The theme park capital of the world continues to innovate and grow, with the premier powerhouses of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort leading the way.
Both theme parks are heavily investing in expanding and updating their flagship parks and resorts.
Universal debuted the brand new park, Epic Universe, a little over a year ago, and is making big changes to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
Disney World announced a few years ago it would invest $60 billion over the next decade, and the work for new lands at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios is already underway. Plus, a new 10-story resort with a lazy river pool is taking shape.
Thanks to X (formerly Twitter) user bioreconstruct, we have new aerial views of the progress being made for both Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.
Disney World Expansion Updates
Walt Disney World Resort's Disney Lakeshore Lodge is set to debut in summer of 2027. Disney recently announced the outdoor play area here would be called The Wetlands, drawing inspiration from Pocahontas.
Lazy river anyone?
There is no announced open date yet for the new Monsters Inc. roller coaster Disney's Hollywood Studios, but the anticipated arrival date is likely 2028 as construction just recently began.
Magic Kingdom will feature two new lands in the future, although we still don't know when they will officially debut. Some anticipate the earliest we could see Piston Peak National Park, which will feature attractions from the hit movie Cars, by 2028, however, 2029 seems like a safer bet. And the new Villains Land in Magic Kingdom isn't likely until 2029 or 2030.
As you can see, the space is incredibly large for these two new lands.
Universal Orlando Resort New Project Updates
The brand new Epic Universe is barely a year old but there are talks about expanding that park as well. Nothing has been announced yet, but the space for adding new lands or building off existing lands is there for Epic Universe.
What we do know for Universal Orlando Resort's growth is that the brand new roller coaster, Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift, will launch in 2027. It replaces the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster and will feature 360-degree spinning drift cars and a 170-foot vertical spike over Universal CityWalk.
Jurassic Park River Adventure is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation right now that will include track replacements, animatronic upgrades, roof replacements and more.
One thing we don't know much about is what Universal will do with the area formerly known as the Lost Continent section in Islands of Adventure.
The plan is for a major new themed area, but no details have been revealed yet. Speculation is that the park will make something around Pokémon or The Legend of Zelda.
Both parks continue to shake things up and create new experiences for travelers of all ages.
Which new update has you most excited?
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