I'm Excited For Disneyland's Upcoming Changes, And Here's Everything I've Learned About Avatar, Coco, And More

Disneyland Resort is currently in the middle of celebrating its 70th anniversary. The Happiest Place on Earth has gone through a lot of changes over the last seven decades. However, what has me really excited about the future of my favorite theme park is what’s coming, because Disneyland is about to get a lot bigger.

Back in 2021, Disney announced DisneylandForward, a massive expansion to the entire resort that would see major growth to both theme parks as well as the Downtown Disney shopping and dining district. That expansion was ultimately approved by the city of Anaheim. Now we’re starting to see the resort take the first steps toward making the concept a reality. Here’s what we know so far about what’s coming to Disneyland.

Disneyland’s New Parking Garage And Esplanade

The first piece of Disneyland’s new expansion may appear to be the least sexy, but it may actually be my favorite part. A new parking garage is set to be built on the opposite side of Harbor Boulevard. This will add 6,000 parking spaces and will move ride share, transit access, and security screening across the street from the parks. Access to the parks from the garage will be via a pedestrian bridge that crosses over Harbor Boulevard.

This will lead to a complete redesign of the Disneyland Resort Esplanade area. While all we have is concept art, and concept art shouldn’t always be assumed to mirror reality, this new entrance area is absolutely beautiful. The true Disneyland Resort experience doesn’t start when you walk into the park; it starts when you arrive anywhere within its boundaries, and this is a beautiful way to begin any Disneyland day.

Avatar Attraction Coming To Disney California Adventure

Since even before Disneyland’s massive expansion was announced, we knew some sort of Avatar experience was set to come to Disneyland. At D23 Expo in 2024 it was confirmed the major attraction would be some sort of boat ride and the general consensus is that it will use the same design as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle For The Sunken Treasure, the Shanghai Disneyland attraction that is viewed by many as one of the best dark rides in the world.

One big question we still had was, where would this land go, and what, if anything, would we lose to make room for it? We now have (most) of those answers. It’s now been confirmed that the Avatar area will take over “a portion” of Disneyland California Adventure’s Hollywood Land. This will result in the closure of Monsters Inc. dark ride, Mike & Sully to the Rescue, sometime early in 2026.

Considering that only the Monsters Inc. ride is set for closure while other areas like the Hyperion Theater, which hasn't been used since Rogers: The Musical in 2023, and the Mickey’s Philharmagic theater, are safe (for now) It’s unclear how much of Hollywood Land will survive or how an Avatar land will fit into the more urban aethetic of that part of Disney California Adventure.

Coco Attraction At Pixar Pier

Another attraction that we knew was on the way was a boat ride based on Pixar’s popular Coco. Considering Pixar has its own area at Disney California Adventure, it seemed all but certain the ride would belong at Pixar Pier. Disneyland has confirmed that the ride will go somewhere near the Pier and the adjacent Paradise Gardens area. Best of all, the attraction is being built in an area that is mostly backstage, so nothing is being lost to add the ride to the park.

While not specified, the concept art seems to indicate that the entrance to the ride will be located behind the large doorway that the parade usually goes in and out of. This would fit with the description of where the ride will go. The question becomes, what will be the fate of parades at the park?

DCA is currently home to Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration, a parade which is supposed to run through to at least next summer when the current 70th Anniversary Celebration comes to an end. However, construction on the new ride is supposed to start this fall. It's unclear if the parade will be affected.

Avengers Campus Expansion

When Avengers Campus was first announced, fans were told that a major E-ticket attraction would be built as part of a second phase of the land, but four years later, that ride still hadn’t opened. It is on the way, however. Avengers: Infinity Defense, which will see Multiverse versions of heroes come together to battle King Thanos, was officially confirmed at D23 in 2024. At the same time, we were surprised by a second attraction, Stark Flight Lab, which will see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as Tony Stark.

Construction for the new attractions, which will double the size of Avengers Campus, is currently ongoing. Unfortunately, no estimation for when either new attraction will open has been given.

What Other Lands And Attractions Could Come To Disneyland And Disney California Adventure?

It’s fantastic to see these first steps toward the bigger and better Disneyland Resort being taken, and some of them are just a few months away from getting started. However, we know that a lot more is planned as part of this massive expansion.

While nothing else has been officially announced by Disney Experiences, material released by the company when DisneylandForward was first announced hints at some strong possibilities of what we might see. It’s possible that some of the newest attractions opened at other Disney Parks around the world could find homes at Disneyland Resort. For example:

World Of Frozen

Frozen is one of the biggest franchises that Disney has, and yet, beyond being able to meet Anna and Elsa in the parks, very little connection to Frozen has been added to Disneyland Resort. An entire World of Frozen land opened in 2023 at Hong Kong Disneyland, and a smaller version of the land is currently under construction at Disneyland Paris. This new expansion would give Imagineers plenty of space to bring the same land to Disneyland.

Zootopia

Shanghai Disneyland is home to the first land dedicated to Zootopia, but it may not be the last. Disney’s material suggests a Zootopia land like the one in Shanghai, which includes the Zootopia: Hot Pursuit trackless dark ride, could find a home here. With Zootopia 2 coming later this year, Disney clearly has long-term plans for the franchise.

Toy Story Land

Pixar has a strong presence at Disneyland Resort already, with attractions at both parks, and the Pixar Pier land at Disney California Adventure, but Disney has suggested that Disneyland Resort could get its own Toy Story Land like the one that already exists at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Tron

One of the biggest new additions to Walt Disney World in the last few years has been Tron: Lightcycle Run coming to Magic Kingdom. It was the second Tron coaster, following the original being built at Shanghai Disneyland. Disneyland Resort fans would likely love to get their own version of the ride closer to home. But it's also possible that Disneyland could see not just a single Tron attraction but a larger Tron area.

Could Disneyland Resort Get A Third Theme Park?

For years, there have been rumors, or at the very least hopes, that we might get a third gate at Disneyland Resort, not simply a new land but an entirely new park. While no third park has been officially announced as part of the expansion, such a thing is at least possible.

While most of the expansion is connected to the current park and resort areas, one area set to be redeveloped in some way is the current Toy Story parking lot, which is located a couple of blocks away from the parks. Disney has indicated the lot could become home to some theme park elements, and if the spirit took them, the area is big enough that it could become another theme park.

With the first real steps in DisneylandForward now being taken, it seems likely that there will be more regular updates as future plans are slowly revealed and more details fine-tune our understanding of what’s been announced. The only thing more exciting than following the next few years at Disneyland will be getting to experience it all when it’s done.