Everything we learned at the Disney Parks panel at D23 Expo 2024

The time has come for the villains.

From Disney Classic villains will have their own theme park at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

The company first hinted at the possibility of an evil takeover at the last D23 Expo in 2022 as part of a series of “fantasy” projects it was contemplating but wasn't sure would come to fruition.

While the prospect of exploring what lies beyond Big Thunder Mountain appealed to fans, its lack of tangibility left many wondering what exactly Disney was doing to compete with the upcoming opening of From Universal Epic universe.

The answer came Saturday night during the company's experiential presentation at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“As we sit here together at the Honda Center, we have Imagineers hard at work,” Josh D'Amaro told an enthusiastic crowd. “Everything we have to share with you is in active development… This means ground is moving. This is not a dream.”

The revelation sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Disney’s theme parks, part of a broader division known as experiences, have long been a high-performing segment for the company, especially at a time of changes to linear television networks and declines in cable advertising revenue. The parks have offered stability in recent quarters as Disney works to adapt its entertainment business to match consumer habits that changed after the pandemic.

However, in the last quarter, Disney's national parks in California and Florida experienced lower consumer demand and rising inflation. The company expects this stagnation in attendance to continue in the coming quarters.

Still, Disney is optimistic about its experiences division, which encompasses its theme parks, cruise lines and hotels. The company has committed to investing $60 billion in experiences over the next 10 years, a key part of its strategy to keep the parks fresh and relevant in a competitive segment.

About 70% of that money will go toward new experiences at domestic and international parks, along with cruise lines. The remaining 30% will go toward technology and infrastructure, including maintenance of existing attractions.

On Saturday, Disney fans got a glimpse of where that investment was going with the help of some big names.

Rita Ora took the stage to perform “Trust in Me” from “The Jungle Book” and announce the arrival of the new Villains Land at Magic Kingdom. This new area of ​​the park will include two main attractions, as well as shops and restaurants.

“So brace yourselves, you poor unfortunate souls,” D'Amaro joked.

Shaboozey rocked the Honda Center with a rendition of “Life Is a Highway” as part of the announcement that parts of Florida-based Frontier Land will be themed with elements from the movie “Cars.”

This area will be different from Disney California Adventure, D'Amaro explained to the audience, and will be set in the wilderness. There will be an electronic ticketed attraction, a thrilling off-road rally race and a second attraction for families. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2025.

D'Amaro noted that these expansions at Magic Kingdom are the largest the park has ever seen.

At Hollywood Studios, Disney is set to build an area centered on “Monsters, Inc.” Billy Crystal, the voice of one-eyed green monster Mike Wazowski, appeared on stage to joke with attendees about the new area.

Crystal sang a cover of “If I Didn't Have You” and received a standing ovation.

The area will feature a main attraction that will take visitors on a thrilling ride through the Laugh Factory via a suspended roller coaster. The public applauded the new attraction. Construction will begin next year, D'Amaro said.

Animal Kingdom's Tropical Americas area, scheduled to open in 2027, will feature an Indiana Jones attraction set in a Mayan temple. Ke Huy Quan appeared on stage with D'Amaro to preview the new attraction and recall his first acting role in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

“Josh, I have to ask you: will there be snakes?” Quan joked.

D'Amaro said construction will begin in the fall and guests will have to wait to see what the Orlando-based attraction's new story will bring.

As part of the Tropical America zone, Disney is creating Pueblo Esperanza. Here the company is building the “Encanto” Madrigal Casita and will have an attraction centered on the character Antonio, who has the magical gift of talking to animals. The Casita has animated the house's furnishings to offer guests a tour of the house and they will venture into Antonio's jungle room.

Also part of this area will be a brand new carousel with wooden carved animals from classic Disney stories.

The world of “Avatar” is coming to Disney's California Adventure, D'Amaro announced Saturday. The land will be inspired by the second film, “The Way of Water,” and will feature a new attraction.

“For our new destination, we've drawn inspiration from the second 'The Way of Water' film, as well as the upcoming 'Fire and Ash' and future Avatar films,” said Ali Rubinstein, global executive director of creative development at Walt Disney Imagineering, during Saturday's unveiling. “And it will be on a scale and level that lives up to these epic stories.”

The park is also planning to open an attraction called “Coco” that will follow Miguel through the land of the dead. It will use state-of-the-art audio animatronics like those seen in the recently renovated Tiana's Bayou Adventure. It is also inspired by the iconic Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. The company is set to begin construction in 2026.

Deadpool appeared on stage to poke fun at the parks, including the animatronic dragon that caught fire at Disneyland last year, as well as D'Amaro.

The company revealed that the Avengers Campus will nearly double in size with the addition of two new attractions. The first is called Avengers Infinity Defense and will take guests on an adventure to stop King Thanos from using stolen portal technology. Guests will help defend iconic locations like Asgard, Wakanda and New York City.

The second attraction is Stark Flight Lab, where visitors will learn to fly like a superhero. Construction is set to begin next year.

The company also announced that Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the revamped version of Splash Mountain, will open Nov. 15. The Walt Disney World Resort version of the attraction opened in June.

Disneyland Paris' Adventure World theme park will feature a new “Lion King”-inspired area with a wooden slide attraction inspired by the Pride Lands. The previously announced Frozen-themed area is set to open in 2026.

Shanghai is getting a thrilling new mountain ride starring Spider-Man.

“It's going to be a roller coaster ride full of energy and excitement,” said Scott Trowbridge, senior creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering.

The Hong Kong park will also feature a Spider-Man attraction added to the Stark Expo area.

In September, Tokyo will debut a new nighttime spectacular called “Reach for the Stars,” featuring characters from “Big Hero Six,” “Up” and Marvel superheroes.

Disney's cruise line is expanding on a massive scale. In addition to the five ships already sailing around the world and the four currently in production, Disney will add four more ships to the fleet between 2027 and 2031.

D'Amaro brought out All-4-One to sing “This I Swear” and announce the four new ships. Disney will soon have 13 different cruise destinations.

“Disney Cruise Line is consistently the top-rated line for families because it offers something for everyone,” said D'Amaro. “Expanding our fleet gives more people, in more parts of the world, opportunities to experience the high seas that only Disney can offer.”

Disney also used Saturday's presentation to update fans and shareholders on its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games.

D'Amaro was joined on stage by creative leaders from across the company, including Walt Disney Animation's Jennifer Lee, Pixar's Pete Doctor, Marvel's Kevin Feige and Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni to share several upcoming collaborations with Epic Games and Fortnite.

Disney aired this segment of the show on Fortnite and more than a million people tuned in to that livestream, D'Amaro said.

Lee teased that Disney Animation characters will be coming to the game this fall, including Cruella, Hook and Maleficent. Joining them will be Pixar's Incredibles, including Frozone, ElastaGirl and Mr. Incredible, the Doctor added.

For Lucasfilm, Filoni said new Star Wars characters will arrive next week, including IG-11 and a backpack featuring Grogu. Filoni also teased that he and Jon Favreau are working on a Mandalorian and Grogu storyline for the Star Wars Smugglers Run attraction at Galaxy's Edge.

Marvel has been a partner with Epic since 2018, and there are more new additions on the way. Feige said many fans discover Marvel characters through Fortnite and then go on to read the comics and check out Marvel Cinematic Universe content. A new event centered around Doctor Doom is coming to the game next week. D23 audiences got a sneak peek on Saturday night that featured a number of new special weapons, including Captain America’s shield and a Peely version of Wolverine.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.