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Disney Unveils 'Avatar' 'Indiana Jones,' 'Encanto' and 'Monsters, Inc' Attractions

FILE PHOTO: Beauty and the Beast Castle, in a new area set to open to public on September 28, is seen during a press preview at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Beauty and the Beast Castle, in a new area set to open to public on September 28, is seen during a press preview at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
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Disney Unveils 'Avatar' 'Indiana Jones,' 'Encanto' and 'Monsters, Inc' Attractions

FILE PHOTO: Beauty and the Beast Castle, in a new area set to open to public on September 28, is seen during a press preview at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Beauty and the Beast Castle, in a new area set to open to public on September 28, is seen during a press preview at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

Walt Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro laid out an ambitious growth plan for the company’s theme parks on Saturday at the D23 fan convention, announcing plans for four new cruise ships and details about six new themed lands.

Forthcoming plans include a new Disney villains land at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, a doubling of the size of the Avengers Campus at the Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, and details about its partnership with Fortnite creator Epic Games.

“This, for us, is an unprecedented era of growth,” Reuters quoted D'Amaro as saying.

The two new attractions at its Marvel-themed Avengers Campus at California Adventure will be Avengers: Infinity Defense and the Stark Flight Lab, the company said.

California Adventure will also add a new 'Avatar' experience at the California Adventure, based on the second film in the science fiction franchise, “Avatar: The Way of Water", it said.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary next year of the Disneyland park in Anaheim, a show based on the life of Walt Disney featuring an audio-animatronic figure of the company's founder will be opened.

Disney also unveiled two attractions for the new Tropical Americas expansion coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida. One follows Indiana Jones on an exploration of a Mayan temple. Another is inspired by the Disney animated film “Encanto” and follows the character Antonio on the day he received his magical gift. Tropical Americas is set to open in 2027.
Actor Billy Crystal took the stage to announce an area at Disney's Hollywood Studios dedicated to the Pixar film, “Monsters, Inc”. The area, known as a land in Disney theme park parlance, will feature a suspended roller coaster designed to simulate zooming through the door vault at the Laugh Factory, just like characters Mike and Sulley in the film.
Pixar’s “Cars” film franchise also comes to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, in a re-imagined area of Frontierland, with two new attractions planned. One will take guests on an off-road thrill ride into the wilderness beyond the film’s fictional Radiator Springs setting. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year.
The fan favorite announcement, based on the audience reaction, was D'Amaro's statement Disney will create a new area devoted to Disney's villains at the Magic Kingdom, with two attractions, dining and shopping.
These announcements reveal how the company will begin $60 billion in capital investments, nearly doubling spending over the next decade to improve attractions at its 12 parks and increase cruise line capacity.
"Everything that we’re going to share with you tonight is in active development," D'Amaro said. "This means that plans are drawn. This means that dirt is moving. I just want to be clear with all the fans out there. This isn’t blue sky."
CRUISE FLEET EXPANDS
Disney also said it will add four cruise ships to its growing fleet, capitalizing on an industry that has been enjoying a rebound from the global shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company currently has five cruise ships in operation, and previously announced four others, including one Tokyo-based vessel and another that will set sail from Singapore in 2025. These new vessels will start operating between 2027 and 2031.
D’Amaro was joined onstage by the company’s creative leads to discuss Disney’s collaboration with video-game maker Epic Games. The company invested $1.5 billion in Epic earlier this year, giving Disney an equity stake in the creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine.
Disney announced new characters and stories are coming to the online game, including Disney villains as well as characters from the Pixar superhero film, “The Incredibles,” and the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” about a lone bounty hunter from the Star Wars universe.
Disney's parks have become a reliable profit engine, helping cushion the impact of declines in traditional television and losses in its video streaming business, which last quarter turned a profit.
The experiences unit, which includes parks, cruise ships and consumer products, contributed 60% of the company's operating profit in the most recent quarter - up from 30% just a decade ago.

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Abandoned Baby Monkey Finds Comfort in Stuffed Orangutan

A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Abandoned Baby Monkey Finds Comfort in Stuffed Orangutan

A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

At a zoo outside Tokyo, the monkey enclosure has become a must-see attraction thanks to an inseparable pair: Punch, a baby Japanese macaque, and his stuffed orangutan companion.

Punch's mother abandoned the macaque when he was born seven months ago at the Ichikawa City Zoo and when an onlooker noticed and alerted zookeepers, they swung into action.

Japanese baby macaques typically cling to their mothers to build muscle strength and for a ‌sense of security, ‌so Punch needed a swift intervention, zookeeper ‌Kosuke ⁠Shikano said. The keepers ⁠experimented with substitutes including rolled-up towels and other stuffed animals before settling on the orange, bug-eyed orangutan, sold by Swedish furniture brand IKEA.

“This stuffed animal has relatively long hair and several easy places to hold," Shikano said. "We thought that its resemblance to a monkey might help ⁠Punch integrate back into the troop later ‌on, and that’s why ‌we chose it."

Punch has rarely been seen without it since, ‌dragging the cuddly toy everywhere even though it is ‌bigger than him, and delighting fans who have flocked to the zoo since videos of the two went viral, Reuters reported.

“Seeing Punch on social media, abandoned by his parents but still trying ‌so hard, really moved me," said 26-year-old nurse Miyu Igarashi. "So when I got the ⁠chance to ⁠meet up with a friend today, I suggested we go see Punch together.”

Shikano thinks Punch's mother abandoned him because of the extreme heat in July when she gave birth.

Punch has had some differences with the other monkeys as he has tried to communicate with them, but zookeepers say that is part of the learning process and he is steadily integrating with the troop.

"I think there will come a day when he no longer needs his stuffed toy," Shikano said.

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Trump Says he’s Ordering Release of Data on UFOs, Aliens

US President Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One (AP)
US President Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One (AP)
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Trump Says he’s Ordering Release of Data on UFOs, Aliens

US President Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One (AP)
US President Donald Trump speaks aboard Air Force One (AP)

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he is ordering federal agencies to begin “identifying and releasing” government files related to UFOs and aliens, a move sought for decades by some Americans.

“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs),” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Trump claimed earlier Thursday that his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, made classified information public when he confirmed the existence of extraterrestrial life.

“He gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “He made a big mistake.”

During an ⁠interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen released ‌on Saturday, Obama was asked if aliens were real.

“They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in ... Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” Obama said.

Area ⁠51 is a classified Air Force facility in Nevada that fringe theorists have speculated holds alien bodies and a crashed spaceship. CIA archives released in 2013 said it was a test site for top-secret spy planes.

“I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” Obama said in an Instagram post on Sunday.

In the post, Obama explained his belief that aliens exist by saying the statistical odds of life beyond Earth were high because the universe is so ⁠vast. He added that the chances of extraterrestrial life visiting Earth were low given the distance.

Following his comments ⁠on Obama, Trump added that he had not seen evidence that aliens exist, saying, “I don't know ⁠if they're ⁠real or not.”

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Fossils of New Species of Huge Dinosaur Unearthed in Niger

Paleontologist Paul Sereno poses in his Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis. The photograph was released by the University of Chicago on February 19, 2026. Keith Ladzinski/Handout via REUTERS
Paleontologist Paul Sereno poses in his Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis. The photograph was released by the University of Chicago on February 19, 2026. Keith Ladzinski/Handout via REUTERS
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Fossils of New Species of Huge Dinosaur Unearthed in Niger

Paleontologist Paul Sereno poses in his Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis. The photograph was released by the University of Chicago on February 19, 2026. Keith Ladzinski/Handout via REUTERS
Paleontologist Paul Sereno poses in his Fossil Lab at the University of Chicago with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis. The photograph was released by the University of Chicago on February 19, 2026. Keith Ladzinski/Handout via REUTERS

At a remote and barren Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring slippery fish.

It prowled a forested inland environment and strode into rivers to catch sizable fish like a modern-day wading bird - a "hell heron," as one of the researchers put it, considering it was about 40 feet (12 meters) long and weighed 5-7 tons.

The dinosaur presented a striking profile on the Cretaceous Period landscape of Africa some 95 million years ago as it hunted large fish like coelacanths in the region's waterways. Its bony cranial crest, about 20 inches (50 cm) tall, resembled a curved sword called a scimitar, and it had a large sail-like structure on its back and an elongated crocodile-like snout.

Along with the existing genus name Spinosaurus, meaning "spine lizard," the researchers gave it the species name mirabilis, meaning "astonishing," referring to ‌its crest. A genus ‌is a group of closely related species bearing similar traits. For example, lions and tigers ‌are ⁠the same genus ⁠but different species.

It is only the second known species of Spinosaurus, a dinosaur that has gained fame in popular culture for its depiction in the "Jurassic Park" movies. The other one, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, was named in 1915 based on fossils from Egypt.

Spinosaurus, the only known semiaquatic dinosaur predator, joins Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus among the largest meat-eating dinosaurs.

The two Spinosaurus species, which were contemporaneous, shared the same general body plan including long dorsal spines forming the sail-like structure and a skull adapted for hunting fish. The crest of Spinosaurus mirabilis is much larger compared to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, and it has a more elongated snout, teeth more spread out from each other and longer hind limbs.

The researchers said its crest likely ⁠was for display, since it appears too fragile to have been used as a weapon, ‌even though it was solid bone without the air sacs present in some other ‌dinosaur crests. The crest, probably sheathed in keratin like a bull's horns, may have been vividly colored and instrumental in sexual or territorial competition ‌or recognition between individuals.

"It's about love and life - attracting a mate, defending your hot feeding shallows," said University of Chicago paleontologist Paul ‌Sereno, lead author of the research published on Thursday in the journal Science. "What else could be more important?"

The retracted location of its nostrils, farther back than usual, let it submerge most of its snout under water to stalk swimming prey for as long as necessary while breathing normally. In addition, its upper and lower rows of teeth fit neatly together during a bite, called interdigitation.

"Their large conical teeth without serrations that interdigitate form a 'fish trap' ‌that is very good at piercing and trapping slippery fish in the jaws, preventing them from sliding," said paleontologist and study co-author Daniel Vidal of the University of Chicago and Universidad ⁠Nacional de Educación a Distancia in ⁠Spain.

"Spinosaurus mirabilis has some of the most extreme piscivorous adaptations of any dinosaur, so we know it was better at preying upon fish than it would have been at preying upon other dinosaurs," Reuters quoted Vidal as saying.

Fossils of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus come from sites in Egypt and Morocco near the Cretaceous coastline of the Tethys Sea, predecessor to today's Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. That fact, plus certain skeletal traits, led some scientists to hypothesize Spinosaurus was fully aquatic, an open-water swimmer and diving pursuit predator in a marine setting.

But the Spinosaurus mirabilis fossils were found far inland, roughly 300-600 miles (500-1,000 km) from the nearest ocean shoreline. That fact, coupled with aspects of the animal's anatomy, instead point to Spinosaurus as a shallow-water predator and not fully aquatic, the researchers said.

Sereno called the Spinosaurus mirabilis discovery "the coup de grâce for the aquatic hypothesis."

Jenguebi, where the fossils were discovered, is a remote Sahara locality, with fossil-rich sandstone outcrops surrounded by sand dunes. For their 2022 expedition, the researchers set out from the city of Agadez in a convoy and drove off-road through desert terrain for almost three days, often getting stuck in the sand.

The journey paid off, as they discovered parts of three Spinosaurus mirabilis skulls and other bones, along with fossils of other creatures.

Long overshadowed in the public imagination by T. rex, Spinosaurus is now having its time in the spotlight.

"It's a dino-happening," Sereno said.