Though 2022 was an exciting year at Walt Disney World, with the 50th-anniversary celebrations in full swing and the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, it looks like 2023 is going to be even bigger at the resort, with some very exciting new attractions getting ready to make their debut next year. As always, timelines are subject to change, but as of right now, these are all of the new additions that Disney fans should be able to check out in 2023:
1: TRON Lightcycle / Run
Park: Magic Kingdom
Opening Date: April 3, 2023
It’s hard to believe that TRON Lightcycle / Run has been under construction for over five years now, and while the attraction seems like it is close to being finished (it has been testing over the past few weeks during park hours at the Magic Kingdom), Disney surprised fans several weeks ago at the D23 Expo by announcing that this attraction would not be coming online until Spring 2023.
TRON / Lightcycle Run will be the first big attraction opening of the year, and there has been some speculation that Disney is holding back the opening of this attraction to get guests excited about visiting the resort early next year. While there’s no way to know if that’s true or not, it is still very exciting to finally have confirmation that this long-in-development new ride will be completed early next year.
When the ride is ready to go, guests can look forward to climbing aboard their very own Lightcycle and racing against the Grid’s most menacing Programs, crossing through energy gates as well as thrilling twists and turns. The attraction will also have the distinction of being the fastest at Walt Disney World when it opens, reaching a top speed of 60 MPH.
2. Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana
Park: EPCOT
Expected opening range: Late 2023
Disney announced in 2019 that the first-ever attraction based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios hit film Moana would be coming to EPCOT. Named Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana, this new walkthrough attraction will let guests interact with magical, living water in a beautiful and inspiring setting that includes fountains, waterfalls, and more. Though characters and iconography from the Moana film will feature heavily in the attraction, the focus will be on education, making this a natural addition to a park that was initially conceived to make learning accessible and fun.
Work on this exciting new attraction is ongoing, and even though much of the progress on this upcoming area is hidden behind the park’s many construction walls, it was confirmed during the recent D23 Expo that this attraction will officially be ready for guests to experience at EPCOT before the end of the year in late 2023.
3. Unnamed new nighttime spectacular
Park: EPCOT
Expected opening range: 2023
This year’s D23 Expo has a lot of information about changes to Walt Disney World’s nighttime spectaculars, including the return of the fan-favorite show Happily Ever After to the Magic Kingdom next spring after the 50th anniversary show Enchantment finishes its run in March. However, in a surprise move, Disney also confirmed that EPCOT’s Harmonious show, which also debuted in 2021 as part of the resort’s 50th-anniversary celebrations would be retired as well, and would be replaced by a new show in 2023.
Speculation has been running rampant in the weeks since this announcement was made, especially as the interim EPCOT Forever Show, which debuted after IllumiNations was retired in 2019, has been confirmed to fill in the gap when Harmonious ends its run on April 2 and the new nighttime spectacular debuts.
Unfortunately, Disney has remained tight-lipped about the future of this new nighttime entertainment at EPCOT, so we’ll have to wait to learn more about this mysterious new nighttime offering at this park. Disney has also not said whether the giant water screens and animatronic arms that were installed as part of Harmonious would be torn down to make way for this new show, so stay tuned for information on that as well!
4. Dreamer’s Point
Park: EPCOT
Expected opening range: Late 2023
Another new addition that is scheduled to make its way to EPCOT before the end of the year is Dreamer’s Point. This peaceful new area of the park will include lush gardens that guests can explore as well as a statue of Walt Disney sitting in the shadow of Spaceship Earth. This new area will also include stirring musical performances as well as festival fun throughout the year according to Disney’s official description of the area.
This new area is less of an attraction by itself and more of a green, restful space inside this park, but when it is complete before the end of next year, it will cap off the years-long reinvention of EPCOT that kicked off back in 2017. Though technically previously-announced projects like the Play Pavilion and Spaceship Earth refurbishment could still happen in the future, once Dreamer’s Point is finished, it will mark an end to the current construction projects inside this park.
Returning attractions in 2023
Though not brand new attractions, 2023 will mark the return of several attractions at Walt Disney World that were previously closed, including the following:
- Narcoossee’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort will reopen sometime in 2023.
- Ariel’s Grotto character experience is rumored to be reopening in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom in 2023.
Unfortunately, no reopening is currently rumored for Enchanted Tales With Belle, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, or Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple which have all been closed since 2020 and sadly may never reopen.
