Disney began to answer a question that most guests have about Epcot's future: what is Spaceship Earth going to be like after the refit?
The classic EPCOT ride - a charming, gently paced tour through human history (up until the 1970/80s) voiced by Dame Judi Dench and in glorious aircon - has been slated for its first major renovation for decades.
We've known for a while that Walt Disney Imagineering is bringing the ride experience up to date, but given all that's happened technologically, the question was always going to be how will they do it, and what will be in it?
These questions were answered at D23 2026: The Ultimate Disney Fan event, with Imagineers explaining that the ride would broaden the attraction's focus from human communication to human connection, as they bring the attraction into the internet age and beyond.
Spaceship Earth has always traced the history of human communication, from cave paintings through the printing press to the personal computer. The reimagined version broadens that focus to human connection.
What we don't yet know
Disney announced the Spaceship Earth reimagining without a schedule or any technical specifics, leaving most practical questions about the attraction's future unanswered.
No opening date, closure window or ride-system changes have been confirmed.
Disney has not said whether the current narration - Dame Judi is the attraction's fourth narrator since the ride's opening - will be replaced, nor which scenes survive the rework.
What else is changing at EPCOT
Dreamfinder and Figment are returning
Dreamfinder is returning to EPCOT alongside Figment in a new imagination attraction, answering two decades of fan campaigning for the pair to appear together again. Disney announced a new journey into imagination at EPCOT starring both Figment and Dreamfinder.
Dreamfinder was a main character in Journey Into Imagination from 1983 until 1998. He spent fifteen years of collecting sounds, colours and ideas as Figment's creator, mentor and friend, before being replaced in the late nineties.
Figment never left; he's still the mainstay of the Journey into Imagination ride and has been the face of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts since its 2017 debut. And the cheeky little dragon continues to adorn all manner of merch along the way.
But reuniting Figment and Dreamfinder has been on the wishlist of many EPCOT fans, and it has even been the subject of fan-led social media on more than one occasion.
Concrete details are thin: no attraction name, no location confirmation, no timeline.
Elsewhere at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World's remaining D23 announcements span Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, covering Villains Land, a returning Carousel of Progress, two named Cars attractions, Tropical Americas, the Expedition Everest Yeti and Monstropolis.
Magic Kingdom's villains expansion has an official name and an original storyline: a corrupted Wishing Well leaking poisoned magic into a dark forest, drawing villains who conjure fortresses from the remaining power.
One will be a coaster racing through Maleficent's enchanted briars toward her mountaintop fortress, and the other a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror that transports guests into his Mirror Realm.
Imagineers compared the land's scale to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
Carousel of Progress returns in late spring 2027 with new voices and new decades.
Disney Legend Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston take over as Sarah and John, and every scene resets: the 1969 moon landing, Halloween night 1985, New Year's Eve 1999, and a far-future finale drawn from John Hench's original sketches.
The previously announced Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic opens the show. The attraction is currently down.
Piston Peak's two Cars attractions have names. Cars Ridge Run Rally sends racers up mountain trails, past geysers and back down toward the finish, with Lightning McQueen and Mater calling the action.
Alongside it, Miss Fritter's Daredevil Spin-Along puts the Cars 3 demolition derby champion in charge of her wildest competition yet.
Tropical Americas is now nearly fully revealed at Animal Kingdom.
The 11-acre land gets Antonio's Fiesta de Encanto (with Stephanie Beatriz, Jessica Darrow and Diane Guerrero returning), Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent - featuring an Audio-Animatronic modelled on Harrison Ford himself, as a first for any Disney attraction - and El Carrusel de los Animalitos, a carousel of 22 hand-carved Disney and Pixar animals.
A hacienda restaurant will be among the largest quick-service locations on property.
The Expedition Everest Yeti is coming back to life, with the animatronic finally slated for a full repair.
Monstropolis opens at Hollywood Studios in 2027. The Monsters, Inc. land will include a Mike and Sulley theatre show, recreations of Harryhausen's and Archie's Scare Pig Pizza, and an original song by Disney Legend Randy Newman.
Imagineers described the current slate as the biggest expansion programme in Walt Disney World's history.
It is certainly an exciting list of changes; for many guests, the big remaining question will be "when should I book my trip to see it all?".
