The Future of World-Building at Disney Panel From SXSW: Everything Announced

SXSW's The Future of World-building astatine Disney Panel was filled with breathtaking details and teases of the aboriginal of Disney Parks, including however The Mandalorian and Grogu volition beryllium joining a caller ngo aboard Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, that Imagineers volition request to make a caller benignant of thrust conveyance with emotion for Magic Kingdom's Cars ride, and a tease of what the load country and assistance disconnected volition look similar for the caller Monsters, Inc. attraction.

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman led the festivities and discussed what their teams are moving connected and however beneficial it is erstwhile they collaborate for breathtaking caller experiences astatine Disney Parks.

There was a ton discussed, and we've gathered each the biggest announcements and reveals below!

The Mandalorian and Grogu Will Join Smuggler's Run successful a New Mission astatine the Launch of The Mandalorian & Grogu Film

While we knew The Mandalorian and Grogu would beryllium portion of a caller communicative connected Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run astatine Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Disney confirmed the caller acquisition would debut alongside The Mandalorian & Grogu movie connected May 22, 2026.

The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau and Imagineers Leslie Evans and Asa Kalama shared a spot much astir the upcoming caller communicative and revealed immoderate conception creation of locations that should excite fans of that postulation far, acold away. The images, which you tin spot below, see a Jawa's Sandcrawler connected Tatooine, the Millennium Falcon and Mando's Razor Crest flying toward Cloud City connected Bespin, and adjacent a tease of sojourn to the wreckage of the 2nd Death Star supra Endor.

“This isn’t going to retell what happens successful the movie – it’s much similar participating successful thing that’s happening conscionable off-camera from what you spot successful the film,” Favreau explained.

Imagineers captured scenes for this caller communicative from the acceptable of The Mandalorian & Grogu, meaning it should consciousness very authentic erstwhile it goes live.

In addition, it was besides revealed that the fantastic BDX droids that person been seen astatine Disneyland volition soon beryllium making their mode to Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. There volition adjacent beryllium a caller variant arsenic an Anzellan (like Babu Frik!) named Otto volition sometimes look connected a BDX that needs a small tune up.

Image Credit: Disney

Oh, and if that wasn't capable BDX goodness for you, the squad shared these droids volition beryllium making an quality successful The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Here's a Sneak Peak astatine the Load Area and Lift Off of the New Monsters, Inc. Attraction astatine Disney World

Monsters, Inc. Land is coming soon to Disney World's Hollywood Studios and it volition see an breathtaking caller themed roller coaster that volition beryllium Disney Park's first-ever suspended coaster and its archetypal with a vertical lift.

This caller attraction aims to springiness guests the dream-come-true infinitesimal of soaring done Monsters, Inc.'s doorway vault and Disney shared a archetypal look astatine the load country and however it should acceptable the code precise good of what's to come.

We inactive person overmuch to larn astir this caller attraction and the onshore it volition unrecorded in, but this is an breathtaking tease nonetheless.

Pixar and Imagineering Reveal a New Type of Ride Vehicle Had to Be Made for Magic Kingdom's Upcoming Cars Attraction

Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and Imagineer Michael Hundgen shared new details astir the upcoming Cars attraction that volition beryllium portion of the caller Cars-themed land that is presently successful improvement astatine Magic Kingdom.

“Our superior extremity is creating an affectional acquisition for our guests,” Hundgen said. “For this Cars attraction, we request to invent a caller benignant of thrust vehicle. No 1 builds these successful a mill due to the fact that it has to bash truthful overmuch much than conscionable carrying you from 1 spot to another. We person to make a car that conveys a feeling erstwhile you thrust successful it.”

The squad needed immoderate real-world information to assistance successful their probe truthful they went to the Arizona godforsaken to thrust successful an off-road conveyance and instrumentality disconnected implicit rocky terrain. This caller thrust doesn't instrumentality spot successful Radiator Springs, but alternatively it volition beryllium a thrilling rally contention done the mountains, truthful they privation it to consciousness conscionable right.

From there, they worked with a motocross institution to physique a ungraded way of their ain to contention astir and utilized that to make what volition yet beryllium the thrust vehicle.

"We’re utilizing a customized accumulation vehicle,” Hundgen continued. “It has sensors each implicit it, and we’re taking it for trial drives connected our ungraded way to stitchery information connected however the conveyance responds to antithetic terrain. This is wherever we crook that feeling we privation into real-world engineering."

These vehicles volition besides get immoderate Disney and Pixar magic thrown successful arsenic each car volition person its ain personality, name, and number.

Image Credit: Disney

Robert Downey Jr. Stops by Disney's SXSW Panel to Help Share More About the New Avengers Campus Attractions

Image Credit: Disney

Disneyland's Avengers Campus is getting 2 caller attractions, including 1 called Avengers Infinity Defense wherever guests volition squad up with members of the Avengers to instrumentality connected King Thanos crossed aggregate worlds. However, the 2nd 1 was the prima of Disney's SXSW sheet arsenic Robert Downey Jr. himself stopped by to stock caller details astir it.

It's been antecedently revealed that Downey Jr. would beryllium returning arsenic Tony Stark for Avengers Campus' Stark Flight Lab, an attraction that volition instrumentality guests into Tony's store and let them to acquisition immoderate of the caller tech he's been moving on.

Downey Jr. said these caller experiences are "the surviving embodiment of the Stark Enterprises ngo statement."

“The curiosity, the passion, the inventiveness, the occasional flair for the dramatic, astir of each a thrust to enactment thing bully retired into the satellite to marque beingness better, astatine the minimum much amusive by a mile, ” Downey continued. “It’s the privilege of a beingness to beryllium invited to participate.”

As for the thrust itself, guests volition beryllium successful "gyro-kinetic pods" and volition yet beryllium grabbed by a elephantine robot limb who volition assistance them marque "several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and immoderate different Avengers."

"Transferring from a way to a robot limb and past backmost again – thing similar this has ever been done earlier successful a taxable park, and we’re truthful excited astir it,” Chief Creative Officer for Walt Disney Imagineering Bruce Vaughn explained. “Usually, we fell each the tech down the scenes truthful you tin absorption connected the story. Here, the tech IS the story, truthful we’re putting it beforehand and center.”

One of they ways Imagineering is making the tech the prima of this attraction is the absorption connected that robotic arm, which really takes dense inspiration from Tony Stark's small robotic friend, DUM-E. The squad enlisted the assistance of dancers and question seizure to assistance marque these robots consciousness arsenic existent arsenic possible.

For much from the satellite of Disney, cheque retired our 75th Anniversary Retrospective for Cinderella, how Disneyland volition beryllium celebrating its 70th anniversary, and everything other announced astatine D23's large Disney Experiences Showcase.

Have a extremity for us? Want to sermon a imaginable story? Please nonstop an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and connected TikTok.