A Reminder About Announcements

The Disney Parks Panel at Destination D23 was packed full of announcements. Since then, I’ve seen people go crazy about things that they think are to come. A lot of it is based on assumptions from what was said. Just because something was mentioned does not mean that it will happen. Don’t totally believe it until real plans have been shared by Disney and construction has started.

There should be changes coming to DinoLand USA at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. At Destination D23 both Encanto and Indiana Jones were mentioned. (I first brought up the idea of an Indiana Jones Land back in 2019!) But it was also stressed that they “are being considered” (quote from Disney Parks Blog). During last year’s D23 Expo, Zootopia and Moana were mentioned as possibilities to replace DinoLand. Instead, Moana is headed to Epcot and Zootopia will be a new film inside the Tree of Life.

The same goes for the Magic Kingdom. Once again, the area behind Big Thunder Mountain was mentioned, just like it was at D23 Expo. Last year, people were excited because a Villains Land was mentioned, but no more has even been whispered about it. The words “Blue Sky” were used at Destination D23. Blue Sky Projects are simply the beginning of an idea, lots of concept drawings and such to see if something might be a good fit. Many Blue Sky Projects never make it off of the drawing board.

Remember the announcements at the 2019 D23 Expo? We were told that Cherry Tree Lane was coming to Epcot, they even had Dick van Dyke there to make the announcement! We also learned that Spaceship Earth was scheduled to be refurbished. Those plans were all scrapped. I know that it was because of Covid, but the pandemic showed us how quickly things can change.

Did you know that there was originally a third ride planned for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? It showed up in some conceptual drawings and it looks like Disney was working on the beginnings of making it work. The idea was then dropped for unknown reasons.

There are some Destination D23 announcements that we know will happen. Epcot is a great example. Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana is currently in previews and should open to all on October 16. Figment is already greeting patient guests in the Imagination Pavilion. Dreamer’s Point should be open by the end of the year, and the Walt the Dreamer statue has been finished for a long time.

My point is that we can’t get ahead of ourselves. There are people who are planning their last rides on DINOSAUR, since they’re sure it’s soon going to be turned into Indiana Jones Adventure. Any changes and land retheming will take years. Maybe we’ll hear something more at the next D23 Expo, renamed D23: The Ultimate Fan Event. That will take place next August in Anaheim. Until ground has been broken, though, I’m going to take all of the Destination D23 announcements with a grain of salt. I’m a big Indiana Jones fan, and I’m not getting my hopes up, at least not too high.