With the announcement of its free summer update, Disney Dreamlight Valley has also revealed what's next for the Storybook Vale expansion. After its originally release at the end of 2024, Storybook Vale players have been desperately waiting several months to complete the story and uncover who the remaining secret character is. Now, on July 9th, 2025, the wait will finally come to an end.

Disney Dreamlight Valley recently confirmed some of the major suspicions that I had leading up to this expansion announcement, including whether this would be the finale of Storybook Vale and who the secret character would be. Following a strong start from what many consider to be the best expansion, Part 2 is sure to bring players joy as they return to Storybook Vale's cozy atmosphere with new content.

Part 2 Will Conclude Storybook Vale

Storbook Vale Will Not Consist Of 3 Parts, Like A Rift In Time Did

Although we already knew the next part of Storybook Vale would be launching this summer, per the 2025 Roap, there was no official confirmation of whether this would be the finale or if it would be split into two additional smaller parts for summer. With only one expansion before it, A Rift in Time was the only example we had to base any assumptions on. Starting in winter and concluding in summer, A Rift in Time and Storybook Vale seemed to be following the same general schedule, until it was revealed that Storybook Vale wouldn't have a spring update.

When originally announced, A Rift In Time was scheduled to receive two updates: one in spring and one in summer. While Storybook Vale didn't have any plans to release an update in spring, that didn't necessarily mean that it would be concluding with part 2. The free version of the 2025 Roap features an early summer and late summer update, so there was still a chance that Storybook Vale might be broken down the same way, with Part 2 in early summer and a Part 3 finale in late summer, but I didn't have high hopes, given that they hadn't hinted at that.

Now that we have the official announcement, we know that Storybook Vale will be concluding with Part 2 and will not have a Part 3. While it is a bit unfortunate given how many players, including myself, favor Storybook Vale over A Rift In Time and would enjoy more content from it, there might be a silver lining. Since Storybook Vale is being consolidated into two parts, it's presumable that Part 2 will be larger than A Rift in Time's Part 2, essentially offering the same amount of total content as the previous expansion, but in a shorter time.

Once Defeated, Maleficent Will Be Added To The Valley

Maleficent Will The Growing List Of Valley Villains This Summer

Given that A Rift in Time and Storybook Vale were similar in some ways and different in others, there was no way to know for sure whether the villains of this expansion would also be welcomed to the valley as villagers, especially since this one offered two, whereas A Rift in Time only included one, technically. Since Hades served as the primary focus for the first half of Storybook Vale, he has already been welcomed to the valley, leaving just Maleficent remaining.

While it was naturally presumable that she, too, would be welcomed to the valley, after being the primary focus for the finale of Storybook Vale, there was no confirmation of this. As one of Disney's most notable villains, there was a possibility that she could simply disappear at the end, to be used as an antagonist again later on, especially since we already had Hades as a new villain in the valley.

Maleficent can be seen talking to a Feather with glasses in the trailer as well, but this is presumably a version of the Lorekeeper and not a character that will be relevant beyond the finale of Storybook Vale or welcomed to the valley.

That being said, I couldn't see Disney Dreamlight Valley dangling another major character in front of us and then taking them away, especially with how vocal players have been in expressing their frustration over the fact that Cinderella and Wreck-It Ralph are still absent from the game after being shown in early trailers. In Part 2, officially named The Unwritten Realms, players will help Maleficent rescue a missing princess, both of whom will then be added to the valley.

Princess Aurora Will Be Revealed In The Unwritten Realms

Travel Beyond Storybook Vale To Rescue The Missing Princess

As the final act of Storybook Vale, The Unwritten Realms story was naturally going to reveal who the remaining fifth character would be. Although it was originally speculated that Hercules might be a part of this expansion, it was fairly obvious after playing the first half of the expansion that this would not be the case. As you explore Storybook Vale, you frequently stumble on diary entries throughout the expansion, all labeled as being from Aurora.

Given these diary entries and the fact that Maleficent was clearly taking a backseat throughout the first half so she could be the primary focus of the second half, it wasn't hard to guess that Sleeping Beauty would probably be the final character reveal for DDV's Storybook Vale. Thankfully, while Disney Dreamlight Valley could've left us to continue speculating until the update launched, Gameloft has instead chosen to reveal that players' suspicions were correct and Aurora is the missing character.

While this doesn't necessarily mean that there couldn't be a hidden surprise waiting in the new update, it's probably unlikely. There's been nothing to indicate any other characters, and the story is concluding here. However, that's no reason to be disappointed, as Hercules could very well still make his way to the valley through a free update. After all, Aladdin and Jasmine were not part of the A Rift in Time expansion with Jafar, but both were still welcomed in the Tales of Agrabah update earlier this year.

Even though the new Storybook Vale announcement didn't truly reveal anything many weren't already expecting, it's still sure to be a great update packed with content. Plus, there's always the chance that Disney Dreamlight Valley didn't play its full hand in the developer update. There could still be a few small surprises waiting for players on July 9th, 2025, when the finale launches.