One thing remains constant: Disney likes to take its sweet time with its theme park projects.

We’ve been visiting the Disneyland Resort each week and tracking the progress of the expansion happening over at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure! This project will double the size of the land and will introduce two NEW rides — and construction has been well underway all year. While progress has been apparent, it seems there’s still A TON of work to be done.

Expansion plans were initially announced at 2024’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, and the land was once again talked about two years later at this year’s D23 expo in Anaheim.

During the Disney Experiences Showcase, it was revealed that the expansion will be completed in 2028 — FOUR YEARS after its initial reveal. That has us scratching our heads a little…

The land itself opened in 2021, and construction on the expansion project really began in early 2025. Over a year later, the work being done has been obvious, and it’s already looking fairly far along.

That got us thinking that — ideally — the land might be ready by late 2027. HOWEVER, the reveal of a 2028 opening date (only the year was announced, and not an official date or seasonal timeline) tells us that we were being overly optimistic. While it seems that progress is moving at a good pace, it’s not nearly close to being done.

So far, we know the land will have two new attractions — the bigger being Avengers Infinity Defense. This new ride will take you on an adventure through the multiverse as you join the Avengers to take on King Thanos (a version of Thanos that won). According to Disney, “Technology that allows the Avengers to jump between worlds has gone missing, and King Thanos is using it to wreak havoc everywhere. Recruits will travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City alongside the likes of big and small heroes… You also just might find yourself face-to-face with King Thanos, too.”

Disney teased the use of both massive practical set pieces and screen-based mechanics, as well as the ride vehicles — giving us the idea that this ride will function similarly to the Transformers and Spider-Man rides at the Universal theme parks.

We also know the ride will feature several known Avengers and their movie actors — including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

This is supposed to be the big e-ticket attraction the land has promised since it opened back in 2021. So far, that title is still held by Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT.

Adjacent to the ride will be Stark Flight Lab. This ride will take you on a simulated flight journey so you can feel what it’s like to be Iron Man.

You’ll be seated in a two-person “gyro-kinetic pod” that will roll along a track and then connect to a robot arm that will sling you around.

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Again, this will feature Downey Jr. as Iron Man — as well as other cameos, like Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and Anthony Mackie as the Falcon!

This will be a ride that isn’t so friendly for folks prone to motion sickness, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.

We’re disappointed that the wait for these new rides is longer than expected, but you can trust us to bring you all the latest developments over the coming years! Follow us at the Disney Food Blog for more!

CONFIRMED: Disney Drops 19 Park Expansion Announcements

Do you think this expansion will be worth the wait? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Disney is TEASING us with a new mystery.

If you’re a Disney Parks history buff, you’re likely familiar with the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.). But if you’re not, allow me to educate you. This “secret” society has ties to many Disney attractions around the world. Its members include many fictional characters from the backstories of Disney rides, and as new rides and characters are added, the backstory of the S.E.A. grows. And now, it looks like Disney is planning a big reveal!

If there’s an adventure-related Disney attraction, ride, or offering in the parks (without a previously-establed IP), it probably has some kind of tie to the S.E.A. Think Jungle Cruise, Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland, Tower of Terror in Tokyo DisneySea, or Trader Sam’s in Disney World and Disneyland Resort. Those are just a handful of the more than two dozen Disney locations that have ties to this fictional society. It’s woven so deeply into the backstories of Disney that fans have become heavily interested in it.

So when Disney announced that the S.E.A. would be present at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, and that they’d be there to share a never-before-seen artifact, we knew we had to check it out! Walt Disney Imagineering hosted a special panel where they introduced some new history of the S.E.A. and revealed a mysterious crate. A crate which, when opened, was EMPTY!

Well, we suppose there was one thing in the crate — a letter. The letter noted that a new villain has stolen the artifact, and now it’s up to Disney fans and S.E.A. enthusiasts to find out who did it! We were told that follow-up clues would be shared on the Walt Disney Imagineering Instagram account after D23. This quest will likely lead us to some new information for an upcoming attraction or offering.

The first clue was posted on the Instagram account shortly following D23. You’ll be able to solve these clues either by walking through Disneyland or looking up pictures of the park online at home. You can read the first clue below. WARNING: Do not scroll past the Instagram post below and continue reading this article if you want to avoid spoilers. Or, just figure out the riddle on your own and then come right back!

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Here’s our interpretation of this first clue — the description given in the riddle is clearly Main Street, U.S.A., and it seems to lead you straight to the cinema. Outside the cinema is the ticket-taker, named Tilly (wave to Tilly, everyone!). The end of the riddle asks what she’s drinking, which is tea. The first letter to know is ‘T.’

Each clue will reveal a new letter, and those letters will need to be unscrambled to reveal the name of the villain who took the artifact. So far, we know from this riddle that the villain is an S.E.A. reject. Though it’s not confirmed by Disney, it’s possible that these clues could tie into a new project for Disneyland…ya know, since they’re using Disneyland as the background of the scavenger hunt?

And now Disney has revealed yet another clue!

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Now, it’s safe to say that this clue was much trickier than the first. But after some time we think we’ve figured it out! The clue says “find another letter where steam fills the air” which we think means the Disneyland Railroad! Now to figure out the exact letter another part of the clue explains “the view from this car is quite presidential” and the presidential car on the train is named the Lily Belle so we think the next letter is L.

We’ll be on the lookout for more clues and we’ll let you know what we discover. This is a fun way for Disney fans to learn about the next news, and we’re excited to uncover each answer as we go!

Learn More About Disney’s Secret Society From This Older Post of Ours!

Are you trying out this scavenger hunt? Tell us in the comments!

With the sitework for the brand new Coco attraction underway and construction starting soon at Disney California Adventure, Disney offered more on what to expect at the ride when it opens on Pixar Pier in the coming years.  Following a performance of “La Llorona” by Los Lobos, Neil Patrick Harris and Disney Imagineers gave D23 […]

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In a surprise announcement at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026’s Disney Experiences Showcase, Disney revealed that an all-new Tomorrowland is in development for Disneyland!  The thrilling announcement came as part of the big Disney Horizons: A Carousel of Progress Disney Experiences Showcase at the Honda Center.  Here’s what was announced and what we know: […]

The post D23 2026: BREAKING – NEW Tomorrowland announced for Disneyland!!! appeared first on MiceChat.

As always, Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event is a must-do for theme park fans.  This year’s pavilion, Imagineering: Horizons, takes on a Carousel of Progress theme, giving fans updates on projects underway around the world. From Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure to Piston Peak at Walt Disney World […]

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Who’s ready for some massive Avengers Campus news?

So, we’ve been super excited ever since Disney promised a huge expansion to Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure that will bring two NEW rides to the land that sound pretty amazing. Well, we’ve learned a little more about that expansion, and now we have brand new details to share!

We’re LIVE at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, where we’re learning a LOT more about all the new lands and expansions coming to Disney Parks. Well, we just got some huge updates about the Avengers Campus expansion over in Disneyland, so let’s get into all the details of what we’ve learned. Thanks to a sneak peek we just got at the Imagineering: Horizons exhibit, we now have a model of the new expansion to look at!

From the model, we can see what a MASSIVE expansion this really is, especially because we really are getting our own Avengers Tower! The largest part of this expansion will be for Avengers Infinity Defense, one of the two new attractions on its way. This is a ride that will take you on an adventure through the multiverse to go up against King Thanos (yep, he’s King of everything in an alternate universe, and that’s a very bad thing). Here’s the plot: “Technology that allows the Avengers to jump between worlds has gone missing, and King Thanos is using it to wreak havoc everywhere. Recruits will travel to iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City alongside the likes of big and small heroes… You also just might find yourself face-to-face with King Thanos, too.”

The second ride being added to the land is Stark Flight Lab, which will take you on a tour through Tony Stark’s lab so you can literally ride on a simulator that makes it seem like you’re flying in one of Iron Man’s suits. This new model also gives us a look at what the part of the attraction will look like.

You’ll be seated in a two-person “gyro-kinetic pod” that will roll along a track and then connect to a robot arm that will sling you around like you’re flying. Needless to say, this ride might NOT be for everyone, but it looks SO cool. Check out the look we got at the ride vehicle/seats below — they look pretty epic!

We’ll be covering all the big news coming out of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

Everything You Need To Know About D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event!

Our friend and Disney University alum, Doug Lipp, is back with the final part of his 3-part letter to Disneyland. In Part 3, he applauds expansive new projects and the leadership team’s renewed passion for improving show quality, while simultaneously offering improvement suggestions for an area of concern: In addition to growth, Disneyland must maintain […]

The post Dear Disneyland, I’m Worried About You – Part 3 – Plussing The Show appeared first on MiceChat.

The next generation of Audio-Animatronics is no longer a concept. Disney has put its new projection-mapped face technology into a Disney theme park attraction for the first time, and it shows up in one of Disneyland’s oldest scenes. The skeleton pirate atop the gold in Pirates of the Caribbean contains the first projection-mapped Audio-Animatronic face for a Disney theme park attraction. What he can do now wasn’t possible on any Disney figure before this.

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What Just Debuted at Disneyland

The figure on top of the gold in scene 11 of Pirates of the Caribbean is the same greedy pirate guests have passed for 59 years, frozen as a skeleton. Disney has now brought him to life using a new hybrid system that pairs a traditional animatronic with a real-time projected face. It is the first park installation of the next-generation Audio-Animatronics technology Imagineering revealed last year.

Disney frames the result as the character’s full backstory. In its announcement, Imagineering said the new technology lets the pirate show a story guests never saw, calling it “the story that’s been there all along.” The story runs as a loop: the pirate finds a single cursed gold coin, the spell freezes him the moment he picks it up, his arm later drops the coin and frees him, and his greed pulls him back to grab it again. Imagineering describes three distinct moods that carry him through that cycle.

At the time, Disney named characters that could benefit, including Mike Wazowski, Lightning McQueen, and Hades, and fans wondered whether the tease pointed toward Monstropolis, Piston Peak National Park, or Villains Land. The Pirates figure is the answer to the most basic open question from that reveal: where the technology would show up first. It debuted in a classic scene rather than a new land.

Calibration is where the project shines. A camera system in the scene normally needs visible targets to locate an object, but the heavily costumed pirate did not lend itself to that, so Imagineering built the calibration markers directly into his bandanna. Those markers stay invisible to guests. They activate under UV light, so the system calibrates at night when the markers glow yellow, and the UV lights switch off during the day. The scene uses two projectors, with only one active at a time, and the second standing by as a backup. Disney also built redundancy into the tracking itself, so even if a motor fails and the figure moves incorrectly, the projected face stays aligned.

When Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run first opened with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, the reaction from many fans was surprisingly mixed. Walking through the Falcon itself was jaw-dropping. Sitting in the cockpit was a genuine childhood dream come true. But once the mission began, many guests found themselves wondering if Disney had built an […]

The post Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Gets A Mandalorian & Grogu Upgrade – But Is It Finally The Ride Fans Wanted? appeared first on MiceChat.