The Tip Board Newsletter by James Grosch

Disney Intelligence for Smarter Vacations

🏃‍♂️ The Rope Drop: Disney has unfinished business

D23 2024 was insane. Disney announced so much: New lands. New rides. New ships.

Many of the announcements have opened: Test Track 3.0, Beak and Barrel, Disney Starlight, Hercules on the Disney Destiny, Cascade of Lights at Disney Adventure World, just to name a few.

But there are 12 major projects that Disney announced at D23 that are still to come. And (almost) all of them have broken ground and are actively being built.

I expect we'll get updates on all of these projects. But what will we hear, and what surprises could be in store?

Let's dive in.

🏨 The Way to Stay at DVC for Less: DVC Rental Store (Partner)

I just released a video with 45 D23 predictions, but here's one prediction I forgot to make: we'll get an update on Disney Lakeshore Lodge. That's Disney's next DVC Resort, opening Summer 2027 near Fort Wilderness on the site of the now-defunct water park, River Country.

So far, the concept art for Lakeshore Lodge has looked awesome, especially the water recreation area called The Wetlands (complete with a lazy river and some epic pools). D23 is a prime spot to showcase more of the new resort. A stay at Lakeshore Lodge is definitely part of my 2027 plans.

But if you want to stay at Lakeshore Lodge in the future, or any DVC resort, the best way to save is to rent DVC points from my friends at DVC Rental Store.

You can stay at DVC Villas for up to 65% off what Disney charges through DVC Rental Store. Using this link to book helps support Guide2WDW (affiliate link).

📊 The Analysis: What I think will actually get announced at Josh D'Amaro's first D23 as CEO

D23 runs August 14 to 16 in Anaheim, and the one you want is Saturday night: Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris at the Honda Center, themed to the Carousel of Progress. Which, if you know anything about how Disney is currently updating Carousel of Progress, is a very interesting choice of theme.

This, critically, is Josh D'Amaro's first D23 as CEO. And he's actually in a weird position. 2024 was the year where so many brand new lands and attractions were announced. You can't feasibly keep going to that well every single D23. So I am not expecting a repeat of 2024, with so many new rides and lands announced.

But at last D23, Josh said on stage "This isn't Blue Sky. We are going to do all of this." Disney's been criticized in the past for making premature announcements for rides that never materialize (I'm looking at you, Spaceship Earth overhaul). I think this D23 is a critical opportunity for D'Amaro and Disney Experiences to set the tone and build trust: We promised these lands are coming, and we are going to keep our promises.

So, I expect updates on every unfinished promise from last D23. In case you need a refresher, here's a quick rundown (and here's the rundown in video form):

Disney World

Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, with an Encanto ride, an Indiana Jones ride, and a carousel. Opens 2027
Carousel of Progress Overhaul, Opens 2027 (Technically announced at Destination D23 2025)
Monstropolis at Hollywood Studios, with a new show, two restaurants, and a door vault roller coaster.
Piston Peak at Magic Kingdom (Cars Land), with a rally race ride and a second ride meant for guests of all ages.
Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, announced with two rides. Concept art shows a roller coaster

Disneyland

Avengers Campus at DCA is getting two new rides: Avengers: Infinity Defense, and Stark Flight Lab
DCA also has a Coco Boat Ride, currently under construction.
Disney also announced an Avatar land, although rumors have been swirling about those plans changing.

Disney Cruise Line

DCL announced it's expanding its fleet with four new ships. The first of those is the Believe, which debuts in 2027.

International Parks

A Lion King land with a Pride Rock flume ride is coming to Disney Adventure World in France
Shanghai has a Spider-Man coaster and land under construction.
Hong Kong Disneyland has an Avengers Drop Ride, which was initially announced as a Spider-Man Drop Ride (Spidey is still in the concept art).

I think we'll get updates on all of these. The biggest questions that I'm hoping get resolved:

What are the actual rides coming to Villains Land, and will it still have the moody, sinister tone Disney's been teasing, or will it be more family friendly?
What is the show coming to Monstropolis and the second ride coming to Piston Peak?
Will Avengers or Coco also use Next Gen Animatronics that just debuted at Pirates of the Caribbean?

Disney just announced a Believe reveal stream on Oct 7, so I'm not expecting a ton of details there, but I think we'll get one or two juicy tid bits before a "Stay tuned for more details in October" tease. My prediction, that I'm sharing exclusively here: The Believe gets an Encanto stage musical.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say I think Avatar is still happening, but may be moved to a new location in California Adventure. I know Fire & Ash underperformed compared to previous Avatar films, but it still made $1.5 billion. And Pandora still remains a great theme park land in Animal Kingdom, almost 10 years out.

I get into way more details on the specifics of what I think could be announced for each of these projects and much more in my full YouTube video.

But what about surprises? I fully expect there will be some big moments on stage, not just updates about what we know.

🎢 Park Intel: What Surprises Could Be In Store

So, I'm not expecting massive new lands to be announced like 2024. But I do think fans will get some pleasant surprises. Because just look at what Disney has done in the recent past:
Just in the last two years, Disney World has updated Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Test Track, Country Bear Jamboree, Big Thunder Mountain, Millennium Falcon, and Buzz Lightyear. And updates for the Magic of Disney Animation and Carousel of Progress are underway.

As I said in my review of this year's updates, this is a savvy strategy. Disney has been able to deploy these updates at a faster speed than in the past at a high standard of quality. I loved each and every one of these updates mentioned above. And these updates help utilize existing capacity, because they reinvigorate guest interest in these attractions. It's a great complement to the home run swings that are the massive expansions.

So, I think the big surprises that we get from D23 this year will be about classic attractions getting big updates. What could those be? I have a few that I'm hoping for personally:

Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom is due for a new track, and a refresh. I don't think we'll get something as different as Tokyo's new Space Mountain (pictured above), but I think a new track layout is very possible.
Tomorrowland at both Disney World and Disneyland could use a refresh.
And personally, I think it's beyond time that Disney updates Journey Into Imagination with Figment. A lot of Figment's popularity is due to the genius of the original ride with Dreamfinder. I hope they can bring a spark of that magic back to the ride.

Dive Deeper: My 45 Predictions for D23

For every single D23 prediction, check out the full video on the Guide2WDW YouTube.

And stay tuned because I will be at D23, covering the news as it breaks and sharing what it means from the show floor. (and if you see me there, say hi!)

▶️ Disney Has Unfinished Business (45 D23 Predictions)

See Ya Real Soon!

What are your D23 predictions? Let me know by replying to this email! I'll be highlighting the best predictions in my recap video after the August 15 parks panel.

James