D23 Unveils Spider-Man Land and New Rides for Disney’s International Parks

Disney’s expansion of its parks isn’t limited to its U.S. resorts. During the Horizons: D23 Disney Experiences Showcase, emceed by Neil Patrick Harris, the parks and cruises panel revealed how its international parks will continue to grow and evolve in the years ahead with the addition of new attractions and some returning features.

From Paris to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, that includes reimagined versions of longtime attractions alongside entirely new experiences inspired by Marvel, The Lion King, Wreck-It Ralph, Spider-Man, and more, with each resort taking a different approach to what comes next.

Starting at Disneyland Paris, one of the resort’s most iconic attractions is going back to its roots. In 2027, Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain will close as Disney prepares to return the attraction to its original Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune theme. Inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon, the 1995 version gave Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain its distinctive retro-futuristic aesthetic. The reimagined attraction will bring back that original look with some updates for today, along with the return of its original soundtrack.

Disneyland Paris is also preparing to bring The Lion King to life in a new way at Disney Adventure World with what Disney is calling the first-ever Lion King ride. Inspired by the classic animated film, the attraction will take guests into the Pride Lands and retell Simba’s journey from cub to king, moving through both the joyous and more emotional moments of his story. Disney also offered a first look at a new interpretation of Simba’s climactic confrontation with Scar, giving fans an idea of how some of the film’s most memorable moments will be reimagined for the attraction.

Over at Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Space Mountain is getting a much more forward-looking reinvention. Space Mountain: Earthrise is being developed as a bold new take on the classic attraction and will serve as the centerpiece of a fully reimagined Tomorrowland. The new story is described as a celebration of Earth, with guests boarding rockets that blast into space and offer a perspective on the planet unlike anything previously experienced on a Space Mountain attraction. Disney also showed an early look at the ride’s new launch sequence, teasing a more cinematic and visually ambitious experience built around the beauty and uniqueness of Earth.

Tokyo Disneyland is also heading into the world of Wreck-It Ralph with Sugar Rush Sweet Rescue. For the reveal, Jack McBrayer took the stage in full Fix-It Felix attire, helping introduce the new attraction set inside the candy-colored racing game from the film. Guests will join Ralph and Vanellope on a mission to restore the Sugar Bugs to their original form while keeping an eye out for King Candy along the way. The bright, arcade-inspired adventure is scheduled to open in spring 2027.

Moving over to Hong Kong Disneyland, Stark Expo in Tomorrowland is set for a major expansion centered around the new New Adventures Pavilion. The expansion will add a Quinjet landing platform where guests can encounter Avengers, along with new areas to explore throughout the larger Stark Expo footprint.

Inside the pavilion, guests will enter the Avengers Research Testing Labs, where characters like Peter Parker are developing new technology to help Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Naturally, that technology attracts some unwanted attention. The large-scale drop tower attraction uses Avengers tech as its narrative driver, launching guests into an adventure that Disney says will incorporate more than 120 feet of vertical storytelling technology as they travel across different realms, including Asgard and Wakanda, connected through Sling Ring-style portals.

Shanghai Disneyland is also going all-in on Spider-Man with the first land anywhere in the world dedicated exclusively to the web-slinger. The new area will serve as the home of the Shanghai division of W.E.B., the Worldwide Engineering Brigade established by Tony Stark to encourage young people to experiment with new technologies.

The land’s centerpiece will be the first Spider-Man roller coaster at a Disney park, and Disney revealed that the final piece of track has already been installed. Spider-Bots will play a role in the attraction’s story, helping W.E.B. assemble its experiments before things inevitably start to go wrong.

Disney is also working with artists from Shanghai and elsewhere in China to create more than 20 murals throughout the land celebrating science, the Avengers, and Spider-Man. The collaboration gives the new area a distinctly local visual identity while building on W.E.B.’s larger theme of invention, experimentation, and the kind of technological chaos that tends to follow Spider-Man wherever he goes.

Not much else was said about the Abu Dhabi Disneyland, which was first announced last year, other than that it is currently under development.