2022 has been a busy year for Disney's parks, from Paris to Florida to Hong Kong. Adoring fans have enjoyed big anniversary celebrations, a new cruise ship and several shiny new attractions, but there's even more magic to look forward to in 2023. Here we reveal Disney's hottest new openings around the world from the last year, and onward through the next...

It’s been a whopping 30 years since the opening of Disneyland Paris – or Euro Disney, as it was then known – and it’s celebrating in style. Mickey, Minnie and the gang have new 30th anniversary costumes and guests can enjoy exclusive anniversary-themed food and drink, as well as shopping for limited-edition souvenirs. The party is expected to continue until 30 September 2023. 

This brand-new daytime show debuted for the 30th anniversary and was an instant hit with fans. Performed in front of the newly refurbished Sleeping Beauty Castle, Dream...and Shine Brighter! features more than 30 dancers and Disney characters, new rainbow floats and two original songs alongside classic Disney music. 

Many Disneyland fans will know about the spectacular Disney Illuminations show that takes place above Sleeping Beauty Castle each evening. However, guests visiting during the 30th anniversary are in for an extra special treat thanks to the limited-time Disney D-Light night show, which takes place immediately before the main event. Synchronised drones create a sparkling 30 in the sky while the anniversary theme song, 'Un monde qui s'illumine', plays in the background. It’s the first time any Disney resort has used drone technology above the castle.

To mark the 30th anniversary, Disneyland Park has created a set of ten fun-filled gardens in the grounds of Sleeping Beauty Castle. See 30 kinetic Disney and Pixar sculptures move and change in front of your eyes. The park’s landscaping team also worked with Parisian start-up, Aglaé Design, to create plants that glow in the dark using a biodegradable and 100% natural nutrient serum. 

Disneyland Paris’s most iconic restaurant, Walt’s – An American Restaurant, reopened in April 2022, 30 years to the day after Disneyland Paris first opened its gates. Located on the park’s Main Street, the restaurant has six themed dining rooms that correspond with Disneyland’s six lands. The menu features American classics with a French twist, inspired by the cities that Walt Disney grew up in. Reservations are required.  

A slick Marvel hotel has also opened. Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel celebrates 80 years of Marvel storytelling in a cool New York setting with a contemporary Art Deco style. The property is the first hotel dedicated entirely to the celebration of Marvel artwork, with one of the largest publicly viewable collections of Marvel art in the world.

Exclusive to guests staying at The Art of Marvel is a dedicated photo spot where fans can have their own heroic encounters with iconic Marvel superheroes. The Super Hero Station hosts character meet and greets and recreates unique Marvel scenes using special effects. Guests can try out iconic props from the movies, such as the Collector’s collection from Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor’s hammer and more.

In July 2022 the brand-new Marvel Avengers Campus opened at Disneyland Paris as part of the site's 30th anniversary celebrations. Offering surprise live-action stunts, encounters with Marvel superheroes and two action-packed attractions, this is the ultimate experience for Marvel fans looking to immerse themselves in the superhero world. There's themed restaurants and merchandise to check out too.

The iconic Disneyland Hotel, which stands grandly at the entrance to Disneyland Park, is currently undergoing a huge transformation at Disneyland Paris. Expected to reopen some time in 2024, the 496-room hotel will have a royal theme inspired by Disney princesses. There will also be a pool area and luxury spa plus updated restaurants and lounges.

The popular Disney Village at the entrance to the Disneyland Paris parks also got a makeover in spring 2022, with new restaurants and improved shopping and entertainment. It’s rumoured that this 428,000-square-foot complex will take on a sparkly new look at night thanks to a huge light installation too.

One of the newest attractions at Disneyland Paris is already one of the most popular. Frozen: A Musical Invitation is an indoor show featuring songs from the hit movie, where guests are invited to sing along with Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, Sven and Kristoff. The musical attraction originally opened in 2019, but thanks to COVID-19 closures few guests got to join the party. The show officially made a comeback at Walt Disney Studios Park in 2022.

Last year saw the beginning of a multi-year £2.2 billion ($2.5bn) expansion to transform Disneyland Paris. The development will mostly yield huge changes to Walt Disney Studios Park, reimagining the resort and introducing huge new lands and themed areas in phases for the next two years. These include Arendelle: World of Frozen and a new Star Wars-themed land, rumoured to rival Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The full expansion is expected to be completed in 2024.

Walt Disney World knows how to celebrate in style, with the anniversary festivities first kicking off back in October 2021 and continuing until spring 2023. For the celebrations, iconic attractions at the four Walt Disney World parks (Spaceship Earth at Epcot, the Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park) are all being illuminated at night. 

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In May 2022, new roller coaster Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind launched at Epcot. This much-anticipated attraction, which rotates 360 degrees, features the first ever reverse launch on a Disney ride and is one of the world's largest fully enclosed coasters. The attraction was the first at Walt Disney World to feature characters from the Marvel Universe.

This high-speed coaster, based on the Tron film franchise, will open at Magic Kingdom Park in spring 2023. Riders will board a train of two-wheeled lightcycles for a thrilling race through the digital frontier. When another version of the ride debuted at Shanghai Disneyland it was an instant success, becoming the highest-rated attraction at the park.

With the grand opening of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, fans can now live out their very own Star Wars fantasies during a two-night immersive adventure aboard the Halcyon Galactic Starcruiser. Guests will 'take off' for a two-day trip to a galaxy far, far away, complete with intergalactic challenges and character interactions. The experience is not covered by regular park entry, and requires a separate booking.

Space 220 is a new dining location at Walt Disney World’s second park, Epcot, where you can have dinner in space. With views stretching 220 miles above Earth, this new restaurant and lounge onboard the Centauri Space Station is just another way to have an out-of-this-world experience at Walt Disney World. Choose from fun menu items like Big Bang Burrata and Galactic Salmon, as well as celestial cocktails like the Planetary Punch.

Epcot celebrated its 40-year anniversary in 2022 with a huge front-of-park overhaul. Significant delays caused by COVID-19 meant the park rejuvenation didn’t complete as quickly as expected, but that just means there's now even more to get excited about. Moana: Journey of Water, due to open in late-2023, is the first park attraction based on the animated movie. It takes the form of an interactive water maze, where guests will also learn about the water cycle and how it sustains Earth.

The classic wearable Disney MagicBand got an upgrade in 2022 with the launch of MagicBand+. As well as performing standard MagicBand functions like providing park and hotel access, these supercharged bands change colour and vibrate to interact with shows, parades and your movements, making the Disney experience even more interactive.

For the first time in Walt Disney World’s 50-year history, guests can now pay for the chance to skip the lines at some of the park’s biggest attractions. Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes have replaced the formerly free FastPass system, and allow guests to pay for access to a digital booking system where they can select times to experience rides and attractions.

Minnie Vans (inspired, of course, by Minnie Mouse) are cute polka-dotted cars ready to zip guests between the parks with bookings via the Lyft app. The private car service was suspended thanks to COVID-19, but made a comeback this year. In October 2022, they were fitted with screens showcasing retro Mickey Mouse shorts, so you can watch Disney classics as you are chauffeured around the park.

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The spectacular Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland Park also celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Inspired by the original parade and artist Mary Blair’s iconic designs on the It's a Small World ride, a new grand finale float was added in 2022. Disney stories from Encanto, Coco, Frozen and more are represented in an 118-foot (36m), seven-segment float, along with animated dolls and thousands of sparkling lights.

A multi-year project to redesign this shopping, dining and entertainment space in California into a Disney destination in its own right began at the start of 2022. There will be two huge new stores: Pelé Soccer, a stadium-style store featuring global sports and team jerseys from around the globe, and Lovepop. Both stores have already been hugely successful at Florida’s Disney Springs complex.

Disneyland California is getting its own enhanced version of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Replacing Mickey’s Toontown land at Disneyland Park, the attraction is housed in a new El Capitoon Theater and features a new story and theme song, setting it apart from its sister attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida. 

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Disney Wish, the new ship from Disney Cruise Line, set sail on her maiden voyage in July 2022. She docked at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas. The new ship has a classic Disney design, plus a host of modern extras to keep younger guests entertained. Highlights include AquaMouse, the first-ever Disney attraction at sea; a Marvel-themed dining experience; and an interactive augmented reality game for families to play onboard. 

Hong Kong Disneyland will be the first Disney park worldwide to open a designated Frozen-themed land, Arendelle: The World of Frozen. Due to open in the second half of 2023, the epic land will feature a themed restaurant, a new Disney castle, shops and two initial attractions: Frozen Ever After, a gentle boat ride, and Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, a family coaster that’s similar to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World. 

Zootopia is the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese history, so it’s only fitting that Disney has planned an entire Zootopia-themed land at Shanghai Disneyland Resort. The epic park expansion was due to open in 2022, but with repeated pandemic-related closures, it looks like we'll have to wait until later in 2023. 

Tokyo Disneyland launched its new Beauty and the Beast trackless roller coaster in September 2020, but due to extended COVID-19 closures, most guests enjoyed it for the first time in 2022. 

Japan’s second Disney park is also getting an enormous expansion. The huge project will include areas dedicated to Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan’s Neverland. There will also be a new theme park land, Fantasy Springs, containing three rides, three restaurants and a 475-room luxury hotel. The opening of the expanded lands is now expected in 2024.

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