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Disney Worldbuilders teaser promises rare looks behind the walls at lands still under construction
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Disney Worldbuilders teaser promises rare looks behind the walls at lands still under construction

Michael Travels
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Published

Disney put out the first teaser for Disney Worldbuilders on Wednesday, and tucked behind the celebrity roster is one line worth a second look if you follow park construction. The film, Disney says, "goes behind the walls of what's coming next, offering rare glimpses of new lands, areas, and experiences taking shape."

That is a big promise to make in the summer of 2026, with several announced Walt Disney World projects still sitting behind construction walls.

Key art for the Disney Worldbuilders teaser, built from angled vertical panels showing Iron Man outside an Avengers headquarters building, Olaf in front of an icy blue Arendelle palace, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps above a colorful Zootopia cityscape, the Mandalorian flying with Grogu past a starship, Jessie standing under a lit Pixar Pier marquee, and a banshee flying over the floating mountains of Pandora, with the words Disney Worldbuilders Teaser across the bottom. Key art for the Disney Worldbuilders teaser. Image credit: Disney

What Disney actually confirmed

The documentary is directed by Leslie Iwerks, whose park and studio credits include The Imagineering Story, The Pixar Story and Disneyland Handcrafted, which reached Disney+ in January 2026. Disney describes her as an Academy Award and Emmy nominated filmmaker, and she is the granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks.

Disney's own description of the interviews is that Iwerks "sits down with some of the key figures shaping Disney's most enduring stories for a series of intimate conversations about their early years, first sparks, and formative Disney memories," and how "the worlds they once dreamed up are now taking shape at Disney destinations around the globe."

The names sitting down with her: Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, Jennifer Lee, Dave Filoni, James Cameron, Jared Bush, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige and Pete Docter.

The part worth watching for

Disney has not said which projects appear on camera, and the teaser does not spell it out. What is true is that Disney has several announced projects in progress in Florida, and the phrase "new lands, areas, and experiences taking shape" leaves plenty of room.

Brown themed construction walls wrapping the Westward Ho Refreshments kiosk in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom, with lantern light fixtures and small themed signs mounted on the walls and the kiosk's wooden shingled roof and Westward Ho Refreshments sign still visible above them, under a blue sky. Walls now wrap the former Westward Ho Refreshments kiosk in Magic Kingdom's Frontierland, closed since June 22 and prepped for demolition. Image credit: Blog Mickey

Whether any of that footage is Florida footage is the open question. Disney's own wording points at destinations around the globe, not at any one park.

When you can watch it

Disney Worldbuilders debuts on Disney+ in August 2026. Disney has not announced a specific streaming date.

Before that, it gets its debut screening at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on August 16, 2026 in Anaheim, California, the closing day of the three day event, following a panel presentation with some of the storytellers featured in it.

Disney concept rendering of a D23 stage, showing Sorcerer Mickey on a large blue and purple screen reading D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, flanked by a purple screen on the left and a screen with a castle silhouette and D23 logos on the right, with truss lighting above a packed arena crowd holding up phones. Disney's rendering of a D23 stage presentation. The Worldbuilders panel and debut screening are set for August 16. Image credit: Disney

Sources

Image credits: Disney (Worldbuilders key art, D23 stage rendering); Blog Mickey (Westward Ho construction walls).

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