Every so often D23 delivers a night that theme park fans will be talking about for months, and this year's event was one of those nights. Between a first teaser for a highly anticipated new ride, a genuinely surprising celebrity appearance, and a string of international expansion updates, Disney Parks and Marvel gave fans plenty to unpack. Here's a full breakdown of what got revealed, and what it means for anyone hoping to visit Avengers Campus or its growing list of sister lands around the world.
Tony Stark Returns, Sort Of
The biggest moment of the night was the debut teaser for Avengers Infinity Defense, a new attraction confirmed to bring back a lineup of familiar MCU faces. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, and Jeremy Renner are all reprising their roles for the ride, and Downey Jr.'s return carries some extra significance given his character's current status in the films. With Tony Stark no longer alive in the MCU timeline, Downey Jr. is set to appear as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday instead, making this ride appearance as Iron Man a genuinely meaningful throwback for fans who've followed him in the role for over a decade.
Executives and creative leads used the D23 stage to preview what's coming to Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, confirming that two new attractions will join current favorites like Guardians of the Galaxy, Mission Breakout, and Web Slingers, A Spider-Man Adventure. Both new additions, Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense, are officially targeting a 2028 opening.
You can check out the teaser in this X post from Discussing Film below:
First teaser for the ‘AVENGERS INFINITY DEFENSE’ ride.
Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie & Jeremy Renner will all reprise their roles. pic.twitter.com/q0v1RVeEtt
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 16, 2026
A Familiar Face Steps Into an Unexpected Role
The evening also included a fun surprise for longtime Disney fans. John Stamos, a well known Disney superfan, briefly took over hosting duties from Neil Patrick Harris during the Avengers Campus segment on the Horizons stage at D23, The Ultimate Fan Event presented by Visa. Joining him on stage were Walt Disney Imagineer Brent Strong and Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel, who walked through the expanding roster of Avengers themed experiences across Disney's parks worldwide.
Inside the Ride: Avengers Infinity Defense
Once it opens, Avengers Infinity Defense will position guests as new recruits joining the fight against King Thanos. The experience opens with a pre-mission briefing from Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani, sending guests on a mission to reassemble the Avengers before the mad titan can cause widespread destruction.
Vellani isn't the only actor returning specifically for this attraction. Jeremy Renner reprises Hawkeye, Anthony Mackie returns as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth is back as Thor, and Robert Downey Jr. returns as Iron Man. Once seated, riders will move through a combination of massive physical sets and expansive media screens, designed to create the sensation of hurtling across multiple worlds throughout the ride. A quote shared during the presentation summed up the design philosophy well, noting, “The fun part about Avengers Infinity Defense is how we get to use every single trick in the Imagineering book, and inventing some new ones, to create this attraction.” Guests will pass through recognizable Marvel locations including Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City before ultimately coming face to face with King Thanos himself.
Stark Flight Lab Offers a Different Kind of Thrill
The second confirmed attraction, Stark Flight Lab, brings its own returning cast, with Robert Downey Jr. back as Iron Man, Anthony Mackie returning as Captain America, and Brie Larson joining as Captain Marvel. As previously detailed at SXSW 2025, this ride places guests in two-person gyro-kinetic pods that travel along a track before arriving in front of a massive robotic arm, simulating what it might feel like to train as a flying Avenger. Several high-speed maneuvers drawn directly from Iron Man's on-screen flight sequences send riders spinning through a simulated test station, delivering a very different style of thrill compared to Infinity Defense.
Marvel's Reach Extends to Hong Kong and Shanghai
Disney California Adventure isn't the only park getting an Avengers focused expansion. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is currently building an Avengers pavilion that will house the Avengers Research Testing Labs, a tower based experience where Stark Industries and other brilliant minds, including Peter Parker as Spider-Man, work on advanced technology that inevitably draws the attention of dangerous forces. Using more than 120 feet of storytelling technology, guests will travel through realms including Wakanda and Asgard alongside Spider-Man and other heroes. A new Quinjet landing platform is also under construction nearby, giving guests a dedicated spot for character encounters while adding a striking new silhouette to Hong Kong's skyline once construction reaches full height.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Disney Resort is preparing to open an entirely new Spider-Man themed land, the first land anywhere in the world built exclusively around the character. The new area will house the Shanghai division of the Worldwide Engineering Brigade, known as W.E.B., an organization already familiar to guests who've visited the existing Avengers Campus locations at Disney California Adventure and Disney Adventure World. Inside the new land, Peter Parker and his friends have built a set of Spider-Bots to help construct their experiments, including a brand new coaster that's already had its final section of track installed. Disney Imagineers are collaborating with local artists on more than 20 murals throughout the land, celebrating science, Spider-Man, and the broader Avengers story, with early previews reportedly available at the Imagineering Pavilion during this year's D23 event.
Planning Ahead for What's Coming
With both Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab targeting a 2028 debut, guests visiting Disney California Adventure in the near term shouldn't expect to ride either attraction just yet, though it's worth watching construction progress as Avengers Campus continues expanding and eventually reconnects with Cars Land. For Marvel fans specifically chasing new experiences across Disney's global parks, Hong Kong and Shanghai are quickly shaping up to be worthwhile destinations of their own over the next few years, right alongside everything happening in California.
Which of these new attractions has you more excited, Avengers Infinity Defense, Stark Flight Lab, or the new Spider-Man land coming to Shanghai? Let us know in the comments which of these Marvel additions is topping your must-visit list once they open.
