Update on Major Disney World Theme Park Expansions Shared by CEO

Part of being in charge of a company as big as Disney means overseeing construction projects for new theme park attractions and resort destinations around the globe. A Coco ride at Disneyland, a Lion King log flume in Paris, and a just-revealed cruise ship are among Disney’s many ongoing developments. Today, we turn to Walt Disney World in Florida, where Disney’s top executive just shared an expansion update.

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro visited the construction sites of major expansions coming to Walt Disney World and posted progress reports on new rides opening. In this story, we’ll analyze D’Amaro’s remarks and check in on expansion projects throughout Walt Disney World. See also our coverage of Disneyland expansion projects. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including changes to Disney’s Star Wars theme park lightsaber experience on both coasts and Disneyland and Disney World partnering with a third party for a PhotoPass update.

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Disney CEO Visits Expansion Construction Sites

Josh D’Amaro became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in March 2026, but before that, he spent decades in various leadership roles at Disney’s theme parks, including the top spot as Disney Experiences Chairman.

Even as D’Amaro’s responsibilities have expanded to include Disney’s entertainment, sports, and technology businesses, the new CEO is still giving plenty of attention to the parks. In October 2026, he visited Walt Disney World, where large-scale expansion projects are under construction at 3 of the resort’s 4 theme parks, as well as a new hotel.

Following his trip, D’Amaro posted photos on his Instagram page from personal visits to multiple Disney World construction sites, along with this caption:

“There’s an incredible energy at @waltdisneyworld right now, and you can feel it the second you pass through the gates.

I got to walk Monstropolis, Tropical Americas, and Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge with our Imagineers, hear what they’re dreaming up, and watch it become real. The ideas, the details, and the stories are all coming together, and seeing it in person makes me even more excited for what’s ahead.

Thanks to the incredible team @waltdisneyimagineering – their imagination & creativity knows no limits.

I can’t wait for you to experience it all.”

Let’s check in on progress at the expansion projects D’Amaro mentioned, plus a few others.

Tropical Americas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Tropical Americas will open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2027 with:

• Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, a family-friendly, indoor Encanto ride

• Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, an indoor thrill ride repurposing the former DINOSAUR ride

• El Carrusel de los Animalitos, a new carousel featuring Disney animals

• a large quick service restaurant, repurposing the former Restaurantosaurus

D’Amaro posted a ground-level look at the Maya pyramid at the entrance to Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. Thanks to the artistry of Walt Disney Imagineers, the brand-new structure looks like it’s been around for centuries.

Another D’Amaro photo shows off an up-close detail of Tropical Americas. Ornamental carvings like this one of a flower will fill the land’s village area.

Before we move on to D’Amaro’s next construction site stop, let’s change vantage points and observe Tropical Americas from the sky.

This aerial overview shows the scope of the Tropical Americas site. This was all previously DinoLand, U.S.A., but the cumulative scale of Tropical Americas’ rides is much larger than DinoLand’s ever was.

At the future entrance to Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, you can make out the shell of the Madrigals’ Casita rising from the ground. The ride will be located in a giant building behind Casita, disguised with Imagineer-fabricated rolling hills and mountains, the first of which you can see starting to take shape in the photo above.

This photo shows the full view of the pyramid from D’Amaro’s photo, at the entrance to Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. The top seems nearly complete, but the bottom half is awaiting its themed plasterwork.

See more details and concept art for the Encanto, Indiana Jones, and carousel rides coming to Tropical Americas.

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Monstropolis at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Monstropolis Phase 1 will open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2027 with:

• Welcome to Monstropolis, an indoor theater show

• Harryhausen’s, a table service restaurant

• Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, a quick service restaurant

Monstropolis Phase 2 will open later with an indoor suspended roller coaster through the Monsters, Inc. door vault.

D’Amaro posted a photo of an Imagineer observing concept artwork for the Welcome to Monstropolis show on an iPad in the field, presumably in the attraction space, to compare to its current progress inside what will be the Glob Theater.

While D’Amaro nor Disney has revealed what the inside of the Glob looks like presently, here’s a higher-resolution look at the artwork the Imagineer is glancing at in the previous iPad photo.

Here’s what the outside of the Glob venue looks like. Scaffolding was recently removed from the building’s exterior. This was all previously Muppets Courtyard. The Glob was formerly home to Muppet*Vision 3D, and the building at the bottom of the photo below, which will soon be Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, was PizzeRizzo.

Comparing the aerial view to the concept art, we can place the beginnings of what will soon be the entrance threshold to Monstropolis and a fountain.

Even though the door vault coaster is opening after the rest of Monstropolis, its construction is moving forward rapidly. Unlike the rest of Monstropolis, Disney is building the factory building from scratch rather than repurposing an existing structure. Workers have installed the first pieces of track and support beams. We know fans have been waiting for this coaster idea for decades!

See what to expect from the Welcome to Monstropolis show, Harryhausen’s restaurant, and the land’s architecture.

Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge

Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, located along Bay Lake across from Magic Kingdom, will open on July 1, 2027, as a new resort hotel with rooms, suites, and lake houses.

While visiting the Lakeshore Lodge construction site, D’Amaro took part in a Disney tradition. When rides and hotels are under construction, Disney invites cast members to sign their names on a portion of the construction infrastructure. The autographs won’t be visible when the project is complete. Part of the point is that the cast members’ names will be part of the ride or hotel’s legacy forever.

Usually they sign their names on a beam, but in this case, the signatures seem to be on a lower layer of a floor. Based on the circular shape of the flooring section in the photo above, if we had to guess, these signatures will reside underneath the circular floor mural in Lakeshore Lodge’s lobby, pictured below.

Cast members signed a beam for Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto earlier this year.

The basic structures of Lakeshore Lodge’s hotel tower, pools, waterfront restaurant, lake houses, and dock are all already in place. From this perspective, you can see how close the hotel is located to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. The building at the top left of the photo above is Pioneer Hall, home to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.

See all the room types and pricing and 3 restaurants coming to Lakeshore Lodge.

Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land at Magic Kingdom

2 significant projects are being built right next to each other at Magic Kingdom, making for a massive construction site. The first is Piston Peak National Park, which will include:

Villains Land is a new area dedicated to Disney’s classic animated antagonists. Villains Land will feature:

• an indoor dark ride starring the Magic Mirror and featuring appearances by many Disney foes

• an outdoor roller coaster starring Maleficent

We recently examined how Disney isn’t holding back on the scariness level for Villains Land! See also details for the dark ride and roller coaster.

D’Amaro didn’t share photos from Piston Peak or Villains Land in his recent social media post, but progress is steadily continuing at this huge construction site.

The size of Piston Peak and Villains Land’s combined construction site cannot be overstated. This is the largest project in Magic Kingdom’s history!

In the photo above, you can get your bearings with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on the left. Haunted Mansion and The Hall of Presidents are on the right. Until last year, much of the bottom half of the photo belonged to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.

Disney recently brought a crane to the Piston Peak construction site, signifying a major step in the project’s progress. In the months and years to come, we’ll see a new mountain range rise from this spot to form new Magic Kingdom landmarks.

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