Walt Disney World has confirmed that DuckTales World Showcase Adventure will return to EPCOT in a modified format after the Play Disney Parks app that powered the scavenger hunt was retired, Disney Tourist Blog reported, citing journalist Scott Gustin.
NEW: DuckTales World Showcase Adventure at EPCOT remains under refurbishment but WILL return in a modified format. More details about the updated experience will be shared later. The current version of the experience ended with the retirement of the Play Disney Parks app. https://t.co/wi2vUyXBpN
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 17, 2026
READ: DuckTales World Showcase Adventure Will Return to EPCOT
Gustin’s confirmation lands at a moment when many guests assumed the hunt would vanish with the software. Play Disney Parks left storefronts and cut off logins on Sept. 16, 2026, ending the phone-based missions that sent families around World Showcase. Disney’s answer is narrower than a reopen day, but clearer than a quiet cancellation: the attraction stays on the books, under refurbishment, and will come back after modifications, with more details promised later.
How the World Showcase Hunt Worked
DuckTales World Showcase Adventure invited guests to join Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Launchpad McQuack, and Webby Vanderquack on a treasure hunt through EPCOT’s World Showcase. Missions previously ran in China, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom, with each country’s assignment taking roughly 25 to 30 minutes, according to Disney Tourist Blog.
Players used the Play Disney Parks app to chase the “7 Plunders of the World” — Disney’s live attraction page has also referred to “7 Lost Magic Treasures” — and to trigger effects tied to physical locations around the lagoon. Completing every country’s missions unlocked a playable finale. The design aimed the experience especially at families who wanted a structured reason to explore the pavilions beyond dining and shopping.
That mix of story, walking, and in-park effects is why the scavenger hunt mattered to World Showcase operations even when the app itself drew mixed reviews. Removing the software without a replacement would have left statues, speakers, and activation points without the game that made them purposeful.
Play Disney Parks Ends — The Attraction Doesn’t
Play Disney Parks supported several interactive park experiences before Disney pulled it. Not every tied offering followed the same path after Sept. 16. Batuu Bounty Hunters, for example, continues with MagicBand+ and in-land screens that can function without the retired app, while Star Wars: Datapad features that depended on Play Disney Parks did not survive in the same way.
Remy’s Hide & Squeak – Disney Parks Blog
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The DuckTales hunt sits between those outcomes. Disney has not closed it permanently with the app and has instead said the attraction will return after modifications. Walt Disney World’s attraction listing still describes the experience as under refurbishment and has noted limited-format availability in past wording, without a public reopen date.
That framing is important for guests who finished missions before the cutoff or who planned a fall trip around the hunt. The confirmation Gustin relayed is an operational promise, not a marketing launch: Disney is keeping the DuckTales product alive while it rebuilds how players interact with World Showcase without the Play Disney Parks.
What the Modified Version Still Hasn’t Answered
Disney has not announced how the modified version will run — whether through My Disney Experience, a standalone web tool, MagicBand+, paper maps, or another system. It also has not said whether every prior mission, pavilion, or finale will return intact, or whether the scavenger hunt will be simplified for a post-app era.
SPaceship Earth and the EPCOT fountain – Photo Credit: Follow The Bradleys’ Fun
Commentary around the confirmation has floated low-friction options such as hosting the game on a dedicated URL, similar to how some queue games and older World Showcase adventures shifted toward browser access. Those ideas are speculation from outside reporting and fan discussion, not Disney’s announced plan. Until Imagineering or park operations publish the delivery method, the only firm public points remain Gustin’s confirmation and the refurbishment listing.
For now, the story is straightforward: the scavenger hunt outlived the Play Disney Parks app on paper, and EPCOT still intends to bring the scavenger hunt back in some form. Families watching World Showcase calendars will need Disney’s next operational update before they can treat the modified hunt as a day-of planning tool.
Are you hoping DuckTales World Showcase Adventure returns soon at EPCOT? Sound off and let us know!
