opening. Other new Disneyland wedding venues include the Magnolia Park Gazebo (right outside Tiana’s Palace), Magnolia Park Terrace (right outside the new Haunted Mansion queue) and Fantasy Faire Garden (opposite the castle).
- Following the release of the Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland, Disney announced that a similar animatronic will be added to Disney World’s Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom in a new introductory scene to the ride.
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