The Imagineering Story Season 2 : Coming to Disney+
Walt Disney Imagineering has been shaping theme park experiences for nearly 75 years. That legacy alone is enough to justify a documentary series. The first season of The Imagineering Story landed on Disney+ at launch in November 2019, and it quickly became one of the platform's most talked-about originals. Now, a second season has been officially confirmed, and we have details on what's coming.
What made the first season worth watching
The Imagineering Story covers 67 years of Walt Disney Imagineering history, tracing the origins of the creative division that Walt Disney himself assembled to build Disneyland back in the 1950s. The documentary goes deep into what WDI actually is : part artist studio, part design lab, part think tank. It's the place where 12 theme parks around the world were conceived and built, from Anaheim to Tokyo to Paris.
Filmmaker Leslie Iwerks directed the first season, and her approach stood out. Rather than a polished promotional piece, the series gave real access to the people behind the rides, the attractions, the failures, and the breakthroughs. That honesty made it resonate with both hardcore Disney fans and casual viewers who had no idea how much engineering actually goes into a roller coaster queue.
If you track what's available on streaming platforms, you'll notice the first season is still live on Disney+ right now. It's worth a watch before the new episodes drop.
| Season | Director | Status | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Leslie Iwerks | Available on Disney+ | November 2019 |
| Season 2 | Leslie Iwerks | In production | 2028 (Disney+) |
Season 2 confirmed : what we know so far
The announcement came during the Horizons : A Carousel of Progress presentation at D23 : The Ultimate Fan Event. Both Leslie Iwerks and Bruce Vaughn, President and Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, took the stage to confirm the news. The Imagineering Story Season 2 is officially in production and scheduled to arrive on Disney+ in 2028.
Leslie explained the reasoning directly during the panel : "So a few years ago when it was revealed that dozens of new projects were on the way, you and I started talking about how there may be a new chapter in this tale. Turns out… there are several." That quote tells you everything about the scope Disney is planning here. This isn't a short follow-up. It's a multi-chapter continuation.
A teaser trailer has already dropped, giving us our first look at what the new season will cover. Here it is :
Based on the teaser and official statements, the new season will document several major upcoming projects across Disney's global theme park portfolio. The confirmed focus areas include :
- The creation of the new Frozen world at Disney's theme parks
- Behind-the-scenes development of upcoming Disney Cruise Line ships
- New attractions being built at parks around the world
- Untold stories from Imagineering's past, revisited with fresh perspective
That last point is particularly interesting. The original season left many threads open, and fans have long wondered what stories didn't make the cut. Season 2 may fill some of those gaps while simultaneously documenting projects that are still being built right now.
Leslie Iwerks and the broader Disney+ documentary push
Leslie Iwerks is doing more than just returning for Season 2. Her new documentary, Disney Worldbuilders, was released on Disney+ on August 16, 2026, the same day as the Season 2 announcement. That timing wasn't accidental. Disney is clearly positioning her as a central voice for its behind-the-scenes storytelling, and it shows in the quality of what she produces.
For those of us who follow which titles are active on each streaming service, it's worth noting that Disney+ is investing seriously in this kind of documentary content. It's not just films and series anymore. Factual programming about how Disney actually works is becoming a distinct category of its own on the platform.
This also fits a broader pattern of major Disney announcements tied to the D23 event. Earlier confirmations, like the Disney confirmation of Camp Rock 3's arrival date, show how the studio uses D23 to drop multiple pieces of big news in a short window.
The 2028 release target gives the production team roughly two years to document what will likely be one of the busiest construction periods in Imagineering's recent history. Dozens of new attractions and experiences are currently in various stages of development across Disney's global parks. Season 2 has no shortage of material to work with.
Keep an eye on Disney+ availability updates. When a premiere date gets locked in, we'll have it tracked.