Disneyland and Disney World: Summer tickets, new lands and rides in 2026 and beyond

Summer is here and Disneyland continues its stay throughout the year 70th anniversarya celebration of the original Disney theme park that opened in 1955. Three new rides are also being built at Disney’s California parks, along with a sprawling new Avatar Zone.

At Walt Disney World in Florida, four new lands are being built, themed around villains, Pixar characters and more.

Here’s everything you need to know about Disneyland and Disney World – starting with the offerings coming this summer, then exploring what’s coming beyond 2026.

Watch this: Imagineers Share Secrets of New Disney Ride Technology

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Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with The Muppets is now open

While MuppetVision 3D closed its doors last year to make way for an entire Pixar Monsters movie-themed land at Hollywood Studios, the Muppets are being moved to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. This overlay didn’t take long to complete: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith had its last day of operation on March 1, and the Muppets-themed version opens Tuesday, May 26.

“The legendary ride comes to life with a rock-heavy remix that drops guests straight into the middle of The Electric Mayhem’s biggest night. With high-speed thrills, a thrilling soundtrack and a VIP list like no other, this reimagined attraction hits all the right notes,” the Disney Parks Blog posted on April 16.

CNET’s Bridget Carey went behind the scenes to discover the technology used to update Rock n Roller Coaster and bring the Muppets characters to life.

Replacing Hollywood Studios’ old Muppets Quarter, Monstropolis, home to the Monsters, Inc. films, shorts, and Disney Plus. streaming series – will feature Disney’s first suspended roller coaster inside the city’s Laugh and Scream Factory.

“The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was climb on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley,” Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Experiences, told D23 in 2024. “Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and lift them into the air to take them away? We do that too. And you go along for the ride.” This TikTok shows the design concept for the Monsters Inc. ride.

MuppetVision 3D closed for good a year ago on June 8, 2025, but we don’t expect Monstropolis to be finished for another year or two. Bridget also visited the Monsters area under construction, and you can watch her full video on the new terrain below.

Watch this: I went inside the under construction Disney Monster Land. Here’s what I learned

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Disneyland’s 70th anniversary

Disneyland is continuing its 70th anniversary celebration, after kicking off in May 2025, for much of the summer. Its last day is August 9, 2026 – after which the parks will transition to Halloween decor on August 21, then the holidays on November 18, before fully returning to their natural state in early 2027.

There are plenty of 70th anniversary shows to see, including the Paint the Night parade, Celebrate Happy Cavalcade, and the Wondrous Journeys fireworks and projections on the castle. Mickey and his friends also wear 70th birthday celebration outfits.

You can view 70th anniversary-themed merchandise, food and drinks, as well as a projection show at Carthay Circle and a 50-foot sculpture of Sleeping Beauty Castle on the plaza between Disneyland and California Adventure; you can also find decorations scattered throughout Downtown Disney, Main Street USA, in Disney hotels and even inside the rides.

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 U.S.-themed makeover. Soarin’ Across America arrives July 2, 2026 and will feature the sights, sounds and scents of more than a dozen cityscapes and scenic areas.

Disney has released a trailer featuring Patrick Warburton, the original narrator and pilot of Soarin’, in which he says we will soon “sail through spacious skies” and perhaps see “amber waves of grain” and “purple mountain majesties.” This is part of Disney’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

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 June 19 event kicks off the Celebrate Soulfully: Summer Vibes celebration, which runs from June 19 to July 19 to celebrate Black music, food, art and culture. Concerts will take place on select days at California Adventure’s Paradise Gardens, as well as “special character meet-and-greets and live variety shows” on Fridays and Saturdays, according to Disney.

Bluey has arrived at Disneyland

Bluey and his family now have a stage show and themed area at the original Disney park. Debuting in March, Bluey’s Best Day Ever is located at Fantasyland Theater, next to Mickey’s Toontown, which has been transformed into Bluey’s classroom and school grounds, complete with a gnome village and fairy garden.

Bluey and his sister, Bingo, appear several times a day, alongside actors and musicians, to “bring to life the popular music and iconic games from Bluey’s beloved episodes.” These games will include “Keepy Uppy” and “Grandmas”, as well as appearances from Chattermax and Unicorse.

There are also puzzles, games, and photo ops throughout the Bluey area, and Disneyland serves Bluey-themed food at the Troubadour Tavern.

THE extremely popular The Australian cartoon about a family of dogs is a worldwide hit and Disney is expected to release a Bluey movie in 2027. (In the meantime, you can watch Bluey Episodes and Minisodes on Disney+.)

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: old characters, new Mandalorian missions

New characters have begun roaming the Star Wars-themed lands at 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 them integrate into the more modern world of Star Wars, Galaxy’s Edge also offers new accessories, merchandise, graphics and music (with the legendary score by John Williams).

“Black Spire Outpost will step back in time several decades, thoughtfully introducing beloved characters from the Star Wars timeline,” the Disney Parks Blog announced in April. “Each era will come to life with the same care and attention to detail with which the land was originally designed, masterfully weaving stories of time and space into one place.”

Darth Vader also joined the party, and you can still see Ahsoka Tano, The Mandalorian, Grogu, Rey, Chewbacca, and R2-D2.

In Tomorrowland, Space Mountain has transformed into Hyperspace Mountain for a limited time.

Disneyland (and Disney World’s Hollywood Studios) also added the Mandalorian and Grogu missions to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, tying in with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in the cinema. The new missions launched on May 22.

Discounted Summer Disney Tickets

Disneyland is now offering a summer ticket deal for kids, with a one-day Park Hopper ticket costing $50 per child, ages 3-9. It can be used until September 7.

Disneyland is also adding (and removing) a Magic Key option: the Explore Key will replace the Enchantment Key. All California residents will be able to purchase it, not just Southern California residents. It will allow access on weekdays in June and July, which were blocked 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.

For what Disney World calls Cool Kids’ Summer, it’s offering two free nights and two free days at the theme parks when you purchase a four-night, four-day Disney hotel package and a ticket package for a visit from May 26 to September 15. You can also save up to 30% on select Disney hotels between May 1 and October 4.

Cool Kids’ Summer also includes a free day at a Disney World water park (Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach) on the day you check-in when you stay at a Disney hotel between May 26 and September 8; and a free dining plan for children ages 3-9 when you purchase a dining plan for guests over 10 and a room at a Disney hotel.

California Adventure celebrates its 25th anniversary

The second Disney theme park built in Anaheim opened 25 years ago on February 8, 2001. Although the park’s appearance has changed a lot over those years, California Adventure is celebrating the quarter-century milestone in several ways: It’s bringing back the Soarin’ attraction at Soarin’ Over California until July 1; dressing Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on Buena Vista Street in new outfits, with solar designs like the one originally on the roller coaster; and offering birthday-themed food, merchandise and beverage products.

Disneyland Expansion: Avatar Zone Begins Construction

Disneyland is finally expansion after revealing his plans almost five years ago. The expansion is expected to take a few years and will push the park’s current boundaries beyond Downtown Disney and into nearby parking lots. It will also transform “part of the current Hollywood Backlot area”, leading to the permanent closure of the Monsters Inc. attraction in 2027.

Most of the extent ion will consist of adding an Avatar-themed land, based on the second film, The way of wateras well as Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will feature a dark ship ride, much like Pirates of the Caribbean, “taking guests to the great seas of Pandora.”

It follows the success of the world of Pandora, based on the Original Avatar moviein the animal kingdom of Disney World. Disney doesn’t yet have any dates or details on when it will be completed.

However, sooner than the Avatar land, a new plaza entrance “experience” will replace the current gateway entrance on the east side of Disneyland, as well as a new parking structure and pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard. Work will begin in the fall.

A Coco ride is coming to California Adventure

It won’t launch this year, but construction has begun behind the scenes at California Adventure to build a new dark ride. This will be a theme for the the beloved Pixar film Coco and populated with audio-animatronics.

The Coco ride will be located in the area near Pixar Pier and Paradise Gardens, in what are currently primarily backstage areas for the cast. There will be characters and music from the films while traveling to the land of the dead with Miguel.

Two more Avengers Campus rides

Avengers Campus already has two rides: Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Soon, that number 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 the Walt Disney Imagineering Instagram account on February 26. The engineer showed off what the Avengers Infinity Defense structure looks like now, including its columns, foundations, and a walkway that will “support projectors, speakers, and other types of show elements.”

Avengers Infinity Defense will see you come together alongside the Avengers, fighting King Thanos – set in a multiverse – with appearances from Black Panther, Ant-Man and Hulk.

Stark Flight Lab, the second ride, will allow you to test Tony Stark’s latest technology.

“In Stark Flight Lab, guests will sit in ‘gyro-kinetic pods’ and ride along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot arm,” Disney said. “This robotic arm will hoist you into the air where you will perform several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and a few other Avengers.”

Construction began in 2025, but no launch date has yet been revealed.

The bad guys are coming to Disney World

Although it won’t be ready in time for 2026, construction on Disney’s first villain-themed area is well underway. Villains Land, which will celebrate all the classic villains from Disney films, is coming to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida.

Imagineers took inspiration from the architectural structures of Paris and Barcelona – like Gaudí’s buildings in the latter – to design Villains Land, Disney revealed during Destination D23 in August 2025.

“Paris is a city full of classic Art Nouveau…the natural patterns and swirling designs make nature seem ‘cursed,’ as if magic has frozen it,” Disney said on its parks blog. “Barcelona’s artistic style is modernism, which features less natural motifs but makes the architecture appear supernatural and unsettling.”

Villains Land, first teased during J23 2022will be positioned on the other side of Big Thunder Mountain, in the upper left corner of the current Magic Kingdom map and will extend to where the Haunted Mansion is located.

Two major attractions are planned, as well as restaurants and shops. We still don’t know when it will open.

First look at Piston Peak

Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom have been closed and removed from the online map, as Disney works to build a new land themed after Pixar’s Cars films. Cars Land, which was added to Disney’s California Adventure in 2012, remains extremely popular in the west, so it was only a matter of time before it was added to the eastern outpost.

In an expansion of Frontierland — which also includes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Route 66 will feature a look inspired by the Rocky Mountains and “the American frontier and its national parks.”

The Disney Parks Blog described the new area as “an awe-inspiring wilderness filled with towering trees, snow-capped mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, roaring rivers and awe-inspiring geysers.” Disney Imagineers “use a style of architecture called ‘Parkitecture,’ which was developed by the National Park Service to create structures in harmony with the natural environment.”

There will be two attractions, including a rally race. Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and Imagineer Michael Hundgen talked about the new transportation vehicle, and you can see a TikTok of Imagineers testing off-road vehicles in the Arizona desert to create what the ride will be like. Each rally car will have its own personality, name and racing number, Docter said.

“These are all things Lightning McQueen and Mater have never experienced before, like running over rocky terrain, climbing mountain peaks, and dodging around geysers. How do we take these real-world elements and put a Cars twist on them?” Disney Parks said in a previous blog post.

While construction has begun and Disney has even released a map showing what the land might look like (geysers shooting water, a flowing river, an off-road rally track, mountains, a visitor pavilion, a Ranger HQ, and hiking trails), we don’t expect Piston Peak to open until at least 2027 or 2028.

Tropical Americas are coming to Animal Kingdom

The DinoLand USA area of ​​Animal Kingdom is no more, with the area on the Disney World map now a virgin sea of ​​grass as Disney slowly builds out the new land of the Tropical Americas.

Construction began in fall 2024, with TriceraTop Spin and the Mid Zone closing in January 2025. The Dinosaur ride remained open until February 1 of this year, but has since closed as it morphed into a new Indiana Jones ride through a Mayan temple (a relatively easy overlay since Disneyland’s Indiana Jones would follow almost the exact same ride track as Disney World’s Dinosaur).

The Pueblo Esperanza area will be themed like a South American village, with an Encanto-themed attraction, where you can explore Antonio’s rainforest room inside the Casita, as well as a huge quick-service restaurant, fountain and carousel.

Tropical Americas is scheduled to open in 2027.

Disney Cruise Line: New ships

Disney has been investing in launching cruise ships in recent years, including the Disney Wish in 2022, the Disney Treasure in 2024 and the Disney Destiny in 2025.

The Disney Adventure made its maiden voyage from Singapore on March 10, the first of four new ships expected to set sail soon. Disney’s next cruise ship, the Disney Believe, was unveiled by new CEO Josh D’Amaro on March 18.

“The Disney Believe will bring to life the magical worlds of Encanto and Frozen, the wishing wells of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the depths of the sea with Moana and The Little Mermaid,” Disney said.

The Disney Believe is expected to sail in late 2027. Other ship names and destinations have not yet been revealed, but they are expected to sail before 2031.

Watch this: Imagineers Share Secrets of New Disney Ride Technology

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All the rest of what’s new at Disneyland and Disney World

Here are the other new features coming soon to the theme parks:

• A 3D printed propeller canoe was added to the Jungle Cruise ride in January.
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin closed its doors at Magic Kingdom in August to receive new vehicles equipped with video monitors and two portable blasters with always-on lasers in two different colors (so you can finally see which laser is yours). There’s also a new opening scene featuring Buddy the friendly robot, and static Z targets will light up when you hit them. The ride reopened on April 8.
• The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened May 3 at Magic Kingdom after a lengthy renovation. It will include “a journey through the spectacular natural phenomena of Rainbow Caverns.”
• Disney World’s Blizzard Beach water park reopened on February 15 and Typhoon Lagoon on May 12.
• Summer shows for kids at Disneyland include the Disney Friends Dance Party at Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure and Stitch’s Intergalactic Beach Party Blast at Tomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.
• Bluey and Bingo meet-and-greets will take place at Disney World at the Animal Kingdom Conservation Station as part of the Cool Kids’ Summer celebration, which runs from May 26 to September 8.
• Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle is currently being repainted in its original themed colors: gray, cream, blue and gold.
• Starting in July, you can book a wedding at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. Weddings will take place in the courtyard just outside the front doors of the mansion. The space can accommodate up to 25 people. Unfortunately, it does not include midnight themed ceremonies: you can only have your wedding there early in the morning, before the park opens. Other new wedding venues at Disneyland include the Magnolia Park Gazebo (right in front of Tiana’s Palace), Magnolia Park Terrace (right in front of the new Haunted Mansion queue), and Fantasy Faire Garden (across from the castle).
• Following the release of the Walt Disney animatronic at Disneyland, Disney announced that a similar animatronic would be added to Disney World’s Carousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom in a new introductory scene to the ride.