The future of Disneyland Resort is going to be big. A massive expansion, called DisneylandForward, is currently in the early stages and will radically transform the entire resort destination. However, a new report claims that one of the most significant parts of that expansion may now end up not happening at all.
Could Disneyland Cancel The Planned Avatar Land?
It’s been several years since then-CEO Bob Iger announced a planned “Avatar Experience” at Disneyland. We now know that the plan is for an Avatar-themed land at Disney California Adventure park, which would replace the current Hollywood Land. However, The Wrap now suggests those plans may be getting rethought.
Even before the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron was managing expectations regarding the planned two additional movies. He suggested that even if the movie made a lot of money, it might not make enough and that the final two films could be significantly delayed, or possibly not happen at all.
Article continues belowThe questionable future of Avatar as a film franchise may, The Wrap suggests, mean that the planned Avatar theme park land is also being reconsidered. If fans aren’t as excited about the films as they once were, they may not be that excited about the theme park land either.
There is reason to believe there’s some truth to this. Originally, Disneyland announced that Monsters Inc: Mike & Sully To The Rescue, the major attraction in Hollywood Land, would close in early 2026 as the first step in constructing the new land. That closure has now been delayed into early 2027.
I attended a business update at Disneyland Resort a couple of months ago with then-Disneyland President, now Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum. It was there that we were first told that Monsters Inc. wouldn’t be closing as scheduled. At the time, it was suggested this was done as part of a greater effort for Disneyland to appeal to families by having more attractions for young kids, and that the delay wouldn’t slow any future construction plans.
It’s certainly possible that the delay was actually due to the fact that construction was put on hold because Disney Parks was rethinking things. No information about the Avatar land was provided, and maybe that's because things were changing. It all fits.
One Suggested Alternative To Avatar Would Be Much Better
I love Avatar as much as anybody, probably more than most, and I was certainly excited for the potential Avatar attractions coming to Disneyland. The prevailing theory was that the water ride teased in concept art would use the same ride base as the incredibly popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Shanghai Disneyland. That said, I’ve never been a big fan of transforming part of Disney California Adventure into Pandora, because the alien world simply doesn’t match any of the other lands found in my favorite Disney theme park.
Of course, if Avatar doesn’t come to DCA, what could? Former Disney Imagineer Jim Shull spoke to The Wrap and suggested a fairly obvious alternative: Disney’s other property that came out at the end of 2025, but did much better at the global box office. Zootopia. Shull said:
Zootopia 2 exceeded expectations in terms of money and laid the groundwork for more Zootopia. If I were Josh D’Amaro, in the seat, looking at the stock, I know that I could go to the board and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind for the stronger property,’ and there would be no pushback.
Honestly? I don’t hate this. The Zootopia land at Shanghai Disneyland is incredibly popular, and it has its own E-ticket attraction, which, while not as revolutionary as the Shanghai Pirates attraction, still would be a lot of fun.
The other benefit is that Zootopia would mean transforming the current land into an area that would still be primarily a cityscape, which, since the area borders DCA’s Buena Vista Street, would be a far better transition than Avatar.
It should be reiterated that the idea of replacing Avatar with Zootopia is just one former Imagineer’s theory. That said, it comes from somebody with experience and education in the ways of theme park design. If this is one Imagineer's opinion, it's likely that of others as well.
With D23 set to take place this August, it’s a safe bet that whatever the future is for this theme park land, and the Avatar movie franchise, it will be discussed more then. I'll be there, and I'll be very curious to see where this is all going.
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