Big day at D23

Yesterday was like Christmas! I am so excited about all of the new "lands"! The Jungle Cruise restaurant. The new Soarin!!!! PotC with Depp and Bloom!!!

The only Marvel info I saw was for Hong Kong, I wish we would get it stateside. I would drug myself up and fly across country for that!!!

All I could think yesterday was "I am so glad we purchased DVC!!!!"

Yesterday was an awesome day! I am so excited for all the new things coming!

I am fairly certain Marvel was not for the states at all. At this point anyway.

They are not getting a Marvel Land - however the building that will host their "Star Wars Launch Bay" will also host a Stark Industries display and possibly a meet and greet. This isn't actually new, it's the same space where they've done Thor & Captain America Meet & Greets in the past, I think it's just getting a new overlay and maybe some costumes or interactive displays.

I was overjoyed when Star Wars was announced. It was long overdue. I'm also glad the Toy Story Land isn't an exact replica of the ones in Hong Kong or Paris. There's two original rides that differ from the international Toy Story Lands at the other Disney parks. Soarin' over the world sounds like a great concept and already makes my favorite ride at Epcot even better. Part of me kinda wishes they'd pull the Star Tours move and make every ride experience different a random video like flying over a different continent but I'm fine with one film flying over different countries.

Anyway, I think it's time Epcot get some attention in terms of re-theming or expansion because I doubt the Frozen ride and the added Soarin' capacity will be enough to revitalize the entire park. The cynic in me says don't expect anything regarding an Epcot makeover until the next D23 Expo in 2017....

While I think the Star Wars land sounds interesting I am totally excited about Toy Story Land! I love the bright colors and childhood aspects of WDW most. That aerial drawing looks so fun and cheerful!

I am SUPER excited for Toy Story land to be added. Though now I am sure that is why they removed the back lot tour, which I am kind of sad about because it was always cool seeing all the old movie props and where they make the costumes and such. We got to go on it one last time in 2013. Toy Story does hold a special place in my heart as it was the first movie I ever saw in the movie theatre. So I am excited for that.

The Star Wars land I feel like is LONG over due. The Star Tours has been there for a long time but I guess they didn't really own Star Wars until recently. Especially with Star Wars weekend now I feel like it is a good addition and both are good additions to HS as there isn't a whole lot there right now. The biggest rides are Tower of Terror, Rocking Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Mania. And then there are a few smaller rides such as, The Great Movie Ride. Star Tours, and I think that is pretty much it now. The rest is really shows. So it could use a little more stuff added to it for sure! All in all I was pretty excited about the news. More so for these updates than Avatar Land...

When we first saw CarsLand, I wanted it to come to WDW badly, but I'm actually really excited about Toy Story Land. I think it's great to have different attractions on each coast because it makes visiting the opposite coast attractive, too. I was disappointed that yet another Toontown will have to be demolished, but I'm glad that we at least got to see it in March and that I took 10 million pictures of it!!

I'm with jw24--I was hoping for some surprise announcement about the future of Epcot. I read some comments from people who were disappointed about the film change at Soarin' and I'll say that I do agree with them that I think California Adventure should remain Soarin' over California. I think it makes perfect sense for the film to change at Epcot (I'll miss the smell of those orange groves and the DL fireworks scene!!) and at the other park that has Soarin' (DLP?)

I thought that maybe we'd hear the new name for DHS. I feel like Hollywood Adventure is the only choice I've heard that makes any sense, but it would be nice to know for sure.

Oh yeah and we're beyond excited that Star Wars Land has finally been confirmed!

My only concern about Star Wars Land (and Avatar!) is that they seem like they could be a little "dark". I'm not impressed with either set of concept drawings and they seem a little dreary and too Sci-Fi for Disney's overall feel.

I like them - to be fair, both Star Wars and Avatar are less bright and breezy than the rest of Disney, but Avatar (as much as I hate the movie) will bring a new element to the Animal Kingdom, whilst Star Wars will be countered by the bright and breezy Pixar expansion.

As for Epcot, I only wish they were able to release the Marvel aspect, as there is a lot that could be applied and made to seem edutainment (see my thread for my wishlist). I'd like more countries in the World Showcase but less Frozen - Frozen belongs in the Magic Kingdom somewhere, not in the World Showcase. If you're going to do that, then you might as well theme up all of the countries for various Disney properties: Mary Poppins for the UK, Ratatouille for France, Mulan for China, etc. Frozen is a phenomena but it shouldn't be used to redress a real country.

Alicemouse, the latest is that Toontown DL will not have to be demolished...

I'm looking forward to all this stuff.

Funny- Epcot attendance has been flat for a number of years but they are not addressing it besides a new Soarin movie and re-theming Maelstrom. I guess they figure that will do it.

MAAAAAAAAAYBE after all the work to HS is done they will focus on Epcot. I would love to see growth in Epcot, it really needs to be brought up to date (FW to be exact). It feels like there is so much empty space there that could be put to good use.

As far as WS goes, I was reading in a book the other day (The Hidden Magic of WDW) that there is room for 7 more pavilions... I m trying hard to wrap my brain around that one... But, hey if it's true, DO IT!

This site reckons there's space for more...http://www.yesterland.com/worldshowcase.html

I personally love Epcot. I a not a huge thrill ride person. And I feel like it has a lot to do there. I think there are some things that do need to be updated. One of those is the Ellen ride. Love that ride but it is getting old..... It has been the same since I first went in '96. While I feel like it does fit the theme of Epcot it needs some kind of update please!! If they touch Spaceship Earth I will be sad. I love that ride and I didn't care for the update in it that much. I am a HUGE history buff and I feel like that ride is like riding through History and a HUGE educational aspect of Disney. The other rides are great and I love Living with the Land. It is very educational and the fact that the Garden Grill uses things from there to serve is awesome.
I think were it gets a little less exciting especially for the younger audiences is the different countries. I feel like more needs to be added or they need to add a little more excitement to them. The Food and Wine Festival is great but only happens once a year.
I feel like there needs to be more exploration or something more exciting added to the countries. But I am not sure what. And I am very displeased with Frozen being added to Norway. I liked the ride the way it is and feel like it showcases the Country which is what its about learning about other countries and their cultures without having to actually go that far away. I hope they didn't take too much away from it. I guess I will find out when we go in September 2016 it will be open by then.

To be fair, all of those characters have (at least at one point) had a presence in each of those countries. Remy used to appear at Chefs de France, and Mary Poppins and Mulan still have meet and greats at their respective country's pavilion. For the majority of America, Frozen has a much bigger draw then any of those other movies do at this point in time, hence the attraction. Not saying I agree with adding a Frozen ride to Norway, just playing devil's advocate

Wait wait wait! They had Remy in France and I never saw him! What the heck! The only ones I have ever seen in France is Marie and Belle and Beast! I love Remy!

I know...but theming a country due to the popularity of one movie versus having a presence are two different things. How many kids are going to grow up thinking Frozen took place in a real country or is actually part of that country's history? I just feel expanding Frozen in this way needs to be done in a more appropriate place, not in a World Showcase...

If they are building an additional Summerhus space for the meet & greet, I'm not so sure that they won't change the entrance of Frozen Ever After to coincide with it. Who knows? Maybe Arendelle will end up being a Norway-adjacent area...

All the pavilions are getting boring. They need sprucing up. Except Canada. You can't get much more exciting than the lumberjack show. Would it kill them to book fresh acts at the pavilions occasionally? I started watching kids doing acrobatics at the China pavilion years ago. They're going to be collecting social security soon. And the chair guy in France is going to be stacking his own wheel chair soon.

I've seen these shows so many times I don't even pause for them anymore.

Yet the one show, that you can see a hundred times and still enjoy (Off Kilter) they get rid of.

But the guys beating the drums in Japan six times a day are still there.

Agreed (though I was never an Off Kilter fan).

I'm a big acrobat and chair stacker fan, but I coach gymnastics...so kinda my wheelhouse. I agree though that some fresh acts in WS would be a step in the right direction and I'm all about filling in those empty World Showcase spaces. Let's see...7? How about Greece, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Spain, India, and maybe Australia???

I think Future World needs a ton of attention, as well. I really think Epcot needs a roller coaster because they're the only Disney park that doesn't have one plus a brand new one will attract crowds. The fact that Soarin' has 2-3 hour wait times almost every day certainly speaks for itself. There's not enough rides to adequately disperse the crowds. The added third theater and Frozen ride will help a little in terms of lines but if they were to add more rides, they could cut the wait even more. A good mix of IP and non-IP attractions should do the trick. Time to close down the outdated Ellen ride, Captain EO and even Mission Space since that's not a fan favorite. I would give Imagination a chance to stay contingent on the Imagineers making a new version or bringing back the original. Otherwise, it needs to go.

In my dream world, I would use Marvel in Epcot without hesitation. But since that's not likely going to happen, an alternate vision would be have a maglev train based roller coaster with multiple launches but still family friendly, a hovercraft attraction using the trackless ride systems like they do for Mystic Manor in Hong Kong and the Ratatouille ride in Paris, an Incredibles walk through attraction where people visit various stations and activities to determine their super powers (Running in place station to test for speed, reaction time tests for force fields, etc.), re-theme the environmental film in the Land to Wall-E. (I think our fellow user MandaLynn first had that idea/suggestion.) and make a ride for Big Hero 6.

Get rid of Mission Space, I love that ride! And I have never or have never seen the wait time for Soarin that long before, though I do go at less crowded times of the year, the longest I have waited was about 30min usually we walk right on. I feel like it should stay true to what EPCOT means, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and there should be more or updated rides about technology and learning. Like I said I am a History buff and I like learning I feel like Epcot has always been the "educational" park and should remain that way. And I have to add the picture. This was my now fiance's face getting on Mission Space before we closed it. Lol. I think he was having a slight panic with such a small space. He likes rollercoaster, I am not a huge fan. He thought this ride was more intense than a rollercoaster.