Disney’s Experiences Chief Talks Figment, the Tomorrowland Refresh and All That D23 News

Saturday evening in Anaheim’s Honda Center, The Walt Disney Co. turned to Neil Patrick Harris to serve as a master of ceremonies for what is surely one of its most scrutinized events: The Disney Experiences showcase presentation at D23 .

D23 of course is Disney’s in-house fan convention, and the showcase panels are used to reveal new projects and make news.

Disney turned to a late night theme for the event, with Harris hosting, joined by a live band, opening the event with a monologue full of Disney-related quips, like noting that the last host of the Experiences was Josh D’Amaro. Related Stories Business Disney and Epic Games Launch Game That Connects Star Wars Theme Park Ride to New Fortnite Adventure Movies 'Frozen 3' "Royal Wedding" Between Anna and Kristoff Is Crashed by New Villain in First-Look

“Wait a minute. If my math is correct, I am 24 months away from being CEO, and 48 months away from owning the Lakers,” Harris quipped, before launching into an animatronic-themed, cameo-filled musical number.

Of course, it is D23, so it was the announcements that the fans wer eager to see.

Saturday’s showcase ended with a pair of showstoppers for Disney theme park fans, a refresh of Figment, one of Epcot’s original rides, including the return of the Dreamfinder character, and a revitalization of Disneyland ‘s Tomorrowland, one of Walt Disney’s original visions. The concept: “New attractions, new open spaces, new places to dream about the future.”

“This particular Tomorrowland here at Disneyland was the one that was originally thought of and designed by Walt himself,” says Thomas Mazloum, the chairman of Disney Experiences, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter . “If you think about it, so much of that at the time was based on optimism: Optimism about the future, and this is going to be our North Star as we approach this particular work. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to change things. It just means we respect where we came from, but we use that optimism to carry us in the future, and in the case of this particular project, I think it proves we are listening carefully to what our guests are telling us while investing also in new generations.

“We’ve done a lot, as you know, on Disney California Adventure, and we’re going to continue to do more. But we also know we need to listen equally as carefully and harmonize what this icon, especially Disneyland, did to the world when it first opened,” Mazloum continued. “And so the way I approach this is really not to be beholden by the past, to respect it, but to take Walt’s original positiveness, this optimism, and use that as our inspiration for the creative that we’re going to introduce.”

Of course that wasn’t the only news Disney had to share. There were updates on new lands and projects announced two years ago like the Cars -themed area and Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, cruise ship updates, and plenty more. Mazloum spoke to THR ahead of the event to lay the groundwork for what the company is teeing up over the coming months and years, and his first few months leading the division succeeding D’Amaro, who is now Disney’s CEO.

“It’s been very simple and very smooth, Alex.