Scar becomes Disney's first-ever villain Audio-Animatronics figure, for a new Lion King ride in Paris
Disneyland Paris used D23 to reveal a new confrontation scene for its Lion King water ride, and the headline detail is Scar himself. He'll be built as an Audio-Animatronics figure, the first time Disney has ever given a villain that treatment. The scene puts him squarely in Simba's path to the throne, staged as a callback to the 1994 film's climax on Pride Rock.
The ride is the centerpiece of a new immersive world at Disney Adventure World, the park formerly known as Walt Disney Studios Park. It's a flume ride with three drops, the last one a 16-meter plunge from Pride Rock, built around Audio-Animatronics figures of Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Scar, and more, set to the film's soundtrack. Construction started in fall 2025, and the finished zone will run more than 30,000 square meters once it opens, with a shop and dining location alongside the ride.
"We believe this epic story was also embraced thanks to its unforgettable villain, so we are excited to lift the curtain on Scar's presence in this major attraction," said Michel den Dulk, vice president portfolio executive at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris. No opening date has been announced yet.
Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto brings more than 50 animatronic animals to Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Encanto ride finally has a name: Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto. It's set inside a recreation of the Madrigal family's Casita, timed to the day young Antonio receives his gift of talking to animals, and it will have no height requirement.
Ride vehicles are built to look like pieces of furniture that Casita has animated to carry guests through the house, ending upstairs in Antonio's room. Disney has turned that room into a rainforest holding more than 50 animal species, including a capybara mid-haircut, a toucan, and a donkey. Walt Disney Imagineering worked with Disney's Animals, Science and Environment Team to keep the animals accurate to Colombia, building on a research trip Imagineers took there to study how the region's colors, materials, and climate fit together.
Encanto voice cast members Stephanie Beatriz, Jessica Darrow, and Diane Guerrero are back to voice Mirabel, Luisa, and Isabela. The same Tropical Americas land is also getting El Carrusel de los Animalitos, a 22-figure hand-carved animal carousel, and the already-announced Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent.
Monstropolis gets its own Audio-Animatronics sushi chef, opening 2027 at Hollywood Studios
Monstropolis, the Monsters, Inc. land replacing Muppets Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios, will start welcoming guests in 2027 while construction continues on its coaster. Mike and Sulley host a new stage show called "Welcome to Monstropolis" at the Glob Theater, set to the first song Disney Legend Randy Newman has ever written for a theme park.
The land's Audio-Animatronics moment is at Harryhausen's, the restaurant where Mike and Celia had one of their most memorable dates in the films. Its sushi chef is being built as a new Audio-Animatronics figure, with multiple tentacles working the menu in front of guests. Disney also confirmed Archie's Scare Pig Pizza, the Monsters University Alumni Club, and a souvenir shop called the Scareporium as part of the land's opening lineup.
A real Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is coming to New Jersey, animatronic stage shows included
Five Nights at Freddy's is getting a real pizzeria. American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has announced a permanent Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, built in partnership with the franchise's IP holder, ScottGames, and set to open in 2027.
The venue will run two animatronic stage shows: a Main Stage with Freddy and the Fazbear Band, and Foxy's Pirate Cove. Guests can also eat, play arcade games, and step behind the curtain for a multiplayer survival-horror experience. "The animatronic show has to be authentic," Atreyu Alcantar, American Dream's creative manager of licensing and location-based entertainment, told Variety. "We're not building a set that looks like Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. We're building Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."
American Dream already runs the DreamWorks Water Park, Nickelodeon Universe, a Sea Life aquarium, and a Legoland Discovery Center, so Freddy's joins an existing lineup of family entertainment there. Opening date and ticketing details are still to come.