It finally happened!! The biggest Disney fan event of the year. Yes, we were at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California in 2026, to see and do EVERYTHING, do a ton of shopping, and get all the big news.

Even better? We want you to see what it was like, so let’s go inside D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event and GET TO IT. Let’s go!

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D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event took place August 14th through 16th at the Anaheim Convention Center, with some of the larger panels hosted at the nearby Honda Center. It was THE biggest event this year for Disney fans, and a great place to learn about some of Disney’s future plans, including plans for the parks, movies, and SO MUCH MORE. So let’s step inside. Here’s what it was like:

Thursday, August 13th

Technically, D23 starts on August 14th, but D23 Day at Disneyland Resort took place on August 13th. There was special entertainment, dance parties, merchandise, and more. Guests also received complimentary Mickey Mouse ear hats, which we’re obsessed with.

Plenty of characters were out and about. There were also lots of photo opportunities, and did we already mention shopping? We hope you brought an extra bag for all of your items.

We also got to see the brand-new Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey Mouse balloon coming to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! It’s the 100th year of the parade, and we’re so happy this balloon is joining the lineup.

Later, we went to the Disney Imagineers: Horizons exhibit and got a sneak peek at so many new lands. We were obsessed with all the ride details for Pueblo Esperanza in Animal Kingdom!

OBSESS OVER ALL THE RIDE UPDATES HERE!

We were screaming for the details shared for Monstropolis in Hollywood Studios.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEW DETAILS HERE!

Disney has been pretty quiet on Villains Land, so when we saw this update, we couldn’t stop oogling over all the details and what this could potentially mean for the land.

LEARN MORE ABOUT VILLAINS LAND UPDATES HERE!

Disney didn’t shy away from some Piston Peak updates in Magic Kingdom either. We got to see a layout of the whole land, and we’re already counting down the days till we can experience it ourselves.

READ MORE ABOUT PISTON PEAK HERE

There was so much to do on Thursday, and that’s just the start. Onto Friday!

Friday, August 14th

Let’s just say that this was a HUGE event (and it was sold out), so we were pretty much expecting to see crowds when we first arrived. The crowds were massive and ready for some fun!

Once that was all settled, we made our way to the showroom floor where you’ll find a ton of exhibits, booths, and more.

We got to hear more about Piston Peak and some of the ride details. The previous rally race looks more like a rally ride now with a single track and less of a racing element, and take a look at the ride vehicles! We’re so excited to try this out for ourselves.

READ MORE RIDE DETAILS HERE!

Of course, you can’t have a fan convention without costumes and cosplay from the fans! On day one, guests really outdid themselves, and it was a sight to see. This is honestly the exact reason why we love being Disney adults. We saw guests dressed up as Queen Amidala, Gisele from Encanto, Roz from Monsters, Inc., Princess Ariel and Prince Eric, and more!

CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR FAVORITE COSTUMES!

Speaking of fans in costumes, there was also a big costume meetup outside the convention center. They all got together to shout “welcome to D23”!

We got to check out the Marvel pavilion on the Expo’s showfloor, and it was everything a Marvel fan would want. It was a TVA walkthrough with tons of costumes and a few looks at Avengers: Doomsday. We got a look at costumes for Nightcrawler, Mystique, Captain America, Red Guardian, Black Panther, Bob, and Doctor Doom himself!

We got to check out a panel on Webtoon Comics, a new digital platform for comics. They want to pay homage to classic comics when they reformat them digitally. They’re collaborating a lot with Marvel, Star Wars, and more to stay true to the OG material.

Lots of new titles are coming, and lots of these stories come from listening to the fans. The stories are based on some of Disney’s most iconic villains. They’re not just cutting and pasting old stories; they’re translating old stories into Webtoons as intentional art. They compared Webtoons to Spider-Man: Brand New Day — taking classic stories and remaking them and redefining them.

We also got to check out the Ink & Paint panel where they recreated a cell from Alice in Wonderland for the 75th anniversary. Some cool facts were dropped during the panel, like how 1500 colors make up the Disney palette or how the oldest paint they have in the paint lab at the Ink & Paint building is from 1988.

They painted Alice’s hair with Giraffe color today, but it wouldn’t have been that color because Technicolor changed the way color looked, so it needed to be a light greenish yellow. Legendary Disney animator Eric Golderberg, started drawing Alice and animating her next motion.

It takes 12 different colors of ink to work on Alice, and they wear gloves to protect the cells. Apparently, the hardest character to ink is Mickey Mouse.

We got to hear more about Tropical Americas coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and apparently it has been in the works for a very long time. Joe Rohde was a part of the panel and said he wanted to get it done but couldn’t. Joan is the one who took the idea across the finish line. We didn’t learn anything new about the land, but Rohde shared that he met with a respected Mayan archeologist and spent time with him. He wanted to respect the differences between Mayan, Incan, etc. He noted that in media, the respect is not always given. It was cool to hear a little about the process of making this plan come to life!

But, of course, the BEST part of D23 is attending the panels, and one of the biggest is the Disney Entertainment Showcase, which offers first looks at upcoming movies and TV shows and often includes celebrity appearances.

Disney gave us SO many updates and release dates for upcoming movies, including Incredibles 3 coming in 2028 and Coco in 2029. Zootopia 3 is also confirmed! We also got a new look at Frozen 3, and we’re already feeling all the feels.

Pixar also has quite a few projects in the works, including Ghost Market for 2028, their first ghost movie, and Gatto, coming in 2027.

We’re probably way too excited for The Bluey Movie coming in August 2027 and the live-action Tangled movie coming in 2028. Did you see Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel? She looks incredible!

We also totally nerded out over a VisionQuest trailer that’s coming this October. More details for Avengers Doomsday and X-Men were announced, too.

READ ALL THE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS HERE!

That’s a wrap on Friday! Now onto Saturday.

Saturday, August 15th

Okay, we were up and ready to go again on Saturday! There were lots of panels to watch and plenty of souvenirs to buy.

Look at this plush collection! We’re totally going to need them all.

We also checked out some panels, including one about The Bluey Movie and…

…one with Disney Legends! It’s so cool to be in the same room with some of these icons and hear them talk about their experiences.

So, the most exciting part of the day (or evening, rather) was the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase. Now, THIS is the panel where we learned what’s coming to Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line. This is where we got a lot of HUGE announcements!

There were SO many announcements made, and you can read them all right here. From new concept art, timelines, names, and more, Disney didn’t hold back and was sharing news after news that is making us so excited for the future.

DISNEY JUST MADE 12 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Disney Cruise Line was also mentioned, and Disney talked a lot about the Disney Believe, one of its new ships coming in 2027. They’re also moving around some of the other ships.

DISNEY ANNOUNCED 4 CRUISE LINE ANNOUNCEMENTS

We got an update on Disneyland’s Avengers Campus, including hearing more about Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense, where you’ll need to help reassemble the Avengers to battle King Thanos and prevent the mad titan from wreaking havoc everywhere.

TWO NEW DISNEYLAND RIDES ANNOUNCE 2028 OPENING

Villains Land in Magic Kingdom got a massive shoutout too! Disney has been very quiet with this project, so we’ve been waiting and waiting to hear more. It will officially be called Villains Land and will have two attractions: a roller coaster themed around Maleficent and a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror.

RIDE NAME AND DETAILS ANNOUNCED FOR NEW CATACOMBS DARK RIDE IN VILLAINS LAND

A lot was shared about Monstropolis, including that it will open in 2027, minus the hanging door roller coaster. The stage show going in the old Muppet*Vision theater will open along with some food options like Harryhausen’s.

OPENING TIMELINE REVEALED FOR MONSTROPOLIS 

Pueblo Esperanza is looking amazing! We found out the names for all three attractions and some more concept art to get a better idea of what’s happening behind the construction walls. All of the original Encanto actors are coming back to voice their characters in the attraction, too.

‘ENCANTO’ RIDE NAME AND FIRST LOOK

Spaceship Earth is also getting a major refurbishment in EPCOT. A refurbishment was announced a few years ago, and the ride closed shortly before the 2020 renovation, only to reopen later with no mention of the refurbishment. We’re glad to hear it’s back and will get its first major refurbishment in 20 years.

SPACESHIP EARTH IS GETTING AN UPGRADE IN EPCOT

Dreamfinder is also coming back to EPCOT! Yes, you read that right. Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum said, “We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment.” We’re kinda in awe and cannot wait to hear more details.

THIS ICONIC EPCOT CHARACTER IS RETURNING AFTER 28 YEARS

A wild announcement also hit Animal Kingdom! The Yeti in Expedition Everest is getting fixed! He used to reach and grab at the audience but has been broken for a long time. Disney replaced the actual effect with flashing lighting to make it look a bit more menacing (and why we call him Disco Yeti), but the animatronic is coming back to life.

DISNEY WORLD IS ACTUALLY FIXING THE YETI

What a great night! There is so much to dive into, and we’re excited to see the future of Disney Parks. Let’s get going to Sunday!

Sunday, August 16th

Now onto the final day!

The biggest part of this day is the Disney Legends Award Ceremony, where Disney honors the people who’ve made Disney…well…Disney. This year’s inductees included Chris Berman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Susan Egan, Eric Goldberg, Anne Hathaway, Bob Iger, Kim Irvine, Dwayne Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Alan Tudyk.

We started off the day at a one-on-one conversation between Josh D’Amaro and Ginnifer Goodwin! During the conversation, D’Amaro shared more about his vision for the company and touched on the idea of “One Disney” — bringing The Walt Disney Company together around one shared vision as it moves forward.

Inside the show floor at Horizons, we got a look at the NEW models for the Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Moana statues for Disney Cruise Line!

We also got to see a new model of the Indiana Jones snake! SO COOL!

Here’s a closer look at the model of Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent — the new ride coming to Animal Kingdom in Disney World as a part of Pueblo Esperanza!

We went to the Disney Worldbuilders presentation, which held a panel with Jared Bush, Dave Filoni, Kevin Feige, Pete Docter, John Favreau, and Leslie Iwerks.

Next up was The Force of Innovation: Hasbro’s Grogu Animatronic, which featured a panel of Emily Bader, Mel Hershey, Adam Ostegard, Melissa Panzica, Claire Goolsby, and Ultimate Grogu! This presentation dove into the process of creating Grogu — did you know it took 38 people and over 1,000 iterations of the Animatronic until they finally got it right?!

We also got to hear a bit more about the Carousel of Progress updates, where they said that Bob Gurr will be working on the attraction! How cool is it to have an original Disney Imagineer who was hired by Walt Disney himself work on a robotic version of Walt?

READ MORE ABOUT THE CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS HERE!

The Disney Legends ceremony was spectacular, too. We got a bit emotional with everything (because how could we not) and seeing these Disney icons get the recognition they deserve is perfect. What a great way to wrap up the weekend!

CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT THE CEREMONY HERE!

Souvenirs

Throughout the whole weekend, you could buy lots of merchandise and souvenirs, and there are SO many collections. There are amazing collections like some dedicated to Disney Imagineering…

…The Muppets…

…general D23 souvenirs…

…and more.

CHECK OUT THE FULL GUIDE TO SHOPPING HERE

AND CHECK OUT WHAT D23 MERCHANDISE YOU CAN NOW BUY ONLINE!

Stay tuned for all the latest Disney news!

Have you ever attended a D23 event? What’s your favorite part of these events? Let us know in the comments!