December 2020 Update: Much has changed since we drafted this post in 2019. While we look forward to visiting all of the Disney parks in the future, we’ll be waiting a few more months to update this post.
A few years back, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and along the way we were able to visit every Disney Park in the world. We’re really fortunate to have had that experience, but it’s not something that’s really feasible to replicate—even when your full-time job is writing about Disney parks.
In this post, we’re going to look at a longer timeframe—six years. Six is, not coincidentally, also the number of Disney resorts around the world. So we’ll be picking one resort to visit per year for the next six years.
Might we actually follow this schedule (with additional trips to Florida and California, of course)? Maybe. But it’s really more of an exercise in entertainment with some helpful guidance for anyone who has just started thinking about an international trip.
Finally, keep in mind that we’re mostly telling you to go for or right after the big updates. If you’re trying to avoid the early rush of crowds to new attractions, you’ll want to delay your visits a bit more. Let’s get planning!
Wildcards - Aulani and Disney Cruise Line
Okay, before we get to the next six years, there are two wildcards to know about that you could throw in basically any year. Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa is Disney’s Hawaiian Resort. It has no theme park, but there are plenty of options for excursions to the rest of Hawaii (or you could pair it with visits to other parts of the state).
Disney Cruise Line operates four ships—seven by 2023—to destinations all around the world. If you’re a first-timer just looking for a taste of Disney Cruising, the go-to is the 3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral aboard the Disney Dream.
As far as I know, Aulani has no major work or expansions planned. The cruise line will be getting three new ships—in 2021, 2022, and 2023—and a new private port (date not announced).
2020 - Disneyland Paris
All six resorts have major projects in development, but one of them had to fall into the 2020 slot, and we’re handing it to Disneyland Paris.
Disneyland Paris has two parks, Disneyland Park (the castle park) and Walt Disney Studios Park. Walt Disney Studios Park has been in bad need of serious improvements for years, and now it’s the focus of a long-term improvement plan that has it adding Star Wars, Frozen, and Avengers-themed areas.
There’s a few reasons not to just wait on a visit to Disneyland Paris, though. First of all, all of this work won’t be done until approximately 2025, anyways (so next year’s version of this list will probably have it in the 2026 slot).
Second, with the exception of an Iron Man coaster, much of what is coming to Walt Disney Studios Park will be in other locations. The Star Wars offerings are expected to be inspired by Galaxy’s Edge, the Frozen land will likely mirror what’s being added to Tokyo and Hong Kong, and the Avengers Campus will be related to the new lands coming to California and Hong Kong.
But really, a trip to Disneyland Paris is easy, and the castle park is arguably Disney’s most beautiful castle park. There’s plenty of reason to hop over to Disneyland Paris today.
Check out our Disneyland Paris Trip Planning Guide.
2021 - Walt Disney World
We don’t know exactly when celebrations will begin, but October 1, 2021 will be the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World’s opening.
By 2021, the resort will have four more rides than it has today—Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (March 4, 2020), Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (summer 2020), Tron (2021), Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind (2021). And much of the work at Epcot should be completed by then.
We have a Walt Disney World construction and events calendar, if you’d like to follow that for updates to targeted opening dates. Check out our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide, too.
2022 - Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo DisneySea’s “Fantasy Springs” expansion is expected to open in 2022, making it a perfect time to visit. Tokyo Disneyland will also get a Beauty and the Beast dark ride, that looks amazing, in 2020. For the latest from Tokyo Disney Resort, check out TDR Explorer.
2023 - Disneyland Resort
2021 and 2022 are pretty much locked into the construction calendar at this point. When you’re talking about 2023 through 2025, it’s a bit of a guessing game, but we’re pegging Disneyland Resort to be a good bet for 2023.
Next up on the Disneyland construction calendar is the 2020 opening of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, complete with one Spider-Man ride. Sometime later, Avengers Campus will be adding the new E-ticket Quinjet attraction. We’re pegging this as being done in time for a 2023 visit (a complete guess, to be clear).
Along the way, in 2022, Disneyland’s Toontown is scheduled to add Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. If we’re right about our 2023 target for the completion of Avengers Campus, this should be the perfect year to come to Disneyland.
Check out our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide.
2024 - Shanghai Disneyland
Shanghai’s ongoing addition is the new Zootopia-themed land. At this point, we have little to no details about this land, so it’s really hard to plan for it. For the latest from Shanghai Disney Resort, check out TDR Explorer.
2025 - Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland is, like Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, in the midst of a long-term improvement plan. Hong Kong Disneyland is getting both a Frozen-themed area and a version of the Avengers Campus.
My understanding of the Avengers Campus plans is that Hong Kong will also be getting the E-Ticket Quinjet attraction, but this is just informed speculation. Moreover, it sounds like the work on Hong Kong will be completed by 2023.
Keep in mind you could easily visit Shanghai and Hong Kong as part of a single trip, and adding in Tokyo isn’t too difficult, either. Depending on how the calendar shapes up, 2023 could be an excellent time to take two weeks to park hop around Asia.
For the latest from Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, check out TDR Explorer.